Today (Tuesday 7th February 2012) Nikon announced the simultaneous release of the D800 and D800E, these are essentially the same camera; the D800E removes the Anti-aliasing filter from the front of the sensor, theoretically delivering sharper images at the expense of introducing moire patterns in certain scenes.
The headlining feature of the camera is a 36.3 MP (effective) sensor! This is the highest pixel count of any sensor and trounces the competition including the company’s flagship pro-bodied D3X @ £5039 (and upcoming D4 @ £4800).
There are some overdue features too such as USB3.0, Dual memory slots (SD and CompactFlash), dedicated bracket button and video (the D700 had no video and rudimentary live-view). The new AF mode button has now been added to a third camera (D7000, D4 and now D800/D800E). The features go on from here.
For more details visits the Nikon (UK) website here.
As is usual, DPReview already have details (preview) of the new DSLR available, click here for their article.
And (as is becoming more and more common here in the UK), you can pre-order the D800 @ £2399 and D800E @ £2689 from places like Warehouse Express.
A few thoughts: I wonder why the D800E (with something removed) is more expensive than the D800? The maximum frame-rate of the camera is a disappointing 4 fps (not surprising really, moving 36MP worth of information onto the memory cards is no-mean feat); however in DX mode (a rather more useful 15.3 M) can reach 5 fps or 6 fps with the battery grip and higher-power battery source (just like the D700,D300 and D300s). This is now looking like a pro version of the D7000. The final thought is that the D300s is now looking like its really out of touch and now VERY old; could the upcoming replacement (D400?), be the D800 with a smaller DX sensor?
Christopher's Photo and Tech Blog 