Nikon D800 vs Nikon D610 – tested on Rannoch Moor

After yesterdays posting, I thought it appropriate to update you all on how my kit bag grew over night to take a Nikon D800 and a Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 ZF.2. It’s no secret that I am presently without a car, and will be for a little while, but I managed to get a family friend to drive me up to Rannoch Moor, via Loch Lomond, and this was where the new gear got tested. Naturally I took the D610 and Nikkor 24-70F2.8 as back up as 21mm is really really wide and isn’t suitable all the time. It was also a good test to see whether I wasted £1500 plus on the Nikon D800, or whether I should have spent that in the first place to get a Nikon D800. Or would it show up that I blew £1200 on a Nikon D610 and should have put my fingers deeper into my pocket.  Maybe I’d learn that whilst the lens are, after all, interchangeable but the two bodies work well as a pair. Indeed, I used to operate using two bodies.

Anyway, Billy came to drive me. He arrived nice and early and we head up a route I’ve driven hundreds of times myself. The 1st stop was to visit Inveruglus at the head of Loch Lomond. My father drove me up here about three weeks prior to this to get some images, and 24mm simply wasn’t wide enough to get the image I needed. I knew that the  Nikkor 24-70F2.8 is a killer lens that I can do my portraits (watch this space) and cityscape’s with, but for nice wide vista’s I’d have to put my hand in my pocket once more. The natural thing to do would be to buy a Nikkor 14-24 F2.8 but they don’t take front end filters, and I invested too much in a Lee 100mm filter system so this wasn’t viable and you need filters for landscapes. Lovely lens though and ideal for ultra wide indoor architecture or astro work. I thought also about a Nikkor 16-35F4 and it gets rave reviews, and to be honest would be totally fine, if not exceptional.  I am a no compromises sort of photographer and I want the best optical sharpness I can get for my money, and given the Nikon D800’s legendary ability to show defects with technique (non here) and lens imperfections, I fastened onto the Ziess idea. The Ziess also comes with the ability to take 100mm filters, all I needed was a £40 Lee adapter ring. Robert White Photographic delivered the lot, and on time. A great company to do business with. I have digressed, that’s the man maths and my logic for blowing £3000 on the gear.

Now to actually using it on location, out in the real world. Its good, and the full resolution totally blows you away. The failing, and its not the gears fault, but mine or indeed circumstance, was the light 30minutes earlier would have been nicer but Billy couldn’t get to me any earlier due to his work.

Onwards and upwards and the next stop was Loch Tulla, a popular fishing Loch past Bridge of Orchy that sits below Rannoch Moor. It’s a short walk from the A82. Billy parked up, and I got my boots on to take a walk around. Previous experience of shooting here says that 21mm is the totally wrong focal length to use, but something long to pick up the distant hills is what you need. So I pulled out the little Nikon D610 and 24-70F2.8 for this part of the shoot. The Loch was like a mirror and it seemed a shame NOT to take full advantage of these reflections and calm morning light.

Clearly the day still had a bit of good light left in it, so the idea was to continue to one of my other old haunts, Lochan na h-Achlaise which sits on Rannoch Moor summit. The Lochan is a short walk from the A82 across pretty boggy but flat terrain. Good footwear is essential as you can twist your ankle easily and feet can get stuck in the bog, you can get out but the shoes may stay in, not that’s ever happened to me. The image here was actually taken at 44mm on the Nikon D610 and Nikkor 24-70F2.8. However, I knew as I walked round the Lochan, a wider angle would be ideal

This Black and White came off the D800 and processing was done on Nik Silver EFEX Pro 2. Now, at this resolution there is no telling which camera from which, but when you print big, and I mean big, or you look in at 100% view the extra pixel count of the Nikon D800 makes itself heard. Needless to say, the Ziess is as sharp as I hoped for and properly compliments the camera.

Back to the car, I asked Billy politely if we could make Stobb Dearg. It is only ten minutes from Lochan Na h-Achlaise and it would round off an excellent morning’s shooting. Billy was only too happy to oblige and I found myself, with my Lee Little Stopper (six stop natural density filter) and my D800 and Ziess at one of my all time favourite places to shoot; Stobb Dearg, which you probably know as Buachaille Etive Mor. The River Etive runs round the mountain and there are some little water pools near the road down Glen Etive. It’s an overdone location, but picture perfect for me and the perfect place to try the new gear.

So how does the Nikon D800 vs Nikon D610 actually play out. The Nikon D800 clearly is the nicer to use camera, with white balance, and ISO controls up at the top of the camera. When it comes to print sizes, it does allow you to print six foot across, the Nikon D610 a mere five foot across. In reality, I’ve never been asked for a print over three feet across so the pixel count is a bit academic but its nice to have it. When pixel peeping, you do notice the extra detail that 36 mega pixels gives as opposed to 24 mega pixels.It also gives a massive advantage if you need to crop the image.

I’d invite you all to look at my webshop here: http://1-stephen-taylor.artistwebsites.com/art/all/glencoe/all and have a look yourselves at the images in full resolution and to buy any prints you may wish to have.

However, I would argue 24 mega pixels is plenty and the associated file sizes favour the smaller camera (D610 14bit RAW compressed 25mb whereas the D800 14bit RAW compressed weighs in at 40mb). The associated TIFFs and JPEG files therefore take a fair bit more space using the D800. It ,in my view, just helps you however be selective in what you take, and more disciplined with that you keep thereafter. It really forces you to think what should take, what you shouldn’t and makes you more discerning in your use of the camera.

So does this come over as a victory for the Nikon D610? Yes and No. The AF system on the D800 is far superior and its ability to let you know whether you are in focus, or out of focus in low light is a lot more accurate. It’s also plain and simple, nicer to use, and I cannot explain it scientifically, it renders colours and tones that but better than the Nikon D610 and the RAW files that come off are read more accurately by Aperture 3. Aperture 3 does something odd with Nikon D610 files with shadowed area’s by making them darker. Nothing a black point and curves adjustment can’t fix. Its an annoyance, but a mere minor one.

In the end I have decided to keep both. My Nikon D610 is already on 3000 shutter actuation’s, the Nikon D800 on over 1000 as I write this, and as I plan to do some studio work as well, a spare camera really is essential. So I will keep both. I like them.

Tags: Glencoe, Loch Tulla, Lochan Na h-Achlaise, Nikon D610, Nikon D800, Rannoch Moor

Tags: Carl Ziess Distagon T*F/2.8