I was able to work with and meet some insanely talented photographers throughout the 2017 wedding season and I hope to work with some of them again in the 2018 wedding season. I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep the other night (this is where I do my best thinking) and I was trying to figure out who was my favorite person to work with throughout the season and I kept coming back to someone that was with me every time I went out on a photo session; through stormy outdoor wedding ceremonies where I was huddled under one of my shoot through umbrellas to stay dry, freezing cold engagement sessions, and all over the united states multiple times.
This is someone I put tremendous confidence in every single session and has not even come close to letting me down. This is actually not a someone but a something. I am talking about my favorite camera of all time! My Nikon D800. I have been shooting with this body for over two years now and I know I am going to have it for plenty more. After working with a body for so long, it literally becomes an extension of my hand and I can adjust controls without even looking at it. I also know where every little button or menu item is making every movement efficient. This may not seem like a big deal but when I have to make a quick adjustment during the ceremony when I know the first kiss is about to happen, you have to be super fast and efficient.
Here are some specs if you’re into that kind of thing!
Effective Pixels (Megapixels)
36.3 million
Sensor Size
35.9 mm x 24 mm
Image Sensor Format
FX
ISO Sensitivity
ISO 100-6400
Lo-1 (ISO 50)
Hi-1 (ISO 12,800)
Hi-2 (ISO 25,600)
The lens that I have on this body 90% of the time is my favorite lens of all time. The Nikon 24-70 f2.8! This lens is amazing and produces some amazing images. No matter what camera body you have won’t mean anything if it doesn’t have a good lens on front of it and this one by far is one of the best that I have had the chance to use. The focal range is perfect for the candid images that I like to capture during getting ready shots and can go wide enough to fit even the largest family in for family photos with minimal distortion.
As far as build quality is concerned, this lens is built like a tank and is incredibly fast in low light conditions like old Chicago churches. Since it is a f2.8 lens, and has a rounded diaphragm opening (9 blades), it delivers incredibly beautiful images with silky smooth bokeh!
Here are some specs on this lens…
- Constant maximum aperture of f/2.8 at all focal lengths
- Enhanced optical formulas, engineered to produce exceptional sharpness, contrast and color, render outstanding image integrity
- ED (Extra-low dispersion) glass elements minimize chromatic aberration to deliver stunning sharpness and contrast
- Aspherical lenses including large-diameter PGM element eliminate various types of lens aberration even at the widest aperture
- Nano Crystal Coat virtually eliminates internal lens element reflections, effectively reducing ghosting and flare
- High-performance Nikon Super Integrated Coating offers superior color reproduction, while minimizing ghosting and flare
- IF (Internal Focusing) enables focusing without changing the length of lens barrel
- Nikon’s exclusive Silent Wave Motor for fast, quiet autofocus operation
- Rounded diaphragm opening (9 blades) makes out-of-focus elements appear more natural
- 15 elements in 11 groups (with 3 ED glass elements, 3 aspherical lenses and one Nano Crystal Coat)
This is one camera body that is going to be hard to replace but honestly I don’t see it happening to soon. On every photo session I a second body on me at all times usually with lens that has a different focal range but I know without a doubt that the D800 will never let me down. I take my job very seriously so I would never invest in gear that I am unsure of and that is the main reason why I go with a camera body as burly and well built as this one. I do have my eyes on the Nikon D850 for next season but we will see!