My guess is that we will generally see more noise in this kind of
nature photo than in the past or that some noisy areas will be
cloned solid in Photoshop, which is worth it in some cases.
Single-Shot: DOF
As for Depth-of-Field, we are not stacking here, so the old rule of
push the aperture as narrow as possible holds sway. Yes, there
seems to be some additional leeway toward higher apertures with
the D800E, but for most work f/11 is about as high as I want to
push it. I tried higher apertures and for fine still life work (with the
finest lenses) I can perhaps get away with it. For most work, f/11
does a pretty decent job of putting things in focus. I am somewhat
impressed with f/11 for single shot detail.
Single-Shot: LIGHT
Since I am shooting at f/11 when I can, that means I need light and
more light. I am shooting a lot in full sun and that means that harsh
highlights and light-related considerations are now a problem. Still
they seem (so far) easier to deal with than the additional noise from
too little light. What this tells me is that, as usual, good technique
and some luck will be important. Like all new equipment, in time we
will master what we can. Right now, it is still new.
Single-Shot: SHUTTER SPEED
Obviously this varies, but the shutter speed greatly affects the
freezing of motion with fast-moving critters, and too low a shutter
speed adds unwelcome movement and noise. I push the shutter
speed as high as I dare, which means I am in full sunlight more
often than I wish. In the past I have avoided full sunlight with a
passion, but here (at least for now) I have no choice.
Focusing with the Nikon D800E
I will leave aside the autofocusing problem that is being discussed
elsewhere, since I have not tested my camera for that. I can say:
Focus Stacking: No problem, since it is manual and incremental.
Works perfectly.
Autofocus: So far seems to work well with the Micro-Nikkor 105mm
VR. All is well.