D500 inferior? Maybe not.

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C

Capturingtheunseen.com

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Ok, I have to man up here. I've been talking trash about the D500. I've not been satisfied with the results of it when compared to my D4. It turns out I may have been guilty of something I warn others about: Not sufficiently exploring new settings when comparing one camera body to another, but assuming that what is golden with one body will work with another. Wrong, and I knew it was wrong.

For example, the D4 is so capable of resolving different lighting situations on its own, that my normal settings are spot metering, f/7.1, 1/4000, auto iso from 100 to 12,800. Even in lower light conditions, the images came out great after processing through LR and Topaz DeNoise AI. In almost all cases, they needed very little noise reduction.

I'm finding the D500 to not be so accommodating. That shouldn't be surprising, given cropped sensor versus Full frame. But somehow that failed to totally register.

After experimenting more, trying different metering modes, keeping the shutter speed only as high as absolutely necessary, and opening up the aperture more, I'm having better success, even in low-light conditions. And, I'm thinking I MIGHT be getting more detail with the D500. More testing to come on that.

Here are a couple of Eagle shots taken over the past couple of weeks. The immature bird was taken in overcast skies as a rain moved in.

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From the D4:

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I experienced the same when adding a D850 to my bag; I was previously shooting a D7200. I thought, use same lenses and same settings and the image quality would improve on comparable shots. It did not. It took a little adjustment of operator technique to get me over the hump. Now I love it and am hesitant to use the D7200, but I do like having two bodies at hand to handle different situations that pop up, instead of missing the optional shot.
 
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gaknott said:
I experienced the same when adding a D850 to my bag; I was previously shooting a D7200. I thought, use same lenses and same settings and the image quality would improve on comparable shots. It did not. It took a little adjustment of operator technique to get me over the hump. Now I love it and am hesitant to use the D7200, but I do like having two bodies at hand to handle different situations that pop up, instead of missing the optional shot.
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Interesting you mentioned the D850. A very experienced friend of mine got one about a year ago and really struggled for a while. But, he eventually tamed it and now his images are stunning.
 
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Great observations and a good reason to try to get to the root of why a camera may not be performing to your expectations. Sometimes changing things up and recognizing limitations of different equipment can help to get the most out a new piece of gear. Good job sussing that out and figuring out what your D500 can do for you.
Capturingtheunseen.com said:
....I'm thinking I MIGHT be getting more detail with the D500...
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So much of that comes down to pixels on the subject where if you frame fill similarly with both cameras the D500 does come out a bit ahead of the D4 and can come out way ahead if the full frame D4 needs a heavy crop to yield the same subject size as the crop sensor D500. But generally speaking you get more detail when you can put more pixels on your subject. I'd say generally because after some point you can start paying the price of too much pixel density coupled with subtle camera or subject movement and those extra pixels start revealing flaws in technique that can outweigh the added pixel resolution. IOW, it can often be easier to hand hold a 16 or 20 Mpixel camera than a 45 Mpixel camera from a revealing motion blur (camera/lens or subject) standpoint but if those issues are addressed with better technique, better support or perhaps higher shutter speeds the higher resolution camera is capable of revealing additional detail.

FWIW, I went through a similar thought process after picking up my D5 and put the D500 on the shelf for a while. But I've been using the D500 again lately and it really can produce some great images even in moderately low light though as you say you can't really apply the same wide ISO settings from the D5 (or your D4) to the D500 with its smaller sensor.
 
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Steve said:
The D500 is a really great little camera and awesome for wildlife work. It's fast, has a huge buffer, great AF, it's hard to go wrong. As you say, you just gotta keep the ISO in check and fill the frame. I have more than a few images I really love from that camera!
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@Steve What would you generally consider "in check" for the D500?
 
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I am in the market currently for D500. Currently a 7200 which I mostly like other than missing group AF, mywant for frame rate increase, and I just feel it really lacks in ISO performance. The smokey atmosphere this year really made it stand out. I KNOW I get AF, "pro" button layout/customization, and 10 frame rate, but hoping to feel like I also gain in noise performance. I realize crop frame will never equal full, but hoping for something.
 
