Nikon D500 - first impressions

[Fons Baerken]

Fons is right. With good light, most light is good with the exceptional white balance, the RAWs you open in your favourite converter, mine is NX-D, are next to perfect. For event jobs this is a great advantage.

PS to Fons: can you describe the difference between the IQs???

Good question, Frank.

Ask yourself which camera to choose for what job.

[golunvolo]

You all made very good points. It boils down to specific needs, I guess. Extra reach, low light AF, buffer and general speed is what attracts me. Akira put the nail with the "pliability of D750 RAW" as the bigger selling point of that camera for me. Iq is excellent too and file size/quality just perfect for me (in this regard they are both similar)
   I have the opportunity of getting a refurbished d500 for about 1450 euros and that get me wondering. Jury still out. It will be a complement, not replacement, of the d750

[armando_m]

You all made very good points. It boils down to specific needs, I guess. Extra reach, low light AF, buffer and general speed is what attracts me. Akira put the nail with the "pliability of D750 RAW" as the bigger selling point of that camera for me. Iq is excellent too and file size/quality just perfect for me (in this regard they are both similar)
   I have the opportunity of getting a refurbished d500 for about 1450 euros and that get me wondering. Jury still out. It will be a complement, not replacement, of the d750

so if you don't like it you can sell it and at that price I doubt you'll loose on the transaction

[Frank Fremerey]

Good question, Frank.

Ask yourself which camera to choose for what job.

D3 for no job, D500 whenever speed and accuracy count, D600 for fine tonality e.g. leafs and skin and flowers.

I hope the D850 will inherit all good from the D600 and add all goodies of the D500.

Then I will not need the D3 and the D600 anymore.

I asked you because you actually use the D3 still, you own the DF and the D800 both of which I do not know

[Fons Baerken]

The D3  occasionally for the odd shot also because i like the heft of a big camera
Df to use with old lenses and i like the tonality
D800 mostly for closeups
D500 has become a workhorse with the 17-55mm f/2.8 attached

[Frank Fremerey]

Thank You

[golunvolo]

I bought it and shot a dance show with it and it is very very nice action camera. Excellent companion for my d750!

[Wannabebetter]

Been going through the entirety of this forum to get caught up on the D500, today. So please indulge me, this "zombie response" to an old thread and for going so off topic.

I'm not going to buy a D5 just to get the memo functionality .... But it is a bad move to delete this feature from all second-tier models. D2-, D3-, D4-, D5-series all have this capability.

As does the antediluvian D100 natively when affixed to the Nikon OEM (can't attest to any third-party issue) MB-D100 battery grip. My understanding is the much improved [sic] D70/D70s models never had an OEM grip and I know of no third-party product available to them that also allowed for WAV file recording; were that even possible without firmware support or a dicey software "hack". Indeed the omission of that feature alone (conversely the lack of a real, glass penta prism and the inclusion of "scene modes" being the more commonly stated reasons) factored greatly for some when choosing a D100 over the highly esteemed, newer cameras. I found the D100 "voice memo" feature especially efficacious for "PJ" work and when resolving postmortem he said, they said challenges and similar surreptitiously produced "evidence".  I always made a point of addressing the nice police officers by name and badge number when it was demanded I turn off the camera -- "or else"!

[Wannabebetter]

I cannot compare the D750 performance, only the D3 and D600, last one has the same chip set as the D750.

...The files of the D500 feature a clean and clear look, some might call it "a digital look", while the 24 MP full frame chip in 600, 610, 750 has a very subtle magic I cannot really describe. I also see it in the reaction of people towards the pictures. More positive emotional towards the D600 results. ...

Refreshing affirmation! I thought, it was just me getting that impression. Especially regarding that unquantifiable, "magic" quotient.

[Frank Fremerey]

Refreshing affirmation! I thought, it was just me getting that impression. Especially regarding that unquantifiable, "magic" quotient.

I can also confirm that the said magic has found its way into the D850 files, especially at low ISO values

[Wannabebetter]

I can also confirm that the said magic has found its way into the D850 files, especially at low ISO values

All the better then, in capable hands!

[Frank Fremerey]

All the better then, in capable hands!

I wish my eyes were as capable as my hands

[Wannabebetter]

Amen, brother!

[Frank Fremerey]

PS: Reflecting of one week with the D850 I can say:

While it might be the best one can buy currently, it is just another step on the quality ladder and we will see much better cameras in 10 years from now.

When I first got my D3 I thought: "It cannot get much better." I was wrong.

When the D3X came out I thought: "24 Megapixels it far too much to attain critical sharpness against the dangers of micro camera shake." I was halfways wrong, because better hand holding technique, better stabilisation, the use of sturdy tripods, better glass, electronic first curtain tech and silent shooting using life view on static subjects solved these problems.

Now we stand at 45.5 Megapixels and it is possible to attain critical sharpness!