Nikon D810 Review

by Mark Bailey

The D810 came on the heels of the well received and critically acclaimed Nikon D800 and D800E cameras. It has 36.3 megapixels, like its predecessors, but Nikon does more by combining the functions of the preceding two into one camera body, the Nikon D810.

The Nikon810 possesses a new sensor with an expanded native ISO range and also comes with better improvements generally.

This full frame camera is all you need a DSLR to be and a delight to camera enthusiasts.

Features

The D810’s ISO 64 mode is an improvement on the D800 and D800E’s impressive RAW dynamic range. The mirror mechanism is redesigned to reduce image softening mirror slap and the continuous auto focus algorithms are also redefined. The D810 is also made with an electronic front curtain shutter which makes its images sharp when in MUP mode.

The D810 offers quite a number of lens options on the Nikon F mount. You may get a Depth of field preview and also get to customise the function buttons. There is an assist lamp that works for when the light is low. Also present are stereo mics, lever to choose between auto focus and manual focus and remote terminals. In addition, there is a button to open the flash and another that allows for several shots to be taken in quick succession using different settings.

It might not be the most delicately beautiful camera but the D810 does take breathtaking pictures. The grip is also impressive as there is space for even those with large hands. It has a two layer dial that has keys that is used to control white balance, quality, metering and ISO. The ISO range is 32 to 51,200.The D810 uses the EXPEED 4 processor and takes faster shots than its predecessors. It has a built in flash, an advanced Multi Cam 3500FX with a Group area Auto Focus system and an AF detection of up to f/8 with 9 focus points.

The 36.3 Megapixels Nikkon D810 supports RAW, JPEG and TIFF files and also has a 3D colour Matrix Meter III. It possesses a self-diagnostic shutter and you may record videos in full 1080p HD @60fps max.

With a dimension of 146x123x82mm, the Nikkon D810 is built with magnesium alloy and has a weight of 880g. It is well protected against the rain, dust and weather generally. The LCD screen is 3.2 inch diagonal with 1,229 dots.

It has a standard USB port, two memory card slot ports. It uses the EN-EL15 battery and you can enjoy up to 1200 shots on a single charge.

Overview

The Nikon D810 comes up strong in a number of different places such as making it possible to shoot under difficult weather conditions and the viewfinder making it very easy to focus on what one wants to shoot. The absence of anti-aliasing filter also makes it possible for it to take impressively sharp images. Another lovely feature is the presence of the LiveView option like in most cameras of the same calibre; it is however disappointing that there is no built in WIFI option which would have made remote picture sharing much easier. It also doesn’t have a built in GPS which would have helped with keeping tags on the places where images where taken.

The WiFi and GPS can be attached externally if you don’t care that the Nikon D810 is already bulky on its own.

On the whole, if you are serious photographer that is about taking beautiful sharp images under whatever weather condition, the Nikon D810 is perfect for you; highly rugged and customisable to  shoot landscapes, adventures and portraits.

It costs around £2,5590 at MSRP to get one, and once you get familiar with all the buttons, you wouldn’t regret your purchase.

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