D5 Advice

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Jbear

Jbear

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Hey All,
I have decided to add a D5 (to current compliment of D850, D500, and D750). I have no inclination toward ML, and this camera will be a tool specifically for low-light and/or fast moving subjects within our nature context. So, my question is...XQD or CF...does it really make a difference other than buffer. I honestly cannot conceive of being in a situation wherein the difference would matter, but...perhaps you can. Thanks all!
 
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Cool. Thank you. Turns out I found one with just over 35K for a relatively low price at reputable place, and...it just happens to be XQD so it turns out a non-issue...if it ever even was.
One interesting thing...I don't see any D5 books other than Thom's. Seems strange to me but...I have Steve's AF book so...
Thanks again.
 
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Jbear said:
Cool. Thank you. Turns out I found one with just over 35K for a relatively low price at reputable place, and...it just happens to be XQD so it turns out a non-issue...if it ever even was.
One interesting thing...I don't see any D5 books other than Thom's.
Click to expand...
Thom Hogan's book is worth it IME and Steve's is better for AF
Jbear said:
Seems strange to me but...I have Steve's AF book so...
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
The D5 is an excellent camera. Excellent in low light

Late 2020, Nikon updated the firmware for XQD versions to support CFexpress cards.
IME, XQD cards have become hard to find, and my main retailer stopped stocking them months ago in preference for CFexpress.

Earlier threads fyi

DX to Full frame 500 to D5?

I have been shooting the D500 for the last three years. Very pleased overall with tit. I want to move to FX , and my thinking or reasoning is that the FX will give me better low light results. High ISO on the D500 most of the time is quite acceptable , at least to me, but It does bother me...
bcgforums.com bcgforums.com

ISO sensitivity settings recommendations for Nikon D6

Hi Steve, I was wondering what is your recommendation for setting up ISO sensitivity settings for Nikon D6 for photo Shooting and Movie shooting menus. Reading your books, you recommend to stick to the base ISO of 100. What about max sensitivity? Would you go with 3200 or higher? I only saw...
bcgforums.com bcgforums.com
 
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Appreciate that take. I happen to have quite a few QXD's, so...not sure if I need anymore currently, but I will check out CFExp. I also have to make sure I update firmware now that I'm thinking about it.
 
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Jbear said:
Hey All,
I have decided to add a D5 (to current compliment of D850, D500, and D750). I have no inclination toward ML, and this camera will be a tool specifically for low-light and/or fast moving subjects within our nature context. So, my question is...XQD or CF...does it really make a difference other than buffer. I honestly cannot conceive of being in a situation wherein the difference would matter, but...perhaps you can. Thanks all!
Click to expand...
One of my favorite cameras of all times. Sold as I transitioned to Z glass, but I sure miss it and the sound of the mirror slapping.
 
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I'm all ears if anyone has specific tips or tactics. I enjoy learning new gear. We're camping cross country this summer from GA to Banff and back (we took this trip when we got married in '03) and this will get a workout for sure!
 
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Jbear said:
I'm all ears if anyone has specific tips or tactics. I enjoy learning new gear. We're camping cross country this summer from GA to Banff and back (we took this trip when we got married in '03) and this will get a workout for sure!
Click to expand...
I loved my D5, it's a fantastic action photography camera especially in low light situations. If you pick one up, explore the Group AF HL and VL options where you can set up a long skinny AF Area horizontally or vertically. I found this very handy when shooting certain types of sports and wildlife images where I expect the eyes to be at a certain area of the frame but perhaps not at a specific location left to right or up to down. It's a feature you won't find on the other cameras you listed but one that can be very handy.

I nearly always shot mine in Manual with Auto ISO mode with the ISO cap at the top of the non-extended range and was amazed at what I could get away with in terms of high ISO and how well modern noise reduction tools like Topaz Denoise or LR's Noise Reduction feature could deal with the fine almost monochrome high ISO noise out of the D5.

The camera has a ton of customizable features so it can take a while to figure out how you want to set it up but FWIW I had my D5 and D500 set up very similarly in terms of controls with a few changes to incorporate portrait orientation shooting and extra features in the D5.
 
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Loved the D5 when I had it. My main gripe was how loud it was.

One benefit of the CF express card is the transfer speed at the end of the day. This might mean absolutely nothing to your decision but I do enjoy being able to transfer like a 1000 pics in under a minute as opposed to it taking 10 minutes with an XQD.
 
