[Pic] Side By Side Comparison Of The Nikon D700 And New D800

So as you have now seen, Nikon Rumors just received the first images of the soon to be released Nikon D800. As I studied the pictures I noticed that the command dial on the top was sitting a bit more sideways than it does on the D700. As I looked closer I noticed that Nikon seemed to have shaved down the left side of the camera a bit. You'll notice the buttons on the left side no longer have as much room. Do you guys see any other big differences?

Click the image to view it bigger.


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Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

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39 Comments

is that a slightly bigger screen?

Edit: LOL guess i should have read the artticle first lol it is a bigger screen hehehe

What happened to the AF selection dial?

I bet it is like the D7000. You have to hold a button on the front of the camera and rotate the thumb nob to change the focus settings. 

I hate that setting. I work in a camera store, so I get to play with a lot of cameras daily. Took me like three days to find that stupid button.

I actully love that setting.  It was the old way in my d300, but i like it better in the d7000.  You dont have to take your eye from the viewfinder or change your grip to change your af setting.  And i change it alot.

Been a Nikon shooter for 7 years but I'm not sure I'm a fan... Would need to hold it in my hands though...

big difference will be inside features I think

And of course they have to switch the zoom in and zoom out buttons just to confuse me!

At least they left the key lock button alone....because we all use that feature

Already told my local dealer to put me on the list of people that want on the list when they start taking names ;)

Couple things off the bat.  I like the feel of the D700 in my hand.  If I wanted a compact camera then I would get a D7000.  I do not like the fact they moved the autofocus area selection function as I use that quite a bit in run a gun shooting.  36mp?   Bragging right sure but really needed no!  Man the hard drive space needed to store those 36mp images and I could see a computer upgrade as being necessary due to crunching those massive images.  For the work I do 36mp is not necessary, now if I was shooting work that needed maximum resolution then a medium format system would be a much better fit and end result due to the vastly superior dynamic range.  Also if they dropped the frame rate as rumored I will be destroyed as I use my D700's for everything from shooting portraits to fast action sports where 8fps is absolutely necessary.  Many other concerns for me and I do love my D700's so maybe I will be holding on to them until the D4 comes out then will have to replace my 2 D700's for 2 D4's.  Maybe that is the Nikon master plan after all.  Long live film.

It looks like the perfect camera for you is the D700. Why change then? ;-)

the Live View button also has a switch to switch between stills and video.

Silly question, is that tiny knob that is above and to the left of the eyepiece the eyepiece shutter lever? I've only shot the DXX line of digital Nikons, and recently picked up an F5 and have been amazed at stuff like that!

It sure is, prevents spare light from entering the system on long exposures

Is it me or they change also the F@$%# grip ... AGAIN!?!?!?
(From D200 to D300/700 was the biggest stupidity allow a battery on the chamber instead to let the inserting and leave 2 on the grip ...  

I can see a resemblance of the Sony A77 and this D800 in the design...izzit juz me only?

There are 4 buttons on top of the command dial instead of 3.  Maybe that's where the AF mode selection went.

....

how official are these pix because I really can't understand why the vertical battery grip could be so out of focus?

it's a D700. I think it's the white in the viewfinder that's throwing you off... or maybe the vertical battery grip?? but it's a D700. 

If the specs are true, it feels like they're doing what Canon did with the 5D to 5D Mk II. More resolution, same AF, Video, and a few buttons here and there. 

This is weird, because it mean that the camera is now aimed to a completely different crowd. Fashion photographers and Landscape photographers mostly. So I don't see a reason why most people would switch - other then just wanting new things.

The D700 I have now, fit me a lot better then the D800 would. Large sensor and reasonable resolution, which gives me great low light performance. Able to access everything I need through the buttons/switches, and do it fast. And also hundreds of extra functions that I'll probably never use.

Went to a 1D X presentation yesterday, and I'm really impressed about how much Canon listened to their customers. The AF system is incredible, they re-designed the whole menu system so it made sense to a photographer, rather then some engineer, improved video even further (exFAT format, less compression, double CF slots, new way of recording off the sensor etc). 

Seems like Nikon is doing what Canon did three years ago. And Canon is being more inventive, like Nikon was not too long ago - and is actually listening to their customers. 

I get the feeling this is the 5DMII killer two years late... 

I get the feeling it's another in a long line of high priced bodies.
 I suppose if i could afford one, i probably wouldn't bitch about it... BUT i cannot afford one, so i'll bitch :)

I'm not sure on this - Nikon have always (well, in recent years anyway) resisted the urge to go with high megapixel cameras in favour of image quality. Why would they suddenly buck this trend to go to 36mp, especially when Canon have gone the other way with the 1Dx? (That is also assuming Canon aren't releasing more cameras with such high MP counts in the near future.

The price...at 36MP it's gonna run, what, $4-5K?
It's lateness... as Jason said above, 2 yrs late.

mmmmh.... why don't we just wait for the ACTUAL camera and see???

Our friend at NR claims to have real files from the D800 with EXIF data.  He's not one to make such claims often.  I too thought this was fake until I heard him say it was real himself.  

This camera cannot run 4-5k as it would mean that Nikon would put-up a large barrier to FX and effectively pricing themselves out of that market. There should be a Nikon FX camera in the 2K range.

right now it's the D700!

The shooting mode selector is now labelled on the side (to be viewed from the back rather than, or possibly as well as, from the top). To my mind this is a welcome change.

you're all going to hate me... i recently sold all my nikon + d700 and got 5dmk2 :P

I posted my thoughts on SLR Lounge; with a few arrows pointing out suspicious areas.  Bottom line, I think it's at least partly faked, FOR SURE.  

1.)  I'm shocked that I seem to be the only person who considers it nearly impossible for Nikon to put a "REC" button right there next to the shutter release and the exposure mode button.  That's just HORRIBLE design.  Even the latest cameras that "fully embrace" video, such as the Nikon D7000 and the Canon 7D, have their "REC" button on the back in a thumb access location.  I'm sorry, but this just hands-down proves to me that the image is at least partly photoshopped.

2.)  There are a handful of other areas that are identical to parts of other cameras.  The shaping above the joypad is from the D300s.  The lower part of the rear grip is from the D90.  Half the battery grip is the MB-D11, and the other half is the MB-D10.

Either way, 36 megapixels or not, I just don't buy this particular leak.  And if 36 megapixels is in fact coming, my next camera will definitely be something along the lines of a Canon 5DX, or whatever "affordable version of the Nikon D4" we see next.

I had been waiting SO long for this - then I gave up and got a mkII - and now this looks like somebody did a poo. 

It may be 36mp, but it's not going to be a full frame 36mp, so I'm guessing the price is going to be under $3000. 

why do you think it wont be full frame?

Is it only me, or it reminds me Canon shaped body? Notice the part around the flash...

yes, similar to the d5100 design, more rounded like a Canon style body

Illuminated buttons? The D4 has that, and maybe they will use that on the D800 too?