D810 verses D500 for wildlife and bird photography

ndwgolf

ndwgolf

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Neil Williams
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my wife has a 3 month old D810. We are going on Safari in Feb so I am thinking of trading in her D810 for a D500........ Would that be a smart idea???
 
There are some really good shots on here Neil with the D500 and the AF especially for BIF's seems superior to the D810 and I'm tempted because of that

I'm sure you will get a good opinion on here
 
Depends. Do you need faster than 5fps? Do you need the AF spread? More importantly do you find the D500 more comfortable to use? I can't think of any other reason you'd want to change, oh and of course if you want the subject larger in the frame for framing/AF point coverage as well.
 
snerkler said:
Depends. Do you need faster than 5fps? Do you need the AF spread? More importantly do you find the D500 more comfortable to use? I can't think of any other reason you'd want to change, oh and of course if you want the subject larger in the frame for framing/AF point coverage as well.
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It's to use with a 80/400 so looking for extra reach as well
 
ndwgolf said:
It's to use with a 80/400 so looking for extra reach as well
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But the D810 in DX mode is 16mp vs 20mp of the D500 so not a lot in it if you crop the D810 image to match the D500. Plus FF generally crops better than APS too, so if you cropped further the D810 images should look better (in theory ;))
 
snerkler said:
But the D810 in DX mode is 16mp vs 20mp of the D500 so not a lot in it if you crop the D810 image to match the D500. Plus FF generally crops better than APS too, so if you cropped further the D810 images should look better (in theory ;))
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I never thought about that.
 
If you use the same lens on both cameras and crop the D810 to DX you will wind up with very similar recorded resolution... ~ 5-6MP w/ the 80-400.

Don't choose cameras based upon what they can both do... the results will almost always be very similar. ;)
Instead, choose based upon what one camera can do that the other can't. I.e. the D810 for resolution and overall better IQ when un-cropped vs the D500 for AF/FPS
 
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sk66 said:
If you use the same lens on both cameras and crop the D810 to DX you will wind up with very similar recorded resolution... ~ 8MP w/ the 80-400.

Don't choose cameras based upon what they can both do... the results will almost always be very similar. ;)
Instead, choose based upon what one camera can do that the other can't. I.e. the D810 for resolution and overall better IQ when un-cropped vs the D500 for AF/FPS
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Which would then make the D500 better for wildlife and Bird photography as you need as much reach as possible plus the best AF system for BIF photography
 
ndwgolf said:
Which would then make the D500 better for wildlife and Bird photography as you need as much reach as possible plus the best AF system for BIF photography
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You won't get more reach really as mentioned above (except things will look closer in the viewfinder of course) but the AF system is supposed to be very good on the D500. That being said, so is the AF system on the D810. If you're primarily a birder then the D500 might make more sense, but there's plenty that cope perfectly well with the D810 ;) It all boils down to the individual, and how much GAS you have of course :p
 
This is the first safari my wife is going on. She has the 80/400 which is about as big a lens that she can handle so that was the thought behind the D500.
The more I think about it I may just get her the D500 as well so if either of our D810 or D5 have a problem then we will have a backup.....,.. She could use the D500 with her long zoom and D810 with a 24/70mm
 
Crop factor is not really "more anything"... in fact, it's usually "less."
In this scenario (and most others) the limiting factor for the system is the lens. And because the sensors are similar in size/resolution after the D810 is cropped to DX (for the same "more reach") the recorded resolution will be about the same... and a lot less than the sensor is capable of.
 
I have both, the D810 is a great camera for larger slow moving animals. The D500 excels for BIF and fast moving subjects, the image quality is exceptional, while AF and tracking are superior to the D810.
 
Brom said:
I have both, the D810 is a great camera for larger slow moving animals. The D500 excels for BIF and fast moving subjects, the image quality is exceptional, while AF and tracking are superior to the D810.
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It's alway great to have someone who actually has both in one of these scenarios to get a real life opinion rather than a (which are all very welcome) guestamut opinion [emoji120]
 
ndwgolf said:
It's alway great to have someone who actually has both in one of these scenarios to get a real life opinion rather than a (which are all very welcome) guestamut opinion [emoji120]
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Agreed, although he's not really said anything different ;)
 
Well he confirmed that the D500 is better for wildlife and BIF photography........ That what I was trying to get to,but like I said it fantastic to hear everyone's opinions as well
 
ndwgolf said:
Well he confirmed that the D500 is better for wildlife and BIF photography........ That what I was trying to get to,but like I said it fantastic to hear everyone's opinions as well
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Yep, it was alluded to earlier but always better to hear from someone who's had hands on.

