Linda Roina

I have a Nikon D800. I love the camera for the pictures themselves. Plus there is a lot of room to crop. The problem with this camera is it is too slow. I shoot a lot of soccer photos. Mainly youth soccer. Would it be an advantage to switch to the D500 or not? I just don't want to make a mistake and be sorry in the end.

CO

The D500 and D5 have the best autofocus system yet for a DSLR camera. I have one. It's a very impressive camera. It will take photos at 10 frames per second with an almost unlimited buffer. The XQD memory card has very fast read/write speeds. The D500 and D5 are the best cameras out there for photographing sports.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Don't switch. Get an additional D500. Or, look at older (used) D4 / D3 models.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

No.

The D500 has certainly BIG improvements but it does not pass the threshold set by the sensor size, capability and versatility of the Nikon d8## series.

In your case the ONLY advantage is the buffer capacity. The burst rate advantage is negligible.

Note: I own a D800e and the newer D500. It does not make me an expert but it gives perspective.

jr168

The D500 is an awesome sports camera. That being said, the D800 is also fantastic. If you get a battery grip for the D800 and use the EN-EL18 battery or AA batteries and shoot in DX mode, you can get 6 fps. Your images resolution will drop down to 16 MP in the DX mode.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Linda, it's not a matter of good or bad ideas. According to YOU, the 800 is TOO slow. If you need more speed, you need more speed...., and thus you can't get the shots you're trying to get with the equipment you have now.
Most serious sports shooters have both a FF and a fast sports camera and use them both for sports.
I often shoot sports with a longer lens on my faster crop sports camera and a wide angle on my FF. they're completely different kinds of shots! Good luck

A quick note. In order to take full advantage of the focus systems on these sports cameras, you need to use fast glass, or you can't use all the sensitive focus points, thus compromising some of why you buy those cameras.

SS

Acountry330 Loc: Dothan,Ala USA

I really love my D800. I do a lot of birds in flight. To get it a little bit faster use DX mode and fast glass. If that is not enough; pop for the D-500. Happy shooting.

JPL

Can you rent or borrow a D500 to test it at some soccer games before you decide if you buy it or not? That should help you with your decision.

jcboy3

I've tried it both ways, and I prefer to use my FF on the telephoto lens and DX on the wide angle. As long as I get enough reach with the FF. That's because I can shoot at higher ISO and keep the shutter speed up on the FF. If I'm shooting the 200-500, for instance, it's usually on the D750. A 24-120 on the D7100 gives me coverage at the shorter focal lengths, and I can swap those two if I need to.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Keep the D800 and get the D500.

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

I don't think you'd be disappointed using a D500, but you might be disappointed if you stopped using the D800.

The main advantages for you with a D500 are:

1) Amazing autofocus with far better tracking than any other camera in production - equivalent to the D5
2) ISO invariance - darker areas in your images will be a bit cleaner, especially when you shoot at base ISO.
3) Fast frame rate (10 fps) nearly flawless focus tracing and huge buffer. With a Lexar XQD card which can be written to a the rate of 300mb/s you can squeeze off 200 continuous shots before the camera goes to one frame per second.
With good technique you should be able to do fine with the D800's frame rate, but the autofocus system is what may be holding you back.
4) Crop factor - your angle of view is narrower, mimicking a focal length that is 1.5 longer with respect to angle of view.

If someone pans the D500 for your application in this thread, it is important to ask the question "do you own a D800 and have you ever shot sports, especially soccer, with both a D800 and a D500?" If not, take their answer with a grain of salt since their opinion is based on theory and not practical use.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I have a D810 and a D500. before the D500 I use the D810 for BIF what I found the I capture more action with the D500 because of the burst speed and buffer range

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

Any time you can fill the frame with your action the better the IQ and blow up size. So, get a D500, increase your buffer and fill the frame with the action and you will be happier. I own the D800 and a 200-500 zoom. Now this zoom will be a 300-750 with the D500, you should be able to fill your frame and get sharper photo's as a result. Enjoy the shoot. Keep the D800.

rmw0001 Loc: Lake Mills, WI

Hi Linda. I've shot a lot of soccer (my grandson) and like the D800 for the same reasons you do and agree that it is too slow for the shots I'd like to get. I bought the D4s and used that to capture even better action images, but at 16MP, I couldn't crop out the portraits I liked to get. This season, the kids moved up to U14 and a larger field so I bought the D500 and the relatively new 80-400mm zoom (effectively 120-600mm on the D500). I've shot three matches so far and really like the combination; I can sit behind the end line and see all the way to the other goal better than ever. Compared to the D800, the D4s has a brighter viewfinder and acquires focus a lot faster; the D500 acquires focus faster but not quite as fast. That's my experience so far. I also shoot my granddaughter's volleyball matches (she's on the freshman team) and the D500 with my 70-200 f2.8 lens is best for that. Gyms are too dark and the D800 is not sensitive enough for the fast action in low light. Soccer and volleyball images are on my SmugMug site, posted for the kids and their parents; you're welcome to take a look. So, I own the D800, the D4s and the D500; based upon my experience so far, the D500 will be my go-to camera for soccer and volleyball and birding.

1Feathercrest Loc: NEPA

For the rank amature photo enthusiast, please define "fast glass".