The d800 does 4 fps stock, but this increases to 6 fps with the optional MB-D12 grip. Somehow the add on grip is "necessary" for the faster fps, even though this is a digital device. Are there any hacks or mods available to unlock the higher functionality and faster frame rate, which the camera is already capable of, without having to buy and tote around the extra grip?
D800 FPS hack?
(33 posts) (21 voices)-
Posted 11 months ago #
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I don't think it feasible. In fact according to the specifications in the user manual, using an alternative power source will only raise the CH speed of D800 from 5fps to 6fps in DX crop mode ONLY. The FX and 1.2× crop would remain the same as when you use an internal battery.
Posted 11 months ago # -
If I can hack my D700 to do 8fps without a grip, why wouldn't I be able to do something like that with the D800?
Posted 11 months ago # -
I'm not saying it could never be done, but with 36 MP 4fps is already 1.5x faster data throughput than 12 MP at 8fps.
Posted 11 months ago # -
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You do realize that there are hardware limitations when pushing ~80mb RAW files to the CF cards, don't you? I recall reading somewhere that the write speed is actually ~%30 faster than the D3S, but the files are five to six times bigger.
You'd be waiting a looong time to clear your buffer and write to the card if you were shooting at six or even eight fps.
Posted 11 months ago # -
you need to do the following on the dial at the back
Left..Left
Right..right
Up
down
Up
down
LL
RR
then turn around twiceYou may need to keep repeating.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Wouldn't surprise me if someone eventually found a way of enabling the higher framerates tbh. Is a bit annoying how Nikon try and sell their grips as if they were like film SLR motordrives by artificially capping the FPS ...
Posted 11 months ago # -
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lamarfrancois said:
Wouldn't surprise me if someone eventually found a way of enabling the higher framerates tbh.Don´t worry, it will probably happen in the next few years, when more powerful cameras come out (unless the stupid megapixel race just goes up and file sizes keep getting from humongous to incomprehensibly humongous). And sure, some tech-nerd can probably hack your camera and void your warranty. But will it be worth it? If you are willing to pay for fast fps, you can get the D4 (or D3S). Are you sure you need more than 4 fps with 36mp images? I would just pick up a different camera for fast fps, 16mp is plenty and 12mp can be enough.
Less is more, live with it.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Godless said:
And sure, some tech-nerd can probably hack your camera and void your warranty.Its not like you take your camera to a person to hack it, its just a case of finding the hack that the Nikon engineers specifically hid in the design. It has no impact on your warranty. Its like an easter egg and its only a matter of time. Its likely that the higher frame rate will only work while in DX mode the same way it does with the grip.
Posted 11 months ago # -
install a turbo and some NOS. should double or triple ur fps
Posted 11 months ago # -
Bring your camera in a far and fast Earth orbit, due to relativity, times will speed-up so you will be able to pack more frame-per-second relative to someone standing still at sea level... Now that's a fact...
Posted 11 months ago # -
Oh, I wouldn't be quite so dismissive.
Underlying this question is an assumption which I believe is valid: unlike the old 35mm film cameras which were mechanical devices the current DSLRs are more like computers in that they have hardware and software. If the FPS limit is a hardware limit it cannot be changed. If the FPS is a software limit it can be hacked. If the hardware can run at 5 FPS in DX it could also run at 5 FPS in FX. Most likely a software limit has been created so as to keep the buffer from filling up and disabling the camera while waiting to write to the CF card. Note this report of how many shots the buffer holds at various settings
"Shooting stills pictures in the FX format, recording NEF Raw files, at 14-bit and uncompressed, the camera generates a 74.4MB file, and the camera’s buffer memory has the capacity for 16 frames. Recording NEF Raw files, at 12-bit and lossless compressed the file size is reduced to approximately 32.4MB and the buffer capacity is increased to 21 frames. In the smaller DX format, when recording NEF Raw files, at 14-bit and uncompressed, the camera generates a 32.5MB file, and the camera’s buffer memory has the capacity for 25 frames. Recording NEF Raw files, at 12-bit and lossless compressed the file size is reduced to approximately 14.9MB and the buffer capacity is increased to 38 frames. While a JPEG file at the greatest resolution in the FX format produces a file of approximately 16.3MB, and 8.0MB in the DX format, with a buffer capacity of 56 and 100 frames, respectively."
