jimalexander45 Loc: Napa Valley

I recently sold my D700 and purchased a D810. I am primarily a Landscape Photographer. The D810 is set up perfectly in Shooting Menu A for Landscape work on a tripod. However, I am now planning an extensive road trip and I want to have the freedom to shoot hand held and snap away like I used to with my D700. I feel like giving up the D700 has caused me to lose that freedom to snap away due to my Pixel Envy. Question: What would you do to "dumb down" my D810 to be a worthy travel companion and not worry about hand held blur.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

What need is there to dumb down anything??? If you use exactly the same techniques with the D810 that worked with the D700 your results at the worst will still be better!

If you do learn better technique (not how to dumb down a D810) what happens is that you can benefit even more from the capabilities of the D810 and get images the D700 could only dream of.

Not in any particular order, but consider being sure you have pro grade lenses, make sure you know when to enable/disable VR, learn good hand holding techniques and possibly when to use a monopod, and perhaps learn more about the relationship between shutter speed and image quality (and use of Shutter Priority as well as Auto ISO).

It actually amounts to "smarten up" the camera operator! : - )

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

I did almost exactly the same thing. I had a D300s and D700 and in January 2016 sold both to acquire a D810. I also shoot mostly landscape and have travelled extensively. The D810 has been to Havana twice, Africa, Aruba, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. I have used the 4 custom shooting menus to set up for Landscape/Action/Portrait/Point&Shoot and select the appropriate bank when shooting. It works like a charm.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

I have shot for years with my D800, handheld and tripod, with no blur. I'm not sure why you think you would have blur because it is a D810 or would have to "dumb down" the camera, whatever that means. Blur is not about the camera but the photographer, either the person is shaky or has not set the camera correctly or perhaps there is wind against the lens. The D800 has about a 7-stop dynamic range and is great with low-light shooting, thus you can use a high ISO without a great deal of noise if the lighting is good. Set the aperture or shutter, whichever, and then use ISO to correct as needed. Auto-ISO sometimes does a great job if you are going into buildings and then outside and taking shots in both places. You can set the top limit to the ISO setting. Or, of course you can use the manual setting and then use the ISO the same way. If you are using VR lenses you have more leeway for camera settings, generally about two stops. Also, check that your lens setting does not exceed the camera settings: matching the shutter speed and focal length will help to increase clarity of the image. Longer focal lengths require a faster shutter speed so consider that when shooting. Try staying at 1/200 or above, depending on the conditions and image. You might need to shoot much faster. Prop the camera on something or lean against something to steady yourself. There are many online tips to help you with this.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You should be able to set up the D810 to do exactly what the D700 did.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

I suppose the ultimate in "dumbing down" a camera would be to use manual mode, one ISO setting and manual focusing. I'm sure there are 2-3 mpx cameras (or 65+ year old film cameras, like mine) on the market that would do that for you, but, for the life of me, I cannot understand spending so much on a camera and then not learning to use its features. Don't "dumb down" your camera"; "smart up" the user.

Techrod

Learn good hand-holding technique - lots of articles on the web - see Photographylife for one of the more extensive ones
Use trees, posts and rails to form impromptu 'freepods'.
Put your camera down on an available flat surface and use exposure delay
Head over to the RRS site and buy a pocket pod and/or monopod with multi-clamp (called Safari Rig) - RRS is not cheap but these tools are fantastic and very flexible for light-weight stabilisation.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I am sorry but I do not understand your question in light of my google search. It states the weight of the D700 to be 995g and the weight of the D810 to be 980g with the battery. If, according to google, the D700 was heavier, what is the problem?

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

On my last trip I used the Nikon D810 with a Rokinon 24 mm lens handheld for Landscapes Just adjusted my shutter speed

(Download)

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

This may not be germane to the thread, but for my, it's easier to keep a heavier camera steady. I so miss my F4s!

Jayne Loc: Wisconsin

What is meant by ... Four custom shooting banks? I never heard that expression....is he just referring to A, S, M, P modes?

Acountry330 Loc: Dothan,Ala USA

I use my D-800 hand held and on a tripod. The D-810 will make a awesome travel camera. Just keep proper hand holding techniques i mind with so many pixels .Keep the shutter speed up and you should not have any problems. Happy Shooting.

edhjr Loc: Needham, MA

I agree that the 810 is a great travel camera -- mine has been around the world!!!

Jayne Loc: Wisconsin

Check out this resource....http://blog.dojoklo.com/2014/06/30/nikon-d800800e-nikon-d810-setup-guide-with-recommended-settings/

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Some Nikon cameras have Shooting Banks, A to D. If the camera is set to Bank A no changes are made in the other three. So switching to D puts the configuration back to whatever it was the last time Bank D was being used.

Many of us see that as nearly a useless feature simply because the settings in a Bank cannot be saved and later restored.