Nikon D800+D500 vs Nikon D850 (Page 6): LOL, yup, I think we are :)...

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

BboH wrote:

MT Shooter essentially agree. br br Right - doesn... (show quote)

LOL, yup, I think we are :)

chambeshi

I agree it is really unlikely a Nikon DSLR will fail on one. But off the beaten track in Africa, I always try and have a backup camera...not only in event of theft, but my own stupidity. It's crippling when accidents happen - entailing gravity with or without a heavy lens on the camera hitting hard ground!!! Ditto gear landing in water!!! Over nearly 40 years using Nikon in rough country, it's happened 3 times. Once I fell into a deep channel but my sodden 200 f4AI could be repaired. (2) Tripped and smashed the prism on my F3 which being modular was fixable in time but my FM2 was backup (3) Early last year, I dropped my D500 (sloppily clamped on monopod) so it hit terra firma under 3kg of 300 f2.8G VR. Costly mistake but the camera is now as good as new. Now I always clip the snaplink safety-loop on tripod head to the telephoto....

I agree with Steve and other posters that the D850 largely replaces the D500 except the latter is lighter and gives 10fps without a grip and at half the price of a D850. Yet the D850 delivers across the full spectrum of genres - Its IQ gives medium-format cameras stiff competition at ISO64, and at a fraction of the cost with the best of glass. Not only can we use the best Nikkor lenses but the best of the Zeiss ultrawides. And the D850 is tops for action shooting - one can recover usable images in post at ISO6400 and even ISO12800. Remarkable! Attached image taken after sunset at ISO12800 on D850 - 300 f2.8G VRII with TC2E III. Standard noise reduction in Lightroom, and slight cropping off original.

Another issue I want to highlight here is cropping a FX image off a D850, which should have better IQ (Less noise) than the equivalent taken on the D500 (?) My argument is the state-of-the-art BSI sensor in the D850 confers better noise suppression.

The D5 delivers 12 fps and its ISO performance delivers unmatched IQ above 3200; moreover, its menus and AF performance have an edge over the D850. The D5 remains the ultimate for action - by a margin.

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

chambeshi wrote:

I agree it is really unlikely a Nikon DSLR will fail on one. But off the beaten track in Africa, I always try and have a backup camera...not only in event of theft, but my own stupidity. It's crippling when accidents happen - entailing gravity with or without a heavy lens on the camera hitting hard ground!!! Ditto gear landing in water!!! Over nearly 40 years using Nikon in rough country, it's happened 3 times. Once I fell into a deep channel but my sodden 200 f4AI could be repaired. (2) Tripped and smashed the prism on my F3 which being modular was fixable in time but my FM2 was backup (3) Early last year, I dropped my D500 (sloppily clamped on monopod) so it hit terra firma under 3kg of 300 f2.8G VR. Costly mistake but the camera is now as good as new. Now I always clip the snaplink safety-loop on tripod head to the telephoto....

I agree with Steve and other posters that the D850 largely replaces the D500 except the latter is lighter and gives 10fps without a grip and at half the price of a D850. Yet the D850 delivers across the full spectrum of genres - Its IQ gives medium-format cameras stiff competition at ISO64, and at a fraction of the cost with the best of glass. Not only can we use the best Nikkor lenses but the best of the Zeiss ultrawides. And the D850 is tops for action shooting - one can recover usable images in post at ISO6400 and even ISO12800. Remarkable! Attached image taken after sunset at ISO12800 on D850 - 300 f2.8G VRII with TC2E III. Standard noise reduction in Lightroom, and slight cropping off original.

Another issue I want to highlight here is cropping a FX image off a D850, which should have better IQ (Less noise) than the equivalent taken on the D500 (?) My argument is the state-of-the-art BSI sensor in the D850 confers better noise suppression.

The D5 delivers 12 fps and its ISO performance delivers unmatched IQ above 3200; moreover, its menus and AF performance have an edge over the D850. The D5 remains the ultimate for action - by a margin.

I agree it is really unlikely a Nikon DSLR will fa... (show quote)

The only thing I would disagree with is ISO performance - in crop mode, the D850 and D500 are neck and neck (and the D500 may have an ever-so-slight advantage). Lots of ISO comparisons at my site at the link below (the ISO comps are down the page a bit). Nikon says the BSI sensor was more for speed than overall ISO performance.

https://backcountrygallery.com/nikon-d850-review/

Here's one with the D850 in DX crop mode, ISO 3200 against the D500 at ISO 3200 - obviously click "download" :)

(Download)

chambeshi

Thanks for putting this right with empirical evidence! An interesting result, which is not clear in published sensor comparisons. Here's link to comparative Chart including the D5 and D800, D810 for context

http://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_ADU.htm#Nikon%20D5_14,Nikon%20D500_14,Nikon%20D800_14,Nikon%20D810_14,Nikon%20D850_14

all best for NY

Fenton