Firmware updates for D5, D850, D500

[Fons Baerken]

Firmware updates for D5, D850, D500 to support a.o, the use of cf express memory cards.

https://nikonrumors.com/2020/12/02/nikon-d5-d850-d500-dslr-cameras-now-support-cfexpress-memory-cards-firmware-updates-release.aspx/?fbclid=IwAR3I290zlY5y1U0w-JCvYvUgQ1obanaIIDwyvKafJRipjkmWG0PHndPXTmI

[aerobat]

Many thanks for the heads up Fons - just updated my D850 - let's see what CF express brings

[MFloyd]

Updated D850 and D5. Tested with CFE card. Seems to work 

[aerobat]

do you think the D850 can actually take advantage of the faster cards? For me it's mainly not to be depending on the expensive Sony cards.

[mxbianco]

Firmware updates for D5, D850, D500 to support a.o, the use of cf express memory cards.

https://nikonrumors.com/2020/12/02/nikon-d5-d850-d500-dslr-cameras-now-support-cfexpress-memory-cards-firmware-updates-release.aspx/?fbclid=IwAR3I290zlY5y1U0w-JCvYvUgQ1obanaIIDwyvKafJRipjkmWG0PHndPXTmI

Not a rumor, they are actually available!
look here (D500 v.1.30): https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/fw/383.html
and here D850 v.1.20): https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/fw/384.html
and here (D5 v.1.40): https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/fw/370.html

Ciao from Massimo

[MFloyd]

do you think the D850 can actually take advantage of the faster cards? For me it's mainly not to be depending on the expensive Sony cards.

With the D6 I haven’t noticed any difference, except for downloading a card to your computer. CFE is significantly faster.

Addendum: the mean reason is to “streamline” the use of CFE cards over my camera body line (D6, D5, D850). I can now commingle al my cards into one single pool; and be less dependent of Sony supply. Latter company, I will not forgive it’s opportunistic move for having increased their prices, beyond reason, when they were the only company left for supplying XQD cards.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

With the D6 I haven’t noticed any difference, except for downloading a card to your computer. CFE is significantly faster.

Steve Perry reported some improvement in D6 burst depth with Sony CFe vs. XQD (171 vs. 129 frames or something like that) when shooting 14-bit NEFs at 14 fps but no difference with 12-bit NEFS or 12 fps (200 frames using either card), so one could argue the benefits in-camera are very minor. My experience so far is only with 32 GB and 64 GB Sony XQD cards and they work fine for my purposes, the buffer is very liberal.

However, with the D850, especially at 9 fps, it is possible to run into the buffer limit. This has happened to me a couple of times. CFexpress so far has not been reported to produce an improvement in D850 burst capabilities so it is up to future cameras to take advantage of the fastest CFexpress cards.

[MFloyd]

I’m running a D850 with the EN-EL18C battery. I will make a test with the two cards.

[MILLIREHM]

Good to have these updates available and after the Z cameras yet another three XQD-Slot cameras can be made CFExpress ready. It is possible that CFexpress will make XQD cards obsolete sooner or later and it is unsure how long they will remain available. Also for this reason I am missing Updates for my D4S - with this (and a D4 update for those who use this body), all Nikon XQD cameras could be consistently made CF compatible.
Currently I am running the D6 on two CF-Express cards. Firmware updates applied now, but no testing so far.

(Strange that the D500 update has to be applied twice according to Nikon)

[Øivind Tøien]

(Strange that the D500 update has to be applied twice according to Nikon)

That is only the case if you have not upgraded to the previous latest firmware version (1.20) before. The upgrade from 1.20 was a single step upgrade.

Although I really have not felt limited in using SD cards for what I do, and they are convenient to use with the reader built into the computer, it is nice to know that CF express finally is available for the D500 should there be need for it. I would not have wanted to start with XQD if starting from scratch at this stage.

[chambeshi]

So I always upgrade even if the fixes/additions don't seem crucial.
So I blew the cobwebs out of D850 SD slot and upgrade (So only about the 4th time SD has ever been used in3+ years!).

So there have been no -ve incidents with my D850. Camera has all its vital signs, showing 9fps on the info panel etc.
My 2 Hahnel ENEL18 batteries also work fine. A potential risk is new f'ware might discombobulate 3rd party accessories (including lenses)

[David H. Hartman]

So there have been no -ve incidents with my D850. Camera has all its vital signs, showing 9fps on the info panel etc.
My 2 Hahnel ENEL18 batteries also work fine. A potential risk is new f'ware might discombobulate 3rd party accessories (including lenses)

D850 firmware versions v1.20 as well as v1.11 were available at the Nikon Downloads Center for the Americas so I downloaded both and updated to the latest. In the future I could downgrade if needed. I doubt that I'll need to downgrade but I have the option.

Dave