Christmas came early! D500!

My husband agreed to assist in paying for a Nikon D500 for me- ordered the special with kit lens, battery grip, camera bag and card from B&H. Comes tomorrow!

This will still be a trial though, to see if I really like it compared to my 7DII, enough to justify the cost and time spent learning a whole new system. (See lengthy past discussion about making the switch)-
viewtopic.php?f=57&t=266083

  I won't have the new 300 f/4 VR  lens just yet- want to try the camera first, but that is my ultimate lighter weight goal. (Currently using Canon 100-400 II with my 7DII.) This whole idea came about  because I wanted a lighter rig to continue with my bird obsession.....)

Excited and sooo curious how this will go!

Will probably have to sell my 1DIV to help finance all this, if it goes well. Loved that ole workhorse, but it's just too big and heavy for me now.) .  I might keep the 7D for car window shots and tripod events, but who knows- I might not need it or want it. I DO find it hard  to completely abandon all my Canon gear- have quite a bit .  

Congrats! Good luck learning the dark side and above all, HAVE FUN!

It's good to change things up now and then. It's so easy to get into a rut by being closed minded, or fearful of change, and a person may never know what they are missing out on. It refreshes your enthusiasm when you try new and different things. Have fun!

SantaFeJoe wrote:It's good to change things up now and then. It's so easy to get into a rut by being closed minded, or fearful of change, and a person may never know what they are missing out on. It refreshes your enthusiasm when you try new and different things. Have fun!

What a nice thought- thank you!

Neilyb wrote:Congrats! Good luck learning the dark side and above all, HAVE FUN!

Thank you! I WILL have fun!



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Congrats Cynthia! I can't image you'll be disappointed with the D500, though giving up the 100-400II may be harder! Have fun!

Thanks Gary. I'm hoping the 300 plus 1.4 TC (eventually) will suffice. And...I'm probably keeping the 7D + 100-400. Best of both worlds, maybe. Just looked at your wonderful photos on Flickr! Wow!

That's great to hear Cynthia! I am craving a D500 myself, but unfortunately no money to buy one. How are you going to test the D500 with no lens to use it with? I have been using my 300 PF VR with my D7200 a fair bit lately (mostly out in the kayak) and I love it. So small and so light, it is a joy to use. I also used it for some flight shooting at the lagoon, and it worked extremely well. I know I previously reported that I felt it was not quite as good as my old 300 f/4 afs with the 1.4x TC, but I take that statement back. Now that I have been using it more, that combo works very well and I am very satisfied with it. Here's a few examples with the 300 PF VR + 1.4x and just the 300 alone. First three with TC and last one without.

http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/new ... e-171.html

http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/new ... s-339.html

http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/sur ... r-057.html

http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/new ... d-255.html

Congrats with a tinge of jealousy!   I'm sure you will have a blast with that combo.

Tim Zurowski wrote:That's great to hear Cynthia! I am craving a D500 myself, but unfortunately no money to buy one. How are you going to test the D500 with no lens to use it with? I have been using my 300 PF VR with my D7200 a fair bit lately (mostly out in the kayak) and I love it. So small and so light, it is a joy to use. I also used it for some flight shooting at the lagoon, and it worked extremely well. I know I previously reported that I felt it was not quite as good as my old 300 f/4 afs with the 1.4x TC, but I take that statement back. Now that I have been using it more, that combo works very well and I am very satisfied with it. Here's a few examples with the 300 PF VR + 1.4x and just the 300 alone. First three with TC and last one without.

http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/new ... e-171.html

http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/new ... s-339.html

http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/sur ... r-057.html

http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/new ... d-255.html

Hey, Tim- those are terrific. I am always impressed with the rich colors  that seem to be a Nikon Hallmark.
I hope you get your D500 sometime soon-I know you've been wanting one. But....the 7200 is serving you SO well, meanwhile.  By the way, do you live in a kayak? .

I ordered the camera with the kit lens to try it out. Will have to maybe borrow the 300 to see how it goes. Glad to hear you are feeling the TC is working well too. I guess that would be my ultimate goal for a slightly longer reach, though the weight would be adding up there, as well as the $$$. I'm looking around for more things to sell.....




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Congrats Cindy, I too just received the D500, and will be climbing the same learning curve as you. However, as a Nikon shooter for many years, I can assure you that the D500 will not disappoint. From what I've seen so far I am surprisingly pleased. For example, the finder on this camera is the best of any DX camera of this size that I've seen. I'm accustomed to the nice finders in Nikon's pro bodies, and the D500 is very close behind. Have fun and enjoy!

