richandtd Loc: Virginia

Eventually I will be giving my D300 to my son-in-law and will have a need for a second body. I love my D810 and looking at prices from different sites like KEH and others the price for a D500 and D810 are not very far apart. Both use same battery D500 yes is faster and has a good build quality but is DX. So I guess the question I must answer to myself is due I need the FPS of the D500. Sometimes I think yes faster for expansion into bird photography but really love the quality of pictures from the D810.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

If it wereme I would go with the FF D810.

AnthonyBiss Loc: Toronto, Ontario

Check out this link for an analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QfED-ot26E
Dr.Al

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Don't ask us if you need the fps of a D500...ask yourself. You say the D500 has good build quality but it is a DX? What is so horrible about having a DX? Either your into birding or your not. These are questions you need to ask yourself.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I have a D810, D850, and D500. Each one of them is a great all-around camera. Either a second D810 or a D500 would serve you well. Images from either of them are of almost identical character. Be aware, though, that there are some key differences in control locations between the D500 and the D810. For instance, the ISO button has been moved to the other end of the camera, and there are some differences in the autofocus controls.

Both cameras are well built, but while the D810 has a magnesium alloy body, the D500 body has a number of carbon fiber components. This has not been the issue I thought it might be, however. The D500 has built-in wireless capability that the D810 lacks. Someone is pretty quickly going to tell you that the D500 lacks a pop-up flash. That's true, but it's really not an issue. Just find a nice SB-400 flash, which is very compact and much better than any built-in flash.

You know that your D810 is very similar to your D300. The D500 really is not extremely close to either of those cameras. It is, though, almost identical to the D850 to shoot.

richandtd Loc: Virginia

Nothing horrible about DX and if the D810 is put on crop mode the D500 has a bigger image. My question would be is the D500 really that much faster focusing? I’ve got plenty of time to figure this out and this is just something to ponder.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I knew a pro photographer who owned a D810 and a D750, that his wife used. Both cameras came out before the D500 was released. I have noticed on this forum, that many own both a D500 and a D800 series DSLRs. The D500 is obviously the best DX camera, known to be a sports and wildlife camera, capable of 10 fps. You can use DX and FX lenses on the D500. It would not be practical to use DX lenses on a D810. But, for resolution, the D810, with 36 megapixels has the advantage over the 20.9 megapixels D500.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Yes, the D500 is that much faster focusing, it has the same auto focus mechanism as the professional D5. That's why you have to figure out if you want speed or detailed still photography for your shooting. The D500 is the only DX camera suited for serious sports.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Some kinds of artificial light pulse rapidly and can give you inconsistent exposure and color balance in your images.
If you shoot in situations like gymnasiums, the “flicker detect” feature in the D500 will make your life much easier. The D810 does not have it.

pendennis

I recently sold my D500, and used the funds to purchase one of the D610 kits. For $900, it came with the 50mm f/1.8 lens, MB-D14 power pack, and the WU-1B WI-FI adapter. It's the backup for my D750.

Does everything I need for a backup body.

richandtd Loc: Virginia

Larryepage you would have to bring the D850 into the picture it’s a good thing that I’m in no hurry so much to ponder.

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

It's not horrible, but the D810 will give you more flexibility and possibly better image quality, particularly if you are close and are able to fill the frame pretty well to minimize cropping. Shooting with a DX camera you pretty much have to fill the frame, since cropping starts to impact the image quality even at modest crop levels.

The first pair of images is a substantial crop from a D500 image - the quality starts to fall apart with heavy cropping.

The second image, same bird shot a couple of minutes earlier, slightly closer distance using a D800 but with a longer lens - as you can see, the image is still very rich with detail.

So, while there is nothing absolutely horrible about the DX, I think the question of what format to use if you are into birding is pretty clear. You may have to ask yourself if using a DX is going to give you satisfactory results when shooting birds, or does FX camera deliver better results. For me, there is no contest.

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mrpentaxk5ii

What do you like to photograph, and what do you do with what you photograph, next do you take a camera when you travel? If you don't shoot a lot of sports or wildlife and you don't mind lugging around a heavy 3,000 dollar body every where you go get the D810. If you travel you might consider going to the D500 , a smaller lighter system. I don't shoot Nikon or Canon, I shoot Pentax, I have a Pentax K1 MK II with a 36 MP sensor like the D810, the camera with a 24-70mm F 2.8 is heavy and expensive compared to my K 3 MK11, K3 and K5 MKii. The K1 MKII in crop mode shoots a 16mp file, my K3 a 24 MP file. I use the K1 and K3 for event photography, when I'm shooting for pleasure the K1 stays home and I use a K3, KP and a Panasonic GH4. It's so much easier to travel with a camera like the KP and GH4 than lugging a big heavy full frame camera that sticks out like a sore thumb. So while the D810 might be a better at high ISO/ low light, I see people never move past ISO 400 on their Full Frame camera, next do you print any of your photographs and if so how large, do you sell them, do you use the 810 as a work camera or is it just a pleasure camera and as you get older do you want to shoot with a beast of a camera. Only you can decide what works best for you, but I like having different options to shoot with besides just a big heavy Full Frame set up. you might find a crop body allows you to shoot more with greater ease.

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

Megapixel differences only count if you are comparing uncropped images. As anyone who shoots birds will tell you, uncropped images are rare at best. You can definitely crop more with better results using a D810 (or D850).

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Absolutely not trying to create any confusion...just looking at operational similarities and compatibilities.