D500 General Discussion Thread

heartyfisher

Read a comment in the interweb that said that the XQD slot on the D500 can take SD cards.. Its probably wrong, but can someone check?

PB_PM

I don't think that is possible, since SD and XQD have different pin layouts and buses (SD uses SATA and XQD uses PCI).

Ironheart

What @PB_PM said, plus I tried it the SD card rattles around in the XQD slot like the agitator ball in a can of spray paint. Fortunately I was able to rattle it out of there

manhattanboy

Ironheart said:

What @PB_PM said, plus I tried it the SD card rattles around in the XQD slot like the agitator ball in a can of spray paint. Fortunately I was able to rattle it out of there

The XQD card is a thicker card versus the SD card and the mechanism for insertion is the push spring (like the 7X00 series) instead of the gray button button pop-up mechanism (like the 810 or D5).

Does anyone know of any protective skins for the camera? I am looking for anything remotely resembling a lens-coat like skin I can apply to the camera body. If there is anything for a Nikon DSLR camera that would be good too, as I do not mind an arts-and-crafts project to make it fit to the D500 instead. Thanks in advance!

donaldejose

A protective skin should be out in time. Just keep checking every few months, especially with those manufacturers which produce skins for other bodies.

Ironheart

The screen size and snap-on screen protector are the same as the D750. I haven't looked at the overall body size, but I bet it's close...

heartyfisher

Ironheart said:

What @PB_PM said, plus I tried it the SD card rattles around in the XQD slot like the agitator ball in a can of spray paint. Fortunately I was able to rattle it out of there

Thanks for trying! I didnt think it was right but .. it was on the interweb .. It could be right?

BVS

heartyfisher said:

Ironheart said:

What @PB_PM said, plus I tried it the SD card rattles around in the XQD slot like the agitator ball in a can of spray paint. Fortunately I was able to rattle it out of there

Thanks for trying! I didnt think it was right but .. it was on the interweb .. It could be right?

Maybe somebody makes an adapter?

PB_PM

I don't think an XQD card is big enough to fit an SD card inside of it for that to work.

donaldejose

I compared them and I think it is big enough but I am not sure about the thickness. XQD is thicker but it has to be thicker enough to allow for two sides around an SD card. My guess is that it would be possible to make such an adopter but it would have limited appeal. Why not just shoot with the faster format and buy a XQD card reader? I suppose price if you don't need that speed.

PB_PM

It's not just fitting the card inside, but also being able to put the needed hardware inside. It would essentially need a built in card reader (for the SD card) and the hardware to convert the interface from PCI to SATA so the SD card to function. I doubt there is enough space.

donaldejose

If the price of a converter, if one can be made, would be too high the price advantage of using two SD cards instead of one SD and one XQD (plus the cost of buying a XQD reader) disappears.

PB_PM

I don't think the cost of the CF to SD card converters were too high, $25-30 tops.

spraynpray

Bearing in mind how much slower the most expensive SD card is, the cheapest XQD is the price you should have in mind while comparing.

But if yous guys are struggling that much with the cost of the XQD card, I suppose I could swap my D7100 for your D500 to take away your pain.

PB_PM

Haha. I don't have a D500, but what I hated about the D800/D810 was having two different card types. What a hassle that proved to be in the field, and I'm sure the D500 is no different. Why Nikon insists on making cameras with two card types is beyond me. Why could they not just make two versions of the D500 like they did with the D5?

donaldejose

If you set up your camera to use the second card slot for backup you can work with only one type of card of your preference. You will seldom, if ever, need that backup so you can fill it and then just reformat it occasionally.

PB_PM

The thing is, the camera fills the cards from the buffer at the speed of the slowest card, which means the SD card.

donaldejose

What is you just put in the XQD card and leave the SD slot empty? Does that make the buffer empty faster? Perhaps the D500s out in about two years will have two XQD cards. Nikon may be transitioning away from SD cards in many of its bodies. But I have not heard people complain the D500 buffer is too small; just the opposite.

Michael

It's not that the D500 buffer is too small, but that it does not live up to expectations, at least for people who want a backup copy of their images on a separate card. With a fast XQD card only, you get a 200 shot 14-bit lossless buffer. However, with a copy to a fast SDXC card, you get an approximately 38 shot buffer (and that's with a UHS-II SD card claiming write speeds up to 240 MB/s). 38 is enough for most shooting situations, and you can stretch that to around 55 shots if you go CL-8fps and make your backup a Basic*Large JPG, but still not what many were hoping for.

Paperman

Michael said:

It's not that the D500 buffer is too small, but that it does not live up to expectations, at least for people who want a backup copy of their images on a separate card. With a fast XQD card only, you get a 200 shot 14-bit lossless buffer. However, with a copy to a fast SDXC card, you get an approximately 38 shot buffer (and that's with a UHS-II SD card claiming write speeds up to 240 MB/s). 38 is enough for most shooting situations, and you can stretch that to around 55 shots if you go CL-8fps and make your backup a Basic*Large JPG, but still not what many were hoping for.

Seriously - not many were hoping for ? Nikon had to do sth about those needing a 200 RAW buffer who had to back it all to a 2nd card as well ?? ( Wonder how many of us here lost their work due card error and not backing up to 2nd card )

And if one had to back up ( or die ), what situation is there that 38 is not enough ?

We can't just keep wanting and wanting for no reason .... . Those wanting more can pay more and get a D5 ....

spraynpray

I agree with Paperman. I never back up recreational shots to the second slot. I only back up wedding shoots to the second slot and those are hardly demanding of fps or buffer (unless I'm doing it all wrong!).

If you must get that shot of the Le Mans car pirouetting in mid air above the photographer, you are shooting for money and will be using the D3/4/4s/5.

heartyfisher

Another small D500 review ...

PB_PM

Paperman said:

38 is enough for most shooting situations, and you can stretch that to around 55 shots if you go CL-8fps and make your backup a Basic*Large JPG, but still not what many were hoping for.

Sure 38 is lots of images, until you are in a situation were you need more. I doubt I would need more, but who's to say someone else would not? People who don't need high speed and a big buffer simply don't need a D500 to start with, so your argument a little short sighted. What's the point of paying the D500 price tag ($3k here) if it cannot work at full potential with both card slots? It would have cost Nikon next to nothing to have dual XQD card slots. Putting an SD card in a pro level camera is nonsense. I felt that way about the D800/D810 and I feel the same way with the D500.

Paperman

What is the point of adding a feature for the 1% who might need it 1% of the time ? Especially if that feature can hurt sales of a +$4000 more expensive camera. I am struggling to find a situation where a 38 RAW buffer might not be enough for a DX owner. Nikon has to draw the line somewhere and that line can't be somewhere that will satisfy 100% of users. There must be some left with the need to buy the flagship model.

PB_PM

What's the point of having 12FPS for the 1% who need that? That might hurt the sales of the D5 too. Your points just don't have any substance.