D850 AF not as good as D5 as advertised!!!

shubhabrata29

D850 AF tracking not really same as D5 - Can a firmware update in future match it to D5, since specs are said to be same?

autofocus

Maybe they will provide a fix in a firmware update. Not really worried about it though.
Edit: It could be just a processing issue pushing so much data through the pipeline while tracking. Big difference between 46 and 20MP. The camera is writing data to the buffer while performing AF tracking. Both are spec'd with the dedicated AF processor though.

shubhabrata29

autofocus said:

Maybe they will provide a fix in a firmware update. Not really worried about it though.
Edit: It could be just a processing issue pushing so much data through the pipeline while tracking. Big difference between 46 and 20MP. The camera is writing data to the buffer while performing AF tracking. Both are spec'd with the dedicated AF processor though.

Think I heard there is a separate processor for AF in D850.

WestEndFoto

Others have observed this when pushing it to its limits but don't consider it a big issue. Consider this though, the D5 only has to deal with 33% more images that are less than half the size. Fps * megapixels = data per second. With that left over processing power, it should have plenty of room left over to improve performance on other issues, such as focussing.

I suspect that Nikon allocates all of the processors power in every camera it makes to eke out every last bit of performance.

Could be why they don't do many firmware updates. No room left over.....

PB_PM

It's called product protection. If the D850 was as good as the D5, nobody would buy the D5.

Resolution doesn't affect AF performance, since both the D5 and the D850 have separate processors for AF.

kanuck

My bets are on a firmware update. Also, hurry up Adobe and release new Lightroom with D850 compatibilities!

Killerbob

kanuck said:

My bets are on a firmware update. Also, hurry up Adobe and release new Lightroom with D850 compatibilities!

I agree. Now is not too fast...

Abhinav

PB_PM said:

It's called product protection. If the D850 was as good as the D5, nobody would buy the D5.

This makes a lot of sense but the way it is marketed this can be a bummer for many who bought D850.

donaldejose

I wonder how the D850 AF compares to the D500 AF since they both have the same megapixels.

BVS

Some thoughts/questions:

1. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I've seen reports in the past that the D500 AF actually performs better with the grip attached vs. no grip. I wonder if the D850 AF might also perform better with the grip. D5 has the advantage with all the extra power built in already.

2. I'm curious how long the viewfinder blackout is compared to the D5 and D500, and whether this might be having an effect on the tracking.

3. Isn't the D5 just naturally sharper due to the lower pixel count? Could this partly be responsible for the slightly out of focus shots in one of his early tests?

PB_PM

I believe PL did some comparisons of the blackout times, IIRC in all cases the D5 had shorter backout times than the D850.

CEBlueclouds

I don't recall seeing any Nikon material that said D850 AF was better or as good as D5. It clearly said same multicam system (which may or may not imply same real world performance- my interpretation) It definitely means similar attributes which is clearly the case. For dynamic range the claim was similar or better than D810 which is the actual experience from most that have done any analysis. I believe Nikon this time around has been more careful with its marketing.

PB_PM

Yup. We had the same debate years ago, when the D300, and D700 were said have the same AF system as the D3. The D3 still trounced them both in AF.

greyhoundrick

I wonder how the D850 would track in crop mode with the battery grip? Personally, Ive found that focus tracking setting doesn't work as well for fast moving subjects. I shot a lot of greyhound racing with my D3 and when I experimented with focus tracking it had trouble...

snakebunk

I really like that video, nice and informative. I believe the phase detection AF system is the same, I don't think this has anything to do with product protection and I don't think it can be fixed in a firmware update. My guess is that the faster mirror on the D5 gives the AF system more time to work.

donaldejose

After all folks, it is ok if the D5 is better at tracking a fast moving subject. The D850 was not designed for that particular task while the D5 was. Those people who need to shoot fast moving subjects will be buying a D5 in the first place. Those shooting landscapes or portraits will be buying a D850. Sure the D5 can shoot landscapes; the D850 at ISO 64 is just better. Sure the D850 can shoot fast moving subjects; the D5 is just better. Nothing really strange about that.

kanuck

I don't know, I am finding the 3D face detection to be pretty ridiculously fast. If the D5 is faster then I would be blown away. I have never seen quicker focus or the ability to hold the faces through motion like this before. I shot with the D3 a bit and D4s a lot and the D850 beats both easily.