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Nikon D850

Cesare,


Sure, lots of other choices are available, and many of them far cheaper, but few SLRs look as nice as an F2 Titan. There's no logic in buying one today, especially at the typical asking price.

But they're sought after because they look cool and are rare -- and, importantly, because Nikon isn't in italic font.

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf2/f2/variants/f2titan/index.htm

Joe

Ah, ok, sorry, when you said 'best manual SLR' I thought you were referring to the features, not the aesthetics ;-) I know where you are coming from, having fallen for a number of cameras just on their looks.
 

Cough. Whilst the F2 is a undoubtedly a very nice thing, back to the matter at hand.

The above link is largely pointless until they've actually tested it. Oddly, Nikon claim DR is 'as good as or better than the the D810'. You'd think they'd know which it was although it could be that it is a match at certain (lower) ISO settings and batter at (higher) settings. Also since Nikon haven't release RAW support yet there's probably an element of trying to optimise DR performance.
 
:D

It's £3159 at Digitalrev ;)

Lefty

I think with Nikons recent QA problems, (600 oil, 750 - 3 recalls, anniversary cosmetics), it would be a very brave man who would buy an early D850 as a grey import. You really want to know that any issues will be fixed.

It's an amazing spec camera though, and my little local camera store has already sold several, so there are certainly no supply issues.

But Lefty you know that really you want MF, so just save a bit more and buy the GFX50S, I had a play with one yesterday, I was genuinely shocked at how light it was and with the 32-64 lens no heavier than say a Canon 6D with Tamron 24-70.
 
That's a fair point Mr P! Let's hope (for Nikon's sake) that there are no more QA problems wth the D850. It deserves to do well.

The GFX50S is great in principle, but the cost of both the body and lenses puts me off. On a side note, have you seen the price of Fuji's long awaited 1:1 macro - the 80mm f2.8? £1250! I'm sure it's a good lens, but that's a bit rich. They have also finally added a telephoto prime to their lineup in a 200mm f2. I bet that will be tasty (and expensive!)

As for me, I am feeling totally deflated at the moment. Just can't motivate myself to set the alarm and get out....

Lefty
 
I agree the Fuji glass is 'getting' expensive, but its all very good quality, you only have to look at Sigma Art prices and the Sony G Master lenses to see where glass prices are heading.

The Macro is not for me, more interested in the forthcoming 8-16mm, but that will need to have a sensible filter adapter, not a bulborous lens element like the Olympus Pro wide angle. The 200mm F2 will carry a large price ticket (and be a big lens), but with the TC's gives Fuji shooter some options.

As for deflation, put the X100T over your shoulder and just head out of the house, thats what I'm about to do........
 
Yes, I fear you may be right re: glass prices. This hobby isn't getting any cheaper! I'm thinking that older glass is the way to go. (small, light, manual focus primes).

I'd be very surprised if the 8-16mm wasn't a bulbous front element lens. Do you know if it will be rectilinear?

You're right about deflation - the only way to get out is to get out and take photos without putting any pressure on yourself. I managed a short outing with the camera today (I've posted an image on the PAW thread). I'm trying to build up for my trip to The Lakes in Oct...

Lefty
 
Yes, I fear you may be right re: glass prices. This hobby isn't getting any cheaper! I'm thinking that older glass is the way to go. (small, light, manual focus primes).

I'd be very surprised if the 8-16mm wasn't a bulbous front element lens. Do you know if it will be rectilinear?

You're right about deflation - the only way to get out is to get out and take photos without putting any pressure on yourself. I managed a short outing with the camera today (I've posted an image on the PAW thread). I'm trying to build up for my trip to The Lakes in Oct...

Lefty

Luckily Nikon still sell some excellent quality 'old generation' lenses that work very well on newer high end bodies. For sports the 300mm F4 (non PF) and the 80-200 F2.8 give great results. The lack of VR I don't feel is an issue since sensors now can be pushed up speed wise, and certainly for sports VR isn't really a benefit anyway. Both these lenses focus quickly on a D500. Price new for these lenses is around half that of the later iterations.
 
I think the combination of limited lens resolution and diffraction limiting will limit the appeal of the 50mp sensors. I think it's just a numbers chase at this point, and i'd probably say 15-25mp or something around there is the sweet spot for 35mm lenses. Still, there will always be situations where more pixels comes in useful.

I think with older lenses, you'll be tempted to stop them down to achieve the sharpness for the sensor, but you'll become diffraction limited instead.

