Final verdict? You're kidding, right? Like asking the final verdict of "which makes me look worse, stripes or plaid".
I have the D800, not the E.
Honestly I think it matters little. From others' shots I have seen, Moire is infrequent, and fixable, and the E would be fine. From my own experience I can tell you it is the very rare shot where the resolution was the limiting factor - technique, lens, motion blur, focus - all of these need to be perfect before you would find that resolution caused by the AA filter would matter. The regular D800 has a mind blowing amount of detail in a frame.
I bought mine thinking I might do video, and that wasn't fixable in post as it is in stills, but from everything I read it also is not an issue due to how video is taken from the higher res sensor.
I am happy with the D800. If someone offered to swap me for an "E" right now for the extra $300 would I take it? Yes, I think so. But not for any good reason, frankly, and partly just to have a newer toy.
I have the D800, if you can tell me what the difference is, besides $400, I would be interested.
I love the camera and don't even know or understand what "moire", is.
Nikon should have concerned themselves with making sure they had ONE version available.
A truly inept and stupid rollout of a great camera.
Short version: Moire is an interaction of the patterns in the sensor and the patterns in the object photographed that causes (often) rainbow colored artifacts to appear where none exist in the visual image. Normal digital cameras avoid this by slightly bluring the image -- yes, almost all of today's cameras make the image less sharp. The "E" removes that artifical blur, but at the risk of introducing these artifacts in some patterned subjects, for example a far off brick wall, or fabric, fences, etc. I've heard people say it might affect feathers (and I worried a bit myself) but I have yet to see an example of it.
>>> Nikon should have concerned themselves with making sure they had ONE version available.
I think they did a good thing. They realized that the killer feature of this camera was additional resolution, and decided to offer it without the blur introduced by AA filters in the past. Then they rightly realized that it would cause some problems in some cases with "normal" shooters, so they offered both an AA and non-AA version of it.
In this respect they have been pretty clear - if in doubt, buy the D800 (non-E) and all is well. They positioned the E as a speciality camera.
>> A truly inept and stupid rollout of a great camera.
I think there is some truth to that in terms of how they handled availability, NPS orders, information provided to their retailers, etc. But in this regard, weeks before they were available there was ample information on the E vs. non-E version. Maybe not samples and user-comparisons of course, but at least they told everyone what it was all about, and why they did it.
I've had the D800E nearly a month. I ordered it with the purchase of a 600 f/4 lens in 2010. The dealer is the one I have used for 3 other camera bodies and 5 lenses since the order was placed.
I have nearly 3000 bird images from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, as well as macro, landscapes, events, and other general photography. I have not seen any moire on a single frame. I think the risk of moire is very small - and if you are a nature photographer it may never be an issue.
I have had moire show up in a couple of images from earlier cameras - most recently with the Nikon V1 which has an anti-aliasing filter. The moire was easily handled in post processing.
I have seen a couple of situations where moire was reported. One was a report of moire on the eye of a butterfly - but I never saw the image and never discussed it first hand. I have seen moire on one D800 image from a portrait shoot but it was created in a print during post processing and downsizing. There was no moire in the original image and the moire was removed by changing the sampling methodology in Lightroom.
The images from the D800E are amazingly sharp - far sharper than any other DSLR I have used. I can't speak to the D800 - I know it is also very sharp. My observation is the D800E is just a little sharper but both are beyond any earlier DSLR and into a new level of resolution.
I did not buy the camera for high ISO performance but it is quite good. I have some test images at ISO 6400 that show very little noise even at a 100% crop. And the amount of noise is easily handled in post processing.
I don't have a big issue with the rollout. I would have been first or second on the list for the D800 and was sitting on the sidelines as it was released. This is normal for any new DSLR or lens that is as popular as the D800/D800E.
Here is a sample image with the D800E and 600 f/4 AFS lens.
Here is a 100% crop on an ISO 6400 image. This has not had any sharpening or noise reduction applied. It is straight from the camera using the Standard picture control and converted in View NX2.
I've only recently received my D800 and I have to agree it is very sharp or rather the resolvable detail is incredible! Quite an amazing camera, I get to take it for a proper test run later this week as I have a few days in Wells Gray Provincial park. Hopefully some Osprey's and bears. The shots I have manage to grab have impressed the **** out of me. I think the success of the D800 for wildlife will depend on if you can time your shots for the moment you want. The fps is not fast so you can't spray and pray, but rather you need to pick you moments.
Nikon did get overwelmed with the response to this camera but considering what they had to deal with last year I think they did alright. As a society we have just become too used to instant gratification. I know I had lesson in patience ;-)
Nikon d 800
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