D500 General Discussion Thread

jonnyapple

Here I was, staring sadly out the window as another few inches of snow falls on the feet already on the ground. I thought, maybe I'll go check for D400 rumors to cheer me up (that has always worked out so well for me in the past).

Lo and behold, the light of the D500 has broken! It must be 25% more camera than the D400 (the D cancels), so no wonder they skipped the D400 and went straight on to the D500. It's been a while since I saved up for a camera, but I'd better start now. This reminds me of when I bought my D300 when the D300/D3 were released together. I never regretted that, and the D500 looks like exactly what I've been waiting for for five years or so.

manhattanboy

Here I was, staring sadly out the window as another few inches of snow falls on the feet already on the ground. I thought, maybe I'll go check for D400 rumors to cheer me up (that has always worked out so well for me in the past).

Lo and behold, the light of the D500 has broken! It must be 25% more camera than the D400 (the D cancels), so no wonder they skipped the D400 and went straight on to the D500.

Sorry to leave you sadly staring out the window, but the D500 is apparently delayed until April at the earliest.

jonnyapple

I saw that, too, @manhattanboy, but that's way better than the delayed indefinitely that I had become used to. ;-) Besides, I meant what I said about needing to save up. I'm thinking Christmas 2016/Valentines 2017.

Reading on this a bit, I see that some people are upset about the lack of built-in flash. I have used it in commander mode occasionally, but bought some cheap wireless triggers and haven't looked back.

If, as I suspect, dropping the internal flash opened up the space for that big, beautiful viewfinder, then I'm all for dropping it. Well done, Nikon! The viewfinder upgrade was one of the last real draws for me to full frame. Every time I pick up my old Olympus OM-2 I am blown away by how much bigger the viewfinder image is than current DX cameras. I can't wait to hold a D500 and look through that viewfinder.

This looks like a phenomenal machine!

spraynpray

Nice to see you posting @jonnyapple.

jonnyapple

Weren't you the other OM-2 user, Andrew? Maybe it was heartyfisher but I know I've had the viewfinder discussion with someone here.

spraynpray

Ah, the OM1 and OM2 were my lovelies. I've got another OM1 now to play with.

haroldp

NX-D is barely able to open D810 files, and displays artifacts, and is so unstable (mac pro, OSX yosemite), I have switched to ACR, even though NX-D does a slightly better job of rendering Nikon Raw's. It is free and worth every penny.

haroldp

Are you referring to face detection? Page 335 in the manual. If so, I'll play with that if I can. I'm assuming I'll be lucky to get 5min with the beast, since there will probably be 50-100 folks there...

Having started with a Leica M2 (in 1965, never had a manual), I find it a sign of the times that a camera mnual has a page 335, and needs it.

.... H

nukuEX2

Did you hear the news guys? D500 has been delayed till late April. At least we won't have to see them recalling them they are already doing a pre-recall before they are out in the wild...

Photobug

Did you hear the news guys? D500 has been delayed till late April. At least we won't have to see them recalling them they are already doing a pre-recall before they are out in the wild...

Yea I saw that. Remember the availability issues on the D300. It seems like a year before dealers had them in stock. I know at the time I lived in a large city, 1.1 million and it was 9 months before they stocked them. Don't expect the D500 to be that bad but it could happen.

heartyfisher

@jonnyapple ! nice surprise to see you posting !!

LOL "the D cancels" man I hated maths ! :-B

So saving till 1017? ... dont think I can wait that long...

I am one that likes the built in commander. Still ..I think the bigger Viewfinder will be nice too ...

NSXTypeR

I wonder what the birders on the forum think about this camera- specifically CoastalConn. I don't think he missed out, as he went to a 7D MkII with a telephoto for about $3,500. I think any competent photographer would have been able to get great shots out of a DSLR and a decent telephoto.

Well the good news I'm still always lurking... I was sitting a state park waiting for a harrier fly to fly by. I decided to pick up my phone and click on NR to see what the D5 was going to be all about. The shock of seeing D500 announced sent me in a tizzy. I dejectedly put my 7dm2 and 500 F4 on my passenger seat and just drove home sulking. I felt betrayed that Nikon had waited a year too long to announce the camera that I dreamed of for so long. Only 10 months earlier Nikon had released the D7100B and it was at that point I had made my decision to pack up from the Nikon camp and move along. Many people at that point like to say they never looked back.. I personally always had my eye on the rear view mirror...

