The first layer blurs the image horizontally, and the second one blurs it vertically. The filter in the D800 is actually two layers, surrounding the infrared filter.
This sample image from Maxmax shows the moiré effect that can result (look at the air conditioning vent in the sample from the camera with the filter removed):Īpples to apples: The Nikon D800 and Nikon D800eįor Nikon, removing the anti-aliasing filter in the D800 to create the D800e wasn’t quite as simple as it sounds.
Until you look at what happens when photographing a fine texture with a non-filtered sensor. With results like that, it’s hard to see why anyone would deliberately blur an image with a low-pass filter. Surprisingly, despite this obvious shortcoming, camera makers have stuck with the Bayer array for decades, mostly just telling their customers to live with the problem - most medium format digital backs don’t feature a low-pass filter, as they are designed for the highest possible resolution - or adding a filter which undoes some of the work they have put into sharp lenses and high-resolution sensors. Click-through for the full-resolution version if you dare - it is a mind-blowing 33MB JPEG.Īs background, the problem of moiré - named for a finely patterned French textile - arises when a photo subject has a repeated pattern that is fine enough so that each repetition falls on the sensor’s Bayer filter array slightly differently. You can almost see the detail from this D800e sample image drip off the screen. The truth is that there isn’t an easy answer, but fortunately, since this isn’t the first camera to go without the low-pass filter, there is a lot of data on exactly what the results will be to help buyers compare. This new option is causing a great deal of head-scratching among potential buyers as they attempt to decide which model is right for them. In something of a revolutionary move, Nikon is giving photographers an option to purchase their new 36MP Nikon D800 without the low-pass filter, in a model called the Nikon D800e. Now attention is turning to the D800’s sibling, the D800e. The higher pixel density also means that those craving the ultimate in low light performance will still be happier shelling out the money for the bigger, although lower resolution, D4. At 4 fps it doesn’t hold a candle to the 10 fps of the Nikon D4. Likely to instantly kill sales of any remaining Nikon D3X units priced at $7,999, just about the only “give-up” in the Nikon D800 is speed. The D800 is a unique blend of a full-frame camera with the pixel density of the very popular Nikon D7000 APS-C model, combined with many of the components of Nikon’s new flagship D4 - all at a price of $2,999, halfway between the D7000 and D4.
When Nikon introduced its new high-end DSLR the Nikon D800 this week, the initial buzz was all about its amazing 36MP resolution full-frame sensor, professional 1080p video capabilities like real-time HDMI output and headphone audio monitoring, and seemingly limitless upgrades to autofocus, metering, white balance detection, and processing speed. This filter is needed because camera sensors are checkerboards of red, green, and blue, causing them to create artifacts called moiré patterns on certain subjects with fine detail, unless they are smoothed out. So most photographers are surprised when they first learn that their expensive cameras have a built-in filter that deliberately blurs the image - technically a low-pass, or anti-aliasing (AA), filter that blocks very high frequencies - before it ever gets to the camera’s sensor. Declaring an image “tack sharp” is one of the highest compliments on the technical execution of an image. This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page.