Megapixel race restarted – Nikon announced the D800/E

Well its out – Nikon just announced the new Nikon D800 / D800E. A full frame DSLR with a whopping resolution of 36.3 Megapixels (FX) and 15.4 Megapixels (DX crop).

This will obviously lead the pack of the most recent  new camera announcements. I am definitely in the market this year for a new DSLR – my old 12 Megapixels (DX) cameras got a bit dated.  However, who really needs 36 MP in a DSLR? Likely the wedding and studio photogs will be happy placing orders – some of the nature photographers will also be in the game.  But somehow I am wondering if 36 MP are indeed needed.

Right now the resolution jump asks for new bigger CF cards, new hard discs, possibly upgrade of computer performance and new processing techniques/Software upgrade and some fine-tuning of the lens arsenal. I can see a lot of lenses that  do not manage to reproduce the high resolution of the sensor especially at the edge of the imaging circle and used wide open.

Being focused on sports photography  I am feeling much more attracted by the  D4 imaging performance – speed and high ISO quality with a modest resolution boost will have an higher impact on the imaging/visual power. Unfortunately the D4 will come with a hefty price tag. Having 36 MP at hand (with the D800) is somehow thrilling but the implications (ISO quality, continuous shooting speed, buffer size, post production work flow etc.) have to be balanced up against the resolution advantage. Imo this result is not as clear as the marketing makes us believe. For the movie centered people this body (and the D4) is the one to get. For those DX format shooters the funny thing is you are gaining resolution when switching to the DX mode. So the D800 is the natural upgrade path for all the D300 owners (as long as we havnt seen the DX D400 – and a potential D600 :)). Who knows. At least Nikons performance after quake/tsunami/flood (in Thailand) is remarkable!

mtk, Sören