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KCPhoto said:
but hoping to feel like I also gain in noise performance. I realize crop frame will never equal full, but hoping for something.
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Moving from a D7200 to a D500 will give you a small but meaningful increase in dynamic range and hence a bit better noise performance for ISO values above 400. Here's how they compare in terms of dynamic range:
Nikon D500 vs D7200 DXOMark.jpg
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In a nutshell that chart means the D500 sensor will give you about a half stop improvement in noise performance above ISO 400. That may not sound like much but to take an example it basically means the D500's noise at ISO 3200 is similar to the D7200's noise at ISO 2000 which is pretty useful in lower light situations.
 
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I love my D500 and use it more often than my D850... It's a fantastic camera for BIF and fast moving wildlife shots with a huge buffer. I agree with Dave's comments above of changing things up and recognizing limitations of different equipment you use, can get the most out a new piece of gear. Also I don't see significant differences from your above shots take by your D4 vs D500. Both are equally good 👍
 
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This thread brings me some consolation, although I have often hear that misery loves company. :rolleyes: My D500 is the first Nikon body that I did not immediately take to, despite all of my advance reading about its new and upgraded features. I am still determined to "get over the hump" with whatever are the issues, and I feel better knowing that I am not the only one who had some issues with a new body. I am hoping to have enough free time this fall and winter to get in some quality BIF outings and lots of practice. A big thanks to the OP for posting this thread and some nice examples.

--Ken
 
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To my eye ISO 2200 is the limit on my shooting with the D500, and that's with maybe a stop of NR I get with DXO PhotoLab.

I'm not a fan of the extent of blackout on it though, which someone measured at 60%. It's possible to learn to ignore it and that's worthwhile for the excellent AF. The AF beats the Sony A9 that I also use with birds and that's lauded for its performance. Well, it's easier to use but not IME as accurate or reliable as the D500.
 
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Replytoken said:
This thread brings me some consolation, although I have often hear that misery loves company. :rolleyes: My D500 is the first Nikon body that I did not immediately take to, despite all of my advance reading about its new and upgraded features. I am still determined to "get over the hump" with whatever are the issues, and I feel better knowing that I am not the only one who had some issues with a new body. I am hoping to have enough free time this fall and winter to get in some quality BIF outings and lots of practice. A big thanks to the OP for posting this thread and some nice examples.

--Ken
Click to expand...

At first I had worse results with my D500 after switching from a D7200. There was a learning curve for me.
 
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With the D7200 my best results were using AF-C and single point focus for BIF even though single point is not recommended. That didn't work well with the D500, I get better results with group focus.
 
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The D500 has 153 AF sensors to the D7200's 51. While the D500 sensors appear to cover a larger area, they are also smaller, which means they will slip off a subject quicker in single sensor AF. As the subject gets smaller in the frame, it becomes a lot easier to slip off. When I transitioned from the D4 to the D500 years back I had the same issue. I had been using dynamic area AF with the D4 with great success but the D500 frustrated me. Took a while to get the hang of it.
 
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I’ve had my D500 for three years and definitely a learning curve for me until I watched Steve Perry’s and Mark Smith’s set up videos BIF Photography. I use my D500 primarily for Wildlife, Eagle, Hawk, and Ospreys. I set Auto ISO limit to 4000 and Topaz Studio 2 and the upgrades to DeNoise have provided some help with those higher ISO levels. Group Focus for BIF set up to Back Button Focus and PV Button for Spot Focus is my set up. Many say good Glass is tantamount to good results and the past year my D500 has the 500mm PF f5.6 basically welded to the D500 and the results have been a game changer for me. For BIF Raptor Photography the D500 is a very good choice.
 
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The D500 is my first DSLR. I‘ve been using it a little over a year And I love it! Still learning but that for me is part of the fun. I have not owned any other DSLR’s in my lifetime so I can’t contribute to the discussion on how it compares to other bodies. But from everything I’ve read on this site, I’m sure glad I wen‘t with the D500. I have my auto ISO max at 3200 with no issues.
 
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