D500

According to a Nikon Europe support article, if you have a D500 and have bad performing older EN-EL15 Li-ion01 batteries from earlier cameras, you can have your EN-EL15 Li-ion01 batteries exchanged for free to the newer Li-ion20 batteries. At least they are addressing the issue in some way.

https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/66512

There was speculation that the older batteries and 3rd party batteries may not work because of the way different internal components/functions draw power, and may have been able to have been fixed with a Firmware update, but I think this may prove that this is something that can't be fixed with a Firmware update. Those owners of 3rd party batteries from other cameras may be stuffed. :( :rolleyes:

On Nikon Rumours this has been posted.
"In the summer of 2013, we modified the electric discharge characteristics of our EN-EL15 rechargeable battery without changing its capacity. When pre-modification EN-EL15 batteries are used with the D500, the maximum number of shots possible (battery life) is reduced. This does not occur with cameras other than the D500."
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redhed17 said:
There was speculation that the older batteries and 3rd party batteries {snip} may have been able to have been fixed with a Firmware update, but I think this may prove that this is something that can't be fixed with a Firmware update. Those owners of 3rd party batteries from other cameras may be stuffed. :( :rolleyes:
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You can pretty well guarantee that with the exchange offer being made ... why would Nikon make an effort to make 3rd party batteries compatible? :)
 
Out of interest, you UK boys (and girls) with your D500's, where did you get them from ?

I've been checking all the usual sources (WEX, Park, Camera World, Amazon, Calumet etc) for a couple of months now, and all are still saying pre-order - no one has one in stock ?

Weirdly our US cousins seem to have plenty. Has it been officially launched in the UK yet, or are you guys NPS members and have managed to get first on the waiting list ?

Anyone any ideas when more will be available ?
 
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Sootchucker said:
Out of interest, you UK boys (and girls) with your D500's, where did you get them from ?
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I got mine imported from Panamoz. Didn't save as much as I would have liked, but it paid for Lexar 32Gb SD and XQD cards, and I was able to buy it when I had the money. ;) :)


Sootchucker said:
Anyone any ideas when more will be available ?
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I think the 2nd wave of deliveries has happened, so they should slowly get stock as initial demands subsides. Though with such good reviews so far... ;)
 
Sootchucker said:
Out of interest, you UK boys (and girls) with your D500's, where did you get them from ?

I've been checking all the usual sources (WEX, Park, Camera World, Amazon, Calumet etc) for a couple of months now, and all are still saying pre-order - no one has one in stock ?

Weirdly our US cousins seem to have plenty. Has it been officially launched in the UK yet, or are you guys NPS members and have managed to get first on the waiting list ?

Anyone any ideas when more will be available ?
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I'm wondering the same, had my order in with Calumet for 3 weeks now i ring every week and their clueless also got a 600mm and a wideangle in same bundle, when i see all this sunshine i WANT IT NOW... sighhhh.

Fingers crossed we should start seeing them soonish
 
So those that do have them, how are you getting on with them ... realistically now. :D
 
I ordered the D500 from calumet on 08/05/16. Who received their order recently and when did you place it?
As with any new equipment ordered, i can't wait to get my greasy paws on it.
Anyone know where there's stock?
 
Just ordered the D500 and 16-80 combo from Panamoz for £2003 delivered (around £472) less than the best advertised in the UK. Should be with me tomorrow according to the tracking details.

A quick question on the batteries. One of my older EN-EL15 units is an 01 revision. I take it as my D500 is an import, Nikon UK won't replace it FOC?
 
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gramps said:
So those that do have them, how are you getting on with them ... realistically now. :D
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I've had the D500 for about a month, and have been getting used to it. The AF is great. :D Been doing a bit of Cricket and the AF added to the 10fps gives more keepers compared to the D300S and 8fps. :)

I initially had some odd exposures but it seems to have calmed down.

Pics at f5.6 with the 70-300mm VR which seemed a bit soft on the D300S appear a lot sharper. :) So much so that I'm happy to shoot at f5.6 now rather than the f8 I used to do to get a bit of sharpness. :D

I didn't like to go too far past ISO 800 on the D300S, but I'm OK for the D500 to go to ISO 3200, and maybe ISO6400. The Noise seems very fine with not much of the multicoloured speckling of previous cameras.

