D850 Purchase in 2022??

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LarryBFLNC

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Hi everyone,
I have had a Nikon D7500 for a couple years and I have always wanted a D850! I mostly do landscape and wildlife photography. I have a few FX lenses already and a few DX lenses that I would be selling with the D7500. I just like the feel of the D850 vs a mirrorless camera like the Z7II. The D850 is already 5yrs old, am I wrong to be spending that kind of $$$ on a camera that old??
 
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LarryBFLNC said:
Hi everyone,
I have had a Nikon D7500 for a couple years and I have always wanted a D850! I mostly do landscape and wildlife photography. I have a few FX lenses already and a few DX lenses that I would be selling with the D7500. I just like the feel of the D850 vs a mirrorless camera like the Z7II. The D850 is already 5yrs old, am I wrong to be spending that kind of $$$ on a camera that old??
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I may be in the minority but I don't think a great DSLR like a D850 is a bad investment in 2022. If you've always wanted one then go for it. As great as some of the top mirrorless cameras are, the top DSLRs (and a D850 is a top DSLR) are still great cameras capable of capturing professional quality images. The D850 is still fully supported by Nikon Service and likely will be for a number of years based on how they've supported older cameras in the past.

Also if you're willing to pick up a used camera you can get a D850 for a lot less than retail price right now. I did pretty much the same thing recently picking up a US model D6 that I absolutely love at roughly half the retail price with only a few thousand releases on the shutter. Sure the top MILCs are fantastic but that doesn't take anything away from what a good DSLR can do and it will be a substantial upgrade from your D7500.
 
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The D850 was - and still is - my favorite camera of all time! Excellent for landscape, architecture, macro AND wildlife! I highly recommend it!

You don't say where you live, but if possible I would recommend checking around for a gently used one. Prices are quite low right now.........................
 
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Not at all, go for it! Thom Hogan still says the D850 is one of the best DSLR's available. The fact that it has been at or near the top of the list for 5+ years is a tribute to how good it is. I have 2 of them and don't intend on parting with either even with a Z9 in the bag. Some places I'll use both D850's and leave the Z9 in the bag.
 
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The D850 is an exceptional camera for landscape photography and there are far more options in terms of available f-mount lenses for DSLR cameras (14-24mm f/2.8, 18-35mm f/3.5G, PC-E in 19mm, 24mm, 45mm, and 85mm). For macro the Nikon 200mm f/4 is superior to the 105mm S macro lens in its usefulness in the field. For wildlife photography the D850 is only surpassed by the D6 and the Z9 which are double the cost.

The advantage of the Z cameras depends on which model. The Z9 has the great eye detection but this is a $6,000 purchase plus the need for CFexpress cards and EN-EL18d batteries.
I liked very much that I could use my EN-EL18 batteries in the D850 with the MB-D18 and with the D5. Both cameras used XQD cards which was also convenient. This is not the case with the Z cameras. At this time I would wait for a new Z7 with eye detect technology from the Z9 to appear.
 
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I started with a D7500 kit setup and purchased a few FX lenses. I shoot primarily wildlife with an emphasis on BIF. A couple of years ago I graduated to a D500 which is an AWESOME camera, but found myself yearning for a higher resolution full frame body. I considered mirrorless but the Z6/Z7 ll bodies, while great in many aspects, aren’t the greatest for BIF. And the Z9 didn’t fit my budget or availability, so I picked up a D850, and as others have said, have not looked back! I have a grip with the big battery to get the 9 fps. It’s been a great purchase for me.
 
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Now is a great time to purchase one. It is in my opinion the best landscape DSLR ever produced and is a joy to shoot with. If you are looking to purchase one I would not hesitate at all in buying one. Only hard thing would be to decide if you want to purchase one new or used as there is probably a large used market of them.
 
LarryBFLNC said:
Hi everyone,
I have had a Nikon D7500 for a couple years and I have always wanted a D850! I mostly do landscape and wildlife photography. I have a few FX lenses already and a few DX lenses that I would be selling with the D7500. I just like the feel of the D850 vs a mirrorless camera like the Z7II. The D850 is already 5yrs old, am I wrong to be spending that kind of $$$ on a camera that old??
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I agree 100% with Dan - the D850 is an outstanding camera (I have two) that will serve you well for years to come. I love everything about the camera - ergonomics, full frame 47mp sensor, color rendition, great AF, acceptably fast frame rate (I rarely need more than 7 FPS), good weather sealing, easy focus shift shooting, fabulous customization options, etc., etc. A lot of folks are jumping on the mirrorless bandwagon, and dumping their DSLRs, so you should be able to pick up a good, used copy fairly inexpensively. Check Fred Miranda, or post a wanted notice here. Best of luck!
 
Mpb.com or keh.com both give a generous warranty and return policy. $2200 like new at keh.
 
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I own both the Z9 and D850. I don't plan to get rid of either of them in the foreseeable future! Each has it's place in certain photography situations where it is the optimum tool for the job-at-hand. Were there a Nikon MLC in the same size and, or better, resolution than the D850, my decision would need to be reevaluated. However, the decision I would reach would likely be the same as it now is.
 
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I have both: D850 and Z9 and love my D850! For flying birds I take D850 because I know how it works and I better with D850 for BIF than with Z9. It can change of course, but now it is so. I bought Z9 rather for filming.
So, D850 is an excellent camera! Go for it!
 
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I have been using a D850 / D500 combination for birding for several years now, then I got a Z9. My keeper rate for birding went up significantly after I got familiar with the Z9, and the Z9 keeps getting better with every firmware update. I will never part with my D850 / D500 set and use the D850 for anything not moving, or moving slowly, and the Z9 for things in motion. To me, an often overlooked advantage of modern mirrorless cameras is IBIS, which I attribute to my improved keeper rate. Yes, eye tracking is amazing, but we were doing just fine without it.
 
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I think the general consensus above is…… just do it. And I would agree, it’ll give you great results with your current lenses, both FX and DX if you wish and, again as many have said, there are plenty of ‘as new’ bargains to be had with the folk jumping to mirrorless.

Great step up from where you are now and without the eye-watering costs of trading ’up’ to mirrorless.
 
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bought a d850 in march from a photographer that amazingly only had a shutter count of 9k. coming from a d750 the improvements are big, especially things like split screen focusing in live view or focus peaking (speaking as someone who shoots landscape only)
 
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I'm probably in the minority in this thread but I wouldn't buy a D850 today. I owned it and loved it and yes it's still a great camera. But mirrorless is here to stay and the DSLR will soon be going the way of the Dodo. Didn't Nikon say they are stopping all new DSLR production? That kind of tells you everything you need to know. What happens if you need a repair in a couple years.................will there even be parts available? Mirrorless technology far surpasses DSLR and I'd rather be a little ahead of the curve than far behind it. Think of it this way...........would you have bought a VHS tape player right as Blockbuster was switching over to DVD's or when they were about to go out of business? I sure as heck wouldn't have...........................my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth.
 
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Look at all the great used or new glass you can buy for the D850 at good prices. When you're ready you older Nikon glass will work well on your Nikon ZXX. So far my older glass works well on my Z9, also not just ready to part with my D850 yet.
 
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When Nikon had a sale I bought a second D850 body. The idea was to store it away until the other one died. Turns out I now frequently carry both bodies with different lenses mounted. So, if you can afford two D850s get them both!
 
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