Nikon D850 previews, commentary - first reviews

[Ron Scubadiver]

the most significant bonus of the D850 is the color rendition at ISO64. Sheer unbelievable. I would go to Guancaste National Park in Costa Rica, I guess less that  two hours  flight from Houston. Take on the lichens with a tripod!!!

United quotes 3 hours, 45 minutes for the flight time.  Not a bad idea.

[Ron Scubadiver]

I got mine in 10 days as well (this Tuesday) but no sign of the grip (I think I'm going after a 3rd party one with these prices).

No plans for a grip here.

[Frank Fremerey]

United quotes 3 hours, 45 minutes for the flight time.  Not a bad idea.

you can even meet Ann Shelbourne from New York State there


http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,6881.msg110919.html#msg110919

http://www.juancarlosvindasphoto.com/costa-rica/

six seats in the guided photo tour still available

[Wally]

Commenting on NR to the post 'Hercules Rising', Thom Hogan suggested the lower yield with the D850 sensor is to blame'
to Quote: "Thom Hogan • 5 days ago
Look, on a camera like the D8xx, the development is somewhat predictive. Since it would use the D5/D500 stuff, the basic body/controls would have had a full year to be realized by Jan 2017. That part's easy. Thus, mules of the new body would have been ready in late 2016, early 2017.

The sensor is the tougher part. You really need to lock that down at least six months prior to launch, as you need to verify it is what you think it is, and you need a three-month window to get production grade samples out and understand your yield.

Nikon appears to have wanted to launch the D850 in July 2017 with the 100th anniversary. Launch, as in announce in July, ship in August. That would have required the new sensor to be locked back around the start of the year. Which brings all these mentioned dates into play for prototypes.

It's clear that the D850 didn't launch as expected. I suspect that sensor yield has played a part in that delay and the lowish volume of units that have hit the stores. At least that's what I hear from my sources."

"Again, to my knowledge the D850 sensor is done on the old Toshiba fab now owned by Sony. Also, there are rumors that Sony warned Nikon about possible yield issues, though I've not gotten any details about why."

I don’t necessarily share Tom Hogan’s assessment. Currently in Tokyo and the D850 is available in basically every mom and pop shop. It’s probably a combination of both yield and distribution but rather a supply chain issue. Why Nikon would do that instead of shipping units to markets w high demand is beyond me...

[Ron Scubadiver]

My D850 arrived a few days ago.  Hopefully, I have discovered the important differences from my D800.  There is an extra button on the back, WTF?  Cold weather here has kept me indoors, so no results yet.

[Frank Fremerey]

I got the battery compartment for my D850 today. I pre-ordered it in August!!!! Still no sign of the BL-5, so I ordered a cheap mock off till the real part arrives.

My brick and mortar is frustrated because many people order in the UK from VAT avoiding companies that are simply not policed by anyone

[golunvolo]

Congratulations Frank. Let us know how it works

[Frank Fremerey]

Congratulations Frank. Let us know how it works

BL-5 arrived today. It is a third party BL-5 for 13 Euros including shipping. The original part is not available for purchase here.

9 Frames feel really, really fast and noisy.

Weight is 1427g with the D5-Battery and 1515g with 8 Eneloop Pro.

The D500 is 1294g with Eneloops and 1211g with D5 battery, a noticable difference to her fat brother.

All parts are interchangable with MB-D12, MB-D17 and MB-D18 or and other 8-Mignon-Nikon-Battery-Pack I might have forgotten.

I would sure recommend the Battery compartment for the D500, not so sure about the D850 yet. It makes the thing really, really heavy!

[golunvolo]

I have found this on the net:

D700 with memory card and EN-EL3e battery + Battery grip with EN-EL3e = 1520g

D700 with memory card and EN-EL3e battery + Battery grip with 8x AA batteries = 1622g


  If it is  accurate the combo is heavy but back to a weight I feel helps in my personal experience. I will line to compare the noise. Still waiting and crossing my fingers for a silent body with full speed

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Weight is 1427g with the D5-Battery and 1515g with 8 Eneloop Pro.

Is that with the EN-EL15a removed from the main camera battery compartment, or with both batteries in place?

It makes the thing really, really heavy!

I would think you can get used to it; for me having the vertical grip when shooting hand held portrait orientation shots with larger lenses is definitely an improvement over having no vertical grip.

[Frank Fremerey]

Ilkka: I did now remove the 15a and I notice the difference. Now it is bearable 1353g. With Eneloops and 15a it is way over the top

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Do you see any difference in AF performance when the grip and EN-EL18(a/b) are used? I would assume some of the louder sound is due to faster movement of the mirror, which would give some reduction in "dead time" between mirror starting to rise and shutter opening, which theoretically should lead to some improvement in autofocus performance when photographing a moving subject. Also the viewfinder should show a bit nicer view at equal fps (provided that the fast mirror movement also applies to slower fps rates). I realize this may not be your typical shooting scenario but it would be nice to hear your thoughts on the matter.

I am mainly interested in the grip for ergonomics when shooting verticals with telephoto lenses, and mostly 7fps is sufficient for those situations I might need to take a rapid series of shots.  I typically use the D5 at 8fps and not 12fps.

[Frank Fremerey]

I did not test AF on fast moving subjects yet.

But, please someone verify this:

I feel IQ decreases with longer exposure. No problem with 1,2,3 seconds but for me exposures longer than 20 seconds seem "coarser" than 64ISO shots with shorter exp time Michael E.?

This is only my unscientific observation working with customer files.

Suggested test scenario: artificial scene with stable lighting, tripod,  series of ND Filters, exposure time 1/10s .... 100s

[Ilkka Nissilä]

I think it's normal that noise increases towards really long exposures. One reason is the sensor can get hotter over time, so you get more thermal noise. As the light is really dim the relative contribution of thermal and dark noise from the sensor becomes larger (compared to the desired signal). There may also be artifacts due to light leaks if the light that you are trying to record is very dim.

[John G]

On the Brad Hill Web Site, there is a list of Prime Performance Bursts, before a camera slow down initiates, using differing Image Area,
Bit Depth, and Frame Rates using the  D850 + MB-D18  Battery Pack attached.
A useful list for a D850 owner.