http://www.pixiq.com/article/the-nikon-d800-official-announcement
I suspect the FPS limitation is not in the hardware but was deliberately set in the software to keep customers from complaining that their camera froze up after a few shots. If the buffer can only hold 16 RAW 14 bit files and you are shooting at 4 FPS your buffer will be full in 4 seconds. Lets use that 4 second buffer fill time as our goal. If the software allowed you to shoot at 6 FPS your buffer would be full in 2.6 seconds. Customers would feel the camera should shoot for more than 2.6 seconds before freezing up waiting for the buffer to clear. Hence the 4 FPS limit programmed into the software. Now just how fast would the hardware allow the D800 to run? Could it make 10 FPS, like the D4? We don't know. One would think the shutter and the autofocus could do it. One would think the real limit is file size. But, if you shoot JPEG 16 mb files and the buffer can hold 56 of those frames at 4 FPS you can now shoot for 14 seconds before the buffer is full. Well, why not have the option to shoot 8 FPS for 7 seconds in 16 mp JPEG format? See, it would be possible to shoot faster FPS and still not fill that buffer so quickly if you shot in a format which produced smaller files. Nikon chose to not give us that choice. Why? Because the camera is not physically able to perform it mechanically? Or because Nikon did not want to compete with the D4? Or because Nikon thought customers would not understand the higher FPS should only be used when shooting JPEG? Reasonable questions for which we will never get the answers!
I suspect the FPS limitation is controlled by the software and could be changed by "hacking." I am sure it could be pushed from 4 to 5 FPS in FX and most likely to 6, 7 or 8 FPS when shooting JPEG if someone "hacked" into the software. Most likely no one will do it because it won't be worth the time and effort required.
Posted 11 months ago # -
I suspect the D800 was not designed for fps from the beginning. Hacking the fps limit may result in overheating or other nasty problems, so I would not tamper with an expensive camera. For most applications, patience and good technique will make up for the fps loss vs faster cameras. Sure, you miss something but take the time and you will also get the shots you want. For situations you absolutely must nail on the first try, borrow or rent a faster fps body instead.
Remember to breathe.
Posted 11 months ago # -
SquamishPhoto said:
Its not like you take your camera to a person to hack it...I suspect there is a market opportunity here, How to get to play with the firmware of some great cameras and void the warranty of other peoples gear and get paid for it. I wonder how much people would pay? Perhaps $100 a go? My laptop and SD-card are waiting...
Posted 11 months ago # -
Godless said:
Remember to breathe.Keep that heartbeat under control...
"What? Use good technique? That is so un-hip. I want results NOW, all I want to do is post to facebook..."
Think I am joking?
We almost had a discussion like that last week at work (I work at a university) with a kid, who wanted to borrow a camera with at least a 12 FPS rate from our student gear supply to shoot a scene for his art project. I can understand him WANTING that, but suggesting to him that he might like to manage how his model does her thing a little bit more proactively to get the results he needs with gear that we had to hand (only went up to 8 FPS) got a response like I was talking Martian to him...
rant mode=on
All the instructors I know *HATE* the short 3 week May semester - we don't get to talk to the kids enough so they don't learn anything like enough to master anything, but then this time is just to bump up grades or add a credit. Thank god they are all gone by the start of June, when we get a 6 week semester and actually have enough time to explain things a bit and get them to read a little bit more than just the absolute minimum about the subject being covered.
rant mode=off
:-)
Posted 11 months ago # -
Godless said:
I suspect the D800 was not designed for fps from the beginning. Hacking the fps limit may result in overheating or other nasty problems, so I would not tamper with an expensive camera. For most applications, patience and good technique will make up for the fps loss vs faster cameras. Sure, you miss something but take the time and you will also get the shots you want. For situations you absolutely must nail on the first try, borrow or rent a faster fps body instead.Remember to breathe.
