D500

I've never had this low figure with any of my other cameras that used the same battery (D7100, D7200, D750, D800 and D810 ?)

This is my concern too, never experienced battery discharge like this before.
 
My battery is not too bad, not quite as good as the 810 but normal usage low 4 figures.

There does seem to be a split in different users from several forums, some reporting 1500 on a full charge, others barely 500!
Thom Hogan has had a lot to say about the issue of rapid battery discharge so I'm sure it's not down to users alone, maybe a firmware update will address the issue. :thinking:
 
Having had it for a couple of weeks now I am generally very pleased BUT I have concerns with two specific issues:

  1. Battery charge: Today for example I took 215 shots with a battery that showed 100% after being re-charged last night, I have Aircraft Mode switched on and just review images on the rear screen now and again ... after the 215 shots the battery now shows 51%, it is a Li-ion 20. I am very concerned about this low number of shots from virtually 50% of the battery capacity.
  2. I find this camera is more sensitive to blown highlights than any other I have had ... I haven't managed a single Little Egret in sun shot without having blown feathers and I am noticing that areas like dry grass, sunlit leaves etc are very often blown. Now this could be down to me, I know that in several cases today I was using Spot Metering due to the difficult light but not in all cases and many shots had elements that were blown.
Would welcome anyone else's experience/thoughts or advice on these two matters. :)

Did it change between firmware Roger ? I see 1.02 came out a few weeks back ?
 
Did it change between firmware Roger ? I see 1.02 came out a few weeks back ?

I updated to 1.02 on receipt Adam, so cannot compare ... I've dropped an email to Nikon Support for their observations.
 
It seems that most people here are using this camera for wildlife (understandably!). I was wondering if anyone is using it for other photography? Landscapes, family shots etc? How are you finding it? Some info on lens used would be great too.

I've got a 18-150mm for mine but was toying with getting a 17-50 2.8 Sigma or perhaps the Nikon 16-85 or 16-80.. Not sure it get much benefit though apart from the 2.8 of the Sigma.
 
It seems that most people here are using this camera for wildlife (understandably!). I was wondering if anyone is using it for other photography? Landscapes, family shots etc? How are you finding it? Some info on lens used would be great too.

I've got a 18-150mm for mine but was toying with getting a 17-50 2.8 Sigma or perhaps the Nikon 16-85 or 16-80.. Not sure it get much benefit though apart from the 2.8 of the Sigma.

Can't really help with lens choice and TBH the D500 wouldn't be my choice for landscape, its greatest features (speed & buffer together with AF) makes it ideal for sport/wildlife. I've used it with my 300 f4 VR PF and 24-120 f4 VR when doing a bit of walkabout but I think I would continue to use my D7200 for that type of photography where speed isn't an issue and the few extra pixels (24MP) comes in handy. :)
 
Fair enough Gramps. And I agree that there's better cameras for landscapes.

Only reason I asked was that at the weekend we were at a family party and I had my Sony A7ii and whilst it takes beautiful pictures, it can't keep up with kids and dogs running around. Lots of miss focused shots. Wish I'd had the focus of the D500!
 
Only reason I asked was that at the weekend we were at a family party and I had my Sony A7ii and whilst it takes beautiful pictures, it can't keep up with kids and dogs running around. Lots of miss focused shots. Wish I'd had the focus of the D500!

The D500 can certainly do that :D
 
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I didn't bother upgrading - wonder if that makes a difference?

Who knows? :)
Nikon have asked about lenses and memory cards, suggesting 'incompatible' either could stop the camera going into 'standby' ... not sure of the implications there, all lenses are modern Nikon and XQD & SDII cards should be fine, especially with the firmware update addressing "some cards".
 
Any recommendations regarding sellers of batteries? I got a spare EN-El15 for my D7100 on Amazon (seller was Nikon) and there were still reviews mentioning that the batteries were counterfeit and had inferior battery life... I had no problems with it so far, but I haven't checked the weight yet...

I am off to Madagascar in 8 weeks time so it's good to find out that taking fresh new batteries could be a bit of a gamble as there are power outages from time to time
 
Any recommendations regarding sellers of batteries? I got a spare EN-El15 for my D7100 on Amazon (seller was Nikon) and there were still reviews mentioning that the batteries were counterfeit and had inferior battery life... I had no problems with it so far, but I haven't checked the weight yet...

I am off to Madagascar in 8 weeks time so it's good to find out that taking fresh new batteries could be a bit of a gamble as there are power outages from time to time

Got mine from Amazon and no problems to report. Easy to send back to Amazon if any problems. Or if you want peace of mind go to Jessops and get one.
 
I thought I'd test out the new and much more numerous f8 focus points and see what the 600mm f4 vr was like with a 2xTCIII. Wont be quite so worried about using the combo again, both shots PP in PS. Some levels, NR, contrast and sharpening.

The light was very good and the subjects obliging for a change, but distant.


