Compare Nikon D300 with D800

[johnog]

Hi all,
I have had a Nikon D300 with 18-200 Dx lens for some years and love it, but recently purchased a Nikon D800 with 28-300Fx lens. I took the same shot within minutes of each other setting the iso at 200 on both and the zoom at 200mm on both then uploaded from both to Photoshop elements 11. When I zoomed in on particular points on both shots I could find hardly any difference in the resolution.
I just wondered if I am missing something.
Johnog

 

[Braineack]

4,288 x 2,848px vs. 7,360 x 4,912px if both set to L.

 

[KmH]

Neither lens is as good as the cameras they are mounted on.

In other words the limiting factor is the less than top-of-the-line image quality the superzoom lenses you are using and not the two camera's resolution limits.

Try your test again with a better lens that is also an FX lens so it can be used on both cameras without the D800 going into DX mode.

 

[shadowlands]

You should notice improvements in "low light" performance for sure.
Shoot them both at ISO 3200 and or 6400 and then look.

 

[goodguy]

Neither lens is as good as the cameras they are mounted on.

In other words the limiting factor is the less than top-of-the-line image quality the superzoom lenses you are using and not the two camera's resolution limits.

Try your test again with a better lenses that is also an FX lens so it can be used on both cameras without the D800 going into DX mode.

Basically these lens are a bottleneck, get a good prime lens like the 85mm 1.8 or even the 50mm 1.8G and I am pretty sure you will see then the difference.

May I add that it took me a while to learn to see the difference between good picture and excellent picture, actually I am still learning, many times I got negative feedback here on the forum and I was scratching myhead trying to understand what is so bad.
Now when I look at these same pictures I see the flaws and problems immidiatly.

 

[johnog]

Thanks for advice Braineack, do you mean "L" as in Large file or "L" as in ISO?

 

[johnog]

Thanks for suggestion I’ll take it on board. I thought that after spending £700 ($950) on a "Nikon Nikkor AF-S G ED VR 28-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens" that I couldn't go wrong but then again it is a zoom as opposed to a fixed lens.

 

[johnog]

Thanks Shadowlands I'll do that at first opportunity

 

[Tailgunner]

Thanks for advice Braineack, do you mean "L" as in Large file or "L" as in ISO?

He's talking about file size. The D800 has larger files, so you need a hair more time downloading/uploading which isn't all that bad.

 

[KmH]

Thanks for advice Braineack, do you mean "L" as in Large file or "L" as in ISO?

The "L" refers to the image size. See Image Size - page 87 of your D800 user's manual, and page 60 of your D300 user's manual.

 

[jaomul]

D800 at 36mp and d300 at 12mp- when lens is at 200 on both isnt the d800 wider by 1.5 and higher by 1.5 so to look at same spot are you not dividing your resolution by a factor of 2.25, which isnt far off 12mp then so the res wouldn't be massively different. Take the same shot with both adjusting the lens on each to give the same field of view and you should notice a difference then

 

[coastalconn]

Right, to put it simple the d300 is 12 mp, the corresponding size on the d800 is 16mp. So if you took the same shot with the same lens at the same distance, resolution will be similar.. hope that makes sense, trying to type on my phone...

 

[RichieT]

I recently upgraded from the D300 to the D800 too. I also upgraded a couple of my DX lens to FX to better fit the D800. I also picked up the 28-300 as a walking around lens. The image quality of that lens on the D800 is about equal to the IQ of my old 18-135 on the D300. When I switched to the Nikon 24-70 (replacing the sigma 17-50DX) the IQ is head and shoulders above the D300. The same when I use my 85 1.4 or 105 2.8, so much better than on the D300. As was said before, you really do need good glass to go with the D800. Turns out, taking the plunge on the D800 was a lot more expensive than I thought, but well worth it.

 

[Patrice]

Thanks for suggestion I’ll take it on board. I thought that after spending £700 ($950) on a "Nikon Nikkor AF-S G ED VR 28-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens" that I couldn't go wrong but then again it is a zoom as opposed to a fixed lens.

Regardless of price that lens (28-300) is still a slow 10x zoom (frequently referred to as a super-zoom) with all of the image compromises associated therewith. Top quality Nikon (and Canon) zooms typically have a zoom range of about 2x to 3x: 14-24 f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8.

To get the maximum pixel peeping sharpness from your high resolution sensor you will have to get better glass. At regular viewing sizes and with well exposed images taken at your lens' mid apertures you'll be fine.

Moral of the story: don't pixel peep a consumer grade lens image.

 

[Tailgunner]

Thanks for suggestion I’ll take it on board. I thought that after spending £700 ($950) on a "Nikon Nikkor AF-S G ED VR 28-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens" that I couldn't go wrong but then again it is a zoom as opposed to a fixed lens.

Regardless of price that lens (28-300) is still a slow 10x zoom (frequently referred to as a super-zoom) with all of the image compromises associated therewith. Top quality Nikon (and Canon) zooms typically have a zoom range of about 2x to 3x: 14-24 f/2.8, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8.

To get the maximum pixel peeping sharpness from your high resolution sensor you will have to get better glass. At regular viewing sizes and with well exposed images taken at your lens' mid apertures you'll be fine.

Moral of the story: don't pixel peep a consumer grade lens image.

Agreed, consumer glass like the 18-200mm and 28-300mm are nice for chasing the kids around the house or misc trips when you don't want to carry a camera bag full of glass but you really need higher quality glass in order to realize the full potential of your new D800. Example: I would rent/buy and compare photos taken with a 28-70mm 2.8/24.70mm 2.8 Nikon. These are way faster glass that don't give up hardly any quality in order to fit a ton of zoom into one glass. If you're low on cash, check out the 24-85mm 3.5 Nikon kit lens.