Very nice capture and thank you for sharing your thoughts. The 300PF has been a lot of fun to use, I'm really looking forward to the extra reach with a bare 500 over the 300 with the 1.7x tc. I'm hoping it's as sharp as advertised From the images in this thread...I don't think I'm going to be disappointed.
Question.... For those of you that have both a D500 and D850 which do you prefer to use with the 500pf? I just picked up a 500pf a couple weeks ago and have a D500. I have a D850 that should be here tomorrow with the grip. I mostly shoot ducks and BIF stuff but I do take pics of turkeys and deer as well. Which camera body do you prefer on the 500pf and why? Looking back at older threads it seems like a lot of people liked the D500 better but now am seeing more and more of the same people posting photos with the D850. Hoping I made the right choice by adding the D850 to my kit...... Thanks
eorlando wrote:
Question.... For those of you that have both a D500 and D850 which do you prefer to use with the 500pf? I just picked up a 500pf a couple weeks ago and have a D500. I have a D850 that should be here tomorrow with the grip. I mostly shoot ducks and BIF stuff but I do take pics of turkeys and deer as well. Which camera body do you prefer on the 500pf and why? Looking back at older threads it seems like a lot of people liked the D500 better but now am seeing more and more of the same people posting photos with the D850. Hoping I made the right choice by adding the D850 to my kit...... Thanks...Show more →
Most the people I know are using the D500 for the added reach. Many of them carry both bodies with the D500 on the longer lens. I think it comes down to how close you can get to the subject. Either way, you are going to very happy.
I recently sold my D850 and shoot only the D500 now. There is no right answer to this question only dependant on situation.
If you can 3/4 fill or fill the frame on the D850, there is no doubt the D850 will have more detail then the D500. If you find that you will be cropping down to the D500 fov, you will have slightly less detail (maybe not even noticable but maybe) and you lose the 1 full stop ISO advantage of the full frame sensor.
If you find that you're cropping the majority of your D500 BIF images, there is nothing you really gain with the D850, IQ of ISO advantage.
I've gone back and forth about getting a TC for my D500 Anna 500 PF but based on what I have seen, read and heard, I think I'd rather crop a little than lose 1 stop of light and you lose a little IQ with a TC than cropping. I would need to try one before if buy one for sure at this point.
Eric214 wrote:
I recently sold my D850 and shoot only the D500 now. There is no right answer to this question only dependant on situation.
If you can 3/4 fill or fill the frame on the D850, there is no doubt the D850 will have more detail then the D500. If you find that you will be cropping down to the D500 fov, you will have slightly less detail (maybe not even noticable but maybe) and you lose the 1 full stop ISO advantage of the full frame sensor.
If you find that you're cropping the majority of your D500 BIF images, there is nothing you really gain with the D850, IQ of ISO advantage.
I've gone back and forth about getting a TC for my D500 Anna 500 PF but based on what I have seen, read and heard, I think I'd rather crop a little than lose 1 stop of light and you lose a little IQ with a TC than cropping. I would need to try one before if buy one for sure at this point.
The only reason I still keep the 1.4TC, is for the eventuality I might get a 500mm f4E, otherwise I would sell it and accept that I simply don't have any longer focal length than 500mm on the D500. It is not so much about sharpness, but much more about how the images start to look with the 500PF+1.4TC on the D500, they simply lose much if not all of the special quality that the bare 500PF has.
That is why a 600mm f5.6PF is always missing when out birding. I could get by with a 1.5x crop camera and a 600mm f5.6PF, but not a 500mm PF.
Currently I'm holding off getting invested in the more expensive gear because Canon and Nikon are developing new mirrorless super telelenses, and it seems ill fated to spend 10.000 on a lens that is made for a dwindling system. The attractive part of waiting for the new mirrorless lenses, is that TC performance has improved considerably especially with Nikon. Less attractive is the waiting and the lack of a 500mm f4 prime on the roadmap. But perhaps a 400mm f2.8 at 3 kg with both Z TC's would be ideal. When I was shooting Canon with the 400DOII, I found 560mm (with 1.4TC) a very comfortable focal length, with 800mm (with 2.0TC) for serious reach.
ChrisMak wrote:
The only reason I still keep the 1.4TC, is for the eventuality I might get a 500mm f4E, otherwise I would sell it and accept that I simply don't have any longer focal length than 500mm on the D500. It is not so much about sharpness, but much more about how the images start to look with the 500PF+1.4TC on the D500, they simply lose much if not all of the special quality that the bare 500PF has.
