Nikon D800 arrives! First shots.

Some days are diamonds
Some days are stone ..

John Denver

Yesterday was a diamond.

After three months of lusting and a week in transit, I have a Nikon D800 of my own, in my hands. The camera has been so hard to find that my son and I have literally been searching the world. One of his contacts in Hong Kong, where he lives, was delivered one and within hours, thanks to him and my daughter-in-law, it was purchased and winging its way to Canada.

After a delay in customs the camera was released from bondage, on payment of the
HST ransom and sent on it's way. (Labels have been obscured for privacy.) 

 As past readers of this blog know Rich managed to find and purchase a D800 about a month ago in Hong Kong while I was there. I had the use of it for a few days and managed to post a few blogs about the camera.  Leaving it behind was hard - but not as hard as leaving my family there.
So, yes Virginia, it was purchased in Hong Kong and Nikon Canada may not like that. (If you do not purchase in Canada you are not eligible for entry into NPS - Nikon's professional service group.) But, as I mentioned in great detail a few blogs ago, that does not make it grey market, though it does complicate warrantees, due to Nikon's awkward corporate structure and equipment support.
The question is, how much longer would I wait here in Canada?  In three months I had gone from number 17 to number eight on my dealer's long list of pre-orders.  When at Nikon Canada in Richmond recently to pick up a repair, a friend asked what they could tell her about delivery of the D800. The repair clerk said she understood that the D800s were being delivered or sold to NPS members first.
When the call came from our favorite Hong Kong camera store, Chung Pui Photo Supplies, we jumped at it.  A few days later they offered Rich a D800E and he bought it. He must now be a rare photographer - how many have a D800 and D800E?  According to the clerk Nikon are only producing one E for every ten D800.  Rich is testing it now on a trip to China and we will report back on this blog.

For the second time I get to unbox a Nikon D800.

My D800 did not arrive here without a few problems. It did not take long to fly from Hong Kong to the US and then to reach DHL brokerage in Richmond.  Unfortunately someone at Canada customs or the brokerage misread the value and wanted HST on $28,356 dollars. Some camera. I explained that the invoice was in Hong Kong dollars. So then they wanted to charge me tax on $5,500. I suggested they re-check their exchange rates. DHL made several calls to my cell phone, but, we do not have cell service here in the mountains.  Fortunately someone then tried me at home. Then it was on the road again. My partner Amy picked up the camera from the DHL depot (an hour away) as she came through town at 9:57 p.m. They close at 10 p.m. When she got here after a long day she was sure I was more excited to see the camera than her. Which of course was not true. Though I did keep it nearby. Still, not bad - 1 week from Hong Kong to Quesnel, B.C. with a May Day holiday in China and a customs delay here in Canada.

Having exposed several hundred shots with a D800 in Hong Kong it is not unfamiliar to me. In addition my son has been reporting on his use of it and the options he as set on his camera. Life is busy here right now but I did manage to stick on my 200-400 f4 on the way to town the other evening, and managed to get my first 28 shots on the D800, of a black bear. I set nothing other than basic menu items - set it on P - and fired away.  I am, to say the least, impressed with the first few shots. Exposure is within 1/3 of what I wanted and for hand held with a 400mm, resting, at 1/50, the images are as sharp as I could expect. However, I am anxious to set up my new LaCie RAID drive as the file size of these shots is 42 MB. You have to love were you live when your first test subject is a black bear.

Black bear near Wells, B.C. Nikon D800, Nikkor 200-400mm f4, ISO 100, f4, 1/50th.
No alterations other than a 50% crop of the bottom photo. Richard Wright photos.

Lots of blog material yet to cover, so stayed tuned for updates on the D800 and the D800E.

Website: http://richardtwright.photoshelter.com

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Barkerville Sled Dogs, Outdoor Photography winner

This last winter, or this winter I guess as there is still snow on the ground here, Thomas Drasdauskis and I spent a day photography the annual Sled Dog Mail Run around Wells and Barkerville. For a short time the light was just right, not too bright, but not clouded over. Thomas had shot this race several times so knew some good locations, including a spot where the mushers raced down a trail across the historic Ballarat mining claim.
I shot a few hundred images that day but my favorite was one I called, "Blue eyes and flying feet."
I recently found out that the image has won the editor Roy Ramsay's assignment for January, "Winter Lifestyle and Sport", in Outdoor Photography Canada, a great quarterly publication. Not a Pulitzer, but then my old editor Jerry MacDonald always used to say, as we neared deadline, "I don't want a Pulitzer - I want 3 columns by 8 inches" or, "I just want 12 inches, now."
Thanks to the editor for choosing my photo, as there were lots of good ones.  If you are interested in photography outdoors pick up a copy of the magazine. It is on most Canadian newstands.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 7-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF ED lens, f9, ISO 160, 1/320.

