Nikon D850 Firmware Update - worth doing?

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Abinoone

Abinoone

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I shoot two D850s, and use Sony XQD cards for primary storage (SD cards for overflow). I've toyed with updating the camera's firmware to 1.2, but don't see any benefit unless and until I decide to use CF Express cards for storage. Am I missing something?
 
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Nikon almost always adds extra things that they don't tell you about. I've been running the updated FW in both my D850's since it came out and haven't had any issues.
 
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There were a few minor bug fixes in that update but I did it to transition from XQD to CFE and it's been uneventful. If you don't use CFE and you don't get the odd VR freeze that was fixed, I don't know that it is critical (but not detrimental either if you update, at least in my experience).
 
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dutchbenke said:
Once you update, can you use both CF & SQD cards in slot #1 and continue using SD cards in slot #2?
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Yes...though some CFx cards might not be compatible. I had 3 Angelbird CFx cards that had to have their FW updated to work with the D500 and D850...now they work fine.

To your second question, no discernable difference in write speed in the camera and none was promised or expected. It is my understanding that the D500, D850 and Dx bodies only had a single PCIe lane (XQD only supported a single PCIe lane), the newer bodies have two, hence the higher speeds available.
 
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dutchbenke said:
Are you saying that there is no reason to switch from SQD to CFb?
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There are reasons to switch from XQD to CFE-b, but performance on the D500, D850 isn't one of them. That CFE-b card is going to perform better in your NEXT camera, and transfers to your computer will likely be faster and you have a wider selection of products to choose from (XQD is basically dead).

That said, be aware most card readers with the (primary) exception of the Sony can't read BOTH CFE-b and XQD, so you do have to factor in the card reader into your decisions.
 
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In reality, no, though if you are going to buy any new cards, I'd buy CF instead of XQD in anticipation of buying a new camera at some point that would benefit from it. I had no plans to buy any additional memory cards for my D500 or D850, but when I ordered a Z9, I bought two 160GB and one 512GB CFx cards for it in advance. My existing XQD cards work fine in the Z9, too, just not for higher speed burst shooting or higher resolution/frame rate video.

The CFx cards are much faster in transferring data to/from a computer, though much of that depends on your reader, USB port and computer. In my workflow, that's not a major advantage, though for some, it might be.
 
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I've been running 1.2 in my D850 for quite awhile now, no problems. Sandisk CFE primary card, SD secondary. On my computers, I never "upgrade" to a new OS for at least three months and the inevitable initial bugs have been squashed. Phone and camera, I update immediately. So far, so good.
 
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John Navitsky said:
There are reasons to switch from XQD to CFE-b, but performance on the D500, D850 isn't one of them. That CFE-b card is going to perform better in your NEXT camera, and transfers to your computer will likely be faster and you have a wider selection of products to choose from (XQD is basically dead).

That said, be aware most card readers with the (primary) exception of the Sony can't read BOTH CFE-b and XQD, so you do have to factor in the card reader into your decisions.
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To clarify, only the one model Sony reader can read both card types, not the others. Prograde also has one that is compatible with both. There are a few other generic card readers that support both. When I was looking at CFE, the reviews on card readers that read CFExpress and XQD were inconsistent so I opted to get dedicated readers.
 
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abc123brian said:
To clarify, only the one model Sony reader can read both card types, not the others. Prograde also has one that is compatible with both. There are a few other generic card readers that support both. When I was looking at CFE, the reviews on card readers that read CFExpress and XQD were inconsistent so I opted to get dedicated readers.
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yah, sorry, i should have said the sony MRWG1/T1.
afaik, only the thunderbolt prograde reader can do both. the usb one cannot (don't ask me how i know :-D)
 
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Most likely my upcoming D850 purchase will be my last. I have been waiting (a longtime) for Nikon’s replacement for the D850. I have been using 2 D810’s for years. I have no interest in a Z! With that said, it looks like I will be just fine with SQD cards, correct?
 
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I'm new to the d850 and the autofocus is awful for videos with dynamic movement. I'm hoping this update helps the autofocus in particular for vlogs. Any help or suggestions with settings or anything?
 
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xMikeydon said:
I'm new to the d850 and the autofocus is awful for videos with dynamic movement. I'm hoping this update helps the autofocus in particular for vlogs. Any help or suggestions with settings or anything?
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Nothing is going to fix the inadequacy of your D850 for shooting video. I know first hand from dealing with both a D850 and D500 over many years. If video is important to you, get the right tool for the job...either a decent camcorder or a mirrorless body and lens...a Z30 with kit lens would be head and shoulders above a D850 for vlogging.
 
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