Now that both the Nikon D800 and Nikon D800E are available, many of our readers are wondering which one to get. In this Nikon D800 vs D800E article, I will explain differences between the two cameras and talk about which camera to buy for which situation. Both cameras are identical, except for one major difference, which is why there is a price difference: the Nikon D800 has an anti-aliasing filter, while the Nikon D800E does not. In short, an anti-aliasing filter effectively removes Moiré (see below on what Moiré is), so the Nikon D800 will not have any problems with it, while the Nikon D800E cannot deal with it, so you will have to deal with it in post-processing.
What is Moiré?
Moiré pattern occurs when a scene or an object that is being photographed contains repetitive details (such as lines, dots, etc) that exceed the sensor resolution. As a result, the camera produces a strange-looking wavy pattern as seen below:
(Image courtesy of photo.net)
See how noticeable the moiré pattern is on the jacket? That’s moiré for you, at its worst. Moiré is almost never seen in nature, but is very common in everyday objects and items around us – you might see it in all kinds of fabric, straight hair, architecture, etc. You might have even seen it on your television. In photography, moiré happens mostly because of the way light reaches the sensor and how the sensor interprets the light through the bayer interpolation filter.
While there are methods to effectively reduce moiré, there is no easy way to completely remove it in post-processing software. Lightroom 4 will ship with a moiré reduction tool and Nikon will also ship its next version of Capture NX with built-in moiré reduction functionality, but neither one will be able to fully get rid of the worst moiré pattern occurrences.
Here is a real comparison between the Nikon D800 and D800E, which clearly shows Moiré on the Nikon D800E (Image courtesy of Nikon):
What is an anti-aliasing filter?
An anti-aliasing filter, also known as a “low-pass” or “blur” filter, was designed by camera manufacturers to eliminate the problem of moiré by blurring what actually reaches the sensor. While extreme details are lost in the process, the problem of moiré is completely resolved. Since most cameras are designed to be used for day-to-day photography, where moiré pattern is very common, most cameras on the market today use an anti-aliasing filter. While this surely benefits most photographers out there, it is a big blow on landscape photographers that never see moiré and yet end up with blurred details. Because of this problem, some companies on the market started specializing in removing the AA filter from modern DSLR cameras, specifically targeting landscape photographers. Most digital medium-format and some high-end cameras do not have an AA filter, because they want to deliver the best performance from their sensors. While those cameras are affected by moiré, manufacturers leave it up to the photographer to decide on how to avoid it or deal with it in post-processing.
Both the D800 and the D800E have low-pass filters, but they behave differently. Typical Nikon low-pass filters actually contain of 3 different layers, as shown on the top illustration below:
As light rays reach the first “horizontal low-pass filter”, they get split in two, horizontally. Next, they go through an infrared absorption filter (illustrated in green color). After that, the light rays go through the “second vertical low-pass filter”, which further splits the light rays vertically. This light ray conversion process essentially causes blurring of the details.
Now with the Nikon D800E model, Nikon took an interesting approach. We know that the full low-pass filter cannot be completely removed, because it would cause the focal plane to move; plus, the camera still needs to be able to reflect infrared light rays. Instead of making a single filter with one layer, Nikon decided to still use three layers, but with two layers canceling each other out. As light rays get split into two with a vertical low-pass filter, then through the IR absorption filter, those same light rays get converged back when passing through a reversed vertical low-pass filter. Hence, instead of getting blurred details as in the first illustration, we get the full resolution.
I am not sure if the above method is the best way to deal with the issue, but I suspect that Nikon decided to take this route for cost reasons. It would probably be more expensive to produce a single IR absorption filter layer coated on both sides, than continue to use the same layers, but in a different configuration.
Here is a sharpness comparison between the Nikon D800 and D800E (Image courtesy of Nikon):
Nikon D800 vs D800E – which one to get
Nikon is now giving us the option to choose between two versions of the Nikon D800 camera – the regular model, D800, which has an AA filter, and the D800E that has no AA filter. So, which one should you buy? If you are a portrait/fashion/studio/architectural/bird photographer, then get the Nikon D800 – you would be better off with an AA filter. If you are a landscape or a macro photographer, then you should get the Nikon D800E to get the maximum detail out of the high-quality 36.3 MP sensor.
Sy memakai nikon D800,tapi lensa yg sy pasang afd 50mm apsc
apa memang tdk bisa se detail laensa Nano ya….?
Nasim,
The fact that Nikon has been removing AA filter recently from many cameras (D7100, D5300, D810, etc.) seems to suggest that moire is less of an issue now.
From that, and from the fact that Nikon put AA filter into its recent D750 seems to show that they crippled the D750 on purpose.
It tilts me to no end that they are doing this. I was consider buying it, but I cannot now. I won’t be buying an intentionally crippled camera.
Thanks for your test which showed that there is a dofference in sharpness so that this is an actual issue…
I have owned a D800 for 2 years and this DSLR is my all time favorite but it seems photos taken with my 35mm f1.4 G and 70-200mm f2.8 VR ii look better than those taken with my former 60mm f2.8G – which was a useful focal length and my least expensive lens. I have been saving up/planning to buy a second body and maybe another lens, before the price increase and/or announcement of the discontinuation of the D800/D800e. I now ask, can I expect better results with the 60mm f2.8 G used with the D800e?
I got D800 mainly for my portrait photography. Because of the large files I do not want to use this camera for my wedding photography. I only get anywhere from 50 – 70 images from my family or senior session, so it’s a lot quicker to add them to my Lightroom. But I do like the idea that I an get closer with a crop without losing any details.