It left me very short of money at the end of last month, but that was looking as the only time I would have the money in the foreseeable future to get it, and I'm so glad I did. :) It has been a great kick up the bottom to go out and take pics again. For what I do (a bit of everything) it is the perfect camera following on from the D300S which was the perfect cam for me for many years. :)

I'm not happy with the battery situation atm. Nikon have messed about with the batteries, and the jury is still out on whether the replacement battery offer is a quick cheap fix for a camera with power problems or not. And camera problems that may or may not be able to be fixed with a Firmware update. The knock on of the battery change is there are no cheaper compatibles available. There is no way I am paying Nikon prices for batteries. :eek: :rolleyes:

I had the camera lock up once so far, but that was after a couple of days, and nothing since. Fingers crossed. :)

I have the Lexar 32Gb SD card (2000x) and the Lexar 32Gb XQD card (2933x), and have so far not had any problems with the SD card that some have experienced. I even shot with just the SD card on Saturday just to see if there is a problem there, as up to that point I had not filled the XQD card enough to overflow onto the SD card, and nothing to report.

I find I am not using the Joystick as I'm so used to using the direction pad from previous cameras. I'm not really using the touchscreen either. It would be useful if I could press the Info button so as to have the list of settings on the back, and to be able to touch a setting to edit, but you can't. :rolleyes: Not sure if it is because it is an imported camera, but the swiping of the screen in review seem be the opposite of what I expect. Swiping left goes back, when it should (I expected) go forward through images. I don't really use it so haven't looked into it yet.

It is great camera so far, and possibly the best overall cropped sensor DSLR ever. The many years of waiting for Nikon to replace the D300S seems to have been worth it. :clap:
 
redhed17 said:
I'm not happy with the battery situation atm. Nikon have messed about with the batteries, and the jury is still out on whether the replacement battery offer is a quick cheap fix for a camera with power problems or not.
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Have you noticed power problems or low shot capacity?
 
gramps said:
Have you noticed power problems or low shot capacity?
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I did at the beginning, but it seems to be getting better. I don't feel it is quite as good at it should be, but there are variables, as sometimes I'm using the SnapBridge function to attach GPS into the metadata, and sometimes I'm not. It seems to go quicker because I have one battery when I'm used to having 3-4 at any one time, which focuses the attention on the battery. There was a Firmware update last week which was only fix something with Languages, but there may have been other things changed.

And talking of SnapBridge, it is very hit and miss atm, and poorly implemented imho. I sometimes find it doesn't write the GPS data when it says it has connected to the camera. With my Tablet it crashes (SnapBridge) if I try to control the camera in LiveView. :mad: :rolleyes: I have no interest in transferring images so haven't tried it. I like the idea of the GPS data embedding though, and would use it all the time if it were reliable and I had more batteries. :rolleyes:

I love the 16-85mm, and I wanted to get the 16-80mm at the same time as the camera, but there was not much of a saving to be had, and I think the lens is overpriced for what it is. Even if there was more off it would have been out of my price range at the time. :(
 
redhed17 said:
I did at the beginning, but it seems to be getting better. I don't feel it is quite as good at it should be, but there are variables, as sometimes I'm using the SnapBridge function to attach GPS into the metadata, and sometimes I'm not. It seems to go quicker because I have one battery when I'm used to having 3-4 at any one time, which focuses the attention on the battery.
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I think it takes a few charge cycles for the battery to get up to speed so that probably accounts for the improvement ... I see that the Panamoz price has dropped another £100.
 
wilt said:
I ordered the D500 from calumet on 08/05/16. Who received their order recently and when did you place it?
As with any new equipment ordered, i can't wait to get my greasy paws on it.
Anyone know where there's stock?
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I ordered late May and still waiting like you, I'm hoping soonish.....
 
