Nikon D810 / SHOOTING REPORT

I feel Nikon's DSLR cameras have changed dramatically from the D600 and this is particularly due to the higher tolerance toward positive gamma correction. Even though I increase the gamma, the image still maintains good gradation from highlight to shadow. As a result, the image looks as impressive as slide films. And, the new D4S can generate overwhelmingly clearer images. The D810 appeared in this trend and now it's completely lowpass-less. Among the recent model changes of Nikon cameras, I was most impressed by the D810 although I think it's also because of the model life.

( Photography & Text : K )

I felt the dramatic change looking at the first shot.

First, I was shocked by the clarity of the viewfinder image. I've been looking into the viewfinders of uncountable number of DSLR cameras, and I'd say it's one of the best and I hadn't been touched by the viewfinder for a long time. So, I really want you to try it at a store and you'll know what I am talking about. And, the shutter is so quiet and I can feel that they did their best to reduce frictions. Anyway, I started shooting, looked at the first shot on the LCD screen, and I instantly noticed something. It's completely different. The sharpness is on another level. The colors, the tonality, and the contrast... everything has changed completely. I reviewed the D600 and felt the evolution of image quality. Now, I feel the same way with this D810. The wave of evolution has swept over the D810. As for the first shot, I chose the exposure to show what I saw as exactly as possible. In this poor lighting condition and this high number of pixels, I had to choose the safe shutter speed to prevent camera shake and push process by 2 steps afterwards. The lens is sharp enough wide open, but without camera's resolving power, it's impossible to draw the outlines clearly and it would only generate ambiguous images. If the tone reproduction quality is poor, it's hard to reproduce the scene. The shot above was meant to test the tonal gradation. The black is as black as ink and the tonality of the lighted wall is smooth. I'm a D800 user and when I shoot, I feel I need to take a comprehensive approach in deciding everything including post-processing. But, with the D810, I'm happy with the JPG directly generated by the camera.

I took this shot to check the sharpness as well as the tonality. The sharpness of the handrail is completely on the new level and the texture reproduction is fantastic, too. I compensated exposure by -3 steps. I could use the lowest sensitivity, but I used ISO800 in order to check the noise handling rather than signal-to-noise ratio. The tonality doesn't become striped or loose. Instead, it's both clear and shiny.

Using a high sensitivity, I shot the strings to see how it reproduces the feel. I don't think high-sensitivity sensor is advantageous to the S/N. And, I don't like to be painted, but I know it's difficult to handle noises. You may wonder if I should use higher ISO to talk about the noise. Well, with a camera like this, people use fast lenses more often and want to keep the shutter speed as slow as possible (as long as it doesn't cause camera shake). Plus, I think they use dark exposure to shoot dark scenes, or use bright exposure to shoot bright scenes. Therefore, I think they use around ISO800. Personally, I can live with the nose except very special cases. But, I always need realistic capture of the subject's texture. Manufacturers are improving noise handling capabilities year by year, and the D810 handles it extremely well.

ISO1600. Yet, the clarity and the sharpness aren't affected at all. And, the sharpness deriving from the "lowpass-less" clearly isolates the image. I stopped down a little to show the outline of the knob, but it still maintains this level of image separation.

I meant to focus on the window frame. If the camera weren't sharp, I would have focused on the person.

3D quality powered by resolution.

This title may sound strange, but even though it's sharp, the 3D quality is hard to realize without a combination of the ultra high number of pixels, the sharpness per pixel, and the rich tonality. The shot above is solid and extremely clear.

Shot at the 200mm tele-end. Even in this distance, I can still see the appearance of the waves and this should be due to the sharp depiction of the details.

At the tele-end, I shot the slope of the cape located about 30 meters away. It clearly resolved each leaf of the grass on the slope. I'm amazed by this lens because it keeps up with this overwhelmingly high resolution of the camera and I even wonder if I can get this resolution with the 8x10 format. Since I focused on the bottom left part and stopped down to F8, the upper left part should be out of focus in the strict sense. Although I can sort of see it in this image size, I can see it clearly in the original size. Usually, in a photo like this, it's not easy to distinguish between in-focus and out-of-focus. But, this camera does show the difference and it's stunning. By the way, Nikon DSLR cameras tended to shift green color to shallow-yellow, but the D810 is so accurate. Nice!

This is a little difficult scene to photograph because the light is flat. If the camera's image separation capability weren't high, I wouldn't want to shoot. I too this shot to see what happens, and I found there's no problem. Again, this must be because of the native sharpness and clarity.

I focused on the mother and the child, and shot wide open. I think they were about 50 meters away and the AF focused them without a problem. This was a big surprise for someone like me, or a regular MF user. Personally, I believe the sharpness isn't just about the focused part, but also about the defocused part. I don't like the background to be ambiguous, but with the D810's native resolving power and sharpness, I don't have to worry about it.

What a clarity. Beautiful!

With other cameras, the rape blossoms would have looked ambiguous. It seems that the color tones have changed significantly, but in the strict sense, it's just because of the increase of the clarity of the color density, and this color tones is very Nikon. I shot 1/3EV over to express the refreshingness. And, I felt the auto exposure algorithms have changed because I found myself compensating it less often (particularly to the under side).

The color reproduction has deepened dramatically. But, it's not like the films producing the saturated "memory color." It's as loyal to the original color of the bog with mineral ingredients, and it's exactly what I saw.

ISO3200. I highly recommend this wonderful lens (personally, I prefer the type I to the type II because of the more dramatic corner fall-off).

The amber color reproduction has become much more stable and I felt the same way with the D4S.

Everything has evolved with this full model change.

The name D810 sounds like the minor change version of the D800, but just like the D4S, it's almost a different camera. The D4S's heavy-duty body performance, lowpass-filter to minimize moire (which appears in some conditions whether the sensor has the filter or not), practical number of pixels, and ultra high sensitivity make it overtly professional. The D810, on the other hand, is free from "category" or "constraint" and I feel Nikon packed everything they can into the D810. And, the image quality is overthrowing its lord. If you believe Nikon is conservative, you're wrong. (*) Somehow, Nikon seems to categorize their cameras according to the purposes rather than the model hierarchy. This means, general users should happy with the D810. And, the same goes for the professionals. Anyway, the D810 is a significant model change of the predecessor. The viewfinder is magnificent. The shutter is solid and quiet. The AE used to be over-expose, but now it asks you to compensate to the under side less often. Personally, I'd like to ask them why they made this major change in the algorithm. With these new features, I'd say the D810 is the flagship in another line. Now, it's up to the skills and passion of the users because it's such an accomplished camera.
* Based on personal opinion.

( 16.07.2014 )