Nikon D800E FX DSLR

© Brooke Clarke 2022

Nikon D800E FX
                  & 200mm f/4 AF IF ED


Background
Description
    D800E
    200mm f/4 AF FX IF ED Lens
    28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF FX AF-S VR II Lens
    AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm f2.8G ED VR
Tripod
Start up
Operation
Photos
Patents
Related
References
Links

Background

The Nikon D300s that I've been using for many years is getting tired and so I looked for an upgrade Nikon camera that would be compatible with my existing software (Photoshop CS6 with Adobe Camera Raw 7.1 and the D800E (Nikon, 6Ave) fits the bill.  This camera came out in 2012 (Wiki: D4, D600, D800, D800E - note all of these are built on the same frame.

The top five camera lenses at DoXmark (April 2022) are either based on the Nikon Z7 or D800E.

Description

This is a page for Full Frame Nikon Cameras & Lenses.  To start the D800E (Ken Rockwell) camera and AF IF ED 200mm f/4 Lens (Ken Rockwell).

D800E DSLR Full Frame (Ken Rockwell) (DxO: 96)

Lens Compatibility (Ken Rockwell)
D800E: No: invasive Fisheyes, Pre-AI & AF-P.  Yes: AI Converted, AI, AI-s, AF, AF-D (screwdriver), AF-S, AF-I, VR, G, AF-P.

AF FX IF ED 200mm f/4 Macro Lens (Ken Rockwell) (DxO: 30)

Hoya HD3 62mm UV-32-Layer Ultra-Hard Nano-Coated Stain-resistant Optical Glass Filter
Got used from Japan and after about a month a bill from Fedex for about $50 import duty.

28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF FX AF-S VR II Lens (Ken Rockwell) (DxO: 18)

Testing Mirror Flop (Custom setting d4) shows that by using auto ISO and forcing a shutter speed at or faster than 1/640 sec sharp hand held photos can be taken.
So a zoom lens will be practical for many shots where the features of the 200mm f/4 lens are not needed.

Hoya HD3 77mm UV - 32-Layer Ultra-Hard Nano-Coated Stain-Resistant Optical Glass Filter
Fig 1 NIB
Nikon
                        28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF FX AF-S VR II Lens
Fig 2 HB-50 hood & CL-1120 Bag
Nikon
                        28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF FX AF-S VR II Lens
Fig 3
Nikon
                        28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF FX AF-S VR II Lens
Fig 4 Swapped lenses,
105mm <-> 28-300mm
Nikon
                        28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF FX AF-S VR II Lens
Fig 5 Hoya HD3 77mm UV
Hoya HD3
                        77mm UV

AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm Macro f2.8G ED VR (Ken Rockwell) (DxO: 36)

I've had this lens for a long time and it's a great for macro and portraits. Ken's quote " It's also the best macro lens today short of the 200mm f/4 Micro."

Tripod

Tripods need to be selected with care.  It needs to be rated for the weight it will carry with a little headroom.  But not a lot of headroom since that would result in an overly heavy tripod.  Maybe OK if it will only be used in a studio, but not acceptable if used in the field.

Note for an astronomical telescope the mount is almost more important than the actual scope since if the mount allows any vibration or wobble the images will not be any good.  So the three most important things are: Mount, Mount Mount.

Object
Weight #
D800E
2
105mm Macro
1+1/4
200mm Macro
3
28 - 300mm Zoom
1-3/4
300mm f2.8 ED-IF AI-S
5
Manfortto 055 & 410 Head
8.5

A tripod should be able to holed more than 7 pounds.

Manfrotto MT055CXPRO4 Carbon Fiber Tripod (21.3" 4 section: $490) with 400 HD Geared Head - rated for just under 20#. - $1295
Manfrotto MT055CXPRO4 Carbon Fiber Tripod with 405 Pro Digital Geared Head ($640) - rated for 16.5# - $1015
Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber Tripod (24" 3 section: $420) with 405 Pro Digital Geared Head Kit - 16.5# - $950
Manfrotto MT055XPRO3 Aluminum Tripod with 405 Pro Digital Geared Head Kit - - 16.5# - $890
Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber Tripod with 410 Junior Geared Head Kit - 11# - $685
Manfrotto MT055XPRO3 Aluminum Tripod ($278) with 410 Junior Geared Head Kit - 11# - $600 <- On order 24 Apr 2022

