Nikon D800+D500 vs Nikon D850
Dec 26, 2017 07:17:42 #
Some folks dislike changing lenses in the field, I am one of those, also a lot of my photography is fast action birds and the D500 is faster for me than the D850.
Different strokes!!!
Different strokes!!!
Dec 26, 2017 07:25:44 #
Dec 26, 2017 07:31:15 #
Just received my D 850 last week. It really is magical. I currently shoot a D 800 and it does everything better-everything. I am heading on a Kenya safari in the near future and debated the same thing. D500 and D800 or purchase the D850. I could afford to keep the D800 and decided to use it as my second camera with a NIKKOR 80-200 f2.8 lense that focuses relatively quickly and is very sharp. My D850 will have the NIKKOR 200-500. I will also carry a NIKKOR 16-35 and an old 50 1.4D, both for panoramas. My decision not to buy a D500 was based predominantly on one factor: I wanted to shoot full frame. I have heard great things about birding and shooting sports with a D500, and I might have saved money and gone with the D500 if either was my predominant subject. Is my decision making sound? We’ll see. Am I glad that I have a D850? Absolutely. I already enjoy it more than my D800 and haven’t even ventured outside much due to inclement weather and a busy schedule. Personally, if I had to sell my D800, I would and buy the D850. You can only shoot one camera at a time and the D850 is the one I’d want in almost every situation. If needed, I would rent a D500 in the future when a second camera makes sense. The nice thing is, you can’t make a bad decision.
Dec 26, 2017 07:38:46 #
Good to see you on the board. When I recover from Christmas let's get together. How are the lights working?
Brock
Brock
Dec 26, 2017 08:05:34 #
If you are using a camera for both wide angle landscapes and distant wildlife, keep the long lens on the D500 and take both cameras. The reason? Don't swap lenses, swap cameras instead, and keep your cameras clean. You don't want a dirty sensor or mirror when you are in the field. It's easier to deal with another camera than to fix dirt spots in your images one by one.
Dec 26, 2017 08:08:21 #
rossen wrote:
I have a D800 which I have used to great success f... (show quote)
Wonderful images. I used the same rig last June when my daughter and I went on a safari to Kugler National Park.
Dec 26, 2017 08:08:58 #
kocart wrote:
If you are using a camera for both wide angle landscapes and distant wildlife, keep the long lens on the D500 and take both cameras. The reason? Don't swap lenses, swap cameras instead, and keep your cameras clean. You don't want a dirty sensor or mirror when you are in the field. It's easier to deal with another camera than to fix dirt spots in your images one by one.
Dec 26, 2017 08:32:33 #
rossen wrote:
I have a D800 which I have used to great success f... (show quote)
The D500 is a Crop Sensor / DX camera which is nice for mid to telephoto shots. The D800/D850 are both FX cameras and full frame. Each has it's benefits and drawbacks. HOWEVER, the D800/D850 can be put into DX mode to give (essentially) the same benefits. DX (only) is a challenge on normal to wide shots because it is adding the 1.5 (roughly) multiplier to wide as well as normal to tele. You paid good money for a 10-20mm DX zoom lens and find that it is (in effect) giving you 15-35mm instead. Or that trusty 50mm f/1.4 becomes the rough equivalent of a 75mm f/1.4. In some situations, this is a good thing but in others you are fighting against yourself. I like to use my D610 and wide (Nikkor 16-35mm) and then put my longer lenses (Nikkor 80-400mm) on the DX. Of course, since I now try to ONLY buy full frame (FX) lenses they can all easily be used on either. And the FX has a "DX" mode.. (The DX has an "ultra crop" mode as well, just remember that you are only using the center portions of your shot and are loosing some of you resolution on both FX-DX and DX to "ultra crop". For me, it's easier to just do the magnification/cropping in Lightroom.