As it turned out Thomas shot a similar shot from a few feet away. We both captured the dogs at precisely the same moment, with their feet and tongues in exactly the same position.

Website: http:richardtwright.photoshelter.com

Wildlife photography in the Canadian Rockies

As my last posting indicated I have been off for a week of shooting in Canada's National Parks, and to attend a conference on Urban Wildlife Interface.

Any trip through the national parks of Jasper, Banff and Kootenay and the Rocky Mountain Trench is good, and the weather was spectacular.   However, this time the wildlife remained elusive.  Even my usual guarantee of bighorn sheep did not prove up. But the scenery was stunning.

Along the Athabasca River on Highway 16 in Jasper. Richard Wright photos.

It had been a dark and stormy night when I pulled into Jasper after the seven-hour drive from Wells, and the waitress at the cafe said the weather had poor for days.  Perhaps that accounted for the desk clerk's grumpiness at the Mount Robson Inn, and her demand to check my room before my deposit was returned the next morning.

But, despite that poor start the weather was -8 C, clear and bright. The mountains leapt out to greet travelers.  I spent a day traveling Highway 16, the route of the Overlanders of 1862, and remembered how they had written poems, sung hymns and quoted biblical verses in their diaries when the reached this valley and the towering mountains, after weeks on the prairies.

[For a summary of their journey and the resulting change in history go to: www.theatreroyal.ca and click on the Producer's blog.]

Deer and elk - that was it.  Now I like deer and elk but, of course, the bulls did not have their fall racks. However, cruising around I did manage to find a few backroad deer. 

Mule deer, 70-200 f2.8 after a slow stalk across open ground. Richard Wright photo.

Whitetail, 70-200 f2.8 Nikkor, from the passenger side window.
Typical of whitetail I had about 2 minutes of shooting before they bolted. Richard Wright photo

Two Mule deer, in morning light, using my truck as a blind I followed them for
about 20 minutes. 70-200 f2.8 Nikkor. Richard Wright photo.

Fortunately the highway through the National Parks is wide enough to easily pull over and get right off the road.  I have found it is usually best to stay in the vehicle to shoot, so I had a couple of window rigs set up for resting camera and lens. Usually though I only had time to grab the usual bean bag.  In this situation I always have a long lens mounted, either the 70-200mm or my Nikkor, 200-400mm f4, a favorite of mine, set to auto.  I figure if I want a scenic I will always have time to pull over, mount a wide angle and shoot whatever I want. Animals do not always wait.

One of the problem son this trip is that I was traveling on my own and did not have my partner Amy to watch the right side for random sightings. I traveled slowly, stopped lots, and concentrated on the left side of the highway. The elk were cooperative and I was able to add to my collection of cow elk, or wapiti.

Wapiti, or elk, in Jasper. Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8. Richard Wright photos.

Another night in Jasper after a 13-hour day of shooting. Diesel here is 30¢ a litre cheaper, so time to fill up my 100-gallon tank. Oh, and a different motel, The Marmot Inn, bigger, better, with a restaurant, solid not sketchy wireless and the same price.

No luck with sheep, goats or wolves, and bears seem to still be denning.  Tomorrow I head south along the Icefields Highway.  It's all good. Let's face it - any day of photography is better than a day in the office.
Go to my website for more photos from this shoot.
And the Hong Kong diaries are coming soon.

Website: http:richardtwright.photoshelter.com

D800 manuals available

Heading to Jasper for wildlife

I am heading off to Jasper/Yoho National Parks for a few days shooting while on my way to an Urban Wildlife Interface Conference in Cranbrook, B.C..  Hopefully I will have some time in the evenings for blogging, though there is light until 8pm now, so more likely I will be downloading and backing up on my two portable hard drives. Park websites say some wolves are hanging around and the bears are out. Bighorn sheep are a fairly sure bet and then I'm looking for Mountain goat, the ubiquitous elk of Jasper and anything else that crosses my path.  Then, of course, there is the stunning scenery of the Icefields Highway.

Mountain caribou near Wells, B.C. They are part of a small endangered herd
 that frequents our area. Richard Wright photo.

The Mountain caribou are back here in Wells, so I was able to get a few quick shots on a dull morning. When I am back next week I will spend more time on their migratory trail, in a blind and maybe hiking into the back country with friend Dave J. And, the game cams will go up again.

