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by RandB2017 on Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:57 pm
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Hi there

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]New user here, hope I'm posting this in the right place.[/font]

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]This looks like a really helpful forum, so thought I'd see if anyone can offer some advice.[/font]

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]I'm currently using a Nikon D7500, and while I love it I'm definitely ready to move on to something better. I was very much all set to make the jump to a D850 and go full frame, but after a lot of research I'm in a bit of a quandary.[/font]

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]My almost exclusive interest is wildlife photography, anything from invertebrates to birds and large mammals, with the occasional landscape for context of where I'm shooting. [/font]

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]I've progressed far enough beyond the beginner/amateur stage to be ready for a serious camera, and had thought the D850 would be the ideal fit for me. However, it's hard to ignore the number of glowing reviews of the D500 for wildlife photography, and of course the significant difference in price.[/font]

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]My question is whether anyone may have any experience of the D500 and D7500 - given how much of the internals of these cameras is shared, is it likely to be much of an upgrade for me? I'd really like to achieve richer, more detailed shots, and other than a higher keeper rate from the better focusing system I'm not sure that the D500 represents a big enough improvement to justify the outlay.[/font]

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]My wallet would love it if anyone can disprove that notion, but if the extra cost of the D850 is likely to be worth it that's the way I'll go.[/font]

Thanks
 

by E.J. Peiker on Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:06 pm
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Hi, welcome to NSN, you are now activated and future posts will show up instantly.  Please note that you can not cut and paste HTML formatted text - you end up with a messy post like you see above.  If you need to cut and paste text, in the text entry box, right above the box, there is a small icon that looks like a piece of paper at the right of the icon bar.  If you click on that first, then you can paste the text and the HTML tags will be removed.

Now to your question - a D850 shot in APS-C format is essentially a D500 with approximately the same pixel count.  The only sacrifice is that you don't get 10 FPS like you do with a D500 although many if not most find that it is still plenty fast enough.  So by getting a D850, you are essentially getting a 45 megapixel full frame camera and a 20 megapixel APS-C camera in one.
 

by Karl Egressy on Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:55 pm
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I shoot with a D850 for the last year or so. I use it on a 500 f 5.6 PF lens.
What I like about it is that I with the use of a dedicated button can very quickly switch to full frame, 1.2 crop and 1.5 crop.
It makes my 500 lens to be 500, 600 and 750 mm.
I also have the D500 but use it very rarely since I sold the 200-500 lens.
With a zoom lens such as 200-500, my choice would be D500, and with a fix focus lens it would be D850.
 

by gannis on Mon Jun 29, 2020 2:35 am
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I had a D500 and D850 but ended up selling my D500 for the following reasons:
1. I photograph mammals and birds so D500 was too close at times when photographing mammals
2. I prefer the color tones on the D850, there is a subtle difference here and with D500 one must be careful with highlights
3. Base ISO of 64
4. Easier to frame - even when it comes to photographing birds, although crop mode is handy, i use full frame all the time. The advantage, particularly when it comes to fast moving birds is the ability to fit the bird in the frame and crop in the post. That way the risk of clipping the wings or tail is lesser than using a crop body or crop mode on FF body
5. Another advantage, particularly while photographing mammals - i can shoot in FF and have 2 different perspectives on the same image. For instance, with a FF field of view, the image shows a bit of the habitat etc. whereas when you crop it you can have a portrait

But then if you want the D850 to shoot 9FPS there is more investment needed in the form of vertical grip, bigger batteries, etc. and the buffer is still not as good as D500. I generally prefer short and controlled bursts so the buffer on D850 was never a problem. This could be a challenge if there is sustained action.

You have mentioned that you shoot mammals, birds and occasional landscape so i feel D850 would be a better choice.
Regards,
Ganesh
 

by DChan on Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:29 pm
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RandB2017 wrote:[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif][snip]My almost exclusive interest is wildlife photography, anything from invertebrates to birds and large mammals, with the occasional landscape for context of where I'm shooting. [snip][/font]

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif][snip] However, it's hard to ignore the number of glowing reviews of the D500 for wildlife photography, and of course the significant difference in price. [snip][/font]

[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif][snip] I'd really like to achieve richer, more detailed shots, and other than a higher keeper rate from the better focusing system I'm not sure that the D500 represents a big enough improvement to justify the outlay. [snip][/font]
Not sure why most seems to want you to get the D850. I'd say: just get the D500. Cheaper, lighter, higher fps, same number of megapixels, better AF :wink:...some say. If you gonna shoot D850 in crop mode most of the time, why pay for the extra dollars for it??

