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NIKON'S NEWEST IS THE CURRENT REIGNING KING OF MEGAPIXELS
WHEN THE Nikon D700 hit the market in 2008, it fought off competition from Canon's EOS 5D Mark II with a much fancier autofocus system, a slightly faster burst rate, and comparable sensitivity settings. Despite its lower resolution (the Nikon's 12.1MP sensor trailed the Canon's 21.1MP), the D700 offered plenty of bang for the buck-with a popup f ash to top it all off.
Now Nikon's new D800 ($3,000, street, body only) leaps forward with a 36.3MP sensor that leaves Canon's EOS 5D Mark III (tested on page 73) playing resolution catch-up. But the D800 shoots at a slightly lower burst rate and produces more noise at very high ISOs than the 5D Mark III, which has smaller image f les and fewer pixels to contend with.
Are the D800's incredibly detailed images enough to make you forget about the Canon's charms? Ultimately, it depends on your priorities as a photographer.
IN THE TEST LAB
The Nikon D800 earned an Excellent rating in overall Image Quality from ISO 50 through ISO 800. The camera's limiting factor was noise: With its record-setting number of pixels (for a 24x36mm full-frame sensor) noise proves to be a challenge as sensitivity rises.
The benef t of all those pixels is the highest resolution we have seen yet from a 35mm-format DSLR. The D800 has enough resolution for an Excellent rating through all but its top ISO of 25,600. At ISO 50, it served up 3510 lines per picture height. That's almost 300 more than the Sony Alpha 900's 24.6MP sensor delivered at its lowest sensitivity of ISO 100. It's also more than Nikon's D3X, which turned in 3180 lines in the same test.
The D800 held resolution above 3000 lines all the way to ISO 3200, where it resolved 3330 lines. At ISO 6400 it fell to 2900, then 2720 at ISO 12,800, and 2470 at ISO 25,600. Even at its worst, the D800 out-resolves the D700 at its best-that camera delivered 2420 lines at ISO 100.
While the D800 managed to hold noise to a Low or better rating only up to ISO 800, it remained in acceptable territory up to ISO 3200. If you apply heavy noise...