D500

It's also indoor season coming up... and as much as the D500 is an absolute beast, the D750 and indoor action just work really well and pretty clean!

I'm going to work with the Sony for a bit and maybe try out a D500 side by side if I can - although for indoor equestrian I think Full Frame is still a better option!

Hi Justin

If you've not used a D500 before I think you're going to be impressed. However, as you were actually looking at spending a couple of grand on a Sony body then you could probably do worse than seriously consider the D850.

Compared to the D750 the D850 has Touch screen, Focus Peaking, Higher resolution, Focus Stacking, ISO 64, superior AF system, better ergonomics with a more comfortable grip etc. Plus you've also got the option of using it full frame and cropping if necessary or using it in DX mode. Apparently it also works superbly with the new 70-200mm lens (think you've still got yours?).

Just waiting for my D850 to arrive and got a rather good deal from Panamoz for the body and grip.
 
I'm going to work with the Sony for a bit and maybe try out a D500 side by side if I can - although for indoor equestrian I think Full Frame is still a better option!

This.
Always gonna be the answer.
When I was shooting it (equestrian) always shot jpeg as we were printing them on site. No time to edit. Crop and print.
Justin you need full frame mate. I’ve got the D500 and whilst it’s great, I’d always go full frame for indoor equestrian.
 
Very nice Peter. :clap: Very sharp, and all catching the eyes. :)

Are they large crops or where you pretty close?

Or far with a very big lens. ;) :LOL:
one not cropped :) they were at 600mm with the sigma 150-600 c I do keep debating with myself if I need a new lens to upgrade as I often think i struggle a bit in low light. maybe a 300 2.8 and carry a TC or possible the 200-500 5.6 or even the 120-300 2.8 with TC in my pocket.
_5006489-2 by peter staddon, on Flickr
 
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one not cropped :) they were at 600mm with the sigma 150-600 c I do keep debating with myself if I need a new lens to upgrade as I often think i struggle a bit in low light. maybe a 300 2.8 and carry a TC or possible the 200-500 5.6 or even the 120-300 2.8 with TC in my pocket.
_5006489-2 by peter staddon, on Flickr
Thanks for taking the time to reply. :) Can't say how the lens works in low light but it is giving great images in good light. The Sigma 150 - 600mm has popped up on my radar as something to consider in the future to rent, or maybe buy if finances take an up turn, (doubtful:( :LOL:) to go beyond the 70-300mm I have now, so glad to see some nice sharp images, especially wide open. :)
 
Thanks for taking the time to reply. :) Can't say how the lens works in low light but it is giving great images in good light. The Sigma 150 - 600mm has popped up on my radar as something to consider in the future to rent, or maybe buy if finances take an up turn, (doubtful:( :LOL:) to go beyond the 70-300mm I have now, so glad to see some nice sharp images, especially wide open. :)
erm that was taken in low light IMO it was a dull overcast day.
 
My D500 arrived yesterday afternoon about an hour before I set off into work for the night, so I only had a quick play before I had to put it back in it's box. First impressions were good, as I shot through a couple of windows at some garden birds and a couple of light aircraft, which land on a grass strip a few blocks away, I'll pop out tomorrow afternoon for an hour to give it a better test.

I have both the Sigma 150-600c and Nikon 300VR f2.8 which I have used on my D750 to good effect, I must say that the Nikon delivers every time and is great for my karting photos. I am impressed with the Siggy though and it is nice to be able to have the telephoto range at airshows etc. I'll try both on the new body and will post some results. I will say the shots that I've seen with the 200-500 f5.6 do look very good.
 
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I had an hour or so yesterday afternoon before work to try the D500 out. I visited our local pond first finding the light quite harsh on the gulls and Cygnets, I was pleased to find that I could recover some of the blown highlights in Lr during pp.. I then called into the local airfield, where there wasn't much happening in the sky unfortunately. On first impressions I found the AF as others have, with both GRP and d25 working very well leaving me looking forward to using it over the weekend, I might call into Brands on Saturday for the BSB visit, I am then covering a karting event on Sunday. I did venture out with one of the batteries from my D750 which had 82% charge and only managed some 130 clicks before the battery light was flashing, so I'll have to monitor this next time out. I'm still finding my way around the button layout and did find I was pressing the wrong ones when I had my eye at the viewfinder. I haven't gotten used to the touchscreen when viewing images, I'm sure I will though. The fps was stonking compared to my D750 even when in my preferred CL setting, very impressive as was the buffer.
I only have Lr 5 so need to either upgrade to Lr 6 or take up the CC option, as converting NEF to DNGs is just too time consuming.

