The D500 v. D850 for those who own or have owned both?

[David H. Hartman]

I left the DX format with the D90, and will not return back to it. In my field, I know well à Fuji ambassador; good photographer, but his images are saved by his talent, and, from time to time, you could clearly notice the limitations of this semi format.

Which brings up two questions: am I now spoiled by the D850 image quality and the more difficult question, is my talent good enough? Possibly not. 

Dave

[Frank Fremerey]

Which brings up two questions: am I now spoiled by the D850 image quality and the more difficult question, is my talent good enough? Possibly not. 

Dave

The talent is never good enough if you are critical to yourself and keep learning ... but being self critical and exercising and learning from those you admire will bring you to making most of your talent.

After more than a million shots I feel that in some fields I know quite a lot about photography, but there are fields I never practice like sports an fashion where I am not experienced because sports and fashion are simply topics I am not interested in. Why would I spend my days shooting football if i detest football or golf or motor racing?

I love to spend my time with music and musician so stage photos belong to my portfolio as well as food and architecture...

[MILLIREHM]

Selling off a D800 when a D850 is present already to fund a D500 appears as a good idea to me (despite D800 has got some advantages as a backup-camera, as it is also FX format).
Regarding the usefulness of the DX format I see a significant improvement of the D500 over the D300 (and probably the D90). It has downsides regarding IQ, noise starts to appear at lower ISO rates and color rendition does not fully compete with D850 or D4S, but when I do supertele photography(with say a 600 mm f/4) and need range, the D500 gives me a range advantage that sometimes is crucial (unless the times when I had the D700 and the D300 and sometimes it was better to take the D700 and crop afterwards). Often enough I get better results with the D500 (maybe at the price of a not as optimal but still sufficient IQ) and used it more often than the D4S even when i had both of them with me. (that was the main reason why I skipped the idea of aquiring the D5 and decided to wait for an even more advanced model). Now that the D6 is here, DX format is still not obsolete and I'd wish for a D510 upgrade in the future.
BTW.: A Z6 found its way in my bag and is a good addition to my equipment but can't replace the D500 or the D850 for me (that would not be different with any other Z camera that is available now)

[Frank Fremerey]

@Wolfgang: I wait for the Z9 destined to compete with FX mirror cameras

[David H. Hartman]

Just in case you haven't seen this: https://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=9714.0

I haven't got any money as yet. I'll consider your D500 when I do.

Dave

[MILLIREHM]

@Wolfgang: I wait for the Z9 destined to compete with FX mirror cameras

@Frank: +1
The Z9 hopefully provides the required speed upgrade (and also hopefully significant improvements in ergonomics and interface)
in general I still prefer optical viewfinders in sunny daylight conditions

[David H. Hartman]

@Frank: +1
The Z9 hopefully provides the required speed upgrade (and also hopefully significant improvements in ergonomics and interface)
in general I still prefer optical viewfinders in sunny daylight conditions

Please send FREE money!   I need money but I need time more than money. 

I think I would like mirrorless for fly on the wall candid photos of people or where SLR noise is not acceptable.

[Frank Fremerey]

@Frank: +1
The Z9 hopefully provides the required speed upgrade (and also hopefully significant improvements in ergonomics and interface)
in general I still prefer optical viewfinders in sunny daylight conditions

I consider the current EVF of the Z6 as very good. Best I have seen so far

[MILLIREHM]

I consider the current EVF of the Z6 as very good. Best I have seen so far

Not that you misunderstand me. The Z6 has a very good electronic viewfinder and reportedly it is the best of all EVIL cameras - and one of the highlights of the Z-system which makes it very attractive. For low- light or night shots  it is favorable also for tricky manual focussing with the new focus peaking options. For bright daylight conditions I prefer an optical viewfinder nevertheless, the still "pixeled" EVF viewfinder image still somewhat irritates me. Thats why Z6 is a valuable add on for me but not a replacement for cameras like the D850.

[David H. Hartman]

Is there a typo here somewhere? I thought you liked the D850.

Yes, there was a typo. I struck through D850 and typed in D800.

I'd like to sell my D800 but it may not bring enough in and I probably will keep the D800 as a backup. I still own my D300s as it's not worth selling.

Thank you,

Dave

[David H. Hartman]

Am I likely to be spoiled by the 45MP images I'm getting from my D850 v. the 20MP images from the D500?

The viewfinder image magnification and focus points filling the fame are two things that interest me in the D500. In some situations the smaller size and lighter weight is a consideration.

Dave

[ch96066]

Hi David,

Having shared some thoughts already in another of your posts allow me to clarify more regarding D500 vs D850.

I wouldn't consider one as backup to the other, but more of a companion for all the reasons that MILLIREHM has so aptly presented.
For me, if reach, speed and ultimate AF is required then 500 is a no brainer vs any D7xxx/7xx/8xx type cameras (haven't used the 780 or 7500).
Unsurpassed responsiveness, buffer plus the best AF driving authority for any lens I have put on it vs my D850 and D810 make it a unique tool.
Also it offers me welcome extra DOF in macro close up.

While I have the 850 up scaled to 9fps still for the buffer and AF authority it cannot match the 500. The AF authority part is even more important to me than the buffer because it makes the shooting experience a lot more snappy and positive. By authority I mean how the lens moves from 1 af position to another without any seeking or hesitation. I haven't had the chance to compare with D4s, D5, D6 bodies which by all account have top notch AF modules.