Dec 26, 2017 08:40:24 #
One of the things I really appreciate and learn much from is when people share what they use and why. It is window into someone elses thought process. For me, I like 2 cameras in the field. One for landscape, one for wildlife. As named, changing lens in the field equals dirt. I generally use a wider lens for landscape...14-24 or 24-120. That stays on my D810. I also have a smaller, lighter tripod with a ball head for this. For wildlife, a gimble head with D500 and longer lens. It comes down to your style of shooting and what you like to capture. Good luck with your decision...as some have said, you really can't go wrong.
Dec 26, 2017 08:45:17 #
If I traveled a lot, or even took an occasional big trip, I wouldn't want to do it without a spare body, just in case. Depending on how it shakes out financially I would either keep the D500, or rent when necessary. One other option would be something like a D3xxx as a backup. Inexpensive, small, light, but will still get you very good results in many situations.
Beautiful shots you posted to start the thread.
Beautiful shots you posted to start the thread.
Dec 26, 2017 09:04:18 #
I bought the D800 shortly after it came out, and then last New Years Eve took delivery on the D500. What a Combination! When the D850 came out and I verified the specs on it, I went forward with my plan to sell the D500 to get the D850. I told one person about it, and in less than 5 minutes it was sold. I was two months without a fast camera and I REALLY missed my D500. Then when I got my D850, it had continuous focusing issues and was pretty much usless for my Birds in Flight shooting until I was able to diagnose and then get it in to Nikon. When I got it back, my Grip was already here, so now I had 9 fps and I was pretty happy with it... I still miss the D500 but probably more so because it really gave me an advantage that I had not had in the past... but, it is a fantastic camera. Today, the D850 is really all that I need.
About a month ago, I went and shot three snowy owls with the D850. I was so close to the one snowy, that I was VERY thankful that I had the D850 and not my D500... as I was restricted as to how far I could back up from the owl because of the lake. There were times that I could not get farther away from him than 12 feet because I was at waters edge. I dont think that he had ever seen a human before and was therefore not afraid of me... When I processed those images, if I cropped an image it was minimal, and I always had way more image than I would have with the D500. So to me, if you are not able to get a D500 and a D850, then I personally would not get a D500... just my 2.5 cents (inflation has raised it from 2 cents)!
About a month ago, I went and shot three snowy owls with the D850. I was so close to the one snowy, that I was VERY thankful that I had the D850 and not my D500... as I was restricted as to how far I could back up from the owl because of the lake. There were times that I could not get farther away from him than 12 feet because I was at waters edge. I dont think that he had ever seen a human before and was therefore not afraid of me... When I processed those images, if I cropped an image it was minimal, and I always had way more image than I would have with the D500. So to me, if you are not able to get a D500 and a D850, then I personally would not get a D500... just my 2.5 cents (inflation has raised it from 2 cents)!
Dec 26, 2017 09:20:31 #
Steve Perry wrote:
The D850 easily replaces the D800 and D500. It's better than the D800 in every way and if you add a grip, it basically has a D500 built right in.
I would be tempted to get a used D500 and a D810 both in mint condition. Now you have an extra camera body if one fails. D500 for wildlife and sports, D810 for landscapes, portraits.
Dec 26, 2017 09:56:13 #
I've been using a D800e for about a year and a half now. When I heard/read about the D850 my response was lukewarm. It's not going to do much more than I can with my 800e. To this day, I don't know for a fact that I've ever seen on in person. Though, I've been to my camera store numerous times. To me, the difference of 36.3 to 45.7 wasn't enough to quicken my pulse. At least, not enough to warrant paying $3000+ for minor improvements.
--Bob
--Bob
rossen wrote:
I have a D800 which I have used to great success f... (show quote)
Dec 26, 2017 09:57:39 #
A couple additional thoughts based on the comments thus far...
1. Two cameras are better than one since you have a backup: While I do tend to take an extra body with me on trips, I also want to point out that in over 30 years of photography - many of those years shooting professionally and putting massive numbers of images through the camera - I've had exactly zero camera failures. I think for the casual shooter, a single body is just fine, especially if it's a pro caliber body. Sure, you take a risk, but it's a small one IMO with the benefits of the D850 outweighing the backup benefits of a D500 + D810. IMO.
