The Nikon D810 is a 36.3-

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...

professional-grade full-frame

digital single-lens reflex camera A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between ...

produced by

Nikon (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...

. The camera was officially announced in June 2014, and became available in July 2014. Compared to the former D800/

D800E The Nikon D800 is a 36.3-megapixel professional-grade full-frame digital single-lens reflex camera produced by Nikon Corporation. It was given a Gold Award by Digital Photography Review. It was officially announced on February 7, 2012 and went o ...

it offers an

image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of c ...

with a base sensitivity of ISO 64 and extended range of ISO 32 to 51,200, an Expeed processor with

noise reduction Noise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal. Noise reduction techniques exist for audio and images. Noise reduction algorithms may distort the signal to some degree. Noise rejection is the ability of a circuit to isolate an u ...

with claimed 1 stop noise improvement, doubled buffer size, increased

frame rate Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images ( frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ...

and extended

battery life An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negati ...

, improved

autofocus An autofocus (or AF) optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system ...

– now similar to the D4S, improved video with

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...

60 fps and many software improvements. The D810 was succeeded by the

Nikon D850 The Nikon D850 is a professional-grade full-frame digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) produced by Nikon. The camera was officially announced on July 25, 2017 (the 100th anniversary of Nikon's founding), launched on August 24, 2017, and firs ...

in August 2017 and was listed as discontinued in December 2019.

Features

* New 37.09

(36.3 effective) full-frame (35.9×24 mm) sensor with sensitivity of ISO 64–12,800 (ISO 32–51,200 boost) and no

optical low-pass filter An anti-aliasing filter (AAF) is a filter used before a signal sampler to restrict the bandwidth of a signal to satisfy the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem over the band of interest. Since the theorem states that unambiguous reconstructio ...

(OLPF,

anti-aliasing filter An anti-aliasing filter (AAF) is a filter used before a signal sampler to restrict the bandwidth of a signal to satisfy the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem over the band of interest. Since the theorem states that unambiguous reconstruct ...

) **Improved microlenses with increased light gathering * Nikon Expeed 4 image processor with improved

, moiré (

aliasing In signal processing and related disciplines, aliasing is an effect that causes different signals to become indistinguishable (or ''aliases'' of one another) when sampled. It also often refers to the distortion or artifact that results when ...

) reduction and increased battery life to 1200 shots / 40 minutes video notwithstanding 30% higher speed **Roughly doubled buffer size of D800/D800E **

Frame rate Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images ( frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ...

(photo) increased to 5 fps FX (full-frame, DX up to 7 fps). Videos up to

60p / 50p fps **Simultaneous video recoding on external recorder (

uncompressed video Uncompressed video is digital video that either has never been compressed or was generated by decompressing previously compressed digital video. It is commonly used by video cameras, video monitors, video recording devices (including general-purp ...

, clean HDMI; up to 1080p60) and compressed on

memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...

Autofocus An autofocus (or AF) optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system ...

equivalent to D4S, also Group Area mode: uses five AF sensors together. Face-detection switchable with custom settings * Highlight-weighted metering preventing blown highlights or underexposed shadows. Also Highlight Display with Zebra Stripes and full aperture metering during live view and video *

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

/ carbon fiber composite shutter with reduced lag, vibrations and shutter noise. Redesigned Sequencer / Balancer Mechanism for Quiet and Quiet Continuous modes **Electronic front curtain shutter for further reduced vibrations enabling higher resolutions *

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...

viewfinder In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...

display *

Timelapse Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus ...

up to 9,999 frames, additionally timelapse videos. Timelapse / Interval Timer Exposure Smoothing *Customizable 'Picture Control 2.0' options: Flat affecting dynamic range (preserve highlights and shadows), Clarity affecting details. Other settings affecting exposure, white balance, sharpness, brightness, saturation, hue; allowing custom curves to be created, edited, saved, exported and imported *3.2" 1229k-dot ( RGBW, four dots per pixel: extra white dot)

VGA Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can now ...

LCD display with "Split-screen display zoom" function * USB 3.0, HDMI C (mini), Nikon 10-Pin interfaces and 3.5 mm / 1/8″ stereo headphone + 3.5 mm / 1/8″ stereo microphone connectors *"Superior" resistance to dust and water (Nikon claim)

Accessories

* Nikon WT-4/WT-4A or WT-5/WT-5A (also UT-1 network) Wireless Transmitter for WLAN. Third-party solutions available. * Nikon

Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such ...

or third-party solutions. * Nikon GP-1 or GP-1A GPS Unit for direct GPS

geotagging Geotagging, or GeoTagging, is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as a geotagged photograph or video, websites, SMS messages, QR Codes or RSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. This data u ...

