My first SLR was a Pentax SV - the previous model to the Spotmatic. I traded in my Kodak Rettinette 1b. must have been around 1964/5. I've still got it.
Bought a Used D850
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My first SLR was a Pentax SV - the previous model to the Spotmatic. I traded in my Kodak Rettinette 1b. must have been around 1964/5. I've still got it.
Can't help with the Watson batteries personally but I saw a Fuji battery review that included Watson and they came out well. They are not available over here in the UK but Patona Platinum and EX Pro White were and I've got some Patona Platinum fot my Fuji XT-2 and found them very good. IIRC they charge to 95% of the Fuji batteries and last about the same time. I think that the Watson gave the same figures.
Just found the review!
NP-W126S Batteries Test: Capacity, Temperature and Quality compared
The original Fujifilm's batteries for X system camera are expensive. That's the reason why there are so many alternatives available, but it also makes the choice of the right one tough. They not only vary in
ultralightphotography.net
Regarding battery grips, I could not face the eye watering cost of the Nikon ones as I don't use grips very often. Confession time. I'm not a wildlife shooter. Correction, I'm not a serious wildlife shooter.
So when I got my D810 I looked around for a third party one. I had a Chinese one years ago for my D300/D700 and it only cost 24GBP! True, it broke after just over a year, but at that price I could buy several replacements and still not spend as much as the Nikon cost. Back to the D810. I settled on a Pixel/vertex grip at a fraction of the Nikon price and it fitted like a glove and worked just fine. Some time later I was given a Nikon grip and I can honestly say that in looks, feel and operation I could not detect any difference in the two grips. I guess that the Nikon one was made from better materials but had I'd not been given the Nikon grip I would have been very happy to continue with the Vertex/Pixel one.
Fast forward to 2018 and my D850. Where do you think I'm looking for a grip? Yep - the Pixel/Vertex one was 106GBP v 400GBP + back then for the Nikon one. so I had no hesitation in buying one. On the D850 it is not quite as snug a fit as the D810 one. There is about a 0.5mm step where the grip meets the body. Does that bother me? Not in the slightest. The box is now buried in my loft so not accessible, but I thought it came with the fitting that allows the use of the higher power battery, but I might be wrong. It is not mentioned in the Amazon ad:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078HY919X/?tag=backcogaller-20
Ignore the high shipping rates. amazon knows I'm in the UK!
So after more that 2 years how is it doing? Just fine. I'd recommend one without hesitation. the only thing to check out is does it ship with the EL-18 (is that the right one) adaptor? If not, can you get an adaptor that fits. The AA battery trays have been an interrchangeable fit in every grip I've had, although I've never used an AA tray in any of the grips.
pjbphotos
New member
I have just bought 2 new D850's why did I not buy them sooner
Not A Speck Of Cereal
Well-known member
Note that if you get a shutter count from a web site, it's likely to the total count, which (as mentioned) might not actually be the total mechanical shutter counts.
I use a tool called Nikon850SN (which you can find here) that will give you both the mechanical and electronic counts separately, as well as the total.
You can get these same counts from the EXIF metadata (you'll get 2 of the numbers which you can use to derive the 3rd), which is what the web sites are doing behind the curtain.
Note that silent shutter will give you a single mechanical count at the start (it has to flip the mirror and open the shutter at least that first time).
Here is a great example of how far off the web site count can be (if it only gives a total). This is from one of my D850 bodies where I do a lot of electronic shooting (time-lapse, focus stack, AEB, and sometimes just live view shooting with single exposures). As you can see, the total count would be WAY OFF from the actual mechanical count:
Chris
I use a tool called Nikon850SN (which you can find here) that will give you both the mechanical and electronic counts separately, as well as the total.
You can get these same counts from the EXIF metadata (you'll get 2 of the numbers which you can use to derive the 3rd), which is what the web sites are doing behind the curtain.
Note that silent shutter will give you a single mechanical count at the start (it has to flip the mirror and open the shutter at least that first time).
Here is a great example of how far off the web site count can be (if it only gives a total). This is from one of my D850 bodies where I do a lot of electronic shooting (time-lapse, focus stack, AEB, and sometimes just live view shooting with single exposures). As you can see, the total count would be WAY OFF from the actual mechanical count:
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
Chris
Bill G.
Active member
I too have used KEH many times over the years and have had excellent experiences with them.
My D850 as well as many other cameras over the years was purchased used. I've generally had very good experience buying used cameras and in the one or two cases where the camera had issues the seller took it back and refunded my purchase. The key is to buy from reputable vendors that have a good return policy and KEH definitely qualifies as a reputable vendor.
Enjoy your new camera.
Thanks. I'll give it a try when I receive my 850.
I do not want to spend the ridiculous amount of $$$ that Nikon is asking for the grip but I would like to find one that is compatible with the EN EL-18 battery to take advantage of the juice and the extra FPS. From what I read Amazon, this model is not compatible with the battery. Has anyone had experience with the newest version from Vello?Can't help with the Watson batteries personally but I saw a Fuji battery review that included Watson and they came out well. They are not available over here in the UK but Patona Platinum and EX Pro White were and I've got some Patona Platinum fot my Fuji XT-2 and found them very good. IIRC they charge to 95% of the Fuji batteries and last about the same time. I think that the Watson gave the same figures.