I've had mine since the release date in April, I did order one from Park Cameras at launch who have informed me it is in tomorrow (9th). I don't want two so they will definitely have one up for grabs.
I have to say I am now bonding with the D500 and enjoy it more and more for wildlife each time I use it. Not used my D810 since I've had it.
 
snappertvr said:
I have to say I am now bonding with the D500 and enjoy it more and more for wildlife each time I use it. Not used my D810 since I've had it.
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What makes you enjoy it ... because its a DX and gives you more reach? ISO performance? AF accuracy and speed? Or something else? :)
 
gramps said:
What makes you enjoy it ... because its a DX and gives you more reach? ISO performance? AF accuracy and speed? Or something else? :)
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Hi Gramps, don't get me wrong I love my D810 and it has been my favourite camera since my D4s went. I guess I am just very happy with the pictures I'm getting out of the D500, I'm not cropping the images much and they don't look far off the D810 results. The AF accuracy and FPS are a bonus and haven't let me down so far. I find I am mainly using my 200-500 or 300 PF (amazing lens the 300).
I have found that I personalised the body to my own style and find it very comfortable, BBF, AE-L, ISO customisation all a pleasure to use. No issues with the battery.
After spending years lugging around a Pro Series body and large 500mm F4 lens, I just find this set up is working well for me and I'm very happy with the end results, its a lot easier for me to travel around with.
 
snappertvr said:
Hi Gramps, don't get me wrong I love my D810 and it has been my favourite camera since my D4s went. I guess I am just very happy with the pictures I'm getting out of the D500, I'm not cropping the images much and they don't look far off the D810 results. The AF accuracy and FPS are a bonus and haven't let me down so far. I find I am mainly using my 200-500 or 300 PF (amazing lens the 300).
I have found that I personalised the body to my own style and find it very comfortable, BBF, AE-L, ISO customisation all a pleasure to use. No issues with the battery.
After spending years lugging around a Pro Series body and large 500mm F4 lens, I just find this set up is working well for me and I'm very happy with the end results, its a lot easier for me to travel around with.
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Thanks, just trying to get some hands-on review thoughts whilst I'm mulling it over :)
 
Shoot...I'm gonna buy a long zoom. Probably Siggy 150-600 Sport. I've got D750. Tempted by D500 in order to take advantage of the crop sensor.

What do you reckon ? Can't afford to keep both.

I'll be using it for wildlife (I'm not a dedicated wildlife tog, just a bit of fun)
 
trevorbray said:
Shoot...I'm gonna buy a long zoom. Probably Siggy 150-600 Sport. I've got D750. Tempted by D500 in order to take advantage of the crop sensor.

What do you reckon ? Can't afford to keep both.

I'll be using it for wildlife (I'm not a dedicated wildlife tog, just a bit of fun)
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I think it will be good, youll have 900mm Long end with the siggy, ive got the Sigma C as i needed it to be light for lugging around tracks for racing, but if your a birder then sport all the way, as long as you don't walk mega far..sport may become a pain with weight if your walking miles
 
Yesterday I collected my 300mm PF. I have my 500mm back from Nikon, the d500 is desperately asking me to use it and I still have my d7200 so next week in Dawlish I can do some proper comparisons between the bodies! FINALLY after a month of having the camera, I can actually go out and take some bloomin pictures with it!
 
trevorbray said:
Shoot...I'm gonna buy a long zoom. Probably Siggy 150-600 Sport. I've got D750. Tempted by D500 in order to take advantage of the crop sensor.

What do you reckon ? Can't afford to keep both.

I'll be using it for wildlife (I'm not a dedicated wildlife tog, just a bit of fun)
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Also take a look at the Nikon 200-500 it's a great lens and takes a 1.4 TC, AF is on the slowish side (depending what your used to). Possibly a bit quicker with the D500 than the D810 or D7200, no figures to back that up though.
 
xmh said:
Also take a look at the Nikon 200-500 it's a great lens and takes a 1.4 TC, AF is on the slowish side (depending what your used to). Possibly a bit quicker with the D500 than the D810 or D7200, no figures to back that up though.
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I'm curious about the speed of this lens with a D500 or even the Sigma sport.
 
Well D500 / 16-80 kit arrived yesterday (2 day delivery - wow), and to be honest, it's everything everyone has been saying about it. Feels perfect in the hand, and I absolutely love the pro control layout over that on the D7200.

Done some preliminary testing of the 16-80 at all FL's and apertures (from wide open), and my initial findings are that it's really sharp with excellent contrast. OK so maybe a tad soft in the very corners at 16mm and F2.8, but they sharpen up nicely at F4. Certainly many times better than my copy of the venerable 16-85 F3.5-5.6 and easily as good as the 17-55 F2.8 I had a few years ago if not better.

