Hi , I shoot mostly wildlife. Have an option to buy a new D500 or a sparingly used D5 which is coming at an attractive price. What should I go for ? D500 gives me that extra reach. Would love to have your advice.
D500 or a sparingly used D5 ?
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I shoot with both, but strongly prefer the D5 for most wildlife work. The D500 is still a great and lightweight camera for taking on a long walk (often with the 500mm PF mounted) but if I had to choose one I'd take the D5. The AF performance, increased frame rate and very short mirror blackout of the D5 makes it a great camera for action work. Add to that the better low light performance and the pro body design with built in vertical shooting controls and the D5 is really a pleasure to use.
ruley74
Well-known member
My first response would agree with the D5, however it depends on what you're going to be mounting up to it and if the reach will be enough for the most part. Aso what times and lighting conditions you may predominantly find yourself in.
If reach will mostly be fine with the D5, head that way for sure, if always searching for reach, maybe the D500 would be better to start with until you get longer lenses if you need to.
If reach will mostly be fine with the D5, head that way for sure, if always searching for reach, maybe the D500 would be better to start with until you get longer lenses if you need to.
Thank you.
Thank you. I have a D850 with a 400 mm prime which I use with a tc 1.4 most of the time. It gives me good results. I was planning on getting a D500 as a second camera to get me that extra reach when this offer of D5 came by. That caused the dilemma.
Given the D850 offers a DX crop nearly identical to the output and reach of a D500, the D5 might be a better compliment to your D850. You can get the “reach“ of a D500 by cropping your D850 files in post or in camera. (That said, I have a D850 and D500, along with a couple of Z bodies. Had the D500 first. Like them all. Haven't wanted the larger size and weight of the D5 personally.)
ruley74
Well-known member
ahhh, well i see now... i use both the D500 and D850, but i was considering something for low light like a D5 or the new Z6II if it's any good. Mostly Agree with Bill, given you have a D850 maybe the D5 is worth a shot
Thank you. Have decided to go with the D500
Thank you all. This is a great forum and thanks to Steve for setting this up. 
If your only concern is the crop mode, set the D5 on dx mode and you still get the reach but the full frame sensor. I assume it does this, as all my Nikons (D500, D800, Z7) do.
You certainly can shoot the D5 in crop mode but you turn a 20.8 Mpixel camera into roughly a 9.2 Mpixel camera when you do that. There's no difference between cropping in camera and making the same crop in post processing and either way you're throwing away all the outer pixels so you no longer really have a full frame sensor from a noise, detail or DoF standpoint.
The D850 in crop mode is very similar to using the entire D500 frame with a bit less resolution but cropping a D5 image down to DX mode isn't great from an IQ standpoint for print use though if the output images are for web and email use then it's not too terrible.
True enough. I still look back at some of my D1H images (2.6 Mpixels) that I printed as 24"x36" prints (with a lot of careful stair step interpolation).
That said, I still don't like deep crops into my D5 images even though I shot pro level DSLRs with even less resolution for years and was super happy with the images from my D2X coming from a D1H and D70.
We're spoiled these days
Indrajeet Singh
All images only shot in the wild - No captives.
For birds and wildlife the D500 will be the one I would choose because of the DX sensor and its amazing focus acquisition capability. It however will not be as good as the FX D5 in low light.
The D5 image resolution in pixel size for DX mode on the D5 is 24 x 16 as per the Nikon manual. A DX image can be used for much more than web or email use. I won't get into a debate on cropping in camera or using DX mode as that is a personal choice but the poster said that getting that extra reach was his concern and the DX mode on a D5 will allow him that reach and will still result in a fine high quality print.
24x16 describes the aspect ratio, not the resolution.
The pixel resolution drops by a factor of ~4/9 when you perform a DX crop on a full frame sensor (crop factor of 2/3 squared). IOW, a 20.8 Mpixel FF camera delivers approximately a 9.24 Mpixel image when cropped to DX format whether that cropping is in the camera or in post. But yes, the in camera DX crop maintains the 24x16 (3x2) aspect ratio.
