D500 General Discussion Thread

Ironheart

+1 @heartyfisher Since XQD uses PCIe directly, and SD uses well, the SD bus, and the power requirements are different, an adaptor would need to implement everything except the actual memory NAND gates to produce an adapter, i.e. 90% of the cost. Contrast to a passive microSD to SD converter which is just a bunch of wires.
Not going to happen, as nobody will pay $100 for an adaptor to adapt to $20 cards. Certainly technically possible, but infeasible economically.

retread

When I first got my D500 I used only SD I cards (80 & 95mb I already had them) and no XQD card. I did not have any buffer trouble until I shot a plane in flight. This included some sports and wildlife where the D5100 would run out of buffer with the same cards.

I plan to shoot my first air show in a little over a week using fast XQD and SD II cards. I have been using the XQD for RAW files and writing JEDG to the SD II. I may change to SD card as back up but undecided.

Coastalconn

@iAmJake You are better off just getting a 32gb sony 400/350 for $65 while they still have the memory card reader included.... https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086276-REG/sony_qd_g32a_32gb_g_series_xqd.html. The new version doesn't seem to include the reader from what I have seen. Then just keep a 64gb 95 mb/s SD card in the other slot. Transfer when needed and you can get about 3k 14 bit raw imagea combined...

Photobug

Hey Coastalconn. What do you think of the new Tamron 150-600 and their own 1.4X and 2X teleconverters? Lets be careful that one of the admins doesn't jump on us for getting off track. Lets slide over to the Tamron thread.

egosbar

starralazn said:

i think i read somewhere on here that some people are finding the 55-300 to focus quickly on the d500, surprisingly. let's see what crawls out of the woodwork..

mmmm might hold of getting the 70-300 and test the 55-300 when i get the 500 , soon very soon lol , just waiting for photokina to finish just in case

Msmoto

Finally have shot action with my D500, 70-200/2.8 Nikkor with TC-14EII. Very happy with the results. Actually found I could not fine tune the focus any better than it was when I dropped the lens on.

Will be doing the AF fine tune on several lenses tomorrow. I like the way it works on the D500... so very easy.

retread

Any body have much experience with a Nikon 200-500, 80-400 or the Sigma or Tamron 150-600 lenses. I shot my first air show. I am most interested in the long end. The 70-200 was a bit short for the high shots. Worked great when the plane came down close. Auto focus and tracking were amazing.

Sports

@retread - The 80-400 has the ideal range for an airshow, IMHO. And the G version has great autofocus.
But the other options are actually longer, sharper at the long end, and cheaper, all at the same time, but you'll miss some of the shots.
I used the 80-400 all day, recently, leaving my 150-600 at home.
Shot at 80mm:

Coastalconn

@Photobug I did answer you in the Tamron thread.. @retread Hopefully I will be getting the Tamron G2 in a few weeks to evaulaute... I know in one video I saw the AF jumps from MFD to infinity wicked fast. I have shot the 200-500 one morning in the D500 and thought the optics were very good. AF acquisition speed was way to slow for my style of shooting. If you were close to the subject distance it did fine, but if a bird came whipping by you it had no chance of catching up. For airshows it would probably be fine because you would mostly be at infinite anyways..

retread

A guy next to me at the air show was using a 80-400 on a D7100. Since then I have had a 200-500 and a 80-400 on the D500 for about an hour each. Borrowed from Nikon. Both worked but the 200-500 size will take more getting used too. I shoot more wildlife and high school sports and events, but sure liked the air show. It is a long story but I kind of ended up the unofficial photographer for the event in a small local airport.

I have visited with two who like the present Tamron. I have not seen any comparisons but think I may like the sigma Sport or the Tamron G2 just looking at the specs.

I have a TC 20 III that I use on the 70-200 and it works well. I am not sure it that would be a good way to go in an air show but no break in the show to switch and try it. I use it on a monopod with a gimbal head most of the time.

AcierX

Battery issue: Just got my 2nd replacement EN-El15 (li-ion 20 vers) from B&H to replace some dead on arrival one's and this one was able to be charged to full, shot until about 30% - I recharged it over night and now it causes my camera's (D810 and D500) to shut down upon insertion. W or W/o battery grip, in grip or in body, alone or in pair w/ a good battery - it causes complete shutdown.

Charged w/ the Nikon charger, inserted and caused the shutdown issue. Checked the batteries w/ my Watson charger and it shows them at 100% - This is not good for me, worried it might not just be bad batch but more systemic - anyone else having said issues?

Thanks in advance,
A-

Ironheart

Bad charger? Send the "bad" battery back to B&H, send the charger to Nikon. The fact that both cameras are unhappy with the battery indicates thats where the problem is. I wouldn't expect a counterfeit battery from B&H, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

AcierX

Ironheart said:

Bad charger? Send the "bad" battery back to B&H, send the charger to Nikon. The fact that both cameras are unhappy with the battery indicates thats where the problem is. I wouldn't expect a counterfeit battery from B&H, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

I have multiple Nikon chargers for the En-El15 so I can't imagine that is where the issue is - can you? I agree the batteries seem to be the culprit but I'm hoping I just got a portion that came from a bad box - not seeing other people having this issue does make me feel better as it's not widely known enough to be causing a stir but it certainly lowers my confidence in whether or not my gear will be ready to use when I need it.

Thanks Ironheart.

Coastalconn

@AcierX Have you tried your D810 battery in the D500? Does that work fine? I had an issue when I got my D500 where the charger was actually bad. It just blinked really fast and never charged. Haven't heard anyone else in any forum with your issue though...