So far well impressed. Just wish I hadn't sold my XQD cards last year when I sold my D4 :(
 
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snappertvr said:
No problem, it took me about a week to master it after my FF bodies. I did some greenfinch tonight in the garden, if I get a chance I will post a couple tomorrow.:)
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Here you go gramps, as promised a couple from the garden, these are out of the camera and just cropped slightly, taken in jpeg.
Birds were in the shade with the sun on willow trees behind them, hence had to over expose to get the bird in detail. As I say the camera is doing what I want and Im happy with the results along side my D810.

DSC_5417greenmale.jpg

DSC_5632malegreen.jpg

DSC_5412juvgold.jpg

DSC_5372juvblackbird.jpg
 
Can I ask what programmes people are using to convert their RAW/NEF files from Nikon D500 please?
 
wilt said:
A friend purchased the kit and said the 16-80 is terrible.
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Can you ask your friend to expand a little, please. All the reviews I've read are very positive.

I've just ordered one with a D7200 from Panamoz but they're out of stock currently. So I could change my mind. Admittedly, that would be a new one for me - buyer's remorse before I've even got the bloody thing.
 
I wouldn't it's a legendary unit, just shop about try digital rev etc. FYI me an another on here both have ours Monday they shipped yesterday so the UK has stock I think or at least enough to fulfill orders
 
Deadhead said:
Can you ask your friend to expand a little, please. All the reviews I've read are very positive.

I've just ordered one with a D7200 from Panamoz but they're out of stock currently. So I could change my mind. Admittedly, that would be a new one for me - buyer's remorse before I've even got the bloody thing.
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He said it felt like it was cheaply made for the price, had bad vignetting and focus wasn't as responsive as he'd have liked. I personally don't have the lens as all mine are FF and I'll be using them on my D500 when it arrives.
 
Thanks for the update. Some of that does chime with the reviews, actually. It's a new lens design and probably is quite expensive for what it is. However, I really liked the older 16-85 on my D7100 before I went to the D800 24-120 combo which just got nicked in Spain to the total disinterest of household, car and travel insurers.

I like the focal range and this one's a little faster, I don't mind plasticky if it also means light-weight. If Lightroom can fix any vignetting I'll be a happy bunny.
 
Deadhead said:
Thanks for the update. Some of that does chime with the reviews, actually. It's a new lens design and probably is quite expensive for what it is. However, I really liked the older 16-85 on my D7100 before I went to the D800 24-120 combo which just got nicked in Spain to the total disinterest of household, car and travel insurers.

I like the focal range and this one's a little faster, I don't mind plasticky if it also means light-weight. If Lightroom can fix any vignetting I'll be a happy bunny.
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I've left out the 16-80 and got body only I instead bought
11-16 tokina
18-140 DX
150-600 sigma C

I have my 83 year old dads FX glass too 24-70 and 70-200 f2.8s
 
Wonder if one of you guys could assist please ?

I know the IOS version of the Snapbridge app won't be available until later in the summer, but I was wanting to transfer some images off my D500 directly to my Ipad. I knew the bluetooth wouldn't work without the app but thought that the wifi should. I used Nikon's wifi on a number of cameras including my D750 and D7200 and have been able to make a wifi connection no problem.

Trouble is on the D500, I can't find a way to active the wifi on this camera ? Does the D500 really need Snapbridge just for a wifi connection as well ?
 
Sootchucker said:
Wonder if one of you guys could assist please ?

I know the IOS version of the Snapbridge app won't be available until later in the summer, but I was wanting to transfer some images off my D500 directly to my Ipad. I knew the bluetooth wouldn't work without the app but thought that the wifi should. I used Nikon's wifi on a number of cameras including my D750 and D7200 and have been able to make a wifi connection no problem.

Trouble is on the D500, I can't find a way to active the wifi on this camera ? Does the D500 really need Snapbridge just for a wifi connection as well ?
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Don't have the D500 but this doesn't bode well...

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3994164
 
its sad that somebody like Nikon would expect everybody to use Android, I'm an IOS user also and was disappointed that its still in development, i do have android phones for Work but that's it i try not to use them with a passion as IOS is where i am. I suppose today as the D500 arrives i,ll dust of the Xperia Z2 and give it a whirl...
 
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