Climbing the Pro Ladder - when to jump and what to expect in 2016 from D5 vs 750/810

redirector

For the past few years more and more of my livelihood has come from photography. I joined NPS in 2014 and have a commercial photography business across several categories. Primarily advertising (stills and lately more video), real estate, events. A few weddings by request, impromptu Engagement sessions, and more personal interest in portraiture.

I have steadily invested profits from my work back into Nikon, and have moved up over the past 10 years from D70-D90-D7000 to full frame now, at D750 and D810. Glass is covered from 14mm-600mm mostly Nikkor with a couple Tokina/Tamron options at particular points.

I don't have client work in hard-news journalism or sports. I do press pool work of a sort, but nothing that would put me in a category as a true newspaper-type photo-journalist.

I've never shot with a D3, D4, D4S.

I do pursue image quality, want to continue to develop my craft, and appreciate advancements in workflow and technology. I demo'd the Samsung NX1 and really appreciated several aspects including 4K, touch-screen AF, responsiveness, and connectivity. I just didn't want to invest in a different system and now Samsung's commitment to DSLR appears questionable. That said, I know my customers will benefit from 4K and I want to future-proof myself against competition while meeting present and future needs of clients in a number of venues.

I also recognize the budget outlay for top of the line will be double what I am accustomed to paying.

For those who shoot both 810 and D4S etc, what do you appreciate in each and what are you able to accomplish with the D4S -- and soon the D5 -- that you cannot with the 810?

kyoshinikon

I am a motocross & event photographer and there are a few reasons I picked the D4s over the D810. The first one obviously is the speed (no need to get into that), it is noticeably better than the D810 in low light with both noise handling and color retention. To me having few megapixels was a huge plus although I wish its small RAW was closer to 6 mpx. While I dont know the battery life of a D810 I have squeezed 4200+ shots out of one of my batteries. Also the grip of the D810 was another reason I wouldnt go with it. What would make me get a D5? a medium raw option, 1-2 stops better in low light, & the ability to rate images in camera. I will say business picked up dramatically after I started using it over my D700.