Digital BW, The Print

Bert,
First Bert the D700 is a heck of a camera.. and that is no kidding.. In a word I'm tough on my equipment.. When shooting the Miles City Rodeo last year in 5 " of mud and rain for several days.. It just couldn't take it.. I trashed it.. Sent it in to Nikon and they resurrected it... Because of what I do I usually have 4 bodies working in any given year.. One happens to be the D700.. much more cost effective then the D3s.. but just not as sturdy.. 
So moving on.. I have both a D4 and a D800 coming .. The D800 is going to be a test for me.. primarily I'll use it a studio camera and am looking forward to the added MP and I'm assuming I can harness them to my expectations..If I can't it'll be gone.. The other side of it is I have discovered Video..I shoot a lot of wildlife and that is a big deal for me and has been for a long time.. Video out of these inexpensive boxes is getting accepted for national Television and so on..  So I see this as a natural transition for me.. As far as avoiding anything higher then 24MP.. well maybe not a bad idea.. might be smart to sit back and see. That's usually what I do...this time I'm jumping in.. but that's more about the video to be honest.. the rest well, we'll see.

jimbo
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Bert 
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2012 11:17 AM
  Subject: [Digital BW] Re: The megapixel issue - "again" and other issues


    
  All of the comments about the megapixel issue are appreciated. I am going to contact a friend of mine who owns a D700 and has a D800 on order. I will test out my workflow and cropping style with his D700.

  So Jimbo what is compelling you to go to a D800 if you have a D700 that you are happy with?

  I have a D200 and have been happy/productive with it. Lately I have decided I wanted to be able to crop images to a ratio of .8 instead of the default .66 of 35mm. That takes off 20% of the image file size so I assumed I had to compensate. Therefor I decided i would get the next upgrade to the D700 so I would have the latest. But the 36MP stunned me. I feel I do not need it. I do print up to 40 by 60" even from the D200. I have used a technique for 15 years before it even had the name that it is now called focus stacking. Once blended and stacked I cannot go back to the RAW files. Perhaps the blending of the multiple exposures into one layer allowed me to print such enlargements; who knows? Anyway my current thought is to avoid anything higher than 24MP.

  BertGF

  --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "mrjimbo" <mrjimbo@...> wrote:
  >
  > You might want to consider the D700 ..that a budget version of the D3.. I have one and am very very happy with it. 
  > 
  > jimbo
  > ----- Original Message ----- 
  > From: richardeskin 
  > To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
  > Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2012 7:12 AM
  > Subject: [Digital BW] Re: The megapixel issue - "again" and other issues
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > I haven't pre-ordered yet, but was waiting for the next round of new Nikons. D4 is just too expensive to justify. D800 seemed attractive at first, but now I too am having second thoughts and starting to think about the D7000 as an interim, and waiting for the next round from Nikon. I just don't print large enough to justify 36 mp. Perhaps more importantly, I think that low noise is more important to my images than tremendous resolution since it is unlikely I will routinely print larger than 16 x 20. Trying to follow this closely and waiting for actual reviews of image quality.
  > 
  > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Bert" <bertgf@> wrote:
  > >
  > > Jimbo,
  > > I am struggling with this issue also. I have pre-ordered the 36MP Nikon but am re-considering the need. Generally speaking it is a straight line function of 3 to translate the MP number to PSD size. So 36 goes to 108Mb 8 bit and 216Mb 16 bit. If I think of additional layers in that file my head begins to spin. I will need a new PC to process files of that size. And the storage requirements, they will be astronomical. I maintain 3 copies of every file; the third is in a bank vault. I have the Nikon D5100 with 16MP and I am not happy with it in some ways. It does allow all the cropping I need though. I always work on a tripod. I wonder what other features the Nikon D800 has that would compel me to keep it? What do you see in it for you? What is the other Nikon you have on order?
  > > 
  > > BertGF
  > > 
  > > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "mrjimbo" <mrjimbo@> wrote:
  > > >
  > > > Mel,
  > > > Well that is certainly one of the more interesting new camera's.. They are pretty impressive.. I'm sure that you'd be quite happy with it.. Plus have some fun.. A few things to think about.. These new sensors that are coming out with the higher MP rating will require us to make a greater effort to hold them still , I'm patiently waiting for two Nikon bodies.. and have already been going over pre release test files and prints from them.. One is a 36MP and the other 16MP.. So far the 16 MP is by far the better image.. Their is notably more noise in the 36 MP image and the captured tonality is much better in the smaller MP camera. So I'll be using the 36 in the studio locked down on a foba stand.. Both of these are FX chips.. The 36 is a Sony sensor and it wouldn't surprise me if the version that's in the Nex-7 is a downsized version of it.. So I don't know if your planning to hand hold or use a tripod.. I suggest that if your really after primo imagery you'll still need to lock that baby down which may or may not work for your shooting style..
  > > > So constructively given the image size you targeting you might be able to get by with less MP.. then 24.. say sweet 16 or 18 and that will give you more shooting freedom while taking care of your A3 size goal. I would see if you can get your hands on some files.. The hard part with that is you need something to compare it to unless you know what your looking for.. The other side of it is that these new guys are certainly better then our old tanks.... Anyway all I'm trying to say is that lots of MP isn't always the answer..... but it sure is nice .. 
  > > > 
  > > > jimbo
  > > >
  > >
  > 
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