It’s time for my anual reminder to everyone that the Nikon D800 still exists and is still a very good camera indeed.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve waxed lyrical about the D800 over the years, but even as it approaches its fourteenth birthday, I stand by my view that it’s one of the most overlooked cameras on the market for those who want to start taking their photography seriously. And best of all, with each passing year, the price plummets farther and farther.
At the time of writing, MPB is selling used D800 cameras from $304 to $519 / £224 to £309. Sure, the Expeed 3 is getting very long in the tooth, the 51-point AF system is sluggish by today’s standards, and the 4fps max burst speed is laughable.
But the D800 is a premium camera that cost around $3,000 / £2,600 upon its release back in 2012. While the majority of its specs place it way behind the pack now, it’s still got it where it really counts. To this day, the Nikon D800 still churns out gorgeous 36.3MP RAWs and boasts a bulletproof Japanese build.
Its autofocus shortcomings won’t make it overly appealing for action photographers – not that it ever was – and if you shoot video, forget it. But if you’re a landscape photographer, an architectural photographer, or a portrait photographer on a very tight budget, it could still offer you the foundation in which to build a career.
Heck, I cut my motorsport photography teeth using the Nikon D800, and there are images I captured on that camera that remain in my portfolio today. I’ve said it many times before, but you’re far better off compromising on the camera body – if it means you can spend more money on quality lenses – than you are investing everything into an expensive body and having to make do with a kit lens.
Casual photographers and enthusiasts can get by with a standard kit lens, but if you want to take your photography more seriously, specialize, become a student of the medium, or take on work, you’ll need to invest in lenses. And that’s the Nikon D800’s secret weapon. It’s a Nikon DSLR, and that means it’s built around the company’s long-standing F-mount.
Now that Nikon Z lenses and cameras have come of age, F-mount glass has plummeted in price. You can pick up professional-grade ‘trinity’ glass for hundreds rather than thousands of bucks. And I can promise you that a ‘holy trinity’ of f/2.8 DSLR zoom lenses will stand you in much better stead than a tip-top, all-singing, all-dancing mirrorless camera and a kit lens.
If you can find one on the cheap, the Nikon D800 is still a great camera. I know. I still use one!
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Want more D800 ramblings? I bought a used Nikon D800, and it made me laugh… but in a good way. Perhaps you're set on buying a mirrorless camera with D800 DNA? The Nikon Z8 is two years old, but I reckon it could remain in my kit bag for a decade AT LEAST. And if you want a really old camera, I bought the only film camera I’ll ever need: the Nikon FM is an SLR in its purest form.
