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Writer's pictureIan Miller

On the STREET with a Nikon D800E

Updated: Oct 30

The Nikon D800E is a high-end DSLR camera with exceptional image quality, dynamic range, and resolution. It is designed for professional photographers who need to capture fine details and textures in their work. However, is it a good choice for street photography? Street photography is a genre that involves capturing candid moments of everyday life in urban settings. It requires a camera that is fast, discreet, and versatile. The Nikon D800E may not be the best option for this kind of photography for several reasons.

First, the Nikon D800E is a large and heavy camera that can attract unwanted attention and make it harder to blend in with the crowd. It weighs 900 grams without a lens and measures 146 x 123 x 82 mm. It also has a loud shutter sound that can alert people to your presence and ruin the spontaneity of the scene. A smaller and quieter camera, such as a mirrorless or a compact, may be more suitable for street photography.


Second, the Nikon D800E has a high-resolution sensor that produces large files that can fill up your memory card and slow down your workflow. The camera has a 36.3-megapixel sensor that can produce files of up to 75 MB in RAW format and 30 MB in JPEG format. This means that you will need more storage space and processing power to handle these files. Moreover, the high resolution may not be necessary for street photography, as you may not need to crop or print your images at large sizes.

Third, the Nikon D800E has a low-pass filter cancellation that can increase the risk of moiré and aliasing artefacts in your images. The low-pass filter is a device that reduces the sharpness of the image to prevent the appearance of false colours and patterns when photographing fine textures, such as fabrics or buildings. The Nikon D800E cancels this filter to enhance the sharpness and detail of the image, but this also makes it more prone to moiré and aliasing. These artefacts can be difficult to remove in post-processing and can ruin the aesthetic of your images.

In conclusion, the Nikon D800E is a remarkable camera that can deliver stunning results in many situations, but it may not be the best choice for street photography. It is bulky, noisy, and demanding, and it can cause unwanted artefacts in your images. You may want to consider other cameras that are more suited for street photography, such as the Fujifilm X100V, the Sony RX1R II, or the Ricoh GR III.


I love using my Nikon D800E for street photography. It's a powerful and versatile camera that can capture amazing details and colours in any lighting condition. Some people might think that it's too big or heavy for street photography, but I disagree. It's not that hard to carry around, and it gives me the confidence to shoot anything I see. Plus, it has a quiet shutter mode that lets me be discreet and not disturb the people or the scene.

I don't care what other people say about newer cameras being better. Sure, they might have some fancy features or higher resolution, but that doesn't mean they can take better pictures. The most important thing is the photographer, not the camera. The photographer has the vision, the creativity, the skill, and the passion to make an image come alive. The camera is just a tool, and a good photographer can make any camera work for them.

So, if you have a Nikon D800E, don't feel like you need to upgrade or switch to something else. It's a great camera that can do wonders for your street photography. Just go out there and enjoy the process of capturing the beauty and the stories of the streets.


***One of the standout features of the Nikon D800E is its optical low-pass filter (OLPF)-free design. By removing the OLPF, the D800E can achieve even greater sharpness and detail in images compared to the standard D800 model. This makes it particularly well-suited for photographers who prioritize maximum resolution and clarity in their images. The D800E's 36.3-megapixel sensor, coupled with the absence of the OLPF, results in incredibly sharp and detailed images that are ideal for landscape, architectural, and studio photography***.

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