D500 General Discussion Thread

safyre

Better late than never.
Although I'm actually glad Nikon took friggen forever to release this successor as it expedited my transition to FX. Release a couple years earlier and I would still be stuck with DX, but now I have seen the light. FX is better and is the future.

snakebunk

don't think any of the new cameras will interest the wedding boys so that's a market lost.

What do you want?

CaMeRaQuEsT

First impressions from a beta tester/initial product campaign shooter:

http://www.ishootshows.com/2016/01/05/shooting-impressions-on-assignment-with-the-nikon-d500-and-sb-5000/

He is very impressed with the new AF and that the sensor's high ISO performance is on par with that of a full frame sensor, but remember, he's been paid by Nikon to shoot the D500 product campaign with a pre-production D500.

pbull221

I will feast on this information for a very, very long time. Thank you Nikon, you seem to hear we users if only a little bit of a Wi-Fi update.

Pistnbroke

What do I want?? a 24-210 F4 for me FX, a proper replacement for the SB 400 and some more customers !!!

CaMeRaQuEsT

Japanese brochure:

http://chsvimg.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/d500/common/pdf/digital-brochure-ja.pdf

There is a description of the body parts materials (page 21) were the only parts made of magnesium are the top and back covers, the front cover and mirror box are carbon fiber (I earlier asumed the front cover was also made of magnesium), so it's pretty much the same construction type as in the D750. They show the D500 with a 600mm f4 FL attached, so I guess this carbon fiber mirror box is strong enough to withstand this lens hanging on its mount. It also shows a mirror dampening device being implemented, so a good chance that it will not suffer from the mirror/shutter slap endemic of Nikon's earlier carbon fiber bodies.

snakebunk

What do I want?? a 24-210 F4 for me FX, a proper replacement for the SB 400 and some more customers !!!

I was thinking about new DSLRs :-). But I wish you lots of customers!

pbull221

"Eye-Fi compatible." What does this mean?

FreezeAction

"Eye-Fi compatible." What does this mean?

It means eye-fi sb cards can be used for wireless transfer of images to a tablet or computer and maybe cell phones. I know about them but do not use.

pbull221

Ah, yes. I remember that now. One of these days I will get a data plan for my cell and jump into this brave new world. As a computer technician I shun all technology when I am not at work. If Nikon could take a step back to the days when Canon was festooned with buttons and Nikon was simple, I'd buy into that.

tcole1983

I want!

Mwuahaha now my 17-55 DX lens will be worth more! I am all set, just have to sell off all my stuff to raise the $2k for it.

heartyfisher

So who is getting one ? show of hands ... :-h

manhattanboy

It also shows a mirror dampening device being implemented, so a good chance that it will not suffer from the mirror/shutter slap endemic of Nikon's earlier carbon fiber bodies.

I tried going there but I could not read the Japanese. Can you kindly translate what it says about the shutter?

This is what Google gave for that text, but maybe someone else can do better:

Easy to continue to follow a moving object, stable viewfinder image. In order to pursue the subjects that move around during high-speed continuous shooting accurately, it is important to be stable went through the viewfinder image. D500 is, mirrored coreless motor and reliable mirror balancer suitable for rapid acceleration and deceleration to the drive mechanism, and has adopted its own mirror drive assist mechanism. Deceleration of the mirror-up completion just before by the mirror driving assist mechanism, child slowdown and Miraba Lancer shock absorption by in mirror-down completion just before by the control of Ares motor, effectively suppressed mirror up, the bound of both mirror down, finder to reduce the image blur. In addition, the deferred timing of Miraa~tsu-flops start, and to shorten the image disappearance time of the viewfinder at an acceleration assist of Mirada down initial by the mirror driving assist mechanism, and has realized a stable viewfinder image.

So who is getting one ? show of hands ... :-h

I pre-ordered yesterday. My two hesitations are the drop in resolution to 21MP as I already shoot the 7100 in 1.3x crop a bunch, and the slow QC mode of 3fps which is slower than the 810.

tcole1983

I won't get it when it is released. I'll get it when some refurbished ones hit the market for $500 less. Need to start saving now or pick up some paid gigs to pay for it.

Ironheart

I am on the waiting list at my local shop. I should get first or second dibs \:D/
Apparently they have more orders for the D5 than the D500

pbull221

From the ByThom website: " Yes, it even has a small thumb-drive for the autofocus sensor position." I do not know what on earth he is talking about. Thought I'd ask here as it is a forum.

CaMeRaQuEsT

From the ByThom website: " Yes, it even has a small thumb-drive for the autofocus sensor position." I do not know what on earth he is talking about. Thought I'd ask here as it is a forum.

It's more like a thumb-controlled joystick, it's right under the AF-ON button. Handier and faster than the D-pad for focus point/group selection.

CaMeRaQuEsT

It also shows a mirror dampening device being implemented, so a good chance that it will not suffer from the mirror/shutter slap endemic of Nikon's earlier carbon fiber bodies.