The Manfrotto 055 series tripods share a set of common features.  They come in either Carbon fiber (CXPRO) or Aluminum (XPRO) and with either 3 (3) or 4 (4) section legs.
Carbon Fiber is great if you're going to be carrying it in the field because of lighter tripod weight. The 4 section legs collapse to a slightly shorter overall length.
But for me where it will be used pretty much here the size and weight advantages are cancelled by the speed (3 sections take less time) and cost advantages of Aluminum.
YouTube: Manfrotto MT055XPRO3 055 Aluminium 3-Section Tripod w/ Horizontal 90 Degree Centre Column | Overview, 3:55 -

Start up

English

In the tools menu the third entry under HDMI is Language selection, set to English.
Install either or both an SD and Compact Flash memory card and in the tools menu format the card.
In Shooting Menu select ImageQuality: / JPEG Basic for the first shot (to get shutter count).
In Custom Settings, f Controls, f11 Slot empty  release lock set to Lock to prevent taking photos without a memory card. Do not enable release (store demo mode).
Tools - Time Zone & Date: Set YMD & HMS and time format.
In Playback menu select Image review & turn it on.  Now you will automatically see the photo on the rear LCD after every exposure.

Studio with Flash: Custom Setting Menu \ d Shooting/display \ 4: Exposure Delay Control- set to 2 seconds.  This does a Mirror Up and 2 seconds later trips the shutter.  This may or may not make sense.  See d4 Mirror Up Test below.

d4 Mirror Up Test

By turning on d4 and setting the time delay to 1 second the mirror will lock up and after 1 second the exposure will be made.  This should result in lowering the camera vibration due to mirror slap.  In the photo below I'd say the image with d4 set to 1 second has more contrast, but is not as sharp as the d4 Off image.  Both taken hand held with 105mm f/2.8G ED lens.

Operation

I use the USB-C High Speed jack on the side of the camera to get the photos into my computer.  To avoid wear on this jack I leave the cable, with the plastic boot, attached to the camera almost all the time.

Note that the other output connector is a Mini HDMI (not a full size HDMI) jack.

Photos

Fig 1 The camera from 6Ave in New Jeresey and the 200mm AF f/4 IF ED lens from Japan arrived on the same Fedex truck 19 Apr 2022.
Nikon D800E
                      FX DSLR
Fig 2
Nikon D800E
                      FX DSLR
Fig 3
Nikon D800E
                      FX DSLR
Fig 4 While the box has spaces for a manual and CD-ROM, neither was included since they are both now on line.
Nikon D800E
                      FX DSLR
Fig 5 Lens, both caps and carry bag.
Nikon D800E
                      FX DSLR
Fig 6 The battery has been on charge for a few hours and still blinking (charging).
Nikon D800E
                      FX DSLR
Auto ISO Test, full frame 37MB image
Nikon D800e
                      & AF 200mm f/4 Auto ISO test
Crop from Auto ISO Test
hand held d4=2 seconds (mirror up)
Might be better in sunlight, today is total cloud cover.
Nikon D800e
                    & AF 200mm f/4 Auto ISO test
D300s & 300mm f/2.8
On solid tripod. (background is hill side, not clouds)
x

Auto ISO Test, full frame 37MB image (Sunny)
Nikon D800E
                    200mm f/4Auto ISO Test, full frame 37MB image
                    (Sunny)
Auto ISO Test.
Nikon D800
                      Auto ISO Test Buck
Auto ISO Test, full frame 37MB image (Sunny) Crop
1/640, f5, ISO: 200
Nikon D800E
                    200mm f/4Auto ISO Test, full frame 37MB image
                    (Sunny) Crop
d4 (Mirror Up) Test 105mm @f/8
Nikon D800E d4
                      (Mirror Up) Test
d4: Off, shutter delay: off, 105mm @f/8
Nikon D800E,
                      105mm f/4, d4: Off, shutter delay: off
d4: Off, shutter delay: off, 50mm @f/6.3
Nikon
                      D800E,50mm @f/6.3, d4: Off, shutter delay: off
d4: Off, shutter delay: off, 50mm @f/2
Nikon
                      D800E,50mm @f/2, d4: Off, shutter delay: off
d4: Off, shutter delay: off, 200mm @f4
Nikon D800E,
                      200mm @f/4, d4: Off, shutter delay: off


Patents


Related

Photography
Nikon SB-25 Flash & Manfrotto Clamp
Arri Tripod
eBay Camera Idea
Photoflash Units
DigitalPhotography101 Digital Photography 101: The Basics
Digital Photography 201 Stacking Images
Digital Photography 202: Close-Up, Macro & Micro
Digital Photography 203: Color Management
Digital Photography 204: Studio Flash
Digital Photography 205: Astrophotography
Digital Photography 206 Micro Photography

References


Links

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Page Created 2022 Apr 19