Just found the review!
NP-W126S Batteries Test: Capacity, Temperature and Quality compared
The original Fujifilm's batteries for X system camera are expensive. That's the reason why there are so many alternatives available, but it also makes the choice of the right one tough. They not only vary in
Regarding battery grips, I could not face the eye watering cost of the Nikon ones as I don't use grips very often. Confession time. I'm not a wildlife shooter. Correction, I'm not a serious wildlife shooter.
So when I got my D810 I looked around for a third party one. I had a Chinese one years ago for my D300/D700 and it only cost 24GBP! True, it broke after just over a year, but at that price I could buy several replacements and still not spend as much as the Nikon cost. Back to the D810. I settled on a Pixel/vertex grip at a fraction of the Nikon price and it fitted like a glove and worked just fine. Some time later I was given a Nikon grip and I can honestly say that in looks, feel and operation I could not detect any difference in the two grips. I guess that the Nikon one was made from better materials but had I'd not been given the Nikon grip I would have been very happy to continue with the Vertex/Pixel one.
Fast forward to 2018 and my D850. Where do you think I'm looking for a grip? Yep - the Pixel/Vertex one was 106GBP v 400GBP + back then for the Nikon one. so I had no hesitation in buying one. On the D850 it is not quite as snug a fit as the D810 one. There is about a 0.5mm step where the grip meets the body. Does that bother me? Not in the slightest. The box is now buried in my loft so not accessible, but I thought it came with the fitting that allows the use of the higher power battery, but I might be wrong. It is not mentioned in the Amazon ad:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078HY919X/?tag=backcogaller-20
Ignore the high shipping rates. amazon knows I'm in the UK!
So after more that 2 years how is it doing? Just fine. I'd recommend one without hesitation. the only thing to check out is does it ship with the EL-18 (is that the right one) adaptor? If not, can you get an adaptor that fits. The AA battery trays have been an interrchangeable fit in every grip I've had, although I've never used an AA tray in any of the grips.
Yup, I've got the second generation Vello grip for the D850 plus a Wasabi battery and it works like a charm and yields the faster frame rate.
Pistnbroke
Active member
Mr Cerial crumb......the site for the shutter count is all in Chinese and I dont see a box to hit ..can you give more details.
DRwyoming, Does the 2nd gen. Vello grip come with the Battery Pack (EN-EL18b with BL-5 Cover) so all that is needed is a EN-EL 18c battery? Am I correct that the 18b has been discontinued?
The link is in English under the screenshot of the dialog box
I had to buy the BL-5 battery cover separately, it did not come with the Vello grip. I purchased Wasabi EN-EL-18 batteries and charger (not sure of the suffix on those Wasabi batteries but they work fine and give me full 9 FPS from the D850).
I've often wondered if buying a battery cover and battery would then make any third party grip like my Vertex/Pixel one give the 9FPS or are there other differences in the grips that prevent it. Is it just an electrical (volts/amps) thing?
FB101
Well-known member
It seems some do, some don't. Looking online it seems pretty brand and even model specific (the Vello gen 1 did not allow 9fps while the gen 2 does...) so probably more complex than just changing battery and adding the BL-5. I have to say the Vello + wasabi combo is so much cheaper than Nikon, it is tempting to give it a try - there is even a generic BL-5 for $10 instead of $45 from Nikon. $230 for grip, two batteries, charger and BL-5. Nikon's equivalent is something like $1000 on B&H- ouch. And amazon reviews on the Vello aren't bad at all, maybe slightly less consistent build quality but hard to argue with the price difference.
I uploaded an image to http://myshuttercount.com/ and my camera (D500) came back with 38, 456
Wasabipower has a bundle including the charger, battery and BL-5 cover currently back ordered. Once I decided to keep the 850, that's my next purchase. Thanks for your input. A lot of choices with this model to avoid the outrageous pricing by Nikon.
Do you remember where you purchased the Wasabi EN El-18 and charger?
Nope, I bought it online but I don’t recall where, perhaps Adorama as I buy a lot of my photo stuff there.
Wasabi sells direct to user on ebay. They don't use the b, c such, just ENel 18, but do show the watt hours
Thank you.
Warren D
Well-known member
I had a Vello 1 for a while on my second D850 and I did get 9 fps with a Nikon ENEL-19c battery. The 18b's wouldn't got to 9 fps but the 18c's did. I sold it and got a Nikon grip as the Vello didn't sit tight to the body like the Nikon does. If you aren't tripod mounting the grip, no big deal but I did find I was regularly re-tightening the Vello.
Took delivery of my D850 from KEH today. Have spent the past few hours setting up my preferred settings. I like the fact that the menu is very similar to my D500. Of course, there are some new features like focus peaking and shifting which I look forward to exploring. I'll probably get the grip and battery bundle in the future but for now I'm happy with the condition and feel of the camera. Pleased the shutter count was lower than expected. Now I just need some nice weather and time in the field to see what it can do.
Thanks for everyone's suggestions.
Thanks for everyone's suggestions.
ebflyer
New member
Congratulations on your purchase. I am strongly considering a used D850 from them too. Glad to see all the positive feedback.