My 7dm2 has been plagued with the focus issue and is back at Canon for the third time as it often just produces noisy mushy images. I could track raptors so much better with my D7100 and Tamron 150-600 back in the day. The 10 FPS that made me switch in the first place actually gives me 10 FPS but instead of picking wing angles and catch lights, I just pray to get 1 or 2 out of 10 sharp enough to share.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, they echo many of those who had wanted a pro DX body for so long.

Sorry to hear the less than ideal experience with Canon. Which ever product you end up going with, the forum will enjoy your birding photos!

The bigger question for me was whether or not Nikon would even develop new lenses for DX or just throw up their hands and ask us to buy expensive equivalent FX focal lengths for DX use. I'm still not at ease, but it's a more solid picture of Nikon's continued support of DX.

Here I was, staring sadly out the window as another few inches of snow falls on the feet already on the ground. I thought, maybe I'll go check for D400 rumors to cheer me up (that has always worked out so well for me in the past).

Lo and behold, the light of the D500 has broken! It must be 25% more camera than the D400 (the D cancels), so no wonder they skipped the D400 and went straight on to the D500. It's been a while since I saved up for a camera, but I'd better start now. This reminds me of when I bought my D300 when the D300/D3 were released together. I never regretted that, and the D500 looks like exactly what I've been waiting for for five years or so.

Agreed! The D500 is way too much camera for me, the D7200 would be just about perfect for me.

I'm almost up to lens selection for the D500. If I must choose just one travel lens, which one is sharpest?
A) 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 G AF-S VR, DX or
16-80 mm f/2.8-4E ED VR?

Personally, I'd go with the 18-140 because I started off with the 18-135 on my D40. I think I'd be missing the far end much more than the wide end. The wide end is useful, but sometimes I feel like there's so much distortion that the wide end isn't all that great. I'm not sure optically how great the 16-80 is on the wide side, but I've gotten some weirdness on the wide end even at 18mm. I will say it's useful, but I do like my telephoto side too.

You could argue with both lenses though.

spraynpray

@NSXTypeR : Are you using lens correction profiles? One click and it is sorted.

I found the 16 of my 16-85 far more useful than the 105 of my 18-105 when I swapped because 16 = 24 and 18 = 27 which is a fair difference in angle of view.

paulr

"haroldp" It is free and worth every penny.
was that a Fraudulent Slip?

haroldp

"haroldp" It is free and worth every penny.
was that a Fraudulent Slip?

Approximately.

WestEndFoto

@NSXTypeR : Are you using lens correction profiles? One click and it is sorted.

I found the 16 of my 16-85 far more useful than the 105 of my 18-105 when I swapped because 16 = 24 and 18 = 27 which is a fair difference in angle of view.

Agreed. My 24 is very useful as many situations are too wide for my 28 and too long for my 20. It does not sound like much of a difference, but it is quite a difference at the wide end.

NSXTypeR

@NSXTypeR : Are you using lens correction profiles? One click and it is sorted.

I found the 16 of my 16-85 far more useful than the 105 of my 18-105 when I swapped because 16 = 24 and 18 = 27 which is a fair difference in angle of view.

No, I haven't, which is partly the problem haha. I'm terrible with editing software, I'm too lazy to start. I'll get around to it... eventually...

spraynpray

@NSXTypeR : Are you using lens correction profiles? One click and it is sorted.

I found the 16 of my 16-85 far more useful than the 105 of my 18-105 when I swapped because 16 = 24 and 18 = 27 which is a fair difference in angle of view.

No, I haven't, which is partly the problem haha. I'm terrible with editing software, I'm too lazy to start. I'll get around to it... eventually...

In Lightroom it is in the develop module under 'corrections' (it is very intuitive) and is only a check box. First time you use it it is worth looking under the 'manual' tab to confirm the right body and lens has been selected then in future make a 'preset' so that every time you import images they get corrected automatically.

nukuEX2

Agreed! The D500 is way too much camera for me, the D7200 would be just about perfect for me.

Even though I would've waited for and gotten D500 had I known that it was in development but I love my D7200 nonetheless.

heartyfisher

:-) yeah maybe its good enough .. :-) at least it has a pop-up flash ...



D7200 70-200F4+TC17

manhattanboy

:-) at least it has a pop-up flash ...