As I rush out the door I thought I would mention and link to two manuals that are available for the D800: the user manual and a technical manual that addresses high rez and blurring.  Nikon suggests the use of a tripod to prevent blurring that can show up with high rez, 36 meg photos.  My son found the same with HDR - a tripod is necessary.

D800 manual:

http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D800_EN.pdf

D800 Technical manual

http://www.nikonusa.com/en_US/o/Y6wrkA9OU_z04IreazIXl_22UII/PDF/D800_TechnicalGuide_En.pdf

These will allow you D800 fans to read up before your camera arrives.  No, I have no word on mine.

See you down the trail.

Any questions leave a comment

Website:http:richardtwright.photoshelter.com

Nikon D800 features tested

Some more testing of the Nikon D800 features: Image size and HDR

The Big Buddha on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Shot in DX mode with a 35mm , giving a 52mm crop. f10, 1/400th. Richard Wright photo.

One of the appeals of the D800 for anyone moving from DX to FX, ie: cropped to full frame, is that the D800 makes an easy transition from one format or one set of lenses to another.
If you are a DX shooter, with say the great D7000, you may have invested in several or many DX lenses, which tend to be cheaper than FX lenses.  Making the transition to shoot with just FX lenses would be very expensive.  With the D800 you can do this gradually. Of course, with DX lenses you will not get 36 megapixels photos. According to Nikon they will be 15 megs, more like the 16 megs. of the D7000.
How do you make the shift?  Well, as I was first of all shooting intuitively, ie trying not to use the thick manual, it took me awhile to find it.
First of all in the menu you can choose to have the camera recognize any DX lens that is mounted. In that case the image you see is the cropped DX image. Secondly you can go to the menu item called IMAGE AREA.  Here you will have four choices:
FX full frame
1.2 cropped image
1.4 cropped DX image
5:4 crop.

The first choice is obvious.  The second, 1.2 crop, gives you the option to pre-crop your image in the camera, rather than perhaps cropping later in whatever software you use.  I am not sure why one would want to pre-crop as it takes away some of your later options, except that it does give you 5 fps instead of 4 fps. Some sports shooters (which this camera is not really marketed toward) might want to do this and I am sure there will be times when I will choose the 1.2 option.
The 1.4 DX image crop is also obvious, except that if you choose this option with an FX lens you do not see a viewfinder image reflecting a DX crop. What you see in the viewfinder is a box or crop mark showing what the framing will be.  The first time I used this is was a little surprising. But it sort of works.
Finally we have the choice of a 5:4 crop, often referred to as the 8x10 crop, as it emulates the image proportions that will appear in an 8x10 print. This will be a 30 meg image. One could argue that this is similar to the 1.2 crop and that you are always better to have the options to crop later. However, I can imagine times, such as weddings or portraits, where you might want to be sure that you are seeing what the final proportions will be. I know I have often shot a full image and then been disappointed when it would not crop to an 8x10 to my satisfaction.
So, there are the options.  I found it a great feature.

Butterfly with 200mm in DX mode, for a 300mm image.

Butterfly at 200 mm FX mode. Richard Wright photo.

 The 35 degree slant of the shutter button is great and is more comfortable to use.
The D800 has a built in flash and the little testing we did with it found it quite adequate for fill-flash and some night shots. Though it will not replace a SB flash it is useful to have onboard.

The Nikon D800 has a redesigned 35 degree slant to the shutter release.
 Richard Wright photo.

I did not have an opportunity to try the in-camera HDR feature. This allows High Dynamic Range photos to be shot and processed in the camera, rather than in post processing.  This is basically a means of combining a greater dynamic range, the lightest and darkest areas of your photo, into one image.  Shooting out a window, dark foreground and light sky, and so forth, similar in some ways to using a ND filter, are some examples.
However, my son recently took his D800 to China and shot some HDR in the Reed Flute Cave, Guilin, Guangxi. This limestone cave is 180 million years old and has been an attraction for over 1200 years. Here are a couple of low rez, yet brilliant, images:

Reed flute cave, China. D800, HDR, no post production. Richard Wright Jr. photo

If you go to his Flickr site at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtwright/
you can have a look at the spectacular shots he got. They really are exceptional, as the number of views on Flickr demonstrates.

If have questions please leave a comment.

Website: http:richardtwright.photoshelter.com 

Nikon D800 remains elusive.

