D500 Autofocus Performance

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I spent most of yesterday at a water sking tournament in NW Florida, taking photos at the invitation of a friend who skis with the hosting organization.

I used both my D500 and D750, and the Nikon 70-200mm E FL AF-S, Nikon 300mm AF-S G VR II and Nikon 500mm AF-S G VR lenses.

Now I'm busy sorting out the 2300, or so, images from the outing.

Back to the crux of this post. It was the first opportunity I've had to really test the autofocus performance of these cameras, and the D500 is clearly the better camera, by far. I had both cameras set so that the image had to be in-focus for the shutter to operate, and other than ISO, the other pertinent camera settings were the same between the two cameras. I switched camera/lens combinations, and often used both cameras on the same ski run, one being tripod mounted and the other hand held to enable a quick switch from one to the other.

Well, the D500 was almost always able to keep up with the very dynamic (motion) subject, while the D750 struggled. In fact, the D500 most often tracked the subject long enough to fill the camera's buffer, while the D750 did so seldomly.

I'm not saying that the D750 was bad, mind you, but that the D500 was so much better!

It's performance was strong enough to make me consider purchasing another D500 body. I am not ready to do it immediately, but will seriously consider it instead of my plan to next purchase a D850. Then again, I might need to rent and test a D850 before I make the decision. It does take the thought of purchasing another D750 out of the equation.
Ski Watch Panorama Share-1.jpg

All-in-all, I am even more impressed with this camera that I have been before.

WM
 
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nickt

Senior Member
Ugh, why did I read this?:dejection:
Been thinking hard about a d500 all month and trying to convince myself I don't need it. The $100 instant rebate ends tonight (6/28) at midnight. Awhile back a guy in the local facebook group posted pictures of a little brown bat in flight. Tack sharp. I asked him how he managed to get a bat in flight and he said he loves his d500 and the autofocus continues to impress him. He certainly missed a few but its hard to even find a bat in the viewfinder.
 

hark

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Ugh, why did I read this?:dejection:
Been thinking hard about a d500 all month and trying to convince myself I don't need it. The $100 instant rebate ends tonight (6/28) at midnight. Awhile back a guy in the local facebook group posted pictures of a little brown bat in flight. Tack sharp. I asked him how he managed to get a bat in flight and he said he loves his d500 and the autofocus continues to impress him. He certainly missed a few but its hard to even find a bat in the viewfinder.

Just a guess on my part, but with all those 153 AF points, the body should be able to hone in on the subject better than many other bodies. One problem I'm having with my D7200 is when I focus on a bird's face and the face is small. Sometimes the focus point extends to either side and picks up something in the background or foreground throwing the bird's face into soft focus.
 

Nero

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The D500 was designed for fast-action. I'd say that it's probably still better at it than most cameras that have been made since.
 

hark

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@nickt I've been wondering about the price. When looking at the camel web site, Amazon has had it listed at this price since June 2019.

https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B01A7Q0J3Y

Over the past few days, even B&H listed the price as ending as of today, yet when I looked today, that disclaimer was removed. However, the price is still the same as it's been. So I'm not sure if it will go back up or not. :confused: Guess we'll find out this coming week.
 

nickt

Senior Member
@nickt I've been wondering about the price. When looking at the camel web site, Amazon has had it listed at this price since June 2019.

https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B01A7Q0J3Y

Over the past few days, even B&H listed the price as ending as of today, yet when I looked today, that disclaimer was removed. However, the price is still the same as it's been. So I'm not sure if it will go back up or not. :confused: Guess we'll find out this coming week.
Thanks, interesting. Good catch checking Camel to see the price history. B&H had the end date and time either last night or this morning, I forget. I checked it again when I saw Whiskeyman's post, and as you saw too, the end date was gone. Allen's still has the end date but they are a smaller shop and might not have the web team like b&h. Adorama has the end date today. The d500 wasn't even showing up on my Adorama search earlier but now its there available for backorder.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
In fact, the D500 most often tracked the subject long enough to fill the camera's buffer.

