"My" D850 is in (should I decide to accept)

SHAkers718

Senior Member
My husband put my name on the waiting list at our local camera shop to be notified when the D850 became available. He got a phone call this morning that they have a handful of them and wanted an immediate decision whether or not I was going to take one because they had 20 people standing there ready to buy. Oh my goodness, this is going to avalanche into a lot of money, but I figured having the support of your spouse on such an extreme indulgence is half the battle, right? (Maybe because this summer he got the Sony A9 and the G-master 100-400! ;)) And they have them there right now - how soon before another shipment comes in? Yesterday Amazon said the wait was 2-4 months!

I only have one FX lens right now. The 50mm 1.8G. My laptop is already bogged down with all the files I have on it. Lightroom is very slow and at times "not responding" and I have to reboot. Technically speaking, I'm just not ready for this!


.... but I hate to pass it up.

If you could get ONE FX lens to get you started, which one would you get? I know which one I want, but it's not the most versatile.

Edit: Coincidentally Pictureline is also having a KEH Gear buy back event today, tomorrow & Saturday. What do I trade in? I probably don't need both the D5500 and D500 anymore (should I decide to purchase the D850 that is) and several of my lenses rarely see the light of day.

If you were me, would you wait to see how much you were enjoying the D850 before giving up the D500? Assuming you couldn't really justify owning (afford) both.
 
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Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Keep your D500 and buy a 70-200 (either F4 or 2.8 both are great except for the weight of the 2.8) and buy a used D800 or 810.
 

Danno

Senior Member
If I were in your shoes I would buy the 850, keep the 500 and sell the 5500 and Buy Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 lens. The Tamron seems to be a really good lens. It is on my current short list as it is.
 

hark

Administrator
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Since your laptop is already struggling with the large files, my suggestion is to skip the D850 for now and use your D500. The D500 is no slouch and is quite capable of handling the tasks it is given. Down the road, there will be sales and incentives for bodies (possibly coupled with lens combos). You'd do better to wait for one of those specials since you seem to need more FX glass.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
Buy it and while you are saving for lenses, I can use it and test it thoroughly for a few months....for free
Seriously, it depends on what you shoot whether you could really get your month's worth out of it. The body is the lowest cost part of your kit, lenses adding up to be much more. Your D500 is such a good camera it is really doubtful you NEED anything except maybe lighting and a few better lenses.
 

Iansky

Senior Member
Good luck and you must consider that you would not have put your name down if you were not interested in the 850.

If your computer is clogged and software is slow then adding a large sensor to the system will not help.

I am inclined to agree with previous comments that you should pass on it this time, enjoy the D500 and lenses you have already and if you find a genuine need for it then get one when you can justify it and any glitches have been sorted.

Just my thoughts and I wish you well in your decision.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
From what you’ve said, unless you are also planning to spend big money on glass ... either flip the D850 or pass on it.

As for lenses, the 70-200 is a must have IMO.


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Blade Canyon

Senior Member
If you still want to play with FX and have $$ left to buy some good glass, try a used D600 or D610. They are great and MUCH less expensive. I have since traded out of my D600s and have a D850, but I know in my heart that there is little I am doing now that I couldn't still be doing with my D600.
 

SHAkers718

Senior Member
Buy it and while you are saving for lenses, I can use it and test it thoroughly for a few months....for free
Seriously, it depends on what you shoot whether you could really get your month's worth out of it. The body is the lowest cost part of your kit, lenses adding up to be much more. Your D500 is such a good camera it is really doubtful you NEED anything except maybe lighting and a few better lenses.

I mostly shoot (and enjoy shooting) landscapes. I have done events (free for a non-profit), family gatherings, including a funeral for the relative of a neighbor that we were asked to document the day for them (again for free).

And interesting you should mention lighting, as I have in the past month purchased the Westcott 26" Rapidbox, the SB-5000 and the WR-10 remote kit. That is something I would like to learn and get comfortable with. Not with any ambition of paid portrait or wedding photography. Just because I want to be more well-rounded.

You are absolutely correct that I don't need the D850 to accomplish my objectives. I honestly love the D500.

Thank you for your response. :)
 

SHAkers718

Senior Member
Good luck and you must consider that you would not have put your name down if you were not interested in the 850.

If your computer is clogged and software is slow then adding a large sensor to the system will not help.

I am inclined to agree with previous comments that you should pass on it this time, enjoy the D500 and lenses you have already and if you find a genuine need for it then get one when you can justify it and any glitches have been sorted.

Just my thoughts and I wish you well in your decision.


Thank you @Iansky. I really don't need it. It has some features that I think I would enjoy, but I'm pretty happy with the D500. I didn't put my name down, my husband did. Nice of him to encourage me to spend my money on myself (because he's certainly not spending HIS money on my behalf! ;-) ) And before anyone says why does a married couple have "my" money and "his" money? Well, this is a second marriage and it's just different is the best way I can put it.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
And interesting you should mention lighting, as I have in the past month purchased the Westcott 26" Rapidbox, the SB-5000 and the WR-10 remote kit. That is something I would like to learn and get comfortable with. Not with any ambition of paid portrait or wedding photography. Just because I want to be more well-rounded.

"Focusing" on good lighting has two great benefits, the rewards are the greatest of any change in a system, and are the cheapest. Once you get to using the one light and Rapidbox, you will see dramatic improvement in images over catch shots and the nuances of shadow and light telling a story so well that you will learn how to deal with any light, augmented or not, in more deliberate ways. You are soon going to want more lights, 2-3 at least in the kit but they can be simple manual only flash for $50-up to $100 for fancy wireless CLS/iTTL/HSS with plenty of power for portraiture, fashion, fine art, product, and still life work. A few $25 light stands, a grid, snoot, maybe some gels, and modifiers you can make yourself and you can see just how good your camera is. Everyone seems to be mostly concerned with high iso and very fast lenses but in the studio set up, even your kit lenses can out performs almost any high end lens wide open. Give them enough good light and shadows and you will be amazed how much better your shots will like and learn very quickly how to use whatever light is available away from the studio. Soon you will look a scene and think about the light and how to best use it just intuitively after seeing the dramatic effects of your repeatable consistent experiments at home with your lighting setup. It is such a good learning tool, lighting should be the first thing a beginner should learn, and not wait until later after they learned the hard way about the fickle natural light that is never the same twice.
Given the foregoing, If you really want to spend a little money and get the most out of your investment, I suggest planning on getting at least 2 more speedlights, (not expensive SB5000 or 910, for 1/6th you can get the same specs in some of the very reliable units from companies like Yongnuo ) and add their high performance low cost flash controllers, some light stands, a strip box or octobox, a few mounting adaptors, and buy or make some modifiers and have a very effective setup for $300. You could get used older manual flashes instead, for $25 or less because you do not need TTL in the studio, in fact it works against you if you use TTL. The reason I suggested new late models like the Yongnuo 685 or 568 is their syncing up to 1/8000 sec which allows some pretty cool options like making the background behind your subject disappear in blackness, even in full room light, in case you do not want to worry about backgrounds or prepared shooting spaces with clear backgrounds.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Warning...THREAD DERAIL!

Every time I see this thread show up, I am reminded of this. Anyone remember it? ;)

 
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