 Nikon D800 - deliveries trickle in 

My left eye, and Nikon D800.
Amy Newman photo taken with Nikon D5100, a great entry level  DSLR

Hong Kong and my brief affair with the new Nikon D800 is now a week behind me. We traded the hazy skies, heat and humidity of Asia for the cold of British Columbia's north, and brought with us a bronchial infection of some note.

As soon as we arrived in Vancouver I visited my local supplier, Kerrisdale Cameras, to see how my order was coming along and pick up those few things that seem to go missing while traveling - lens caps, rear caps, LCD protector and so forth.  The good news is I am now about number 10 on the order list which has grown significantly since my order. While I was there another woman placed a deposit for her D800.  Later at London Drugs the clerk said, "We are really frustrated, we not only have none to sell but we can't even get one for display!"

There is a disconnect with Nikon Canada, who really need to see a media specialist like my friend and colleague Jim Stanton and get in front of this fast-moving story and the increasing angst of Nikon customers. I visited Nikon Canada in Richmond to see about getting my sensor cleaned, but it was going to take three days and I was leaving town.  So, I asked how the D800 was coming in terms of shipment. "Oh, you can get it. There are lots of people coming in here with D800's. (Say what? Why are they coming to the repair facility?). I know pros who have their 800s."

When I questioned the young lady and explained that no, I could not go out and buy one, she offered the observation that, "the camera store (which I did not name) is just saying that because they do not want you to buy somewhere else."  Oh yeah? Tell that to the 100 cameras stores in Hong Kong. 

I tried to post a review of the D800 on Nikon's product review page. I added that it would be great to be able to buy one. Within 24 hours my review had been rejected. They did not comment on delivery times.  

Jim Stanton.

The basic premise of good media relations is: Tell the truth and tell it fast. This is a great opportunity for Nikon to use the incredible wave of desire this camera has created as a good news story, instead Nikon Japan, and all the world wide affiliates are remaining "in camera", seemingly hoping bloggers will do their media work and dealers will answer the consumer's questions.  Poor form Nikon. Really, give Jim a call. He can be found at: Stantonassociates.ca. (In the interest of full disclosure I will say I often work with Jim.)

A few people, readers of this blog and others, have questioned whether the D800 Richard bought was grey market. The short answer, is no! Richard lives in Hong Kong and therefore buys in Hong Kong and has a warranty and guarantee in Hong Kong. (By the way Nikon, all your offices should emulate the excellent service and displays of the Kowloon office. They have long lenses pointed out the window for viewing.) Grey market is not the same as Overseas Purchasing.  When I buy gear in Hong Kong I get a Hong Kong warranty on the cameras and a Worldwide warranty on lenses.  All the reputable dealers such as Wing Shing or Man Shing, will tell you this when you are looking at equipment and caution you. This is not a matter of buying a cheap camera from the web. In fact prices in Hong Kong are very similar to Canada. What is different is availability. In several cases now Rich and I have been able to find rare lenses that we could not find on shelves anywhere else, by prowling Hong Kong. If I am in Hong Kong for six weeks it is likely I will buy some equipment. I know if the camera dies in Canada I have to ship it back, or pay to have it serviced locally.

This works both ways. When Amy's S9100 stopped working in Hong Kong we took it to Nikon Hong Kong. They tested it but would not repair it under warranty. It would cost us about $200 cdn to have it fixed. It cost $299. It is now being repaired by Nikon Canada.

Wing Shing Photo Supplies Co. in Kowloon. Richard Wright photo.

For more information and opinion on grey market equipment look at these sites:

http://help.nikon.ca/app/answers/detail/a_id/5546/~/what-is-grey-market%3F

http://nikonasia-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4733/~/nikon-vs-grey-market

http://www.nikon.com.hk/en_HK/pagearticle.page?DCRPath=templatedata/en_HK/free_format_content/data/custompages/service_support/warranty_conditions.xml

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp

http://www.bythom.com/warranty.htm

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/gray-market.htm

Shooting with the D800 and the 70-200mm f2.8 on a carbon fibre Manfrotto tripod,
with the Manfrotto 363 Gimbel.  Amy Newman photo with D5100.

There are a few features of the D800 about which I have not yet written, and my son will continue to report his work with the D800. Suffice it to say he is ready to sell his D300 and buy a second D800 or D800e, when they are available. So stay tuned, I am writing the final D800 installments now - then on to reports on Hong Kong.

If you have questions leave a comment.

My website is: http://richardtwright.photoshelter.com

Nikon D800 night shooting

Ongoing testing of the Nikon D800 - night shots.

