New Nikon d500

[Tindomul]

Ok, so this story begins with my Af-S Nikkor 300mm 1:4e PF ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR | Interchangeable Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras

I love this lens!! I can't imagine bird or action photography without it. Of course I dropped it and I had to send it in for repair with geek squad. 1 week later they told me that it was too far gone for repair. So I went to Best Buy where I purchased it and asked for a replacement. They didn't have it in stock, in any best buy, and instead issued me store credit. I took the store credit because I wasn't going to exchange it for a lesser lens or a vastly more expensive lens and shell out an extra $3000. In anycase I don't want those larger lenses that really don't out perform my original lens by much. So I went ahead and purchased a new copy of my original lens from another vendor (B&H Photo).
I sat on the Best Buy store credit for a week and decided, after some research, that I would be better off upgrading my D7200 to a D500. I am happy I did that.
Basically I replaced my lens for a little more than the price of the camera, I got the camera with the store credit. And the camera, at Best Buy, came with a free grip valued at $300!! I didn't know that and fortunately I got a sales rep that checked on a whim for free accessories.
Nikon D500 DSLR Camera (Body Only) Black 1559 - Best Buy

I can't wait to really test it out in the next few days!
Sorry, I don't have photography friends or go to photography forums, so this is my outlet.

[naoki]

Wow, that's exciting. A nice treat for the holiday season! Which aspect do you like best over D7200? AF performance? By comparing the specs, it seems to be a big premium over D7x00, but there is a nice feeling of having the top of the line. I don't have single digit D, but I have D300 and F2 & F4. They are bulky (and I don't use them), but it is nice to look at!

[jkofferdahl]

What a beautiful new addition! Most of my favorite photographs were taken with Nikon.

[Tindomul]

Yes, what got me to purchase it was the speed of the autofocus and shutter speed. The camera is also supposed to have a much smarter sense of focus, in that it will focus on the right subject more often than my D7200.

[nicola]

Congratulations,
i am also a big Nikon fan.
I'm curious to know your opinion on the new camera and see some shots .

Ciao Nicola

[Tindomul]

Hi,

The first time I used the camera was for a birthday party in a rather dark place. At least with my D7200 I would have said it was too dark. However, this camera really out performed it. I was able to throw lots of handheld photos and get good photos. Please note that this camera does not come with a flash.
At first I was taking the photos with Auto ISO, but this lead to the camera picking really high ISO (52000!) with lots of grain as a result. I manually adjusted ISO to ISO 2500 and got much better photos. I don't know why the camera went so high, probably because I was trying to shoot with very fast shutter speeds. I can't show those photos here but I can show you this one (see first photo, a Christmas gift shot at ISO 4000, 1/25s shutter speed, handheld, f/5.6.

Next I was able to go out birding and found this Cackling Goose. I thought I was taking great photos, and when I processed the photo on my laptop I was very happy. Sharp, bright, etc.. THen when I viewed my photos on a large screen computer I saw blurred details. I was upset until I realized that I had forgotten to turn VR on with the lens I was using. Dumb! So in retrospect, those photos are great considering the VR was off! Same thing for some Ross's Geese. I'm very happy with those photos even with VR off.

Two days ago I gave the camera a test at the Bronx Zoo. I chose some flamingos because the sun was setting and only a few rays of sun were hitting the subjects. I was really happy with those photos. The zoom on the lens was more (x450mm equivalent). This is using a 300mm prime lens whose focal length increases when coupled with this camera.

My next opportunity was at the New York Botanical Gardens, at the Train Show. Pictures below are of some moving subjects in impossibly low light conditions (at least from the perspective of my D7200). I would have given up by now with my D7200, especially with this 55mm zoom D40 kit lens. Also took some night photos. All hand held.

I really love this camera and don't see myself going back. The camera body itself is intuitive for someone like me who was used to the D7200. The camera feels better too in the hand, I think the grip is deeper, and I seem to be having a better time accessing ISO, metering, Shutter and Aperture controls faster. I think this camera wildly outperforms the D7200 in low light conditions and even with ISO levels of up to 5000, the noise levels are negligible.

[chidlove]

Stunning images!