A view on Leica M9 and Nikon D800 (3/4) Opposite to the small, light and discreet M concept the D800 reflex camera system is big and clumsy. In addition the original Nikon strap with the yellow model designation on marks a strong presence and may shoo the object of your desire away. It disturbs in a lot of situations. The weight of the full range of equipment you may like to have (travel) with you is considerable and uncomfortable. Ones you have the body in your hands it gives a good handling feeling as the weight helps to stabilise and the perfect shape of the body fits in hands. The control elements are perfectly arranged and some of them can be customized. In the view finder all information is available including plane level indicators. Using fast lenses with large opening gives a brilliant view from the picture but not what's outside the frame (M does). Autofocus works accurate and fast in most of situations. In close distance, with long lenses or in very dark situations manual focus sometimes works better. As the entire picture is seen in the view finder through the open lens the manual focus on texture without clear contour is easier than with the M9. The focus depts can be checked directly by closing the aperture to the chosen value without taking the camera from the eye. The automatic white balance works accurate.