I have to assume you were only using an SD card, right? With a XQD card I run into the 200 frame shutter limit long before I fill the buffer (I can go 300+ images before I get buffer lag on the D500).
 

Danno

Senior Member
That is what the D500 was designed to do. If I did that kind of photography I would be hard pressed not to have a D500. I have just seen too many amazing captures with the camera. I can see where you mght want two.

I am pleased with my Z6 for what I like to shoot.
 

hark

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Thanks, interesting. Good catch checking Camel to see the price history. B&H had the end date and time either last night or this morning, I forget. I checked it again when I saw Whiskeyman's post, and as you saw too, the end date was gone. Allen's still has the end date but they are a smaller shop and might not have the web team like b&h. Adorama has the end date today. The d500 wasn't even showing up on my Adorama search earlier but now its there available for backorder.

Interesting that Allen's doesn't offer it with the $100 savings, but B&H, Adorama, and Amazon all do.
 

nickt

Senior Member
Interesting that Allen's doesn't offer it with the $100 savings, but B&H, Adorama, and Amazon all do.
Yeh, I saw that. NikonUSA site shows it 'on sale' at the lower price. Maybe Allen's not paying attention. $120 sales tax if I buy it in NY. Its not a done deal, I'm still working the want vs need, lol.
I saw something I really like though. I'm fully on board with bbf now. I use it for everything. Almost always single point though, so I thought I'd have to get quick with changing area modes to get good use from that focus system. But I read that I can also program the joystick button for bbf and use a different area mode for that button. So I would be able to instantly choose single point or 153 points depending on which bb I use.
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I have to assume you were only using an SD card, right? With a XQD card I run into the 200 frame shutter limit long before I fill the buffer (I can go 300+ images before I get buffer lag on the D500).

Yes, that is correct, Jake. At that point, I'd filled the only XQD card I had with me. I was in a hurry to get to the tournament and didn't check to see if the XQD card in the camera was downloaded before I left. Of course, it wasn't and it filled fairly quickly once I started shooting.

My initial post is really innaccurate. It should have stated that the D500 kept my subject in focus as long as I depressed the shutter button. I never had the D500 lose focus track as long as I kept the focus points on my subject. When I depressed the shutter button with the focus points on my subject, I could count on the D500's autofocus not lagging behind my subject. With the D750, focus tracking with the subject erratically moving towards me at 40-50 MPH was an issue several times.

Of course, I had some issues and would make changes to my AF settings if I do a shoot like this in the future.

Another one of the shots from the day, in lower resolution:

June 2020 Water Ski Tourney - Pano 2.jpg

WM
 
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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I'm now much further into my editing, and I'm past the point where I switched from Group AF to Single-Point AF (SPAF). What a mistake is was to change AF modes! My keeper rate with SPAF is next to zero!!!! In a lot of cases, it appears that my initial focus point missed the intended target (easy to do with fast action and SPAF) and my subject interruption setting was long enough, and my hand unsteady enough, to never get or keep my subject in focus.

I even abstained from caffeine for a full day in order to reduce any unsteadyness I had in holding the camera.

This isn't me finding fault with the camera, but with me. I had some less than acceptable results before when using Group AF, and thought that I could do better with SPAF. I was wrong!

WM
 

Woodyg3

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I'm now much further into my editing, and I'm past the point where I switched from Group AF to Single-Point AF (SPAF). What a mistake is was to change AF modes! My keeper rate with SPAF is next to zero!!!! In a lot of cases, it appears that my initial focus point missed the intended target (easy to do with fast action and SPAF) and my subject interruption setting was long enough, and my hand unsteady enough, to never get or keep my subject in focus.

I even abstained from caffeine for a full day in order to reduce any unsteadyness I had in holding the camera.

This isn't me finding fault with the camera, but with me. I had some less than acceptable results before when using Group AF, and thought that I could do better with SPAF. I was wrong!

