D800E
The Nikon D800E is the second version of the camera and it is targeted at those who want to get the highest level of detail from the imaging sensor. It is essentially the same as the D800, but with the optical low-pass filter, otherwise known as the anti-aliasing filter, having been ‘cancelled’.
A low-pass filter is present in most digital cameras and blurs detail at the pixel level (to the slightest degree) to avoid moiré patterning and false colour. These blurring flaws are most noticeable in details such as fabric or the feathers of a bird. Removing the blurring effect caused by the filter increases the clarity and level of detail, although this is discernible only to the eagle-eyed.
In the D800E, instead of removing the low-pass filter, it is ‘cancelled’, which means the infrared blocking and reflective properties of the D800 and D800E are the same. In the D800, the low-pass filter has two layers: the first separates the image into two horizontally, while the second separates the image again, this time vertically.
In the D800E, however, the second layer instead cancels the horizontal separation by combining the image vertically. Those who shoot landscapes should consider this version of the camera, although it is around £300 more expensive at around £2,900.