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I'm not really inclined toward math so I always need to read up a lot on these things to figure them out. Here is one example of how resolution, called pixel resolution, is defined (resolution in digital images has several meanings):
"In pixel resolution, the term resolution refers to the total number of count of pixels in an digital image. For example. ... We can say that the higher is the pixel resolution, the higher is the quality of the image. We can define pixel resolution of an image as 4500 X 5500." (Pixel Resolution - Tutorialspoint)
So, in the case of the D500 and a DX mode image, the pixel resolution and the aspect is 24 x 16 and that is a 1:1 ratio for a printed image. According to camera manufacturers, and that's all I can go by, a 1:1 ratio will give a maximum quality print. I've printed a lot as I print all my own work that is less than a 13" x 19" inch image, anything else I have to send out, and have sold this work. I've always gotten really nice prints when I use the 1:1 camera ratio for a print and even when I've pushed the print size up a bit as long as the image is a high quality image and we all know that image resolution is a moving target depending on many variables.
I don't doubt your math as I'm sure you know more than I do about that.
You seem to be conflating the concept of aspect ratio and resolution. The former describes the shape of the image which can of course be given in units of pixels and the latter defines how many pixels are in each direction and the resulting total file size in pixels.
To cut to the chase I just went out and shot two images with my D5, one in full frame mode and one using the in camera DX crop mode. Here's how they line up side by side in LightRoom straight from the import with no processing or additional cropping applied:
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
As shown, the full frame image captured 5568 x 3712 pixels which means approximately 20.67 Mega pixels of image information
The in camera DX cropped image captured 3648 x 2432 pixels which means approximately 8.87 Mega pixels of image information
They both have an aspect ratio of 3:2 (which could also be expressed as 24:16)
So stripping away the theory and most of the mathematics this is what a user should expect in terms of capturing fewer pixels when running the D5 in DX crop mode. As posted previously that's still plenty for a lot of uses and more than the early generation of pro DSLRs delivered but it's a substantial reduction in the amount of pixel information retained in the camera's DX mode image.
Bottom line, yes the D5 like all Nikon full frame DSLRs can be operated in a DX crop mode but there's no free lunch and when you do operate in crop mode a lot of pixel information is discarded leaving images with substantially lower pixel resolution. Again that may be more than enough remaining resolution for a lot of uses but when you crop you capture less pixel information even when that cropping is performed inside the camera.
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Nikon D500, D850, D5....apples, oranges, and a peach! I currently have the whole mixed bunch of fruit and like them all for very different reasons. If budget minded I would grab the D500 everyday of the week. If money is not limited then probably D5/D6. If only one camera body and could afford it then it would be D850 as best all around, albeit with some compromises from the other two.
I own a D500, a D850, and a D5. There is no comparison when it comes to AF, noise, and low light performance. The D5 is simply in a class by itself. Nothing comes close for wildlife (except now the D6). The D850 offers all of those beautiful pixels, I use it for people, landscapes, and as a backup to the D5.
Since picking up the D850, the D500 now stays in my bag. While it is a fine camera, I can't even remember the last time I used it. In real life use, it is noisier by far than the other two, it offers no crop advantage over the D850 and can't come close to the AF and low light abilities of the D5.
When the shot matters, I reach for the D5 every time.
Since picking up the D850, the D500 now stays in my bag. While it is a fine camera, I can't even remember the last time I used it. In real life use, it is noisier by far than the other two, it offers no crop advantage over the D850 and can't come close to the AF and low light abilities of the D5.
When the shot matters, I reach for the D5 every time.
Calson
Well-known member
It depends in large part on how close you can get to your subjects, how large they tend to be, and how much you want to invest in super telephoto lenses. A D500 provides an image size with a 400mm lens that with the D5 would require a 500mm lens to achieve.