. Third-party solutions partly with three-axis

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

, data-logger,

bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

and support for indoor use are available from Solmeta, Dawn, Easytag, Foolography, Gisteq and Phottix. See comparisons/reviews. * Nikon Battery grip or third-party solutions * Various Nikon Speedlight or third-party flash units. Also working as commander for Nikon Creative Lighting System wireless (slave) flash. : Third-party radio (wireless) flash control triggers * Tethered shooting with Nikon Camera Control Pro 2, third-party solutions or open-source software and apps * Other accessories from Nikon and third parties, including protective cases and bags, eyepiece adapters and correction lenses, and underwater housings. * Nikon D810 animator's kit including the AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G, Dragonframe 3.5 software, power supply and cables * Nikon D810 DSLR Filmmaker's Kit including three fast prime lenses, a portable

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controlle ...

recorder using "Pro" codecs, but not capable for storing

, ME-1 Stereo Microphone, filters, batteries and cables

Reception

At the time of its release, the Nikon D810 became the Dxomark image sensor leader ahead of the

Nikon D800E The Nikon D800 is a 36.3-megapixel professional-grade full-frame digital single-lens reflex camera produced by Nikon Corporation. It was given a Gold Award by Digital Photography Review. It was officially announced on February 7, 2012 and went o ...

and received many reviews.

Service advisory

On August 19, 2014, Nikon acknowledged a problem reported by some users, of bright spots appearing in long-exposure photographs, as well as "in some images captured at an Image area setting of 1.2× (30×20)." Existing owners of D810 cameras were asked to visit a website to determine whether their camera could be affected, on the basis of serial numbers. Repairs would be made by Nikon free of charge. If bright spots still appear in images after servicing, Nikon recommends enabling Long exposure NR. Products already serviced have a black dot inside the tripod socket.https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/61871

Nikon D810A

An astrophotography variant with a special infrared filter capable of deep red / near infrared and with special software tweaks like long-exposure modes up to 15 minutes, virtual horizon indicator and a special Astro Noise Reduction software was announced February 10, 2015. The D810A's IR filter is optimized for

H-alpha H-alpha (Hα) is a specific deep-red visible spectral line A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared wit ...

(Hα) red tones, resulting in four times greater sensitivity to the 656 nm wavelength than the D810. In comparison, Canon's astrophotography DSLRs 20Da and 60Da Hα sensitivity was 2.5 times and 3 times (respectively) more than the standard 20D / 60D. The D810A additionally has 1.39 stops advantage due to the larger

image sensor format In digital photography, the image sensor format is the shape and size of the image sensor. The image sensor format of a digital camera determines the angle of view of a particular lens when used with a particular sensor. Because the image se ...

resulting in better than 2 stops sensitivity advantage giving over four times faster exposure times compared to the Canon 20Da/60Da. Although the D810A can be used for normal photography, due to the deep red / near infrared sensitivity the in-camera

white balance In photography and image processing, color balance is the global adjustment of the intensities of the colors (typically red, green, and blue primary colors). An important goal of this adjustment is to render specific colors – particularly neu ...

may fail in case of fluorescent light or difficult cases with very strong infrared light requiring an external infrared filter. Nikon published an D810A astrophotography guide that recommends live view focusing with 23× enlarged selected areas and a gallery showing the mostly small effects to the color reproduction in "normal" photos. A review concludes that especially the D810A

long exposure Long-exposure, time-exposure, or slow-shutter photography involves using a long-duration shutter speed to sharply capture the stationary elements of images while blurring, smearing, or obscuring the moving elements. Long-exposure photography ...

noise is superior compared to the D800E and other Nikon fullframes, and shows effects of the increased H-alpha sensitivity.

Color balance In photography and image processing, color balance is the global adjustment of the intensities of the colors (typically red, green, and blue primary colors). An important goal of this adjustment is to render specific colors – particularly ne ...

of "normal" photos seems mostly correct, except comparatively hotter objects with strong infrared radiation and a bit more purple in

sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spr ...

s.Fotograf Göran Strand: Nikon D810A Review
Astrofotografen

Features

Accessories

Reception

Service advisory

Nikon D810A

References

External links