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if you don't already HAVE XQD, just go with CFE-b. note the readers are not compatible typically, so you are going to have more options with CFE-b and you will be more likely to be able to use CFE-b cards you buy on newer cameras.

if you already have XQD, there are a few readers that can do both, like the sony. and it might be worth getting a new reader so you aren't stuck with buying outdated cards

but you are right, they will perform the same in-camera

also note if your camera has old fw it might not be able to read CFE-b until you update it

here's a reasonable model, just pick whatever size you want: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...dcfxbp256g4_256gb_power_cfexpress_memory.html
 
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Canadian Pro Brad Hill reported on the D5 in fair detail, particularly through 2016, and also in follow up comparisons.
Besides Steve's detailed explanation, he's also the only prominent Nikon owner who also discussed RSF, Recall Shooting Functions, added in the firmware v1.30 in May 2018; however I can't locate Brad's specific blog post(s) about this (previous to the D6 feedback).

Alongside the greatly enhanced Custom Area AF modes, Nikon improved RSF in the D6.

Natural Art Images: Voice: Brad Hill Blog

The Blog of Brad Hill, wildlife photographer. Cameras, lenses, camera gear, field tests, conservation, photo tours, and other bits of questionable wisdom from a young-at-heart nature photographer!
www.naturalart.ca www.naturalart.ca

Natural Art Images: Voice: Brad Hill Blog

The Blog of Brad Hill, wildlife photographer. Cameras, lenses, camera gear, field tests, conservation, photo tours, and other bits of questionable wisdom from a young-at-heart nature photographer!
www.naturalart.ca www.naturalart.ca

Natural Art Images: Voice: Brad Hill Blog

The Blog of Brad Hill, wildlife photographer. Cameras, lenses, camera gear, field tests, conservation, photo tours, and other bits of questionable wisdom from a young-at-heart nature photographer!
www.naturalart.ca www.naturalart.ca
 
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@Jbear

Although there would be no or at best very little difference in the performance in your camera between XQD and CFE cards, CFe cards are now cheaper (in the UK) than the no longer produced XQD cards You would think that a redundant format would be price dropped to get rid of the stocks, wouldn't you?

I know someone who wanted a 64GB XQD card for his D850 The 128GB CFe was just too big, he said. His shooting does not require the ultimate performance or huge capacity. So he bought a 64GB XQD card for about 140 GBP and ignored my advice to get the 128 GB CFe I recommended at under 90 GBP!!!
 
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Continued thanks all! I am a fan of Brad Hill's forthright reviews and he was one source that lead me to getting the Sigma 500 4 OS Sport, which I never regretted. It's a little surprising that there aren't more D5 "guides" available (that I can find anyway). I did start going through Thom's book last night. He knows his stuff for sure, but I do prefer Hill's discussion style (and Steve's). I've used Thom's stuff for a long time though, and the things I want to know are in there...just a little more like textbook reading than the others. That can be a good thing depending upon how much info you're wanting.
 
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The only situation where the D5 proved to be superior to the D850 was with rapidly approaching subjects where its autofocus adjusted fast enough to get sharp images. The D850 and D500 would fail in this type of situation. The D850 was using the battery grip with the EN-EL18 battery.

For me it was a matter of when to use the far higher resolution D850 and when to use the faster focusing D5. The D5 with a DX amount of image crop is functionally a 9MP camera as compared to 19MP with the D850 and 21MP with the D500.

I was delighted to move to the Z9 where I had both high resolution and fast autofocus performance in a single camera. Subject detection greatly reduced the need to do a manual focus override as I needed to do most of the time with my DSLR cameras.
 
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Got to shoot with it today and it was a really impressive experience. The images look great at all ISO's, which surprised me a little considering all the chatter I had read regarding low ISO performance. I shot it with a 300 2.8 VR and 500PF alongside a D500 and D850...both gripped. No fine-tune necessary with either lens, so that's nice.
AF was as advertised, and there definitely was a difference among the bodies. This became most noticeable with tc's where both lenses remained snappy with 14's, and the 300 2.8 stayed that way with the 17 and 20 (maybe not snappy withthe 2x but not slow at all). It's ability to grab dark subjects against dark busy backgrounds was really nice, and tree swallows were significantly less challenging to track.
Beyond that it was just fun to use...it just feels great. It would have cost me 4x the $ to get a Z9. I'm very happy with my decision, as it covers all of my bases. Can't wait to get this thing on the road!
One thing I do wish is that I could program the f3 (back bottom left) for My Menu like I have done with the F2 on the other two bodies. If I missed something regarding that please feel free to inform me.
Appreciate everyone's insight!
 
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