Sai Kung front street with no exposure compensation on D800. Richard Wright Jr. photo.

Our time in Hong Kong is drawing to a reluctant close. After close to six weeks we will be returning to the comparative cold of Canada; Amy to Vancouver and me to home in Wells where I will face some 20 feet of accumulated snow and below zero temperatures.  Tomorrow in Hong Kong it is supposed to be 27 deg.C. We will leave a city of 7 million - my home town has 250, no subway, and no noodle shops. There is lots about Hong Kong and the New Territories that we will miss.

Boats in Sai Kung harbour. To the unaided eye this was dark. We could see the boats, but they
were lit only by shore lights from storefronts. 1/30 sec, f2, 35mm Nikon lens, auto white balance,
ISO 3200, no flash. Richard Wright Jr. photo.

Last evening we took a trip a little north to Sai Kung, a seaside village renowned for it's sea food restaurants, for a departing dinner. Fi had reserved at a particularly good restaurant so off the five of us went, all laden down with our Nikons of course.

The food was fantastic - lobster, squid, bean curd, gai lan steamed greens, topped off with Tsingtao beer. After dinner we walked the streets and waterfront and tried out the D800 in evening light and poor light.

My grandson and I. No flash, lighting only from restaurants across the street. ISO 3200, f2. 1/20, 35mm lens. Auto white balance. Again, one would have thought this far to dark to shoot.  The red in my face is from the street lighting. The color depth and definition is bang on other than that. The balance from foreground to the background boats is actually quite amazing. Richard Wright Jr. photo.

We wandered the town in the warm evening looking for good subjects, while Richard enjoyed shooting the D800 for the first time since it had arrived.  We both found the ergonomics improved, with the tipped shutter release and the weight.  I will not be adding the overpriced MB-D12 battery pack for some time. On my D7000 I found I like the weight the battery pack adds.

Rich found it wanted to eye an eyepiece as the hard plastic of the D800 does not block light well, nor is it comfortable. The D7000 on the other hand does have a soft rubber eye cup.

Rich also remarked on the cost of the CF cards. Here in Hong Kong an SanDisk Extreme Pro 100 megbyte/sec 16 gig cards is $200. The 32 gig card is $300. I bit of a kick in the pocket.

The three Richard Thomas Wrights. The lighting is just from the ambient street lighting,
again no flash, no reflectors. A great balance of foreground and background and good color balance.
ISO 1100, auto white balance, 1/40 sec., f4, 35mm lens. Fiona Tsang Wright photo.

"Throw away the flash," Rich said - only joking of course, but the results we got were so much more pleasing than using a flash, and we were deliberately not trying anything other than the auto features of Program mode. (Unlike some models, the D800 has no AUTO mode.)

Finally we saw a pick-up basketball game.  I exposed one shot for the court and included the court lights, and another without the court lights.  Both were acceptable.

ISO 450, 1/40 sec., f2. 35mm lens. D800.

ISO 400, 1/40 sec., f2, 35mm lens, D800 Including the court lights seemed to make little difference
 to the exposure, and again the color balance on the court was bang on. Richard Wright photos.

Our final appraisal was that the D800 is superior to any other Nikon we have used for night shooting.  Add to that the 36 megs and it is a hands-down winner.

Back to the waterfront: here is a shot of a neon sign, and a radical crop.

A full frame shot, D800, 35mm, ISO 1000, f2, 1/1000 sec, no crop, no adjustment.
Richard Wright Jr. photo

Shark's dentures, cropped from above photo.  No adjustment. The original holds up well
for this crop though some noise came be seen with this magnification. Richard Wright Jr. photo.

We have more D800 shooting to report on but it may have to wait until my return to Canada. In the meantime I have to leave the D800 behind with my son, unless another turns up in Hong Kong by tomorrow night - without a 25% premium.  Stay tuned.

An addendum.  Several days ago when we took a ferry ride to Sharp Island, Amy lost her monopod - in a cab, a bus, a ferry, a bookstore or a cafe.  Several phone calls later she had no luck finding it, so she bought a tripod at Chung Pui Photo Supplies on Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong. When we visited Sai Kung for dinner she decided to have one more try at the cafe, Classified.  Sure enough, there it was, identified as a walking stick, not a "camera stick".  $40 better off it was a good night.

For those who are interested in birding stay tuned for a report on our visit to Mai Po WWF Reserve with guide John Holmes of Walk Hong Kong - a great guide who went out of his way to get us a total of 74 species for the day.

If you have any questions leave a comment.

Website: http://richardtwright.photoshelter.com