However, back to the original question, "would it be a smart idea"? That's still up for debate :p
 
ndwgolf said:
Well he confirmed that the D500 is better for wildlife and BIF photography........ That what I was trying to get to,but like I said it fantastic to hear everyone's opinions as well
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I think we all agree...
If it's wildlife (or anything else) that requires very fast/accurate AF and FPS, then the D500 is the better choice. I'm just not sure that's really the case for an African Safari...
It's not like the D810 is a slouch with AF accuracy/speed, and it'll do 7fps in DX mode with a grip which *isn't bad. Plus it can potentially deliver more than the D500 in all of the other situations you are likely to encounter.

*Even at 15fps (Nikon 1) "the moment" can be between frames... it doesn't make up for timing (knowledge/experience).
 
I've had the D810 and now have the D500, I would not go back to the D810 for my wildlife and BIF photography.
Whatever the 'technical' detail, it's better IMO to get a subject filling the frame of a DX than having to squint and crop to see it in an FX.
The D500 will give an equivalent reach of 120-600 with your 80-400 and it will make the lens 'sing' as the AF lock-on and tracking is superb, better than any camera I have used up to and including the D4S.
The programmable buttons make for a great option of being able to quickly change focus, e.g. I mainly use Group Area-AF but have a button programmed to switch to Single AF-Point when pressed in and this is very, very useful.
If you get any fast action the D500 will not fail to keep up, it really is so fast even with a SD UHS-1 card ... you don't need the faster XQD or SD UHS-2 card to give you blindingly fast speed.
There are some power issues with some camera/lens/card combinations ... keep with recent Nikon lenses and Sony XQD and Sandisk SD and you should be fine as long as your batteries are Li-ion 20 (not Li-ion 01) and they have been through 3-5 charge cycles.
 
gramps said:
I've had the D810 and now have the D500, I would not go back to the D810 for my wildlife and BIF photography.
Whatever the 'technical' detail, it's better IMO to get a subject filling the frame of a DX than having to squint and crop to see it in an FX.
The D500 will give an equivalent reach of 120-600 with your 80-400 and it will make the lens 'sing' as the AF lock-on and tracking is superb, better than any camera I have used up to and including the D4S.
The programmable buttons make for a great option of being able to quickly change focus, e.g. I mainly use Group Area-AF but have a button programmed to switch to Single AF-Point when pressed in and this is very, very useful.
If you get any fast action the D500 will not fail to keep up, it really is so fast even with a SD UHS-1 card ... you don't need the faster XQD or SD UHS-2 card to give you blindingly fast speed.
There are some power issues with some camera/lens/card combinations ... keep with recent Nikon lenses and Sony XQD and Sandisk SD and you should be fine as long as your batteries are Li-ion 20 (not Li-ion 01) and they have been through 3-5 charge cycles.
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Interesting info. How do you find the noise handling in the real world compared to the D810? The reason that I ask is that I recently tried the D7200 out for a few days (in fact I still have it) as I thought it might be a good partnership for my D750 for use when I want the extra reach and easier framing when things are larger in the viewfinder, but I was quite disappointed in the noise handling. I've read numerous tests etc that say the D7200 is only about 1-1.5 stops worse than the D750 but I found noise getting noticeable at ISO 1000 and by 2000-2200 it was getting a bit 'disturbing' for me. I know previews of the D500 said that it was going to be exceptional in ISO handling but on release people are saying it's not really any different to the D7200, with DXO rating it worse. What's your thoughts?
 