Osprey : Pandion haliaetus
by Jerry Hawker, on Flickr


Little egret : Egretta garzetta
by Jerry Hawker, on Flickr
 
Looks like mine might reluctantly be up for sale, Ive had a problem with my right wrist for ages now and after a another visit to the hospital it seems handling/using a larger camera is only making it worse (funny enough the consultant was a tog and he had just got a D500). Rather gutted :( I do rather like this camera.
 
Looks like mine might reluctantly be up for sale, Ive had a problem with my right wrist for ages now and after a another visit to the hospital it seems handling/using a larger camera is only making it worse (funny enough the consultant was a tog and he had just got a D500). Rather gutted :( I do rather like this camera.

:(
 
Looks like mine might reluctantly be up for sale, Ive had a problem with my right wrist for ages now and after a another visit to the hospital it seems handling/using a larger camera is only making it worse (funny enough the consultant was a tog and he had just got a D500). Rather gutted :( I do rather like this camera.
Just make a left handed grip out of wood that screws onto the tripod mount.
 
Just make a left handed grip out of wood that screws onto the tripod mount.


I did think of doing something but I can't see it being practical, just end up with me getting p***ed off trying to use it that way and go back to normal. A real shame but I think it has to go lets face its only a camera probably going to down size to a mirrorless option.
 
looking to buy the d500 after seeing some of the results thats possible with this camera
i have red you can take a still shot from the video you have just taken is this true or is it when your are taking a video you press the shutter to get a still shot ?
what size of pic does it give doing this is it still 20mp ??
anyone had any issues with the d500 since buying it ? i know some of the lexar sd cards are a bit of an issue but any other issues ?
 
anyone had any issues with the d500 since buying it ? i know some of the lexar sd cards are a bit of an issue but any other issues ?

  1. Li-ion 01 batteries drain massively and are not recommended for use ... only use Li-ion 20.
  2. Li-ion 20 batteries need several cycles from new before they will give anything like full capacity.
  3. Lexar 1000x SD UHS-II cards seem to have caused two issues, a) camera may freeze when writing to the card and Nikon issued Firmware 1.02 to address the issue (basically if it sees the issue it makes the UHS-II card act like a UHS-I and prevents it happening ... b) it appears that this Lexar card causes an issue with the camera going into 'standby' mode, thereby using more battery power than necessary. Nikon are still investigating this issue and are at present unsure if a Firmware update can resolve it or whether the problem will remain with Lexar. Personally, having used SD UHS-I to report my findings back to Nikon I can see no reason to use UHS-II as I am sure that the capacity and speed is more than I would ever need. Jury is out at the moment with the Lexar XQD cards and I am testing.
  4. People have highlighted the 'noise issue' ... as I have said elsewhere, the D500 does produce noise (in situations where you would expect noise) but the noise is smaller and easier to deal with without causing grief to the rest of the image.
  5. Some users have noted that the camera slightly over-exposes and I tend to agree with this, I am often using -0.3 or -0.7 to ensure a level exposure but I am still finding the best exposure method for different circumstances ... I am finding it hard to get exposure right on whites (Lettle Egrets for example) with any of the exposure methods, but I am not discounting user error.
  6. The D500 produces what I feel is a 'cleaner' image, some other cameras I have used can sometimes produce what I feel looks more like a 'painted' image if that makes sense and whilst this can happen with the D500 in processing it generally is not the case.

Personally if I didn't want the option for a cracking AF system and the speed/buffer for the most exacting wildlife opportunities (if only!) I would stick with the D7200 for a DX camera body ... but the difference in those two specific matters is incredible.
 
Just ordered a Pixel battery grip for mine, good price and reviews seem positive, I'll report back when I get it :)
 
I'm still to-ing and fro-ing about whether to pull the trigger on one of these.
Got a price from MPB for my D800 and Sigma 120-300 and am now debating on whether I actually need one of these or just suffering from GAS.
 
I'm still to-ing and fro-ing about whether to pull the trigger on one of these.
Got a price from MPB for my D800 and Sigma 120-300 and am now debating on whether I actually need one of these or just suffering from GAS.

Depends what you shoot.
What 120-300 is it?
 
D500 AF and buffer speed is ideal for wildlife :)
 
I've utilised the cropability of the D800 many times in the past.
That was why I got it as I couldn't afford the 600mm f4 lenses.
Now with the new range of Nikon and Sigma lenses, that negates that argument.
It seems from reading up that most people seem to be using the Nikon 200-500, is that the case?
Why use that when an extra 100mm is available on the Sigma? AF speed?
 
I would've said that, from what I've seen on these wildlife forums here, a lot of people tend to favour the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary
I considered the Sigma but went with the Nikon because of the slightly wider aperture at full stretch, as I thought it might be beneficial in low light, I guess its a case of you pay your money and you take your choice,
I am very happy with my 200-500 but I suspect I would be just as happy with the Sigma.
 
I really wanted to get the weight of my setup down, but the more I look to the type of shooting I do, the more I'm tempted to go with the Sigma S. (Extra 100mm plus weather sealing) although it does put me back up near the 3kg bracket.
 
I switched a 150-600 Sports for the Nikon 200-500. Weight was the issue for me. I'm happy with the change and for me the lighter weight was more important than the extra 100mm.
 
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