Nikon D500 - first impressions

[Erik Lund]

Goes back to what I said on p. 12, Post #170:

What was incorrectly being called mere "plastic" was in fact thermoplastic, which is actually stronger than steel, but much lighter, making it better to have in a field camera than magnesium.

Some types of thermoplastics are just as 'strong' as some types of metals - Not stronger than steel in anyway - Sure they can be the right solution for some applications!

But in their own kind of way, when it comes to threads even the best of thermoplastics like the ones used in the new Nikon cameras is no where near compaitible to having the threads cut or rolled in metal.

That is also why you see metal inserts in for instance Carbon bike frames

[Bjørn Rørslett]

There are tangible proofs that these new materials are weaker than the traditional ones when it comes to impacts to the camera mount. Thus while their use might improve some construction problems, they certainly create new ones.

Even the most careful of users can encounter mishaps in the field. When the choice is between having a camera being misaligned or completely broken when an accident should occur, I for one much prefer the first alternative. One can then, with some extra attention, still use the camera, whilst a broken camera with the mount ripped out is completely useless. I have experienced both scenarios over the years.

Perhaps Nikon should put steel inserts into the mount foundation of the last generation plastic/thermoplastic/carbon fibre or whatever material is used, to make them more robust?  I have seen too many problems crop up with my Df cameras over the last years to believe the new material is a progress of camera construction. Sorry, but true.

The above is particularly relevant for D500 users with long lenses attached to their cameras.

[Erik Lund]

This was the solution I suggested at some point; either using larger diameter screws with more thread area or threaded inserts of some sort,,,,

Here is an extract from the net:
Inserts are used to strengthen plastic parts in which screws are to be installed and removed more than once. Most inserts are made of brass, which provides long thread life as well as a solid, secure fastening base. Tri-Star's are also available in aluminum, stainless steel and free-machining steel by special order.Threaded inserts are commonly used to reinforce two types of plastic: thermoplastic or thermoset plastic. Thermoplastics are like wax. At usable temperatures they are solid, but at elevated temperatures they get soft and melt. In contrast, thermoset plastics have a molecularly cross-linked structure which is permanently “set” into shape during the manufacturing process.
Thermoplastic compounds are generally more resilient than thermosets and respond well to the ultrasonic or thermal installation of inserts. Thermoset compounds, however, are often brittle and less resilient than thermoplastics. They respond better to molding or post-molding cold insertion.

[Thomas Stellwag]

"my" solution would look different, if I was in the design dptm of Nikon
camera flanges were all bullet proof
lens flanges were made from plastic, like the cheap lenses, easy to replace and the same form factor=screw positions and thickness for all lenses
then you get std flanges, lets say green 20kg static  load, grey 50kg load, yellow 75kg load and red as strong as the camera mount.
You put, depending on your job the righ flange onto your lens and have some spares in your pocket, so even after a crack, as long as the glass is not damaged you could do field repair
so going into a concert with a lot of other people around you take the soft solution, fighting with a grizzly and using the equipment as a hammer you take the hard solution and risk to damage the cam as well

[Frank Fremerey]

She is a very good camera. Do not overestimate her ISO
capability or the editibility of her files.

If you behave in the ISO department and test drive her in critical
Situations ... practice ... before you use her to produce customer
 files ... she will be your dear friend in the field.

MF with her ground glass is amazing. Speed and precision. Wow.

[Erik Lund]

Thomas that's is the true Engineer solution  and how we do it at work 

[ArendV]

The next firmware update: 1.01 --> 1.02
http://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/fw/191.html

Addressed an issue that sometimes caused errors with certain UHS-II SD memory cards. As we were able to confirm that these were read errors arising not in the camera but in the cards themselves, we addressed the issue with a work-around that switches temporarily to UHS-I mode when a card-side error occurs in UHS-II mode. The camera switches back to UHS-II mode when turned off and then on again or when the standby timer restarts. Card-side read errors may still occur after the update, albeit very infrequently.

[chris dees]

Which cards gave those errors?
If I buy a UHS-II card for speed it will act as a UHS-I card in the D500?

[ArendV]

Chris, users of Lexar UHS-II SD cards of 1000x and 2000x have reported card failures.

[sayanda]

Just received mine 

Some test shots, still getting used to the focus system, jpegs OOC look good.
Lighter than the D300, doesn´t feel as solid in your hands, but the grip is excellent.
Have to customize it further and get more experience with the different focus modes.

[Frank Fremerey]

Yes. The MB-D17 is phantastic. I like the ergonomics with the grip better than the D5.

[Peter Connan]

That first one is magnificent Sayanda!

[Frank Fremerey]

sayanda love the duck chicks.

[Thomas G]

Just received mine 

Some test shots, still getting used to the focus system, jpegs OOC look good.
Lighter than the D300, doesn´t feel as solid in your hands, but the grip is excellent.
Have to customize it further and get more experience with the different focus modes.

The first one: wow. So cute, so much optimism, so keen about the water. And very well defined long legs which seem to be subject to the focus.

[sayanda]

Thanks ! They were my test subjects 

Still getting used to the new focus modes, lots of learning to do on that department. The photos were taken with the Tamron 150-600, handheld.