I occasionally smile at posts from new members whose first question is “what camera should I purchase.” I’m not quite in the same boat but now I too have the question, “what camera should I purchase.” I have the greatest respect for the skill and knowledge of fellow hedgehoggers and I am hoping that once again they can help me avoid a decision that I later regret. I have owned and enjoyed the Nikon D70s, D7000 and more recently two D7100s. I have more lenses than you can shake a stick at—mostly DX but a few FX as well. So, as I am about to upgrade once again, I am torn between the D500 and the D850. I will most likely never use all the capability of either of those cameras, but I will enjoy owning and shooting with either—so, which one? Because of the plethora of DX lenses that I have acquired, I had been leaning towards the D500, although I have often thought it would be interesting to move towards full-frame. Now, however, I read on Ken Rockwell’s site that the D850 “works with DX lenses and automatically crops to the central part of its sensor (and shows a smaller frame in the finder) to give 19MP DX shots." Thus, I would have time to transition to a collection of FX glass and still be able to use my current collection of DX lenses in the meanwhile. (And I will keep one of the D7100s as a backup.) If I were to purchase the D500, I would probably buy the Nikkor 16-80 f/2.8-4 E lens to go with it. For the D850 I was going to pair it with the Nikkor 24-120 f/4 lens although in reading the Rockwell analysis, he seems to prefer the Nikkor 28-300 f/3.5-5.6 G given that a single lens covers so much more territory. Any thoughts on which of these would be appreciated as well. A final consideration is that fortunately, I am able to afford either of the two cameras. Having said that, no one likes to make a mistake where a fairly large expenditure is being made. Please be patient in your responses. I have done quite a bit of reading but, again, I have great respect for the community knowledge of my friends. Thank you for your help.

It seems that lots of folks like to quibble over the difference in weight, in a few ounces here and there, between this lens and that in an effort to lighten their load. It’s a matter of dedication, I guess. I see a lot of wildlife pros lugging very heavy video gear or DSLR's with cannon sized telephotos across the landscape. Quality gear should be the priority, not an insignificant difference in weight. I give a concession to those who have a physical constraint but that’s it. In a sense, heavier gear has a higher inertia, requiring more energy to make it move or even vibrate. I like the heft of my D7200 when I hoist it up and anchor it to my face.