The D5 in DX mode becomes a 8.9MP camera with less resolution than the D2x camera. Photographing distant wildlife, as with grizzlies in Yellowstone, or small to medium size birds in most places and one can use the 800mm f/5.6 with the D5 or the 600mm f/4 with the D500 (or D850) and get the same image size. The longer focal length lens also results in more perspective compression and less DOF at any given aperture.
When I tested a D500, D5, and D850 while photographing osprey returning to their nest I found that only in one situation was the D5 clearly superior to the other two cameras in terms of its autofocus performance. That one situation was when the bird was quickly coming directly toward the camera, which is the most difficult situation for any autofocus system. If I was shooting sports events then the D5 would be my choice as there are no "re-do's" in sports. This is not the situation with regard to 99% of wildlife photography.
Photographing from a boat as with trips I made last year to the Pantanal and to Costa Rica, the D850 was the ideal camera along with the 80-400mm and 500mm PF lenses. I was photographing birds and snakes and frogs and lizards at distances often of 150 feet. No way to fill the frame and a D5's 20MP image file would have required cropping and not provided the best picture quality. When I returned from Costa Rica I sold my D500 and bought a second D850.
If the temptation is too great and you buy a D5, then be sure to buy one with the XQD card slots and not one with CF card slots.
The D5 in DX mode becomes a 8.9MP camera with less resolution than the D2x camera. Photographing distant wildlife, as with grizzlies in Yellowstone, or small to medium size birds in most places and one can use the 800mm f/5.6 with the D5 or the 600mm f/4 with the D500 (or D850) and get the same image size. The longer focal length lens also results in more perspective compression and less DOF at any given aperture.
When I tested a D500, D5, and D850 while photographing osprey returning to their nest I found that only in one situation was the D5 clearly superior to the other two cameras in terms of its autofocus performance. That one situation was when the bird was quickly coming directly toward the camera, which is the most difficult situation for any autofocus system. If I was shooting sports events then the D5 would be my choice as there are no "re-do's" in sports. This is not the situation with regard to 99% of wildlife photography.
Photographing from a boat as with trips I made last year to the Pantanal and to Costa Rica, the D850 was the ideal camera along with the 80-400mm and 500mm PF lenses. I was photographing birds and snakes and frogs and lizards at distances often of 150 feet. No way to fill the frame and a D5's 20MP image file would have required cropping and not provided the best picture quality. When I returned from Costa Rica I sold my D500 and bought a second D850.
If the temptation is too great and you buy a D5, then be sure to buy one with the XQD card slots and not one with CF card slots.
OohMatron
New member
The "reach" is the same with both bodies because it is dictated by the lens. All a DX body does is narrow the field of view, it does not change the magnification of a lens. I can't believe we are still having this conversation in 2020.
O
Well-known member
If your not fit and weight is critical, crop ability is not what you need, you don’t need real ISO, the D500 is good. NOTE, extra reach in a DX camera is more a perception as in DX or FX cameras in the real world the subject is still physically the same distance. Higher resolution FX cameras can tolerate cropping far better.
If you want brilliant speed, super high ISO, great focusing, you don’t need crop ability, you’re not fussed on brilliant image quality, weight is not an issue… the D5 is it.
Ask your self how often do you really need a Hi speed Hi iso D5………….
I sold my D4s D5 and got two D850 cameras with change left over, I got a genuine power grip on sale, I had two new D4s batteries left, I got a $80 D4s battery charge that works well, honestly selling the D4s D5 is the …..best thing I ever did, I have so much versatility, copyability that I can use smaller lighter primes and zooms ( 300 PF 200-500) I now leave the 300 2.8 and 600 F4 at home more often than before, I get stunning image quality and speed to 9 FPS frankly I am happy with that negligible compromise.
I do wild life, sports action, land sea scapes, street photography, model shoots, everything, 6400 iso is excellent on the D850.