Congratulations, Cynthia. You did the right thing I would say.
I wish I could do it but I have way to many canon lenses and cameras and can't do the switching now.
Maybe a few years down to road. Meantime I try to strengthen my arms so I can lift up and hold the 100-400/7D II.

Ron Day wrote:Congrats Cindy, I too just received the D500, and will be climbing the same learning curve as you.  However, as a Nikon shooter for many years, I can assure you that the D500 will not disappoint.  From what I've seen so far I am surprisingly pleased.  For example, the finder on this camera is the best of any DX camera of this size that I've seen.  I'm accustomed to the nice finders in Nikon's pro bodies, and the D500 is very close behind.  Have fun and enjoy!

Hey Ron- that's great!  I suspect your learning curve will be pretty short compared to mine. I just got mine today, and had to wait (impatiently)  to charge the battery. Took a few pics indoors with the kit lens...wasn't expecting to get such a gem of a lens too. So far...after 3 hours I'm impressed with....high ISO performance, tack sharp  pictures, pretty easy transition , menu-wise, from Canon. Light weight and nice to hold.....

Are you going to use yours for wildlife/birds mostly?  I suspect you already have some super lenses...

The 16-80 lens seems to be sharp out of the box- I have lens align but haven't used it yet-if fact I've never used it.  - not sure I'll need it for this lens. (I got it for my Canon 100-400 but other stuff happened and, well, I'm a little intimidated by the process. )

Tomorrow I'm really gonna get out there and play. And...I know I have a ton to learn about optimizing for birds, understanding all the focus options etc....not to mention getting that nice little 300 lens....

By the way-big congrats  ...Ron has just joined us as a new moderator for the Photo and digital art forum/gallery!



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Karl Egressy wrote:Congratulations, Cynthia. You did the right thing I would say.
I wish I could do it but I have way to many canon lenses and cameras and can't do the switching now.
Maybe a few years down to road. Meantime I try to strengthen my arms so I can lift up and hold the 100-400/7D II.

Hey, Karl- I hope you can stick with the 100-400 if that's what you want to do. It does make sense if you are heavily invested in Canon.  I will keep you all posted on how it goes, comparatively, with the new set-up, both weight-wise and how well it goes with birds, once I get the 300 lens. 

All the best to you..

 

Well, it's been all of 24 hours since I got the D500 and 16-80 lens. Basic set-up was pretty easy (with David Busch's book)-have not gotten into anything complicated.
Cold and windy out here today, so I took some pictures through a (dirty) window of birds at my feeder. Tweaked this one a bit-sharpened and brightened, a bit of NR. Cloned out some window crud. I'm pretty pleased, considering the circumstances. I'm so surprised how good this little lens is. Will try for outdoors tomorrow.

D500, 18-80, @ 75mm, f/4, 1/500, ISO 400. Cropped about 50%.


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The 16-80 f/2.8-4 is an exceptional APS-C zoom lens.  Realize that buying it outside of the kit costs almost $1100 so it is not a basic consumer grade kit lens at all.  In the kit, you are getting it for about $600.

E.J. Peiker wrote:The 16-80 f/2.8-4 is an exceptional APS-C zoom lens.  Realize that buying it outside of the kit costs almost $1100 so it is not a basic consumer grade kit lens at all.  In the kit, you are getting it for about $600.

Yes, so I found that out when I looked for more info on the lens. A real bargain! Here's another through-the-window feeder bird with that lens- a bit sharper than the previous one.
By the way, I thought I'd miss an integrated flash on the D500, but last night I was getting some great pictures in the house after dark and at dusk outside- at high ISO. They cleaned up beautifully.

It appears you are getting along so well with your new camera.  That's great.  I wish I had purchased the kit lens.  Like E.J. noted, it is a quality DX lens, and you got it at a bargain.  I will primarily use my D500 for birds and wildlife, and opted for the battery grip (which was free).  Tim's 300mm lens looks like a fine option for this camera.  Keep up the good work and show us more of your D500 images as you progress.  

Cindy - check out Steve Perry's (no ,not the singer) at:  http://www.backcountrygallery.com  video on the D500, including setting it up from a wildlife photographer's perspective. It'v very informative and includes all the custom menu and shooting settings he uses. He also has a video comparing the 200-500mm lens and the 300mm F4 with and without a 1.4x converter.

Mark Picard wrote:Cindy - check out Steve Perry's (no ,not the singer) at:  http://www.backcountrygallery.com  video on the D500, including setting it up from a wildlife photographer's perspective. It'v very informative and includes all the custom menu and shooting settings he uses. He also has a video comparing the 200-500mm lens and the 300mm F4 with and without a 1.4x converter.

Mark, I didn't find a D500 set-up guide on his site.  Can you link the exact page?