To all people who have not used camera’s without a low pass filter, I have never had an issue with my Leica or now my d800e. If you see any noticeable moire in your preview of the shot, move back or forward one step or tilt your camera(forward or back) and take the shot again and it’s gone. Moire is not that common of an occurrence is most types of photography. Unless you are taking pictures of man made fabrics with patterns up close or thru a window screen up close. In architecture and water shots if you take a raw photo it is pretty ease to remove in post processing. Also I have posted and I have seen a few great postings of pictures taken with the d800 and d800e both showing moire preprocessing and after processing of the raw d800e it has much more detail while removing the moire from the d800 has not much left to work with. Low pass filters are a catch 22 they can help if they are strong enough but also can kill your image. That is why almost no medium format camera used in fashion photography have a low pass filter. No need, move over a step and its gone. The d800 from my uses of it has a weak low pass filter and does show moire to lesser extent in every image that the d800e does. The photo of the fabric above was taken at a different angle on purpose for effect, I bet no moire was present in either at the same angle. The major difference is the d800e has some detail left when the moire is removed. I also notice the d800e has a lot more detail in shadow areas than the d800. I recently donated my d800 to a local school for their photo classes, I enjoy the d800e and look forward to more mainstream cameras removing the low pass filter. I understand it was an issue when you had only 12 megapixels in a full frame camera but with 36 crammed in there, moire creeps up a lot less. The pattern needs to be smaller and repetitive on the same plane as the lines in the sensor so with smaller pixels less moire. Good luck in your choice but I wouldn’t run away from the d800e, it even works great with just chasing around the kids in the back yard, a lot easier than my leaf credo with a 40mp back, which I think no longer has a big edge to the much cheaper d800e, about 6 times cheaper, also no low pass filter.
Hello…I’m a little confused. The camera shop told me the only difference between the d800e and d800 can be eliminated through photoshop, etc.
I know they have same sensor; however, I thought the E model was more than a ‘difference in software’…..
Tempe Camera told me the difference is that the E model processes it during the photo….to gain the ‘sharpness’ in the standard 800, one simply needs to put in some work with the correct software.
That doesn’t make sense to me….I like macro, micro, architecture and portrait/landscape.
I’ll give the person you spoke to at Tempe Camera the benefit of the doubt.
There is a difference in the low pass filter between the D800 and D800E. The difference is explained in the article above. The difference makes the D800 images slightly softer – but this is difficult to see without magnification beyond a normal print.
By sharpening more aggressively, you can take a typical image with the D800 and achieve a level of sharpness that is hard to distinguish from the D800E. There are plenty of programs that can do this. It’s just a little more sharpening.
In the event you need maximum resolution – for a large print or to support other editing, the D800E has a little added detail. Rather than sharpening, you might be using this to crop, edit, or apply a specific effect.
I’ll add that lens tests using tools like FoCal show a significantly difference in resolution favoring the D800E. The magnitude of this difference is much like the difference between using your sharpest aperture or focal length and another average aperture (or a good lens vs. a great lens), so it’s not a show stopper but it is measurable.
So rather than say the two cameras are the same, its more correct to say that the difference won’t make much difference in most images and can be addressed through sharpening. But there is more detail in the D800E and there are different ways the increased resolution can be used.
There is nothing wrong with using a D800 and it’s better in some circumstances (like video where moire is a show stopper). It’s still one of the sharpest cameras on the market. Both of these cameras perform better when you are using lenses that can resolve the added resolution, so don’t expect an average zoom to show a difference. The payoff on the D800E is highest when you want no compromises on resolution.
I have the Nikon D800E and love it. No moire at all! Amazing studio camera with ultimate resolution and detail. With the new Nikon D7100 with 24mp, it seems to me nikon is making more cameras with low pass filter and higher resolution. That’s what I’ve always been waiting for. Many people say you don’t need more pixels and need that low pass filter to control moire, I say, yes you do. Who wouldn’t like to have sharper images and with more resolution. big file size? I don’t care. I care about my images not memory space. I shoot portrait with D800E and haven’t had a single problem with textures and all that moire none sense. I can tell you i get moire with my nikon D7000 sometimes. Maybe they removed the anti aliasing filter on my d7000 by accident? And put the anti aliasing filter on my D800E?
Hi Nasim,
First of all I’ ll say that I admire this site, it is very helpful indeed. I’ d like you advise me about D800 vs D800E.
I love landscape and wildlife photography, especially birds, but also more general photography when traveling with my family to visit other countries on holiday. My initial idea is shooting not only in RAW, but also in JPEG for general and holiday photography in order to save storage in the memory card.
Resolution is higher in JPEG files in D800E (according to DPReview), but to shoot birds and their feathers specifically moire can be a problem. What camera do you think would be better if I want it to photograph birds but reaching the best resolution and save storage as well?
Thanks for your work Nasim.
You say Nikon D800 and Nikon D800E are identical cameras and only one difference is in one moire filter.So logically Nikon D800 (with this extra filter) should be more expensive than Nikon D800E but there is opposite . Why? Valery.
The D800E is roughly the same, but a part of the antialiasing filter is removed and replaced with another filter of a different design to counteract the anti-aliasing filter. I would assume teh design is a modification to a D800 with a low volume custom part. The incremental cost is about 2/3 what it would cost to remove the anti-aliasing filter and replace it with optical glass at someplace like LifePixel.
hi
I want cameras to photograph weddings Are d800 or d800e