Best thing about older lenses is that they work on the film cameras too ;-)
 
I think the combination of limited lens resolution and diffraction limiting will limit the appeal of the 50mp sensors. I think it's just a numbers chase at this point, and i'd probably say 15-25mp or something around there is the sweet spot for 35mm lenses. Still, there will always be situations where more pixels comes in useful.

I think with older lenses, you'll be tempted to stop them down to achieve the sharpness for the sensor, but you'll become diffraction limited instead.

Best thing about older lenses is that they work on the film cameras too ;-)

Good Post
 
I'm not looking to upgrade my old Nikon to a D850 or to swap systems to the Fuji GFX, but the results from either are impressive and, dare I say, similar. I was expecting the Fuji to be in a league above the 850, but I'm not seeing it.

A couple of comparisons, if you're interested in pixel peeping.

High ISO — 850 vs GFX

And the 850 sample gallery at DP Review.

Joe
 
I think the combination of limited lens resolution and diffraction limiting will limit the appeal of the 50mp sensors. I think it's just a numbers chase at this point, and i'd probably say 15-25mp or something around there is the sweet spot for 35mm lenses. Still, there will always be situations where more pixels comes in useful.

I think with older lenses, you'll be tempted to stop them down to achieve the sharpness for the sensor, but you'll become diffraction limited instead.

Best thing about older lenses is that they work on the film cameras too ;-)

Not really. Consider the Nikon D500 which has the exact same pixel pitch as the D850 sensor, it does require decent glass (and technique of course) but there's little suggestion that with that camera that you need to upgrade your lens collection to take advantage of its resolution.
 
I'm not looking to upgrade my old Nikon to a D850 or to swap systems to the Fuji GFX, but the results from either are impressive and, dare I say, similar. I was expecting the Fuji to be in a league above the 850, but I'm not seeing it.

A couple of comparisons, if you're interested in pixel peeping.

High ISO — 850 vs GFX

And the 850 sample gallery at DP Review.

Joe

I don't think this tells the whole story, images I have seen from the GFX are just beautiful, there is something about the way the colours are rendered, and results are very very sharp.

I don't really think they are comparable, the D850 really is a Swiss Army Knife of DSLR cameras, and will suit a multitude of applications, whereas the Fuji is much more suited to a slower pace of photography. They really are different beasts.

Having 'fondled one' in a shop last week (the Fuji), it is also surprisingly light, that defies it's 'bulk' (Calm down Lefty, my cards stayed very firmly fixed in my wallet), its quite a bit lighter than the D850, but stilkl far too bulky for me.
 
David,

I thought both the D850 and GFX have excellent image quality, but it's hard to know what I'm seeing in any picture — is it the quality of the images from the respective cameras, the skill of the photographers, the post-processing,... ?

My observation was more a comment that the 850's image quality is excellent as is the GFX's, and that I don't see big differences between them. Both cameras are excellent, more than I need and more than I can justify, but that's not surprising given that I'm a hobbiest, not a pro photographer.

Joe
 
Not really. Consider the Nikon D500 which has the exact same pixel pitch as the D850 sensor, it does require decent glass (and technique of course) but there's little suggestion that with that camera that you need to upgrade your lens collection to take advantage of its resolution.

All lenses struggle into the corners, and you'll see this much more with the D850 than the D500. In fact, it's an argument for cropped cameras, that they take advantage of the decent bits of the older generation of lenses (which tended to struggle even more in the corners).

If you dig around on the web and look at MTF charts you can see this effect quite clearly. It's telling that MTF charts show 30 lines/mm as 'high detail', whilst the D850 is capable of 100 lines/mm in it's sensor.
 
All lenses struggle into the corners, and you'll see this much more with the D850 than the D500. In fact, it's an argument for cropped cameras, that they take advantage of the decent bits of the older generation of lenses (which tended to struggle even more in the corners).

If you dig around on the web and look at MTF charts you can see this effect quite clearly. It's telling that MTF charts show 30 lines/mm as 'high detail', whilst the D850 is capable of 100 lines/mm in it's sensor.

Agreed but this is a professional camera and it would make little sense to use it with lenses that aren't capable of realising it's potential. I've seen a comparison of images taken with my D810 and latest the 24-70 against the D850 with the exact same lens and, with that lens, the D850 produces an image that is quite clearly more detailed etc. Now that's an expensive lens as is, for example, the 70-200 FL but these are the level of lenses that the D850 needs to be used with to really excel. It's a pro camera and it's meant to be used with pro lenses. Perhaps it's analogous to having a high-end turntable and fitting a cheap cartridge.

If I had, say, a D750 and a collection of medium grade lenses I'd know that the D850 would make little sense in pure IQ terms as the lenses would hold it back. There are of course many functional advances that the D850 brings regardless of lens choice.
 


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