Thom Hogan D800
The D800
announcement in February was both expected and a surprise. Expected in
that a D700 replacement was overdue. A surprise because of one number
and one letter: 36 and E. There were additional sub-surprises in the
details: same focus system and performance as the D4, uncompressed video
output via the HDMI port, even the US$3000 price. The general reaction
to the details was overwhelmingly favorable, so much so that overnight
tens of thousands of pre-orders piled into shopping carts of online
retailers and every camera dealer suddenly found themselves with a wait
list of customers eager to buy.Overall,
the D800 is not much more than a D700 made current and then supersized
at the sensor. Let's take both of those things in sequence.The
D700 to D800 transition starts with a complete rethink of the shapes
and controls. At first glance, the two are twins (see pictures, below).
At second glance, you see that they're not identical twins. The D800 is
more rounded in a number of areas and has a completely redesigned hand
grip, complete with some rethinking about the shutter release position. A
record movie button has been wedged into the area behind the shutter
release. The Shooting Method dial and the buttons up top have had a
modernization, and we get a BKT button out of the deal. The flap
covering the connectors on the left side of the camera (as you hold it)
is now a door, and inside we've lost the standard AV out, gained a
microphone in and headphone jack, and the USB connector is now 3.0 mini.
The Focus Mode control on the front of the camera is now the
D7000-style button+lever. Out back we've got a slightly larger display, a
new Live View control, and the Zoom buttons have swapped.
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