Hurry up before they tell you to get the Sony A9 II :-)
 

by DChan on Tue Jun 30, 2020 5:21 pm
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RandB2017 wrote:[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif][snip] I was very much all set to make the jump to a D850 and go full frame, but after a lot of research I'm in a bit of a quandary. [snip][/font]
Also, if you choose D850, be prepared to shoot at fast shutter speeds and/or use a good tripod if you are using all its 45 megapixels. You may need to upgrade your lenses, too. Or you could suddenly find your photos are all unsharp and blurry.

D780 is another full-frame camera you may have heard of.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Tue Jun 30, 2020 5:48 pm
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DChan wrote:
RandB2017 wrote:[font=Open Sans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif][snip] I was very much all set to make the jump to a D850 and go full frame, but after a lot of research I'm in a bit of a quandary. [snip][/font]
Also, if you choose D850, be prepared to shoot at fast shutter speeds and/or use a good tripod if you are using all its 45 megapixels. You may need to upgrade your lenses, too. Or you could suddenly find your photos are all unsharp and blurry.

D780 is another full-frame camera you may have heard of.
No difference between a D850 and a D500 in that regard - they have the same pixel pitch.
 

by Cynthia Crawford on Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:09 am
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Welcome to NSN!

It's probably me, but I found I get a mix of blurry pictures sharp shots in burst mode with the D500. (I always shoot hand-held or with a monopod.) It's lighter than the D850, if that matters. Colors and resolution are amazing with the D850. I don't feel at all hampered by the slightly slower shutter speed in burst mode-in fact I prefer it. Harder to handhold steady though.Those huge files eat up space on your computer if you use full frame. I think within Nikon, the D850 is generally considered a good choice for a long term investment. Just thoughts-not really advice. I like Karl's advice-so much depends on what lens or lenses you use and what you want to shoot. I use the 500 5.6 too, most of the time, but I'm always trying to get little birds up in the canopy. The fixed 500 is relatively light ...and expensive! And not so great for larger animals at close range, not for landscapes, etc. . You didn't mention what lenses you have....

One think I appreciate on both cameras is the touch screen review mode. So fast and easy to enlarge. (Going from a D750, which is downright stodgy in that regard).

Yes, how about the D780? Sounds like a pretty good, less expensive compromise if you are on a budget and want more money to spend on lenses. You might want to follow E.J. s threads in this forum on all these cameras-he has the knowledge and expertise we all appreciate. Good luck!
Cynthia (Cindy) Crawford-Moderator, Photo & Digital Art
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"If I Keep a Green Bough in My Heart, the Singing Bird Will Come"  Chinese Proverb
 

by Gary Irwin on Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:49 am
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Hi; Since you didn't elaborate on what you're looking for in terms of "better", I have to wonder how much of a difference you'd notice between the very good D7500 and the D500. Hence, and since you don't seem to be considering mirrorless -- which is another discussion entirely -- I'd also suggest the D850. Although you may end up cropping most of the time when birding thereby negating the extra pixels, there will be times when you get close enough to use them all and the results can be spectacular. What I like about the D850 is that the extra pixels give me lots of cropping options. And then there's landscapes and macros where the extra pixels are very useful. That said, one downside with the D850 is that it only does 7FPS "out of the box" and to get 9FPS requires an add-on grip. Fortunately, since the D850 has been on the market for a while, you could save some money and look for a lightly used one too. If you can get sharp images from your D7500, you won't have any trouble getting good images with the D850.

Good luck!
Gary
Gary Likes Nature.
 

by Karl Egressy on Sat Jul 04, 2020 9:20 am
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Since I posted my first comment I sold the D500 and use the D850 all the time. I bought a third party battery grip and it cost about half the price of the proprietary one. The Watson battery is amazing. I shoot 1500 shots and it showed that only 20 percent of the charge had been used up.
I use the big Watson battery only when I shoot BIF. Other times I use the other tray came with the grip with one regular battery to save on weight.
The only thing I don't like about the D850 is the loud shutter, but it doesn't seem to bother the birds and I don't shoot events, LOL.
However, you need high quality lenses to bring out the goodness of the D850.
 

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