The pop up flash is really not needed for what the camera is made for doing. Its like putting cruise control into a Formula 1 car. For me the pop up flash is more annoying as the trigger to raise it can accidentally be hit when the camera is in a bag.
Thus far my only complaint with the limited hands on videos I have seen of the D500 has been the noisy shutter; the 810 was a step in the right direction IMHO and that design team should really have dispersed their knowledge to the other camera teams for shutter design. The XQD cards I am not thrilled about, but understand why they did it and am sure I will come to appreciate the small speed boost. I would have liked a U1/U2 on the dial as they are much faster and more permanent than the 810-style banks, but they have enough custom function buttons with expanded features like AF mode changes that I will likely be satisfied without them.

NSXTypeR

In Lightroom it is in the develop module under 'corrections' (it is very intuitive) and is only a check box. First time you use it it is worth looking under the 'manual' tab to confirm the right body and lens has been selected then in future make a 'preset' so that every time you import images they get corrected automatically.

I don't currently own Lightroom, I'll look at it when I get the software. Thanks for the tip though.

Agreed! The D500 is way too much camera for me, the D7200 would be just about perfect for me.

Even though I would've waited for and gotten D500 had I known that it was in development buy I love my D7200 nonetheless.

Best camera's the one you have on you! Nothing wrong with going overboard every once in a while though.

:-) at least it has a pop-up flash ...

The pop up flash is really not needed for what the camera is made for doing. Its like putting cruise control into a Formula 1 car. For me the pop up flash is more annoying as the trigger to raise it can accidentally be hit when the camera is in a bag.
Thus far my only complaint with the limited hands on videos I have seen of the D500 has been the noisy shutter; the 810 was a step in the right direction IMHO and that design team should really have dispersed their knowledge to the other camera teams for shutter design. The XQD cards I am not thrilled about, but understand why they did it and am sure I will come to appreciate the small speed boost. I would have liked a U1/U2 on the dial as they are much faster and more permanent than the 810-style banks, but they have enough custom function buttons with expanded features like AF mode changes that I will likely be satisfied without them.

The flash makes a big difference, especially for cheapskates like me.

I don't like carrying extra, and the pop up flash actually clears the macro lens I use in case I need some extra fill flash. Sure you could get a SB400 or something tiny, but I'd rather not have something extra to lose. Whether it's worth the larger viewfinder is another issue, but it's definitely missing that feature. You'd have to be holding the camera in a weird way for the pop up flash to trigger.

The U1/U2 inconsistency is weird too- Nikon won't use it on a camera that's higher than the D750, even though I'm sure it would be genuinely useful on the D5 or D810.

starralazn

The U1/U2 inconsistency is weird too- Nikon won't use it on a camera that's higher than the D750, even though I'm sure it would be genuinely useful on the D5 or D810.

i used the u1 and u2 with my friends d7000, i dont think i'm missing much on my d800, but thats just me.

Ironheart

In Lightroom it is in the develop module under 'corrections' (it is very intuitive) and is only a check box. First time you use it it is worth looking under the 'manual' tab to confirm the right body and lens has been selected then in future make a 'preset' so that every time you import images they get corrected automatically.

I don't currently own Lightroom, I'll look at it when I get the software. Thanks for the tip though.

What software do you use? The NX-D software is the same, a single checkbox corrects lens distortion. If you are using in-camera jpgs, then again just turn it on in the setup menu. There is a whole world below 18mm! I have the 10-24 and the 16-80 and the 2mm really does matter, and isn't distorted really at all if you 1) make sure you are squared-off to the subject and 2) apply lens distortion data judiciously.

manhattanboy

i used the u1 and u2 with my friends d7000, i dont think i'm missing much on my d800, but thats just me.

The problem I have with the memory banks is that if you change something while shooting then the changes stay in the bank. This is extremely annoying for accidental changes say when a camera is jostling around in a bag or against your body; when you go to quickly shoot a bird, etc. and expect that your settings are what you previously set them, I sometimes find out too late that they have been changed. With the U1/U2, you can quickly twist as you raise it to your eye and not have to worry about the initial settings. For example, I could keep it on U1 and as I want to take a shot quickly twist one notch and back to make sure all settings are reset to those in U1. Its a small thing, but allows for a faster first shot then you could get otherwise if you had to process all of the info in the viewfinder before shooting and then spin either of the main or sub dials to undo the unwanted change. For studio or more predictable shooting it does not matter as you have time to change settings. But for speed reasons alone, I would prefer the dedicated U1/U2 dial positions.