Thanks very much for your valuable advice
So.... To tabulate a partial summary. Confirms [and if needed justifies to fiscal police :-) ] the benefits of owning BOTH the D500 and D850
D500 D850-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DX Sensor (24×16) image area: 5568×3712 = 25mp (max) FX BIS sensor (36×24): 8256×5504 = 45.4 mp (max)
DX mode (24×16): 5408 × 3600 = 19.4 mp
ISO 100 to 51200 ISO 64 to 25600
Clean prints up to ISO 20 000 Clean prints likely up to ISO 40 000
~1.0× 98% Viewfinder ~0.75x 100% Viewfinder
10fps max writes 200 frames to buffer 9fps max writes 51 frames RAW to buffer but requires MB-D18
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D5 AF system but lacks 9-Point dynamic-area Adds d9 area (as in D5)
smaller d9 coverage area complements Single-Point AF
PinPoint AF in D850
AF points cover wider area in D500 Viewfinder
D850 has Improved LiveView - Adds Focus-Peaking
Focus-Stacking in D850
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Silent Shutter Mode in D850
Shutter/mirror more Compact in D500 Counter-Balancer to minimize vibration of D850 shutter
Better Video in D850
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Camera [alone] weighs ~760 g/1 lb 10.9 oz Camera [alone] weighs ~1005 g/2 lb 3.5 oz
Price 1/2 of FX cost of MB-D18 +ENEL18b + charger
Refurbished/Used options New only (8 Sep 2017 release)
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kind regards
woody
Not exactly, the D500 can do 10fps and is about half the price of the D850 + grip + D5 battery and charger required to get to 9fps. The viewfinder magnification of the D500 is 1x vs. 0.75x for the D850. The smaller mirror and shutter of the DX model very likely create less sound and vibration.
Exactly. The D500 makes smaller files at faster pace. It has a unmatched AF point distribution and other features of interest. A D850 and D500 in my bag give two meanings to any prime in my bag. And I always work with two bodies. Only advantages.
The other point is that at same final print size the D850 more than doubles the amount of light collected compared to the D500. So: I can get clean prints from the D500 at ISO 20.000, so I expect to get clean prints of the same site at ISO 40.000 from the D850. Comparing apples to apples means: same print size.