2. One lens per body, no switching lenses: OK, this isn't a bad way to go and I have done it before. Especially if one is set for landscapes and one for wildlife.
3. The D850's is slower than the D500: From an AF position, I disagree. I've shot nearly 30,000 photos already with my D850 (and the same number or more with my D500) and I find the AF equally fast for action in both bodies. The D500 is 1 FPS faster than a gripped D850, 3 FPS faster for a non-gripped D850. The D500 also has a better buffer, although hitting the D850 buffer is a rarity in real world shooting if you're set up properly (i.e. using 12 bit after ISO 400, taking advantage of crop modes, etc). IMO, having a the full frame body with what amounts to a DX camera built right in outweighs the minor advantages the D500 has over the D850 (gripped D850 - non gripped, the D500 starts looking better).
The reason I seem so hell-bent on the D850 is simple. After using it the last several months, I notice I miss a lot less action shots that I do with other bodies thanks to the pixel density. In the past, I'd shoot my D5 and D500 for wildlife and I was always swapping bodies for more or less reach, often missing shots in the process. With the D850, if the subject is only taking up the DX area and I need the shot, I go ahead and fire away, knowing I'm capturing what I would have had with my D500. As the subject gets closer, I don't try to switch to my D5 - I just keep shooting and putting more pixels on the subject as it fills more and more of the frame.
One final note - keep in mind that I am primarily a prime shooter so the advantages of not swapping bodies means more to me than a zoom lens shooter. However, I did want to share my experience.
More D850 info / setting, etc on my review page:
https://backcountrygallery.com/nikon-d850-review/
Finally, a few D850 photos just for fun (mix of action and stills)
1. Two cameras are better than one since you have a backup: While I do tend to take an extra body with me on trips, I also want to point out that in over 30 years of photography - many of those years shooting professionally and putting massive numbers of images through the camera - I've had exactly zero camera failures. I think for the casual shooter, a single body is just fine, especially if it's a pro caliber body. Sure, you take a risk, but it's a small one IMO with the benefits of the D850 outweighing the backup benefits of a D500 + D810. IMO.
2. One lens per body, no switching lenses: OK, this isn't a bad way to go and I have done it before. Especially if one is set for landscapes and one for wildlife.
3. The D850's is slower than the D500: From an AF position, I disagree. I've shot nearly 30,000 photos already with my D850 (and the same number or more with my D500) and I find the AF equally fast for action in both bodies. The D500 is 1 FPS faster than a gripped D850, 3 FPS faster for a non-gripped D850. The D500 also has a better buffer, although hitting the D850 buffer is a rarity in real world shooting if you're set up properly (i.e. using 12 bit after ISO 400, taking advantage of crop modes, etc). IMO, having a the full frame body with what amounts to a DX camera built right in outweighs the minor advantages the D500 has over the D850 (gripped D850 - non gripped, the D500 starts looking better).
The reason I seem so hell-bent on the D850 is simple. After using it the last several months, I notice I miss a lot less action shots that I do with other bodies thanks to the pixel density. In the past, I'd shoot my D5 and D500 for wildlife and I was always swapping bodies for more or less reach, often missing shots in the process. With the D850, if the subject is only taking up the DX area and I need the shot, I go ahead and fire away, knowing I'm capturing what I would have had with my D500. As the subject gets closer, I don't try to switch to my D5 - I just keep shooting and putting more pixels on the subject as it fills more and more of the frame.
One final note - keep in mind that I am primarily a prime shooter so the advantages of not swapping bodies means more to me than a zoom lens shooter. However, I did want to share my experience.
More D850 info / setting, etc on my review page:
https://backcountrygallery.com/nikon-d850-review/
Finally, a few D850 photos just for fun (mix of action and stills)
Dec 26, 2017 10:47:57 #
Cdouthitt wrote:
Simple Math...D800+D500=D1300. Therefore D1300>D850.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it! LOL Very good math there Cdouthitt
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