I tried going there but I could not read the Japanese. Can you kindly translate what it says about the shutter?

Sorry, I don't read Japanese, just Chinese, so I just deduce the meaning out of the kanji (Chinese characters) on the text.

CaMeRaQuEsT

Interview w/Nikon executives by Imaging Resource: (they are always insightful, but this time around they just concentrated more on Snapbridge and KeyMission360, so nothing about D5/D500's sensors):

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2016/01/06/nikon-ces-2016-interview-nikon-defines-their-future

Most eye-widening insight: unlike the D300, the D500 was targeted to enthusiasts rather than pros (thus the cost reducing plastic build and the tilty screen I guess) as the D300 was mostly embraced by enthusiasts rather than the expected pros. For Nikon's sake, I just really, really hope there won't be many heavy tele lenses falling off D500s' broken lens mounts.

spraynpray

@CaMeRaQuEsT: You'd better tell the formula one designers that they are making their cars out of sub-standard material... )

pictureted

The more I think about it, the D500 make a terrific complement to my D810. I like the extra reach my 200-500 gets with the D7100, but the D810 focuses faster. I've gotten used to a small buffer with both cameras - now with the D500 I have reach, more than adequate MPs, a massive buffer and fast frame rate and even better AF. Takes the same batteries as my D810 too. I'm getting closer to ordering all the time.

fiziks

Those big tele lenses have tripod feet on them for a reason. The lens mount doesn't need to be strong enough to hold a 600mm... it needs to be strong enough to hold the D500 (and grip and WT-7) to the 600mm (or 70-200mm or any other lens mounted directly to the tripod). ;-)

CaMeRaQuEsT

Nikon, for its camera bodies, uses a type of low cost carbon fiber that is just random filling inside a die-cast plastic part, which is totally different to the very expensive weaved carbon fiber "cloth" lied on top of one another, glued together using epoxy and then cured under high pressure/high temperature inside huge autoclaves used in car and aerospace manufacturing, or in Nikon's case for its newest long, heavy tele lenses' hoods. Yes, you usually shoot a long, heavy tele lens attached with the lens' own shoe to a tripod/monopod, but what about when you are moving around with the camera/lens combo hanging from its strap? I don't own or have ever used a lens heavier than 3 pounds, so I will really like to know the repercussions of such mishandling of lens and body pairings.

NSXTypeR

Nikon, for its camera bodies, uses a type of low cost carbon fiber that is just random filling inside a die-cast plastic part, which is totally different to the very expensive weaved carbon fiber "cloth" lied on top of one another, glued together using epoxy and then cured under high pressure/high temperature inside huge autoclaves used in car and aerospace manufacturing, or in Nikon's case for its newest long, heavy tele lenses' hoods. Yes, you usually shoot a long, heavy tele lens attached with the lens' own shoe to a tripod/monopod, but what about when you are moving around with the camera/lens combo hanging from its strap? I don't own or have ever used a lens heavier than 3 pounds, so I will really like to know the repercussions of such mishandling of lens and body pairings.

I think any combination of long lens + weight on a camera is going to be hard- it's pretty much a big lever- think back to physics. I think a metal body doesn't make a big difference in protecting against that.

Ironheart

Nikon, for its camera bodies, uses a type of low cost carbon fiber that is just random filling inside a die-cast plastic part, which is totally different to the very expensive weaved carbon fiber "cloth" lied on top of one another, glued together using epoxy and then cured under high pressure/high temperature inside huge autoclaves used in car and aerospace manufacturing, or in Nikon's case for its newest long, heavy tele lenses' hoods. Yes, you usually shoot a long, heavy tele lens attached with the lens' own shoe to a tripod/monopod, but what about when you are moving around with the camera/lens combo hanging from its strap? I don't own or have ever used a lens heavier than 3 pounds, so I will really like to know the repercussions of such mishandling of lens and body pairings.

The D500 and and D750 share the same construction, and the D5300 is all CFRTP. Where is the spate of broken mounts that should be happening? Crickets...

http://nikonrumors.com/2013/12/10/nikon-d5300-trivia-the-body-is-made-out-of-a-new-carbon-fibre-reinforced-thermoplastics-and-you-can-now-change-the-aperture-in-live-view.aspx/

The carbon fiber used in Nikon products is a specific brand of CFRTP call Sereebo, manufactured by a Japanese company named Teijin. The same formula is used in aerospace and automotive design.

http://www.teijin.com/news/2013/ebd131015_55.html

"Sereebo-branded CFRTP composites are made with three Teijin-developed intermediate materials that the company produces by impregnating carbon fiber with thermoplastic resin. U Series is a unidirectional intermediate offering directional strength on an ultrahigh level. I Series is an isotropic intermediate offering a balance of shape, moldability and multidirectional strength. P Series, which is a long-fiber thermoplastic pellet (LFT) made from high-strength carbon fiber, is suitable for injection molding of complex parts, a promising material that will enable the recycling of CFRTP composites."