24 Hours With a Nikon D850
I received my Nikon D850 24 hours ago and can comfortably state that this is the best all-around camera Nikon has ever produced. It excelled at every single situation I threw at it. Nikon makes other cameras that specialize at specific aspects like frame rate (D5/D500), high ISO performance (D5). But nothing combines all the features (resolution, dynamic range, high ISO performance, frame rate, autofocus, buffer depth, ergonomics, image quality) like the D850.
Macro photo using the Nikon D850 focus stacking utility. 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 560, 24-70mm f/2.8
During the last 24 hours, I’ve put it through a pretty good representative sample of outdoor photography situations including:
– Birds
– Macro (focus stacking)
– High dynamic range panoramas
– Black and white conversions
– Architecture at sunset
– Night football at ISO 25,600
– Cross country meet
Here are photos with captions to show some background information and exposure details.
Panorama of Gig Harbor with high dynamic range. Nikon D850, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, f/11, Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8.
One of the original RAW files for the above panorama. Panorama of Gig Harbor with high dynamic range. Nikon D850, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, f/11, Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8.
Night football game. Nikon D850, 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 25600, 300mm, Nikon 200-400mm f/4.
100% crop from above photograph. Night football game. Nikon D850, 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 25600, 300mm, Nikon 200-400mm f/4.
Great blue heron. Nikon D850, Nikon 200-500mm, 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500, 460mm.
100% crop from above photo. Great blue heron. Nikon D850, Nikon 200-500mm, 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500, 460mm.
The D850 shoots at 7 FPS out of the box enabling you to get shots like this. Great blue heron. Nikon D850, Nikon 200-500mm, 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 500, 460mm.
Black and white conversions are beautiful from the D850. 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO 125, 200mm, Nikon 200-500mm
Cross country athlete. Nikon D850, 70-200mm f/2.8, 1/1000 sec, ISO 125, f/2.8.
This is one of the state’s best runners. The D850 handled the high contrast scene just fine. 1/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100, 120mm, 70-200mm f/2.8
1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 125, 200mm, 70-200mm f/2.8
Autofocus performance was stellar, even in this dark high school football stadium. 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 25600, 300mm, Nikon 200-400mm f/4.
The Nikon D850 makes an excellent architectural photography camera. 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 100, 14mm, Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8.
This is a very tight crop of a sparrow from a long ways away. The amount of detail in the 46 MP file is stunning. 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000, 500mm, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6
There’s lots of detail in those feathers with the Nikon D850. See below for 100% crop. 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, 500mm, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6.
Here’s the 100% crop of the above crow photograph. 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, 500mm, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6.
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