This isn't about suspicions, its about the existing potential of the camera while using a grip and how its likely possible that through playing with settings(not playing with firmware) that one can run the camera's shutter at its highest frame rate without the grip. Its not going to make your camera overheat and its not going to void a warranty. Id hardly be shocked if the hack is in the same menu as it is for the D300 and the D700.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Whalespew said:
The d800 does 4 fps stock, but this increases to 6 fps with the optional MB-D12 grip. Somehow the add on grip is "necessary" for the faster fps, even though this is a digital device.The increase in fps has nothing to do with the MB-D12 grip itself, but with the extra power it enables you to use.
The EN-EL15 battery will only allow 4 fps in FX mode and 5 fps in DX mode, it doesn't matter if you put it the camera or in the grip. The MB-D12 battery grip however will give you two other options: a bunch of AA size batteries or the optional EN-EL18 battery + BL-5 battery chamber cover. Both options wil give you 6 fps in DX mode, but still 4fps in FX mode.
I don't think the D800 was designed for more speed. Imagine what the increased mirror slap would do to a 36MP image!
Posted 11 months ago # -
People said that about 12mpx 7 years ago...
Posted 11 months ago # -
fps has nothing whatsoever to do with buffer size and the camera's ability to move data from buffer to CF & SD.
Buffer size only limits the number of shots that can be held before the buffer is full and the fps rate drops off.Maximal fps relates to the speed at which data can be converted from analog to digital and moved from the sensor subsystem to primary memory (the buffer). Other stuff like shifting the mirror etc is all a piece of cake compared to that.
36 million pixels generate a lot of data to move, and at a 4 fps rate that would be 14 bits per pixel times 36 million pixels times 4 per second. Now that is a LOT of data to shift - about 2 gigabits/second, in fact.Considering that this has to be done with almost no power use (just one little battery must handle about a thousand of these processes, plus everything else demanded of the camera's other subsystems) and with processors that must live without any kind of cooling other than a tiny heatsink, this is nothing short of incredible.
Compare to a typical PC CPU that burns 60-100 watts under load. And a typical GPU burns a lot more than that.My feeling is that it is truly remarkable that we get this kind of functionality at such a decent price. Before the D800 specs were announced, I wasn't expecting anything close. Least of all the price.
About performance: Of course things will change - the next generation of sensors, processors, firmware, buffer chips and memory bus will give data rates significantly higher than this. Obviously. That's how it works.
About the idea of a DX hack: why bother with trying to get 6 fps if you already have 5 fps? Is it just as a matter of principle?
Note to Ron800: No, in FX mode you can never get more than 4fps. Regardless of grip/battery.
Posted 11 months ago # -
I cannot think of a situation where it would be critical to have five FPS over four FPS. And I shoot race cars and bikes. Yes, the difference between 5 FPS and 10 FPS, you might get that bike rider completely upside down where he/she would be only half upside down with the slower speed. At 40 mph, the object is moving nearly 60 feet per second. At 10 FPS, a shot every six feet, at 5 FPS, one every 12 feet. at 4 FPS, one every 15 feet.
To argue about the difference in 4,5,or 6 seems like the issue must be something else. And if the FPS is most important then the D4 or D3s, D3 is maybe the way to go and not a D800.Just my thoughts.
Posted 11 months ago # -
If fishnose is correct, and I have no reason to think he isn't, then efforts at hacking the D800 FPS are futile because the processor just cannot process the data faster. Give it half the data to process and it can do it twice as quickly. If you want a fast FPS camera you will have to have lower megapixels.
Yet, I cannot help but be intrigued by SquamishPhoto's post which suggests there is some menu setting in the D700 and D300 which can cause those cameras to run at higher FPS. SquamishPhoto, can you enlighten those of us who have never heard of this before?
Posted 11 months ago # -
There you go donald. The guys video is pretty terrible but you get the idea.
Posted 11 months ago # -
That's really cool! Thanks for posting it. If I had one of those bodies I would set it up that way.
I wouldn't call that "hacking" actually. It is just custom settings that allow faster FPS. Seems useful to me when you want a quick burst and certainly won't harm the camera.
I would define "hacking" as going into the camera's software and changing that software in some way.
Posted 11 months ago #
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