The latest and greatest offering in Nikon’s impressive line-up of DSLRs is the greatly anticipated D850. Sitting just below the flagship of the Nikon range, the D5, this full-frame camera is set to become the workhorse of wedding and portrait photographers. However, its amazing low-light performance, 45.7 megapixel CMOS sensor, and 4K video capture make it an ideal for photographer in any genre from advertising to fashion and landscape.
The successor to the widely popular FX-format D810 released in 2014, the D850 has been developed with “hybrid” photographers in mind – those focussed on images, motion, and sound. It also features a silent photography option.
At the heart of the D850 is the EXPEED 5 image-processing engine. Offering high-resolution and high-speed performance, the camera has a dynamic range of native ISO 64 to 25,600 which can be extended further for shooting in challenging low-light conditions, up to ISO 102400.
With a focus on multimedia creators, the D850 offers full-frame 4K UHD video capabilities (3840x2160), 4x and 5x slow-motion videos in Full-HD, and 8K time-lapse movie production using interval timer photography. And the dedicated movie menu allows fuss-free switching between movie and still functions to enhance efficiency.
8K UHD time-lapse movies shot on the Nikon D850 by nature photographer, Marsel van Oosten.
Accurate and continuous high-speed capture, at up to 9fps, is made possible via a dedicated autofocus (AF) engine that engages the 153-point AF system and 99 cross sensors to achieve high subject acquisition performance with broad area coverage. Up to approximately 51 14-bit or 170 12-bit (image size L) RAW images with lossless compression can be captured in a single burst of continuous shooting. And AF detection is possible in lighting conditions as low as -4 EV.
The tilting 3.2-inch touch-screen with 2359k-dot LCD monitor features button illumination that is helpful when shooting in dark situations. It also allows shots to be taken from varying angles.
The new focus shift capability allows for easy capture of images for focus stacking, with the camera able to automatically take up to 300 shots while moving focus position from the starting point to infinity. A selection of up to 10 levels of focus distance changes can be made, while interval between shots can be set between 0 and 30 seconds.
For those with 1,000s of film negatives, when paired with a film holder and micro lens, the D850’s negative digitizer allows you to convert negative film (colour and monochrome) to 45-megapixel digital images, and has the ability to adjust for brightness.
Landscape photographer Luke Austin tests out the D850 in New Zealand.