Hello everyone. Today I wanted to write a review of the Nikon D500 DSLR camera. Many people have asked me to review this camera. I'll be sharing my opinions in the following review. In addition, a few setup options that I used with my D500 will be discussed. Although this review is not exhaustive, it covers most of the common questions.
Note that my review below is not technically crazy. It's a helpful review based upon my experience with the camera while photographing wildlife in the past few weeks. The practical results of this camera are what I care about and how it performs in real life. Stats are not my main focus.
Controls and Layout
The controls and layout of this camera are very similar to other Nikon non-pro models. It also has some great new features. It feels great in your hand. The size of the camera was a significant concern for me before I bought it. It shouldn't be too small, as the D7000 range was too uncomfortable for me to hold. The D500 is much more comfortable than the D7000. It fits comfortably in my hand and feels great. It is roughly the same size as the D7000 range or the Nikon D810.
1. The new location is excellent! Click here to go to ISOright next to the Shutter Release. It is now easier to adjust ISO quickly and intuitively. I find this helpful. Nikon has swapped the Mode Button with the ISO button from the previous models.
2. 2.JoystickThe back of the camera is more accessible than the multi-selector Arrows, especially when selecting and moving focus points quickly.
3. 3.Tilt screen is also an exciting feature. Although I haven't used it yet, I can see how it can be helpful when you need to get down low for low landscape compositions, eye-level shots, and macro work. The touch commands on the new screen are also available, but I must admit that I was hesitant to use them first. I guess I'm just as familiar with the buttons from my other cameras. Nevertheless, it was fun once I started to get into it. It works in the same way as a smartphone. Double-tap the image to zoom in 100%. Move the image around with the finger. Double-tap the screen again to zoom out. Swipe the screen to scroll through images. When you are in live view, you can also use the touch function to focus by tapping on the screen.
4. The camera also has multiple settings. Buttons that can be customized setup can be customized to suit each photographer's shooting style. You can customize some of these buttons, including the AF-ON Button and the Joystick. The new Joystick has a multi-selection center button. The PV Button has a two-cFN button.
Some buttons have minimal customization options, but they still work well. You can also activate or deactivate different focus modes, such as AF–S, AF–A, or AF. This includes focus point selections and group settings. This was an excellent addition. I'll add a list to explain how and why my D500 has been configured and customized in different ways at the end.
Auto Focus
This is where the D500 shines and impressed me the most. The D500's keeper rate has been phenomenal, and its focus acquisition and tracking capabilities are excellent. They even surpass the D810 or D4s when using the groupAF function. This seems to hold for all AF Point functions. My preferred focus area modes are Single, D25, and Group. However, I found myself preferring the Group for Birds In Flight and Some Wildlife Action over the single for general wildlife.
Nothing frustrates me more than when my camera struggles to lock onto the subject, and the focus point is not on the subject. The D500, however, locks on regardless of the conditions. The focus acquisition is much better, and the tracking is excellent. It rarely loses focus after it is locked on. I also discovered that the camera would lock on immediately if it were not locked on due to user errors such as slow tracking or over-tracking.
The Focus Tracking with Lock-on Functions has also seen some significant changes. The Blocked Shot Af Response now has five options, ranging from fast to delayed. This allows us to select how sensitive our focus should be to obstacles in front or behind our subject or how fast the obstacles will focus away from our subject. However, the quick settings are more sensitive to obstacles than those that are delayed. It's just a little more complex than that.
It is less sensitive to obstacles, but the quick option locks on quicker than the delayed options. This is something that I adjust depending on the situation and what I am shooting. It is usually set to 2 or 3 for most of the time. We have the second option, the subject motion. Again, I have it set to 2 or 3.
The D500 has 153 AF points spread across the screen. This is something I love. For composition purposes, I move my AF points constantly. The larger the sensor area these cover, the easier it is for me to compose the way I want. The dynamic area focus groups numbers have changed from D9, D25, D21, D72, and D51, respectively, with the focus points. The D25 and D72 areas cover the same area as before in D9 and D21, but more active focus points in the area significantly improve focus acquisition.
Recently, I shot doves flying from Etosha in Namibia. I used the D500, Nikkor 400mm F2.8, and a 2x Teleconverter to shoot the focal length of 1200mm. It was incredible to track and focus quickly moving subjects.
If you are looking for one reason to buy the D500, then this is it. The AF system works flawlessly.