Swan.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Gull in flight Sig 150-600c.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Gull in flight Nik 300 2.8.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Hangar shot ISO1600 Sig ART 36mm.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Heavy crop 300 2.8.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Sig 150-600.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

The rest from my trip out - https://flic.kr/s/aHsmoVohSb
 
I had an hour or so yesterday afternoon before work to try the D500 out. I visited our local pond first finding the light quite harsh on the gulls and Cygnets, I was pleased to find that I could recover some of the blown highlights in Lr during pp.. I then called into the local airfield, where there wasn't much happening in the sky unfortunately. On first impressions I found the AF as others have, with both GRP and d25 working very well leaving me looking forward to using it over the weekend, I might call into Brands on Saturday for the BSB visit, I am then covering a karting event on Sunday. I did venture out with one of the batteries from my D750 which had 82% charge and only managed some 130 clicks before the battery light was flashing, so I'll have to monitor this next time out. I'm still finding my way around the button layout and did find I was pressing the wrong ones when I had my eye at the viewfinder. I haven't gotten used to the touchscreen when viewing images, I'm sure I will though. The fps was stonking compared to my D750 even when in my preferred CL setting, very impressive as was the buffer.
I only have Lr 5 so need to either upgrade to Lr 6 or take up the CC option, as converting NEF to DNGs is just too time consuming.

Swan.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Gull in flight Sig 150-600c.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Gull in flight Nik 300 2.8.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Hangar shot ISO1600 Sig ART 36mm.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Heavy crop 300 2.8.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Sig 150-600.
D500 Test. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

The rest from my trip out - https://flic.kr/s/aHsmoVohSb


Looks as if you're going to like it and get some great results!
Don't forget you've got the "extended highlights" option to help avoid blowing out highlights.
 
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Extended highlights, I never knew that . I am looking forward to exploring the menus at the weekend, I haven't had the chance yet.
 
Ok I am going to go ahead and buying a 200-500 5.6 :D i can blame @holty
any opinions on the TC i see a few people say the 1.4tciii is the best but not cheap
and quite a few people on a google search say the kenko 1.4 300 pro dgx is better then the 1.4 tcii and a lot cheaper only just over £100 new.


Also does anyone have any experience with e-infinity as they seem to be the cheapest at the moment and im a northener lol
 
Ok I am going to go ahead and buying a 200-500 5.6 :D i can blame @holty
any opinions on the TC i see a few people say the 1.4tciii is the best but not cheap
and quite a few people on a google search say the kenko 1.4 300 pro dgx is better then the 1.4 tcii and a lot cheaper only just over £100 new.


Also does anyone have any experience with e-infinity as they seem to be the cheapest at the moment and im a northener lol

I find the 1.4tc iii to be very good with the 200-500, can't comment on the Kenco.
I've used e-Infinity at least half a dozen times in the last 12 months, no problems at all. Delivery time marginally longer than Panamoz, but generally better prices.
 
peter
my best advise is stick with the nikon tc they are developed for and by nikon stay away from 3rd party ones
don't compromise on quality save your pennies for the nikon 1.4 iii
e-finity are easy to deal with and great price
:nikon:
 
The 1.4 tc iii would not be too bad if I was not eyeing up a sigma 150 2.8 macro at the moment lol

And have just this minute ordered the 200-500 :D
my sigma 150-600 will be going to a mate in a couple of weeks for I think a good price for him :)
 
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The 1.4 tc iii would not be too bad if I was not eyeing up a sigma 150 2.8 macro at the moment lol

And have just this minute ordered the 200-500 :D
my sigma 150-600 will be going to a mate in a couple of weeks for I think a good price for him :)

Will be interested, to find out, how you compare the Nikon in comparison to the Sigma.
 
Will be interested, to find out, how you compare the Nikon in comparison to the Sigma.

