D7200 vs D850 (in DX crop) Bean Test

jay_dean

Senior Member
Another Baked Bean test (if you're wondering it follows the Nikon 500mm f4 vs the Sigma 150-600mm Sport one i did ages ago). This time a question which has long had me wondering whats the D850 in DX mode with a heavy crop like against a D7200?
Totally unscientific, hand held, same settings with 1/1600th, f5 with auto ISO. Straight out of the camera, just dropped the exposure down slightly in LR as the white areas of the label were slightly overexposed

DSC_3699.jpg
DSC_3699.jpg

D7200..........................................................................................................................D850

DSC_3699-3.jpg
850_0006-3.jpg

D7200......................................................................................D850
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Looks like I will be hanging on to my D7200 for a long while yet! Would love to see a similar shootout between the D7200, D7500 and D500.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Seems to me that the D850 can of bean's crop is brighter than the 7200. That could make it look less sharp. Do you think you could try to bring it down a bit just to match the 7200 one?
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Unless you don't have another camera, in DX format, why use the D850 in DX mode? If I remember correctly, the pixel density of the D7200 and D500 are higher than the D850?

WM
 

ISOhappy

Senior Member
Thanks for doing this. I have a D850, had a D500 and recently picked up a new D7200 for the sweet price of $800. The D850 will work well with my 200-500, and I can crop deep, but in that scenario, DX is just better. The D850 in DX mode gives 19-point-something MPs, while the D7200 gives 24, which to me is a significant difference, and I think the example above shows this. Plus it's lighter and smaller. I'll probably keep using this 7200 with my big lens until something even better comes along. Maybe Nikon mirrorless?
 

jay_dean

Senior Member
There is a slight faux pas in the images in the first post as i hadn't fine tuned the lens for the D850 at that point. I used to be of the opinion that the D7200 would be better as a birding/wildlife frame as it had a larger pixel density. I had tested the D810 vs the D7200 in the past when the D7200 had nudged it but not massively. I took a punt with the D850 as a replacement for my D810 and potential replacement birding/wildlife frame for my D7200. The D810 i sold immediately, but hung onto the D7200 until i'd tested the D850. I'd pretty much got a good idea of it after my first trip out, and the subsequent trips added to that conclusion. I no longer have the D7200, and i have to say i dont miss it whatsoever.
The D850 image below is at over 100% crop, and ISO 6400, somewhere i wouldn't dare venture with the D7200
850_0938-2.jpg
 
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ISOhappy

Senior Member
Thanks for the update. I also have the D850 and D7200. From what I've seen, if I have to crop to at least DX size, I'm still better off using a DX camera like the D7200. A full-sized image from the D7200 is 24 mp, while a D850 DX mode shot is 19.4 MP. While not a huge difference 24 > 19.4. I did a quick test last night at very high ISO (see here):
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61156720

Finally, there is this
MyPicture1.jpg


Both cameras are very close, but the 7200 has a slight edge. Of course, if I could fill the FX frame with the D850, it wins every time. Unfortunately, I can't do that. In the end, I think either camera can provide very nice looking crops (at DX size or smaller), but I figure, why lug around the D850 brick, when I can do the same thing with the D7200. I give up some features like better AF and fps in exchange for lighter weight. At any rate, it's nice to have both.
 
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