Frames per Second (FPS) & Buffer
10 FPS is my ideal number, and this camera is fantastic. Unfortunately, people get so caught up in the FPS "the better" scenario that it is partially true and false. The more FPS you have, the more images you can take off the same hi-speed event in succession. This gives us more options when choosing the perfect image. However, mirror blackout can make it impossible to see the action through the viewfinder. Mirror blackout at 9-10 fps is the best speed for most cameras. Any faster and it becomes a problem to see and follow the action through the viewfinder, the mirror blackout will be too fast.
I've often asked about buffers on the D500 and how they are affected by different card types, XQD or SD. Although I don't have many XQD cards, I have a few for my D500 and SD cards. My Lexar 95MB/s SD card gave me 45 images before the buffer started to choke. This is enough for all types of photography. The XQD, however, is a different story. The buffer was filled with almost 200 images using a Lexar card 440 MB/s. This is the limit, and if 45 images were not enough, then surely 200 will be enough. The buffer was one thing that I noticed. Even if the buffer hits, the camera recovers much faster, and, in some cases, depending on your card speed, it is almost immediate.
Dynamic Range, Colour, and Sharpness
The files from the D500 are great. It's as accurate in color rendition as my D810, and it's straightforward to use Adobe Lightroom with the files. Although the files do not have the same dynamic range as the D810, they have enough detail to pull out the highlights and shadows. It's superior to the D4 and D4s and likely only about half a step behind the D810. It is also very similar to the D5, with only half a point behind. The dynamic range is excellent, and there's nothing to be concerned about.
I have found that my camera is naturally underexposed quite a lot. Therefore, I usually shoot between 0.3 to 1 stop over-exposed depending upon the subject and the situation.
Sharpness-wise, I shot this camera using my Nikkor 400mm F2.8 with and without Teleconverters, my Nikkor 70 to 200mm f2.8, and my Nikkor 24-70mm M2.8. The results were terrific, and the details are incredible.
The D500 and D500 DX-format cameras are less flexible than FX bodies. This is why I have to try to keep my shutter speed 1.5x faster than I would normally. For example, when I am shooting larger birds in flight using my 400mm f2.8 lens on my D810, I try to keep it at 1600/sec. With the D500 and the same lens, I keep it at 2500-3200/sec.
ISO
How does the D500 cope with low light conditions and ISO? It is fantastic for a crop sensor and far more than I expected. It is a crop sensor camera, so it can't compete with full-frame cameras. I found that I am happy to shoot in low-light conditions up to ISO 1250 and at night with a flashlight up to ISO 2000. To achieve the shutter speed and light conditions I need, I use ISO 2500 during the day. However, beyond that, the noise can cause me to lose the detail and stop the shutter speed. This is subjective because I am very ISO-sensitive. Stock photos are not allowed to exceed ISO 1000.
Batteries and their use
The D500 uses a lot of battery power, which I found to be a problem. The D500 uses twice as much battery power as my D810. This means that I get twice the number of shots from my D810 than my D500 with a fully charged battery. Although I've heard it said that the battery lasts longer if the camera is in airplane mode, I have not had the opportunity to test this. A second thing to mention is that most generic batteries do not work on the D500 at the moment. To avoid disappointment, I recommend that you spend more money on the Nikon battery.
My setup and my recommendations
Mode AFThis set is always to AF-C (Continuous Aff) because it's what I recommend for all actions or any other movement. I have disabled AS-S on my D500. This can be done in the custom settings menu under a10.
AF Area- This set is Group AF, but I use the D25 and D72 and the single point. I have disabled all other options. This can be done in the custom settings menu under a9.
AF On Button- My AF-ON button will lock focus when I press the shutter button.
Focus Tracking with Lock-On- I do change this frequently, as mentioned above. However, my default starting point is as follows: The first "Blocked Shot Response" section is set to 2. This ensures that the camera doesn't focus on anything that might be in between you and your subject. Next, "Subject Motion" is another part of tracking settings. This setting allows you to tell the camera how unstable or steady your subject is. This is, the majority of the time, the middle.
Sub-Selector- This is the default that I have set up. It moves the focus point when it's pushed and resets it when pushed in/depressed.
Pv- I have set this button to Exposure lock. This is something I use pretty often, especially for backlit images.
Fn1- Sometimes, while I'm using flash for my photography, I want to temporarily turn off flash or disable flash, so it doesn't fire. This button is what I have created.
Fn2As I have mentioned, I regularly change the lock setting for my Focus tracking. This button is a quick way to change this setting.
You can change any of the above in the menu below.
