Nikon D850 previews, commentary - first reviews

[Frank Fremerey]

Reducing Luminance Noise does reduce image detail — it turns details like fur and feathers mushy.

My personal choice, when dealing with high ISO images, is to live with the Luminance Noise (reducing it by the minimal possible amount or not reduceing it at all) but to reduce Colour Noise and use the Colour Smoother slider too.

Shooting at these very high ISO settings is a more journalistic approach to photography and I am loving the new freedom that high ISO gives me to shoot at high shutter speeds and in near darkness.

I feel similar with the D500 files and turn off NR in NX-D. Only in rare cases I use "reduce color noise".

My D850 just arrived. I will use her to shoot some horses this afternoon.

[Eddie Draaisma]

An unexpected phone call from the local brick and mortar store, a shiny gold-coloured box was waiting for me. So it is real and here... 

[Frank Fremerey]

An unexpected phone call from the local brick and mortar store, a shiny gold-coloured box was waiting for me. So it is real and here... 

Same here, only that I expected it to happen ;-)

Off in the country, taking photos!!!

[marco]

Curious to know how the camera is Frank! i have a copy waiting for me that i can pick up tomorrow.

[Frank Fremerey]

Curious to know how the camera is Frank! i have a copy waiting for me that i can pick up tomorrow.

First impression: Very much like the D500, but full frame, so basically what I wanted as perfect companion to the D500. After some hours I would say that the color fidelity seems even better than the wonderful color fidelity of the D500 and the camera behavior is very much like the D5: you point the 1.4/105 into a dark hole where you can barely see the outline of a horse and the result is a horse picture with all details perfectly focussed on the eye (if you choose "eye detection"). What I mean with D5 like behavior is that the scene on the display by far ourperforms my visual power.

File size is large: NEFs between 47 and 67MB per click (lossless compressed), JPEGs between 18 and 33MB, a developed NEF tuns into a 250 to 300MB 16-Bit-TIFF.

The horse is ISO 5600, the other files are ISO100 and 110. These five feature the fine tonality I love from my D600 plus a flood of details that makes the software and hardware take their time. I can see every musle and scar on the man's arm, I can see all the traces that water drops left on the steel of the caroussel.

PS: My first film format digital, the D3 arrived in 2008, the D600 in 2013, the D850 replaces both of them. It can do what they can do plus more abd I got the powerworkhorse D500 as a second body. Ideal!

PPS: Now I know what all these HighRes lenses are really made for and why I leared and keep learning proper technique.

[Eddie Draaisma]

Compared to my 5-year old D800e it is the autofocus accuracy that is immediately evident. E.g. the D800e struggles with the 28/1.4E full open, but D850 focus seems always spot-on with this lens (and no calibration needed).
As Frank already mentions, a lot is D500-like but a little better. Grip, AF, AWB, exposure, colour rendition in both Capture NX and ACR and high ISO performance all a significant step beyond my D800e. Maybe the time has come to convert the D800e for IR...

[arthurking83]

Compared to my 5-year old D800e it is the autofocus accuracy that is immediately evident. E.g. the D800e struggles with the 28/1.4E full open, but D850 focus seems always spot-on with this lens (and no calibration needed).
As Frank already mentions, a lot is D500-like but a little better. Grip, AF, AWB, exposure, colour rendition in both Capture NX and ACR and high ISO performance all a significant step beyond my D800e. Maybe the time has come to convert the D800e for IR...

Thanks Eddie. What about viewfinder upgrade? It's is a big difference, a minor difference .. no difference at all. This is one key area I'm interested in(over the D800E). How would you rate the vf differences between the two.

[Frank Fremerey]

Thanks Eddie. What about viewfinder upgrade? It's is a big difference, a minor difference .. no difference at all. This is one key area I'm interested in(over the D800E). How would you rate the vf differences between the two.

Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark VIII with AF Area Brackets in the D850, D800, 800e, D610, D600, Df etc. kind of okayish for manual focus

Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark III screen with AF area brackets in the D750, do not know good enough

Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark II screen with AF area brackets in the D500 and F6 and D7200/7500, much better in my opinion for manual focus. Coarser, much more "snap" when hitting focus.

[Eddie Draaisma]

Thanks Eddie. What about viewfinder upgrade? It's is a big difference, a minor difference .. no difference at all. This is one key area I'm interested in(over the D800E). How would you rate the vf differences between the two.

Arthur, there is a difference. The combination of higher magnification and a little more contrast makes manual focus imho easier and more accurate on the D850 (compared to the D800E). Also, the selectivity of the focus dot is much better (as was promised in the D850 brochure).

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Has anyone had a chance to test the focus shift feature?

I read a user who received their D850 report (on the dpreview forum) that the minimum step size is 0.33mm with 105 VR (instead of 3.3mm on a 100mm lens as reported in the imaging resource interview). This is a good thing! 3.3mm is really too long for close-ups and especially macro.

[Eddie Draaisma]

Has anyone had a chance to test the focus shift feature?

I read a user who received their D850 report (on the dpreview forum) that the minimum step size is 0.33mm with 105 VR (instead of 3.3mm on a 100mm lens as reported in the imaging resource interview). This is a good thing! 3.3mm is really too long for close-ups and especially macro.

I got approximately 2 / 2.5 mm shift on a ruler at 45 degrees between first and last shot in a 10 shot sequence with minimum step size, with the 105VR Micro at close range. Per step indeed much closer than 3.3mm.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Although the brochure picture does not show the front view, it appears the mirror box is surrounded by metal also on the front side in the D850 instead of composite. There is a set of teardown pics on NR.

So they went back.

[David H. Hartman]

Yes in deed unless Nikon Rumors painted some parts with aluminum paint.

I hope they toughened up the whole body casting to make problems found in the base of the D800/e where it cracked a bit too easily. I'm not on board the lighter is better craze quite as much as many others. I'm a "Form Follows Function" type. The object needs to full fill it's purpose first, it needs to be durable and then it also needs to look good.

Dave


Nikon Rumors

Just in case this hasn't been posted before...

English Nikon D850 manuals for the Americas, Asia/Africa and Europe

Please check Nikon in your region for other languages.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Well, the brochure wording also includes "the inside body structure, are made of robust magnesium alloy" which does imply a different construction from that of the D810.

[David H. Hartman]

Well, the brochure wording also includes "the inside body structure, are made of robust magnesium alloy" which does imply a different construction from that of the D810.

I missed that when I scanned the brochure.