Everyone and every application is personal and different, I do love the D5 so much but the all round versatility and IQ of the D850 was strong enough to have me moove on happily.
I feel the future for now is 45 – 60mp mp 9 or 12 frames per second and growing, the D850 overall is just so good it’s worth the very very little compromises to get that brilliant image quality and versatility…………so many of my colleagues have all gone the same way……….they have all sold their D500,D4s D5 units, gone 200-500, 300 pf 500 pf new 600 f4
As always only an opinion……….hope it helps........
OohMatron
New member
Calson the "image size" ie magnification is the same with both bodies if you use the same lens. The Field of View is narrower with a DX body. That is the only difference.
O
Well-known member
The D5 D6 D850 are the only real cameras at the moment unless you go Mirrorless which hasn’t matured fully yet for Nikon, however file quality in the Z series body and lenses are better than Sony and Canon, however Canon is on point in all other areas.
The large lens mount on Nikon Z series is smart, I feel it is the door step to Nikon moving to 16 bit and entry level medium format, put on your seat belts and hang on 2021…. 2022 is going to be fun.
Sell your boat anchors now while you can, the game is becoming very very different going forward, if you don’t want to play the latest gear game stay with what you have and enjoy making pictures, after all in a strange way the only thing left for us to do is create a composition, everything else is becoming so so automatic, I feel our skill set is being lobotomised.
More Adobe software is now staring to surface in cameras from the manufactures with plans to do even more.......
Bottom Line……..enjoy yourself, please your self first second and third, remember a camera is only a tool, it simply records an image you compose, the camera only uses a combination of time light and speed…..really nothing else…….keep it simple, the D500 is a great camera but if you own a D5 or D850 you will be hard pressed to leave the D850 at home in 8 out of 10 cases, I use 300mm glass where I needed 500mm before because I can really crop on the D850……example you go on 2 week trip to a location in Western Australia where you want to capture 30 different bird types, you take the big tripod the 500/600mm f4 and the D4s D5 etc, over 2 weeks you capture 11 subjects out of 30, Now you come back again with a D850 and say 300 pf, or a 200-500 over the same period and conditions you now got 23 out of 30 subjects…………there is no right or wrong….getting the shot is all that counts and yes if you like it or not Cropping is a bigger part of things than ever before…….
Only and opinion.
The large lens mount on Nikon Z series is smart, I feel it is the door step to Nikon moving to 16 bit and entry level medium format, put on your seat belts and hang on 2021…. 2022 is going to be fun.
Sell your boat anchors now while you can, the game is becoming very very different going forward, if you don’t want to play the latest gear game stay with what you have and enjoy making pictures, after all in a strange way the only thing left for us to do is create a composition, everything else is becoming so so automatic, I feel our skill set is being lobotomised.
More Adobe software is now staring to surface in cameras from the manufactures with plans to do even more.......
Bottom Line……..enjoy yourself, please your self first second and third, remember a camera is only a tool, it simply records an image you compose, the camera only uses a combination of time light and speed…..really nothing else…….keep it simple, the D500 is a great camera but if you own a D5 or D850 you will be hard pressed to leave the D850 at home in 8 out of 10 cases, I use 300mm glass where I needed 500mm before because I can really crop on the D850……example you go on 2 week trip to a location in Western Australia where you want to capture 30 different bird types, you take the big tripod the 500/600mm f4 and the D4s D5 etc, over 2 weeks you capture 11 subjects out of 30, Now you come back again with a D850 and say 300 pf, or a 200-500 over the same period and conditions you now got 23 out of 30 subjects…………there is no right or wrong….getting the shot is all that counts and yes if you like it or not Cropping is a bigger part of things than ever before…….
Only and opinion.
I have both... the D5 is Amazing in its ability to get the shot, even at higher ISO. Find the D500 okay if you keep the ISO below 800 or so. Get a TC 1.4 if you need extra reach.