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snerkler said:
Interesting info. How do you find the noise handling in the real world compared to the D810? The reason that I ask is that I recently tried the D7200 out for a few days (in fact I still have it) as I thought it might be a good partnership for my D750 for use when I want the extra reach and easier framing when things are larger in the viewfinder, but I was quite disappointed in the noise handling. I've read numerous tests etc that say the D7200 is only about 1-1.5 stops worse than the D750 but I found noise getting noticeable at ISO 1000 and by 2000-2200 it was getting a bit 'disturbing' for me. I know previews of the D500 said that it was going to be exceptional in ISO handling but on release people are saying it's not really any different to the D7200, with DXO rating it worse. What's your thoughts?
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The D500 is generally no better than the D7200 for noise IMO, what is different is the type of noise, it is more like Gaussian Blur, uniform and small and I generally find it needs less work to deal with it when that is necessary. Sometimes I just open the images in Capture NX-D and Nikon's software has dealt with it, other times it just needs a brush of Nik's Define around the subject and it's good to go.
The original hype showing the caving images noise-free at ISO 52,000 was complete and utter rubbish but like all images, the circumstances around the shot dictate the effect of noise ... however the original hype with regard to the speed and AF is spot on.
If you don't need the reach + the option for high speed with superb AF then you will be fine with the D810.
 
If it's only for wildlife use on safari and not as a rule elsewhere, I think you need to look at the opinions of those who've been on safari.
It would appear that you don't need great reach on most guided safari trips.
I've no experience but was surprised that folks say they didn't really need too much.
 
gramps said:
If you don't need the reach + the option for high speed with superb AF then you will be fine with the D810.
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What reach?
I imagine you are going to say 20MP vs 16MP which isn't huge, but it's not even that... it's more like 6MP vs 5MP in this case.
The only advantage I can see to a DX sensor vs a DX crop in terms of "reach" is that the DX sensor makes it easier to see "focus" when taking the shot. On the other hand, for (very) fast moving situations I quite like having the extra viewfinder (FOV) when shooting in DX mode... makes it easier to track the little ba$t^rds.
 
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tom24 said:
If it's only for wildlife use on safari and not as a rule elsewhere, I think you need to look at the opinions of those who've been on safari.
It would appear that you don't need great reach on most guided safari trips.
I've no experience but was surprised that folks say they didn't really need too much.
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I was on safari in January this year. I took 600mm f4 300mm f2.8. 70/200 and 14/24. I used 600mm 90%of the time 70/200 7% and 300mm 5%. I didn't use the 14/24
 
gramps said:
I've had the D810 and now have the D500, I would not go back to the D810 for my wildlife and BIF photography.
Whatever the 'technical' detail, it's better IMO to get a subject filling the frame of a DX than having to squint and crop to see it in an FX.
The D500 will give an equivalent reach of 120-600 with your 80-400 and it will make the lens 'sing' as the AF lock-on and tracking is superb, better than any camera I have used up to and including the D4S.
The programmable buttons make for a great option of being able to quickly change focus, e.g. I mainly use Group Area-AF but have a button programmed to switch to Single AF-Point when pressed in and this is very, very useful.
If you get any fast action the D500 will not fail to keep up, it really is so fast even with a SD UHS-1 card ... you don't need the faster XQD or SD UHS-2 card to give you blindingly fast speed.
There are some power issues with some camera/lens/card combinations ... keep with recent Nikon lenses and Sony XQD and Sandisk SD and you should be fine as long as your batteries are Li-ion 20 (not Li-ion 01) and they have been through 3-5 charge cycles.
Click to expand...

+1 to this from another D810 and D500 owner :)
 
sk66 said:
What reach?
I imagine you are going to say 20MP vs 16MP which isn't huge, but it's not even that... it's more like 6MP vs 5MP in this case.
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Nope, I don't discuss that I just go on my own experience of using both and what I find works ... as I said above, "whatever the 'technical' details". :)
 
I'd say the D500 af system is a fair bit better! And the burst/buffer is alot better too
 
I've run a D500 alongside my trusty D810 for the last 2-3 weeks; I'm mostly 'birds' in terms of subjects, and demanding ones at that (e.g. fishing Ospreys, air-to-air Sand Martins, etc.). Both cameras are very similar IQ-wise, and of course the D810 (and the D800 before it) was always quite good for mega-crops on the smaller subjects. As others have said, the D5-derived AF system and higher fps are the real 'pros' for the D500. ISO-wise the cameras are neck and neck through ISO1600 in my experience. Because of a recent change of glass, I'm sticking with the D500 and my D810 is off to a new home (where I know it'll be looked after!).

For the specific question of a 'safari tool', stick with what you've got especially as it's a zoom lens on the front end.
 
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