I am sure I will update on getting it and trying it out and my comparisons :)

I've recently bought the 200-500 from @Phil-D, he bought it as a temporary replacement while his 150-600 was being serviced and decided to keep the 150-600 which was good for me so he could probably shed some light on the comparison. Ive tried it with the mk2 1.4tc which seems pretty good.
 
well the 200-500 turned up at just after 6pm.
had a quick try out inside not very well lit.
I have to say I am impressed nothing special but here is it's 1st picture.
The picture is as taken no editing at all
It was taken hand held at 500mm F5.6 1/60 ISO8000
500_0026 by peter staddon, on Flickr
 
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If that's handheld, it's amazing at 1/60s and 500mm
 
@PBP27 ,

Couple of tips. Make sure you have wifi etc off to preserve battery life.

With the touchscreen you can reverse the direction it goes in when you swipe so it is more like an iPhone for example.

The customisation of the AF is amazing.

For example I have back button AF set up to select and activate a group of 9.

Then I have the centre press down of the joystick to select and activate the centre point only.

I also have the dof preview button set to select and activate the whole lot auto tracking.

That way without taking your eye from the viewfinder, or having to make setting changes I can use whatever mode I need in a split second. I'll post the pictures soon but tracking red kites the other day I could pick one out in a tree with the centre point only, follow one against a busy background with a small group, but as it passes into open sky transition to all points and let the camera track it...
 
@Craig_85

Thank you for those tips ! Your AF set up sounds very bespoke for your needs and shows that the options available are great. I did use the camera over both days of the weekend, Saturday at Brands Hatch and Sunday covering a Karting even locally. I had AF-C d25 on the back button and GRP on the joystick press down. I found that the back button focus worked flawlessly but when using the joystick tracking the bikes/karts, I kept knocking the focus point away from where I wanted it to be, I had to be conscious of the need to pressure the joystick directly , I need more practice I think, the actual GRP focus was good and pretty easy to lock onto an object once the 4 squares were active. I did have the camera in Airplane mode as I haven't played with Snapbridge yet, I do post the occasional image straight to social media when covering an event on my D750, so It will be something that I will use in the near future.
I found the fps absolutely amazing compared with the D750 and was happily banging up the shutter count ! I was impressed with the image quality in the bright light on Saturday when I as shooting RAW, on Sunday I shot Jpeg fine, as I needed to be able to upload the 1k images into Lr that evening, as I am using version 5.7 and didn't want to send time using the DNG converter. The mage quality from the Jpeg was fine until the light started to fade, at iso 400 they looked a little noisy, I stuck with it though and refrained from using my D750 in those conditions. I really enjoyed having the extra reach, especially at Brands where I used my300 2.8 and 1.4 TC. Sunday I was out on the circuit and found the 70-200 perfect, whereas with the D750 I would use both the 300 and 70-200 during the day.

Four from the weekend.
From just over the fence balancing on a small step.
Winding on the power. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Strange !
One of the strangest things I've ever seen at Brands Hatch ! by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Jpeg pan.
Katherine White competing in the Kent Kart Championships. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Jpeg pan at 1/40th testing the AF.
Harry Freeman competing at Lydd Kart circuit. by Paul Babington, on Flickr
 
@Craig_85

Thank you for those tips ! Your AF set up sounds very bespoke for your needs and shows that the options available are great. I did use the camera over both days of the weekend, Saturday at Brands Hatch and Sunday covering a Karting even locally. I had AF-C d25 on the back button and GRP on the joystick press down. I found that the back button focus worked flawlessly but when using the joystick tracking the bikes/karts, I kept knocking the focus point away from where I wanted it to be, I had to be conscious of the need to pressure the joystick directly , I need more practice I think, the actual GRP focus was good and pretty easy to lock onto an object once the 4 squares were active. I did have the camera in Airplane mode as I haven't played with Snapbridge yet, I do post the occasional image straight to social media when covering an event on my D750, so It will be something that I will use in the near future.
I found the fps absolutely amazing compared with the D750 and was happily banging up the shutter count ! I was impressed with the image quality in the bright light on Saturday when I as shooting RAW, on Sunday I shot Jpeg fine, as I needed to be able to upload the 1k images into Lr that evening, as I am using version 5.7 and didn't want to send time using the DNG converter. The mage quality from the Jpeg was fine until the light started to fade, at iso 400 they looked a little noisy, I stuck with it though and refrained from using my D750 in those conditions. I really enjoyed having the extra reach, especially at Brands where I used my300 2.8 and 1.4 TC. Sunday I was out on the circuit and found the 70-200 perfect, whereas with the D750 I would use both the 300 and 70-200 during the day.

