For the past four weeks I’ve been on the road, traveling in parts of the world where there has either not been any Internet connection at all, or only a dialup connection which was so slow and flaky that I could barely check for email, let alone post to this blog.  Yes, to all you digitally connected and addicted people, there really are many such locations around this planet.

Now I’m home for a short while, and in the backlog of emails I’ve discovered several (five, to be precise) almost identical messages.  Let me quote part of one:

I’m going to purchase a Nikon D800E.  What lens should I buy?  I want to purchase the best all-around lens.

Wow!  I would stongly suggest that if you have to ask that question about a lens, you should definitely first think twice about the camera purchase.  The D800/800E bodies are, in my opinion, specialized cameras for specialized applications.  They are not general purpose bodies.  Why do you need so many megapixels?  Tell me the truth, do you really make large prints?  How large and how often?  Do you always use a tripod?  Do you own a tripod?  Are you shooting RAW?  Or do you primarily post images to the Web, where a “large” image is around 800 pixels in the long dimension?  Before you purchase the camera body, you need to define exactly why that particular body, of all cameras, is the best choice for you.  What are your criteria?  Specifically, how will a D800 make you a better photographer?

Asking me what lens to buy is a pointless question.  How am I supposed to know what subjects you want to photograph, what your budget is, what lenses you already own (or if you indeed do already own any lenses)?  And I have no idea what an “all-around lens” is, let along which one is the best.  The best lens for wildlife is certainly not the best lens for architecture, while the best lens for architecture is probably not the best lens for portraiture, and the best lens for portraiture is most likely not the best lens for macro work.  Actually only one lens fits the “best all-around” bill, the mythical Nikon 15-600mm f/2.8 eight stop VR, macro focusing, levitating, voice activated, postitive AF…you know, the one with a $5 list price.  Oh, wait a moment, I just heard it was being replaced with an improved 12-800mm version which will be free.  Yeah, right.

I’ve gotten quite a few emails over the last several months asking about the cameras I currently use, the Nikon D4 and D800E.  One specific question was why I switched from my previous D3s and D3x bodies.

Let me start with the D4.  I do believe this is ergonomically the best camera I’ve ever handled.  It fits my hands, and, for me, all the control buttons and dials fall in the right places.  I definitely like all the little tweaks Nikon did, compared to the D3 series of bodies, such as how the AF patterns are selected, or how auto-ISO is turned on and off, plus I’m happy to get the increase in megapixels.  But to be honest, part of my decision to get the D4 was an encounter I had late last year in the sub-Antarctic with an ill-tempered male southern fur seal.  Just let me say that salt water and electronic cameras do not go well together.  The bad news from Nikon repair:  the camera was beyond resuscitation.  OK, but then what to do?  I knew the D4 was going to be available shortly, as the internet was rife with rumors.  So…purchase a replacement D3s, or wait a few months and buy a D4 and get newer technology?  The price differential was not too great (hey, after the first several thousand dollars, what’s another $500 or so?) and yes, I purchase my cameras retail just like everyone else does.  My conclusion was to go for the latest and greatest.

But why get a D4 at all?  The answer lies in the subjects I photograph and where I photograph them.  I do enough wildlife work that I want a fast motor drive, and I often work in far off locations, including under some extreme weather conditions, that I need a rugged pro camera (and, given what happened, perhaps a fur seal repulsion unit also).

As to the D800E, it offered four features that I wanted:  a self-cleaning sensor (perhaps it was just me, but my D3x sensor always seemed to be a dust magnet), better high ISO performance, more dynamic range, and, yes, more megapixels yielding a larger file size.  For me, that last point becomes important for advertising photo use, and for sales of large prints.  I also liked the smaller size and less weight of the camera, compared to the D3x; consequently I was not interested in the add-on battery grip.  And, given the price of the D800E, I could sell my good condition D3x, purchase the D800E, and still have a few dollars left over.

You might note that video capability played no role in my choices.  I don’t do video.  I’m just not interested in shooting it.

In short, my camera choices can be summed up as “D4 action camera,” and “D800E landscape camera.”  Please note that this was a business decision for me, since I make my living with my cameras.  I’m certainly not suggesting that you ought to make these purchases.

Am I happy with the newer cameras?  Absolutely.  Any problems with either of them?  None whatsoever.  Anything I would like to change?  Sure, I wish they both took the same model battery so I didn’t have to carry two chargers.  Any advice for readers of this blog?  Be careful of southern fur seals, especially one really mean male who apparently doesn’t like photographers.