That is why a 600mm f5.6PF is always missing when out birding. I could get by with a 1.5x crop camera and a 600mm f5.6PF, but not a 500mm PF.
Currently I'm holding off getting invested in the more expensive gear because Canon and Nikon are developing new mirrorless super telelenses, and it seems ill fated to spend 10.000 on a lens that is made for a dwindling system. The attractive part of waiting for the new mirrorless lenses, is that TC performance has improved considerably especially with Nikon. Less attractive is the waiting and the lack of a 500mm f4 prime on the roadmap. But perhaps a 400mm f2.8 at 3 kg with both Z TC's would be ideal. When I was shooting Canon with the 400DOII, I found 560mm (with 1.4TC) a very comfortable focal length, with 800mm (with 2.0TC) for serious reach....Show more →
I agree, that's why I have held out on getting a TC for my 500 PF. I believe IQ suffers more with a TC then cropping. Plus the TC robs a stop of light.
As far as the Mirrorless game goes. I think the next round (maybe this A1 will get there) or gen of ML will be where the AF truly catches DSLRs like the D500, D850 and D5/6. I find no need to ever buy a new camera or lens again. Buying used is the way to go and has saved me close to 5K this year alone. That said, I will wait for the next gen ML (1-2 years) and then for a mature used market for them so for me it will likely be 4-5 years before I switch to ML. Things could change but unlikely for me. So for people feeling the same might still invest in DSLR and a F mount 600mm f4. It really depends on their own road map going forward. As of now, I don't need anything more then a D500 and 500 PF
This is also why I like APS-C bodies like the D500 for Wildlife/BIF for the native "reach" without TC's. The 500 PF is the equivalent to 750mm and a 1.4 TC is 1050mm.
Everyone has their own point of view on this. Some will want the newest tech, some are happy with current if it gives them what they want/need. The Sony A1 sounds like it's finally the first one with no EVF lag and not losing the BIF after 10 frames. The point is, not many are going to buy a $6.5k camera, I will wait till it trickles down and is more affordable,
Speaking of cropping, these 3 images are at 1:1 crop or very very close to it.
CJMiller wrote:
Most the people I know are using the D500 for the added reach. Many of them carry both bodies with the D500 on the longer lens. I think it comes down to how close you can get to the subject. Either way, you are going to very happy.
Chris
There is essentially no added "reach" from a D500 vs a D850....it is less than 1MP....people buying a D500 over D850 for added "reach", don't understand what they are buying.
The one benefit of a D850 over a D500 even if you are cropping down to less than a D500 FOV, is that for faster BIF action, even though the AF coverage is identical, you have that buffer FOV to get back onto the bird if it moves erratically or if you lag behind in your panning skills. The other advantage is if you use f/8 lens/tc combinations and are limited to reliable AF only in the centre cluster and you have a subject that fills a lot of the DX frame, with the D850 you can put the centre point on the eye and still have the extra FX FOV to have a good composition. With a D500 you either have to focus/recompose (risky if the subject is filling a lot of the DX FOV as DOF concerns come into play) or you have to try and AF with an unsupported outer AF point (outer unsupported AF points still attempt AF but they only are reliable in really good light).
arbitrage wrote:
There is essentially no added "reach" from a D500 vs a D850....it is less than 1MP....people buying a D500 over D850 for added "reach", don't understand what they are buying.
The one benefit of a D850 over a D500 even if you are cropping down to less than a D500 FOV, is that for faster BIF action, even though the AF coverage is identical, you have that buffer FOV to get back onto the bird if it moves erratically or if you lag behind in your panning skills. The other advantage is if you use f/8 lens/tc combinations and are limited to reliable AF only in the centre cluster and you have a subject that fills a lot of the DX frame, with the D850 you can put the centre point on the eye and still have the extra FX FOV to have a good composition. With a D500 you either have to focus/recompose (risky if the subject is filling a lot of the DX FOV as DOF concerns come into play) or you have to try and AF with an unsupported outer AF point (outer unsupported AF points still attempt AF but they only are reliable in really good light)....Show more →
I am in agreement with you. I should have put "reach" in quotes.
From the images in this thread...I don't think I'm going to be disappointed. 
