The Waiting Game

So it begins. The Waiting.

But before I go on any further, I want to congratulate myself for a job well done! All the extra hours I managed to squeeze in at work paid off. With the preorder in place, I am guaranteed to get the Nikon D800 at its original SRP of NOK 22185 (body only). And the great thing is, I have already saved up enough to pay for it, plus the Nikon 50mm F1.4 G AF-S! And I didn't even have to allocate next month's overtime pay, summer vacation salary (yes, we have that in Norway) or my tax refund! Thank you college education!

So now I just have to sit back, and wait for my local dealer to have it in stock.

The big question is: how long? There are so many questions racing through my head that I can't sleep. How long before the first shipments to Norway arrive? How long is the preorder list at my dealer's? Do I have to wait for weeks? A few months? August? The suspense is driving me mad!

There have been a few reports of the D800 being available without preorder at some stores abroad. Apparently the popularity of the D800 varies greatly from country to country. And although it is much cheaper than the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, it is still one expensive camera! So I am hoping that the number of people (pro photographers and photography enthusiast like myself) who preordered in Norway don't amount to many.

So while waiting, I continue to browse the world-wide web for new information about the Nikon D800. It has started to ship in many countries now, and the reviews are slowly but surely starting to pour in. My new favorite digital photography community, DigitalRev, has already released to video reviews, one exclusive review of the Nikon D800, and a review comparing the Nikon D800 with its arch nemesis the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Both are worth checking out, as the opinions are honest and without bias. Even though these two cameras, like their respective manufacturers, are direct rivals, the cameras they made this year are so good that choosing one over the other really just comes down to a question of what your needs are.

If video reviews aren't your thing, Nasim Mansurov has published a great review of the Nikon D800 on his website. What makes this review great is that Nasim is a long time Nikon user and a professional photographer, a great one if I might ad. I am a great admirer of his work. And his review if based on how he uses the camera in the field as a professional photographer taking pictures for a living, and not as a pixel peeping techno-physicist-nerd.

I guess that's about it for tonight's blog post. You can bet your horses that I am keeping my mobile phone fully charged at all times, so as not to miss the SMS I will be getting from my dealer, telling me that my Nikon D800 is ready for pick up! I hope it will not be too long a wait.