D800 wildlife write up

I appreciate Richards review as being very accurate and in synch with my own D800  findings so far with one surprising exception.

I was, and still am, very new to video shooting in general and DSLR video in specific.  For my fast moving sports and wildlife work AF has been a godsend.  With my deteriorating vision I do NOT trust my eyes for manual focusing and have relied on the camera's AF ever since the F5.  And that is for NON moving subjects, so you can sense how I feel about Nikon's AF for flying birds and moving sports.

So, when my D800 arrived I just went out and started shooting, withOUT a fluid video head and with my older, pro level, but PRE VR lenses.  Most specifically I wanted to see how the D800 in video would perform with my 600mm AF-S (no VR) lens.

The differences in AF from picture versus video mode were immediately apparent, complicated by the fact that I was only slowly working through the the complex, and quite different, options in both modes.

But to the point, when I discovered the "lock-on" mode in video....and shot windsurfers on the Columbia Gorge, running toward and away from me at 30 mph...with the complex wave action background....with the 600 mm....the results were, overall, quite excellent.  Once I locked onto a single subject and as long as I could keep them in the viewfinder the AF tracked THAT surfer for an entire run up to 30 seconds covering maybe half a mile quite well.  Not absolutely, 100% consistently perfect, but quite usable and acceptable, especially considering the primitive supporting equipment.

If people want I can post the video.  So, while in many other situations I agree with the characterization that the video AF can't track anything other than a sleeping slug or turtle (at least with the 600mm lens....haven't tried any other lens yet)....in SOME situations it has the potential to function surprisingly well.

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Peter Patricelli www.flyfishingfotography.com