D850 for sport - what are your views?

Katchit

Katchit

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Hi there,

I have been saving some money aside for a new body mainly for sports purposes (which is 90% of what I shoot).

At the moment I am shooting with a D5300, and looking at the D850 which is a decent step up as I want to take my photography to the next level.

Does anyone on here have a D850, if so, what are your views and opinions please? Additionally, if you have used it for sport, what would you rate it please?

Many thanks.
 
Great detail from the 46mp but the AF is a bit behind the D500.
If you mostly want really great AF then the D500 is the one, if you want detail/ability to crop with detail then the D850 is the one.
 
I use the D850 for wildlife/action; but not sports per-se (only occasionally). If you also spend for the battery grip and D5 battery/charger (or 3rd party) to get the frame rate up to 9 fps, then I find it great for most situations.
There are times where a higher frame rate is better for me (e.g. eagles snagging fish out of the water). And in low light (ISO ≥1200) there isn't any real advantage to the high resolution; I switch to my D5 for those situations.
 
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gramps said:
Great detail from the 46mp but the AF is a bit behind the D500.
If you mostly want really great AF then the D500 is the one, if you want detail/ability to crop with detail then the D850 is the one.
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I think the main AF advantage the D500 has is frame coverage; but that equals out if you put the D850 into DX mode. But the D500 also does 10fps w/o the extra costs of a grip/battery... so there are a lot of times where the D500 makes more sense IMO.
 
I use a D850 and find it's a brilliant all-rounder. However, I don't shoot sports myself so can't comment on it's performance for this.

It has the same AF system as the D5 and D500 and is a huge improvement over the D810 which I used previously.
 
sk66 said:
I think the main AF advantage the D500 has is frame coverage; but that equals out if you put the D850 into DX mode. But the D500 also does 10fps w/o the extra costs of a grip/battery... so there are a lot of times where the D500 makes more sense IMO.
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Sky said:
I use a D850 and find it's a brilliant all-rounder. However, I don't shoot sports myself so can't comment on it's performance for this.

It has the same AF system as the D5 and D500 and is a huge improvement over the D810 which I used previously.
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My experience with using both is that if AF is top priority D500 wins, however YMMV :)
 
I had the D850, more than capable with wildlife and sports from motor racing to running. As mentioned the battery grip helps with the extra frame rate.
 
Brill, thank you for all of your quick replies all, really appreciate the views.

I will take a further look at the D850 and also the D500 and see what would suit me better!
 
Thanks all.

So I tend to shoot horse racing and equestrian events (if that helps).

My list of lenses:

Sigma 150-500
Nikon 55-300
Nikon 50mm
Nikon 18-55mm

Thank you!
 
Katchit said:
Thanks all.

So I tend to shoot horse racing and equestrian events (if that helps).

My list of lenses:

Sigma 150-500
Nikon 55-300
Nikon 50mm
Nikon 18-55mm

Thank you!
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The D850 shouldn't have any issue shooting that, however the 55-300mm and 18-55mm lenses are DX I believe and so aren't designed for the D850. They will work but you'll get heavy vignetting and won't get the full mp. Also, the 150-500mm is getting on a bit so just double check the compatibility.
 
Thanks Snerkler! I will need to get some new lenses also! But it is time for a bit of an overall upgrade I think. Thanks for your help bud.
 
Katchit said:
Thanks Snerkler! I will need to get some new lenses also! But it is time for a bit of an overall upgrade I think. Thanks for your help bud.
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No problem. If you're having a full overhaul it might be worth considering mirrorless as they are taking over DSLR these days, not that there won't be plenty of life in DSLRs yet (y)
 
snerkler said:
The D850 shouldn't have any issue shooting that, however the 55-300mm and 18-55mm lenses are DX I believe and so aren't designed for the D850.
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You can set the camera so that it will automatically change to a DX setting if you attach a DX lens, so don't throw them away just yet. However, you'll only be using a DX sized portion of the sensor, so not really worth it unless you have no choice.

One thing's for sure though, you will need good lenses as the 850 takes no prisoners in this regard - the fantastic sensor misses nothing.
 
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Sky said:
You can set the camera so that it will automatically change to a DX setting if you attach a DX lens, so don't throw them away just yet. However, you'll only be using a DX sized portion of the sensor, so not really worth it unless you have no choice.

One thing's for sure though, you will need good lenses as the 850 takes no prisoners in this regard - the fantastic sensor misses nothing.
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Yep you can shoot in DX mode but it makes no sense buying a high res FF sensor and then doing this, would be better off with the D500 if this were the case (y)
 
Katchit said:
Thanks Snerkler! I will need to get some new lenses also! But it is time for a bit of an overall upgrade I think. Thanks for your help bud.
Click to expand...
IMO, right now is not the time for an "overall upgrade" unless you're switching to Sony... especially with the expected Z9 announcement expected soon and spring(?) release. My best recommendation if buying now (well, anytime really) is to buy used from a reputable source and let someone else pay the depreciation... I got my D850/OEM grip/batteries/etc used for less than a new body alone, and that was a couple years ago. And only buy the lenses you absolutely need.
 
Thanks Sky and snerkler, appreciate it.

Sk66 - thank you, I did have a look at MPB earlier and they have some good bits on there which are not that expensive, and seem to be in really good condition.
 
The D850 is more than capable of doing sport. Yes it's frame rate isn't as good as the D500 but with the grip it's not that far behind. I was using both my D850 and D500 today and they are both superb for sport but the D850 is amazing when you get it right. I love using it with my 300mm VR f/2.8.BSB-24-1.JPG
 
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