Four from the weekend.
From just over the fence balancing on a small step.
Winding on the power. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Strange !
One of the strangest things I've ever seen at Brands Hatch ! by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Jpeg pan.
Katherine White competing in the Kent Kart Championships. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Jpeg pan at 1/40th testing the AF.
Harry Freeman competing at Lydd Kart circuit. by Paul Babington, on Flickr
Great first pic. Great eyes. :clap:
 
@Craig_85

Thank you for those tips ! Your AF set up sounds very bespoke for your needs and shows that the options available are great. I did use the camera over both days of the weekend, Saturday at Brands Hatch and Sunday covering a Karting even locally. I had AF-C d25 on the back button and GRP on the joystick press down. I found that the back button focus worked flawlessly but when using the joystick tracking the bikes/karts, I kept knocking the focus point away from where I wanted it to be, I had to be conscious of the need to pressure the joystick directly , I need more practice I think, the actual GRP focus was good and pretty easy to lock onto an object once the 4 squares were active. I did have the camera in Airplane mode as I haven't played with Snapbridge yet, I do post the occasional image straight to social media when covering an event on my D750, so It will be something that I will use in the near future.
I found the fps absolutely amazing compared with the D750 and was happily banging up the shutter count ! I was impressed with the image quality in the bright light on Saturday when I as shooting RAW, on Sunday I shot Jpeg fine, as I needed to be able to upload the 1k images into Lr that evening, as I am using version 5.7 and didn't want to send time using the DNG converter. The mage quality from the Jpeg was fine until the light started to fade, at iso 400 they looked a little noisy, I stuck with it though and refrained from using my D750 in those conditions. I really enjoyed having the extra reach, especially at Brands where I used my300 2.8 and 1.4 TC. Sunday I was out on the circuit and found the 70-200 perfect, whereas with the D750 I would use both the 300 and 70-200 during the day.

Four from the weekend.
From just over the fence balancing on a small step.
Winding on the power. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Strange !
One of the strangest things I've ever seen at Brands Hatch ! by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Jpeg pan.
Katherine White competing in the Kent Kart Championships. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Jpeg pan at 1/40th testing the AF.
Harry Freeman competing at Lydd Kart circuit. by Paul Babington, on Flickr

Cracking set. Love the sidecar one. I'm assuming this was after the race.

I use one of the front function buttons for my alternative focus buttons I think it's the lower right one if the camera is to your eye.
 
Cracking set. Love the sidecar one. I'm assuming this was after the race.

I use one of the front function buttons for my alternative focus buttons I think it's the lower right one if the camera is to your eye.

Yes it was after the finish, took me by surprise ! I dialled in the single point to the PV button , I never really use that option though. I did love the positioning of the iso button, very easy to adjust when if differing light.
 
Not what I use my D500 for, but it is a ridiculous camera at moving subjects. The AF is the best I've used, fullstop and the lack of AA filter means the images are so sharp!

Red Kite by Craig Hollis, on Flickr
How do you rate the F4, I’m needing an upgrade from my siggy 70-200 2.8 with my old body it was fine, but I’m noticing since upgrading to the D500 I think the lens is letting it down, thinking of the Nikon 2.8 or maybe F4 or maybe 200-500 but feel for sports I’d lose to much in the slower lens
 
How do you rate the F4, I’m needing an upgrade from my siggy 70-200 2.8 with my old body it was fine, but I’m noticing since upgrading to the D500 I think the lens is letting it down, thinking of the Nikon 2.8 or maybe F4 or maybe 200-500 but feel for sports I’d lose to much in the slower lens

Get the nikon 70-200 2.8 vr1 and then save for the 200-500
 
I'm posting this as it was a bit of a mistake - not because it's a great shot!
It's at Brandon Marsh yesterday, a friendly robin grab shot with the D500 - the interest being that it's ISO 25600 (Jpg fine with no noise reduction applied).

Robin - High ISO by Malcolm Fisher, on Flickr

D500, Nikkor 200-500mm, 1/800th @ f8, 400mm, ISO 25600
 
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