{"id":17546,"date":"2012-02-07T13:10:58","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T13:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philipbloom.net\/?p=17546"},"modified":"2012-02-13T12:01:45","modified_gmt":"2012-02-13T12:01:45","slug":"d800","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/d800\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nikon D800. The first full frame full HD DSLR to challenge the dominance of the Canon 5DmkII?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Full frame…kind of magical words for many, including me. Since the Canon 5DmkII came out all the way back in November 2008, not one full frame DSLR that shoots full HD video has come out. Countless crop sensor cameras, but no full frame ones.<\/p>\n

Quite a while back we had Canon announce their top end 1DX which is due for release next month,<\/a> I have not seen one yet so no I’ve idea what it actually is like. Then last month we had the D4 announced by Nikon<\/a>, shipping relatively soon.<\/p>\n

Neither of these is what you would call cheap in DSLR terms. The Nikon is priced at \u00a34,800 and the Canon at \u00a35,300. These are around the price of the very powerful Sony FS100 video camera, but of course they take stills AND have that full frame.<\/p>\n

Don’t know what a full frame is? Well it is the format that your old SLR 35mm film still cameras shot. Back then it was just 35mm still, not to be confused with super 35mm movie film, as that is much smaller than a still full frame, more similar to the APS-C crop. Check out this image below from KenRockwell.com<\/a> that compares the full frame Nikon frame (FX) with the crop version (DX). It’s a substantial difference in size.<\/p>\n

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What does this extra part of the sensor give us?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well first off it gives us much more of the lens to play with, unless the lens is designed specifically for the crop-sensor, in which case it won’t work on the full frame camera. A 14mm Canon for example on a 5DmkII is a thing of beauty; on the 7D it is rather pointless, as you lose too much of it due to the 1.6x crop changing the field of view to around 22.4mm.<\/p>\n

Secondly it gives us an amazing aesthetic and at the same time the ability to get a crazy shallow depth of field if using a fast lens. This is good and bad…shallow depth of field means it’s harder to focus unless you stop down. But there is something unique about the full frame that makes people love the 5DmkII over even cameras like the C300. It’s inferior in image quality but has that unique look, and a full frame equivalent video camera is not on the horizon. Manufacturers want to make their video camera compatible with PL glass which is designed for Super 35mm film (much smaller than full frame) and will often vignette on larger sensors.<\/p>\n

Nikon have just announced the new D800, a replacement for the D700 full frame DSLR that had no video. It’s a terrific looking camera with a few caveats.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at the positive first, and remember I have not seen one or shot with one (I was invited to the launch yesterday in London but prior commitments meant I could not attend, which was a shame! They are down the road from me in Kingston so hopefully I can get to see them soon) I am basing this on what I have read and the video that has been released. Never ideal!<\/p>\n

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