Nikon D5

[Wally]

Actually there is just one model, D5 with XQD slots. However, you can have the XQD slots replaced by CF. Nikon offers this as a user "degradation" option to be retrofitted at a qualified Nikon repair facility  so is not something they actively will push, not at least in my part of the world. The national Nikon CEO was crystal clear on that question.

I just recognized that Nikon Switzerland offers both versions, the CF configuration approx. USD 150.- more expensive

[Bjørn Rørslett]

That'll probably be the cost of the conversion - pre-made.

[bobfriedman]

Bob, do you think it feasible to extract single frames from a 4K vid in lieu of just having faster fps?
I tend to think that eventually it will come down to that. It may already be done, but I'm not up on the latest techniques of the sports shooters or other shooters who need high fps.

not for my purposes.

[Roland Vink]

XQD has negligible market share and the companies who use it don't seem very committed to it since they don't use it across the lineup even in cameras that would benefit from the specifications.  Also, Canon, Sandisk etc. do not have any XQD products which is enough to bury the others' half-hearted efforts.

The fact that Nikon has continued to use the XQD format with the D5 and D500 shows that they think there is a future for this format. The D500 alone will do much to make XQD more widely used. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned up on other high-end models such as a D810 replacement.

[elsa hoffmann]

couldn't they just make a camera with 4 different slots.... like some card readers..... 

yes we want the upgraded stuff - better performance etc - doesn't matter what it is - it will cost us. The camera manufacturers are in this for the money - no other reason to build cameras.

[bobfriedman]

The fact that Nikon has continued to use the XQD format with the D5 and D500 shows that they think there is a future for this format. The D500 alone will do much to make XQD more widely used. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned up on other high-end models such as a D810 replacement.

i believe all of Sony's Digital Video uses XQD cards.

[Frank Fremerey]

Earlier in life the cards were so small and so expensive that I carried a Hard Drive for card backups on the road.

At that time I dreamed just to have a Harddrive on my belt and record open end, but the cameras did not support that.

My first CF was 110 Euro and held 256MB of photos. Bummer.

[chris dees]

.........
My first CF was 110 Euro and held 256MB of photos. Bummer.

Lucky you, my first was 512MB and €499,00

[Øivind Tøien]

...But for some reason mirrorless cameras that can acheive 15fps cannot do it with a live viewfinder (the EVF only shows an after the fact slide show), the technology apparently is not there yet. Without a live viewfinder I think the applications of 15fps are limited to special circumstances where the photographer does not need to follow the movement and there is plenty of room around the main subject in the image.

My AW1 will do up to 60FPS full size raw with non-interrupted screen view (as likely the rest of the 1 system bodies) so it can be done.
The buffer only lasts for a fraction of a second though at that rate, about 20-25 frames if I recall correctly.

[Marc]

The D5, a lot. D500 as soon as it arrives on these latitudes.

Hi Bjorn

Do you have an idea exactly when in March it will be available?
I leave for a Botswana assignment April 6th and have pre-ordered from my Netherlands on launch day.

Cheers
Marc

[Bjørn Rørslett]

No clue except I already know the waiting queue will be *very* long. NPS members probably will be given priority.

Reviewers usually can get their eager hands on early units, but sometimes we have to fight for them too and be literally pests to our Nikon contacts.

Do remember Nikon is not a big company and their production capacity is limited if these cameras all are to be assembled at their Japanese Sendai plant. My guess is that D500 will be outsourced to either Thailand or China where Nikon has factories with bigger capacity, but time will tell.

Going on any important assignment with a brand new camera usually isn't a great idea (unless you have had time to run in the camera first, or bring alternatives).

[Marc]

Appreciate the reply Bjorn,
yes, I'm very wary of a new camera especially away in Africa, and was hoping it might be early March to "bed" the new boy in, so to speak, but will have my D4s & D4 as backups anyway.

[Peter Connan]

If I were a Nikon engineer I would be about ready to slit my wrist now.

Bring out a camera with a 35-frame buffer and everybody complains that it is not enough. Now bring out one with a 200-frame buffer and almost everyone complains about the new format memory card needed to clear it efficiently...

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't

In Finland people are used to consensus based policy making. Everything is discussed with all parties in the government and the parliament and laws often come back for changes after these discussions. Why could Nikon not sit with Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Red etc. and agree on a high performance card format that everyone would use? It would lead to higher volume of purchasers, less anxiety about the future, more manufacturers for the cards and lower costs for the consumers. And nobody would think about buying the CF version of the D5.

When high defininition became common in the advent of flat panel televisions, there were initially two optical disc formats that provided FullHD quality video. Eventually the blu ray format won out and the other format was discontinued. Now those consumers who purchased movies and players for the other format will have to maintain an additional player for that format to play the films they have purchased. This is a waste.