upgrade to a D780 or D850? (Page 2): Absolutely! The weight of the D850 (and price!) is worth it if you are going to do a lot of cropping. Huge difference compared to the D500 and the...

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Burkley wrote:

I am extremely impressed with the focusing improvement on rapidly moving objects with the Z8, but it comes at a substantial price compared to the D600-850. My composition fairs much better when I crop a full frame in post processing versus a Dx that shoots cropped. Because of that, the higher pixel numbers are extremely beneficial. The D850 may be heavier, but the weight needs to be balanced against the 45 Mp. That said, all of the final versions of Nikon’s DSL’s are worth a close look.

Absolutely! The weight of the D850 (and price!) is worth it if you are going to do a lot of cropping. Huge difference compared to the D500 and the D610!!

Sinewsworn Loc: Port Orchard, WA

Harry P wrote:

Hello, br If you have seen me before on here, you ... (show quote)

D850. Attached is an image I just took with a 500pF attached. Low-light=High ISO. Handheld. Low shutter speed makes the rain drops elongate.

(Download)

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

imagemeister wrote:

I prefer a light fast handling 100-400 on crop frame at airshows .....fast handling for extended times is the key IMO.

Lots of weight with the 850 ....

Consider the D7500 .....and the Tamron 100-400 ....

btbg

Harry P wrote:

so on that basis, I would be great going with the D780? I struggle to find a load of posts online showing what the detail is like for the D780 when cropped in. a massive concern I have with going mirrorless when I own Nikon F lenses is the battery life of mirrorless and I think i little bit more importantly; Using a Mount adapter to use my lenses on a Z body, if autofocusing works at all or if there is focus speed lag.

I own a D850, a D5, a D500 and a Z9. The D850 is a good camera and will work fine for birding. As to going mirrorless my lenses work fine with the adapter on the Z9. I can't speak about batter life with either the Z8 or the Z6, but the battery life on the Z9 is better than the battery life on the D850. Thing is you can always just get a couple extra batteries and battery life is no longer an issue.

You are correct that battery life is not as good as in the dslrs. I get about 3,000 to 4,000 shots with a Z9 before battery life is a problem while I got 7,000 up with the D5, but in most situations that really isn't a problem.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

I shoot a lot of air shows and air to air photography.
I use the D850 with the battery pack to get more FPS.
It would be my recommendation.
Here are just a few shots from Huntington Beach air show. Some are tight crops.

therwol Loc: USA

Harry P wrote:

so on that basis, I would be great going with the D780? I struggle to find a load of posts online showing what the detail is like for the D780 when cropped in. a massive concern I have with going mirrorless when I own Nikon F lenses is the battery life of mirrorless and I think i little bit more importantly; Using a Mount adapter to use my lenses on a Z body, if autofocusing works at all or if there is focus speed lag.

If you nail the framing with the D780, then you are good. If you start cropping, you don't have nearly the flexibility that the D850 gives before you lose image quality. On the other hand, if you're going to take video, the D780 is the only Nikon DSLR with decent autofocus. The others use contrast detection in the Live View mode, and the autofocus hunts. I know. I've been there, and it's annoying. Of course you can preset the focus for objects so far away as planes.

MJPerini

You are photographing small objects, far away, and you often need to crop. You need reach.
Why not a D500 with better faster focusing and a built in 1.5 crop factor?
The D750-80 & D850 are fine cameras, but you will routinely throwing away half the pixels.
That would be my suggestion

Bill_de Loc: US

Harry P wrote:

not alot, its when I am photographing something jets very far away when i really crop in do i see a lack of image quality. I have added a few examples

What I was thinking, depending on how much you need to crop a D500 might be a good choice. You may avoid cropping..The smaller sensor may handle it for you.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

MJPerini wrote:

You are photographing small objects, far away, and you often need to crop. You need reach.
Why not a D500 with better faster focusing and a built in 1.5 crop factor?
The D750-80 & D850 are fine cameras, but you will routinely throwing away half the pixels.
That would be my suggestion

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

CHG_CANON wrote:

Are you saving too for FX lenses? If you don't hav... (show quote)

Or a Z50

A. T.

User ID wrote:

Amen.

The D610 is strangely overlooked and under estimated. Its "only" 24MP but most Hogsters know close to nothing about the *realities* of pixel resolution. Therefor they fear cropping down to about 8MP.

Okay, I'm curious about your feelings on cropping. I crop quite a bit and that's usually with a 24mp FX and DX DSLR. My plans are to start printing but I also plan to really be careful about cropping images that I plan on printing. Let me know your thoughts.

lbarnett25 Loc: Baldwinsville, NY

I bought a D780 for wildlife and love the results. Don’t listen to the “resident expert” who says the D780 was Nikon’s mistake. BS!

A. T.

Harry P wrote:

not alot, its when I am photographing something jets very far away when i really crop in do i see a lack of image quality. I have added a few examples

Let me add my two cents worth. I have the Tamron 150-600 that I have used on the D500 and what I have found is that at the 600mm length the images are soft. Now, I don't know about the Sigma but you might do some focal length testing to see if that holds true for your lens. Also, from looking at your images it seems like what I'm seeing is mid day sunlight issues. I never shoot in mid-day summer heat because I always have those issues with soft images. I forget what that's called but I'm sure someone here will correct me. It has to do with heat waves in the atmosphere that causes your images to look very soft. Just my mini two cents worth and I hope it helps. FYI....I no longer use that lens, I use the Nikkor 200-500mm 5.6 and it's outstandingly sharp through out the entire focal length and I shoot the air show here in Houston all the time.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

A. T. wrote:

Let me add my two cents worth. I have the Tamron ... (show quote)

After owning TWO big Tamron Zooms, this doesn't surprise me even a little bit! I have said here several times that Tamron Big Zooms are trash! Even at 400mm, they are TRASH. I now own two Nikon 200~500 zooms, both of which are outstandingly sharp throughout the entire focal length! I use them with ALL my Nikons, D500, D610, and two D850s. Having said this...short Tamron's are just OK.
BTW. There is nothing that came be done for soft images caused by atmospheric distortion, Nikon or otherwise!

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

coolhanduke wrote:

I shoot a lot of air shows and air to air photography.
I use the D850 with the battery pack to get more FPS.
It would be my recommendation.
Here are just a few shots from Huntington Beach air show. Some are tight crops.

Suer shots and great capture skills 🍺🍺🍺