Quote:
Originally Posted by glenerrolrd
Most Nikon users still consider the D3/D700 their benchmark ..so obviously they are appropriately wowed by the D800. And for sure the D800E looks to make my S2 seem a luxury .
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Hi All,
I certainly don't want to derail this thread since Tim has been generous and has taken an enormous amount of his time to provide the results of his testing of the 24-120 f4 VR lens on the D800 and to share his personal observations. My comments & thoughts regarding the performance of this lens are in a post above and in other threads on this forum.
With regards to the quoted comment above....
Initial accounts and extremely early and preliminary comparative images taken with the D800 and Pentax 645D, has them very close with the edge to subject detail going to the 645D. Of course there are so many variables to examine in future testing of these two system which would clearly delineate "image" advantages of both systems... but the point I am trying to make is that with the same type of early and preliminary testing, it also appears that the D800 also comes close in image quality in some respects to the S2 with the S2 presumably having the edge over the D800. Of course all these particular comparions are debatable. I would assume then if we extrapolate, then it stands to reason that the 645D and S2 in some respects are extremely close, image wise. Yet not often is this last comparison spoken of as them being close, as though they are in some ways much further apart than they might actually be (and it may be that they are, especially due to optical performance of the Leica lenses).
I'll be the first to say, that most of these image tests are simply images of flat field subjects, sometimes with as close to a matched set of similar performing lenses, sometimes not. Additionally rendering of subjects and presentation of their respective images of all three cameras as examined in large format prints also hasn't been carefully done as far as I know.
My thought is if "A" (D800) is image wise quite close to "B" (645D) and "A" (D800) is image wise quite close to "C" (S2), then why is it rarely mentioned that "B" (645D) image wise is close to "C"(S2) and the perception is they are (from an image standpoint) in a different class from each other? Is it assumed it is because the Pentax 645 system relies on older designed 645 lenses, mostly designed in the film era whereas the other two have recently designed state of the art "digital" lenses? This may be true but all these preliminary observations as I just mentioned, is with lenses set on their optimal apertures and the Pentax 645 held its own. Just food for thought regarding all these types of comparisons and whether they are fueling some to drop their current systems for some other, simply based on these early observations.
*** Note to Moderators. If this question belongs in a different thread, then I welcome it being moved. Tim's work on what is a very popular "walk around lens" as used on the D800, is too important to be overrun.
Dave (D&A)