Nikon D800 Launched: 36 MP Giant to Hit UK Soon

Nikon, the Japanese consumer electronics giant based in Tokyo,has announced the launch of its second full-frame DSLR camera model of the year - the Nikon D800.

The D800, which has the same-sized sensor as the D4 announced at January's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, U.S.A., will nevertheless be positioned below the latter model, at the high end of their products' pecking order. However, the D800 does offer significantly higher pixel resolutions than the D4 and is expected, according to Nikon themselves, to slowly phase the D700 out of circulation.

A PCWorld report described the D800 as being "built for huge prints, aggressive cropping and fashion shoots". The report also indicates the camera has a 36 megapixel camera (which is considerably more powerful than the D4's 16 megapixel unit). A Nikon press release added that the FX format (35.9mm x 24mm) is the largest the company has ever developed. Also according to Nikon, the D800 was built with wedding shoots, portraits and fashion spreads in mind.

Additionally, the higher resolution (7360x4912) means the level of detail on each picture should be correspondingly higher. In fact, compared to the D4, the D800 snaps only 4 frames per second. The D800 also comes with a pop-up flash unit, in addition to an external flash.

In terms of size, the D800 is 5.7in wide x 4.8in tall x 3.2in deep which is, again, smaller than the D4.

The D800 lives up to Nikon's reputation of being the sovereign ability to capture in low light thanks to the standard range of ISO 100-6400, expandable to 50 (Lo-1) and 25600 (Hi-2), which helps create gradient amazing colors when shooting JPEG or RAW.

Among other notable functions, the D800 has a virtual horizon that shows the degree to which the camera is tilted sideways (roll), or forward or backward (pitch) with appropriate display in the monitor and viewfinder. In addition, it has a new shutter unit that has passed testing for 200,000 cycles and supports a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000s and flash sync speed of 1/250s.

Finally, in a report from amateurphotographer.co.uk, it is learnt that the D800 will be available in the UK (initially it will be sold only in Japan) for £2,400 from March 22. Meanwhile, the D800's sister model - which dispenses with the imaging sensor's anti-aliasing filter, a modification that results in a "higher, more detailed resolving camera" Nikon explains - will arrive in the UK in April and be priced at around £2,600.