WM

The ONLY time I use single point is for a completely stationary subject like a landscape. Even with a bird sitting on a perch of a deer standing in a field I use dynamic focusing because they can move when you least expect it. For moving subjects group AF is my go to unless there are obstacles like a grassy field, tree branches, etc. Then I use dynamic so that you can lock onto the subject with the focus point.
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
The ONLY time I use single point is for a completely stationary subject like a landscape. Even with a bird sitting on a perch of a deer standing in a field I use dynamic focusing because they can move when you least expect it. For moving subjects group AF is my go to unless there are obstacles like a grassy field, tree branches, etc. Then I use dynamic so that you can lock onto the subject with the focus point.

That's sage advice, Woody. I had tried Group AF for birding, at someone's suggestion, but wasn't entirely happy with the results. So I read a detailed description of the mode and found that Group AF will try to pick the part of the item within the focus area that is closest to the camera. I ended up with a lot of wingtips and branches in focus. I'm going to read a lot more about Nikon's AF modes; it's probably the link in the system that I have the lowest ratio of "understand the way it works" to "how important it is to taking a photograph". Does that make sense?

Anyhow, I thought that I could be steady enough, I gave up caffeine for a over a day before the shoot, to use single-point AF mode. I'm looking at my photo sequences and I'm finding that I tracked the subject fairly well in most cases, but if my initial focus wasn't right where it needed to be, my focus never recovered and there were too many distractions for the AF system. And fairly well just doesn't cut it, either!

My big lesson here is that Group or Dynamic AF was the mode to use, and that I needed to "get on the subject" much earlier than I was.

WM
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
You've probably already seen the videos, but if not check out Steve Perry's Nikon videos on You Tube. He explains things much better than other documentation, and he also has an e-book on the Nikon focusing system that is full of useful information. The bottom line, though, is that practice makes a huge difference in your keeper rate. Have fun with it!
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
You've probably already seen the videos, but if not check out Steve Perry's Nikon videos on You Tube. He explains things much better than other documentation, and he also has an e-book on the Nikon focusing system that is full of useful information. The bottom line, though, is that practice makes a huge difference in your keeper rate. Have fun with it!

I've watched his videos, and I now have his autofocus book; his work is quite good. I'm also reading about some of his discoveries and analysis with idiosyncracies in the Nikon AF systems of some cameras. There sure is a lot to learn and remember.

WM
 

Hobbit

Senior Member
Today I set mine up on the af-on button and set about trying it in the garden, so far I like it , but will see tomorrow when I pull the pics to see how many in focus lol I was using single point on af-c
 

DraganDL

Senior Member
Recently, a friend of mine switched from PEN camera to "more serious category". He asked me for advice on Nikons. I recommended D500, mainly because I am fond (and this guy too is fond) of a huge ISO range (aka "low-light performance"). Alas!, the guy was persuaded by some people on some forums to get 750, merely on the account of it being a full frame camera. The guy bought it, and on the first use of it, taking photos of wildlife in the suburbs of Belgrade (where we both live) he encountered problems with focusing. If I would be buying a Nikon camera now, it would surely be D500. In fact, I would gladly exchange my both cameras (D5100 and D7000) for one D500 body.
 

hark

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Recently, a friend of mine switched from PEN camera to "more serious category". He asked me for advice on Nikons. I recommended D500, mainly because I am fond (and this guy too is fond) of a huge ISO range (aka "low-light performance"). Alas!, the guy was persuaded by some people on some forums to get 750, merely on the account of it being a full frame camera. The guy bought it, and on the first use of it, taking photos of wildlife in the suburbs of Belgrade (where we both live) he encountered problems with focusing. If I would be buying a Nikon camera now, it would surely be D500. In fact, I would gladly exchange my both cameras (D5100 and D7000) for one D500 body.

I'm surprised to hear that. My D750 has been amazing with its AF capabilities. I've used it with my 70-200mm f/4 and 300mm f/4 PF for wildlife although I do prefer the reach of the DX bodies for wildlife.
 
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