AcierX

@Coastalconn - I tried using one of the four original Nikon ones I still use for my D810's in the D500 and it works fine - the camera seems ok. Just got a replacement new En-El15 from B&H and that worked fine as well, maybe I just got a bad portion of a batch. Do you use any charger for Nikon batteries other than Nikon chargers? The charger in my instance blinked normal at first as if it was charging and then was steady as if fully charged. After I was sure the battery was a dud I checked it in my Watson dual charger that shows the %'s and it was showing full.

Coastalconn

@AcierX very strange indeed.. Perhaps it was just a dud batch somehow.. I only have the Nikon chargers.. Hopefully it all gets worked out for you..

pictureted

I have 7 batteries and 2 chargers and no problems with either D500 or D810. I had one Nikon charger go bad a couple years ago, but no issues with batteries.

Ton14

I read the 35 pages (well only the last 15) and I'am going to upgrade my D300.

Actually I looked at my photo's made from the start in 2009 with the f/2.8 zooms and some primes on the D300 which was the top DX then.

The D300 cost me € 140.- a year what is not too bad.

Never thought I would buy a DX body after FX anymore, but .........
OK, rent one this weekend first.

I have enough pro glass and I stopped waiting for top DX glass. Hoped that the new f/2.8 zooms should be much lighter, but the 70-200mm from 1.5 to 1.4 kilo does not help much.

Photobug

Ton14 said:

I read the 35 pages (well only the last 15) and I'am going to upgrade my D300.

Actually I looked at my photo's made from the start in 2009 with the f/2.8 zooms and some primes on the D300 which was the top DX then.

The D300 cost me € 140.- a year what is not too bad.

Never thought I would buy a DX body after FX anymore, but .........
OK, rent one this weekend first.

I have enough pro glass and I stopped waiting for top DX glass. Hoped that the new f/2.8 zooms should be much lighter, but the 70-200mm from 1.5 to 1.4 kilo does not help much.

Agree with you Ton14...I too gave up on Nikon for better DX glass. I was using mostly FX glass on my D300 when I sold it 3 years ago. I was very pleased with how much I sold my 17-55 F2.8 for. I got it when I got the D200 and sold it for just over $900. Great lens.

heartyfisher

The lack of good DX glass from Nikon is one of the reasons I have been hesitating on pulling the trigger on the D500. Still I think the trigger is about to be pulled

One more decision point for me is do I get it with the Kit 16-80.... here locally, its significantly well priced with kit included.. but do I need it? I already have the 18-140. Does the 16-80 have much better IQ?

I have also been eyeing the 18-300 F6.3. Yes I know the IQ will be weaker.. but that range is attractive and esp the center IQ of the lense is good. That is attractive to me as I plan to use it with my Nikon1 camera for a good Super Tele-Zoom kit. (Yeah my 18-200 that i used for this has given up the ghost :-( and I have been missing this functionality .. )

So until I decide on my kit lens .. trigger not pulled :-)

Ton14

I rent one. Set everything in camera to neutral. Tested with the 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII, the 85mm f/1.8g and the 70-300mm VR version.

In reviews I was triggered on what they say about noise, IQ should be on par with FF and the best focus system you can get at the moment. My 5 cents after one evening and one day.

Handling super. Focus system is super, I need time to learn all possibilities. Noise out of the camera (RAW files) nice till ISO 3200, LR correction here gives little IQ degradation, ISO 6400 gives usable photo's, higher ISO's are not for me. IQ on par with FF ? No.

I remember the step in IQ from the D300 DX to the D600 FF, the D500 is still a (great) DX camera for me. No lab or studio conditions, just making photo's. Tomorrow I test it indoors with the Tamron 35mm f/1.8 VR on it.

In the climate here in Holland I need VR and good noise reduction software for my BIF photo's, saw the sun for one hour today, so I know how it looks LOL.

Ton14

Oh, SnapBridge ........ everything they write is true, it is hopeless.

egosbar

Ton14 said:

I rent one. Set everything in camera to neutral. Tested with the 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII, the 85mm f/1.8g and the 70-300mm VR version.

In reviews I was triggered on what they say about noise, IQ should be on par with FF and the best focus system you can get at the moment. My 5 cents after one evening and one day.

Handling super. Focus system is super, I need time to learn all possibilities. Noise out of the camera (RAW files) nice till ISO 3200, LR correction here gives little IQ degradation, ISO 6400 gives usable photo's, higher ISO's are not for me. IQ on par with FF ? No.

I remember the step in IQ from the D300 DX to the D600 FF, the D500 is still a (great) DX camera for me. No lab or studio conditions, just making photo's. Tomorrow I test it indoors with the Tamron 35mm f/1.8 VR on it.

In the climate here in Holland I need VR and good noise reduction software for my BIF photo's, saw the sun for one hour today, so I know how it looks LOL.

interested to see how your final evaluation for this camera is , im seriously contemplating on upgrading my d7100 to this camera

Ton14

Put a couple of photo's on Flickr, just to look at as a simple test. I also put 2, D300 photo's on Flickr, just to compare noise, also the original sizes. I know, I know, nothing scientific, but only to see what was 5 years ago.

https://flic.kr/p/NqqmRA

The stork flew over, I could make 2 photo's, AFS-C - GRP, nothing edited in the photo. D500, 85mm f/1.8, ISO 100. The D500 AF is super fast. You get a lot of noise when recovering the shadows.

Ton14

@egosbar upgrade the D7100 to D500 is a huge step forward. I'am only looking if I want to go back to DX, the D500 is € 2299.- here in Holland.