Nikon D850 worth it over an D810?

[9designs2]

Having an itch to return to a FF sensor, currently have a D7200, not that is anything wrong with it. So I'm looking online and see D810 can be had for around 7-800 pounds. Which seems very reasonable for such a capable camera. Then you see used D850, which used appears to be an additional grand....ouch!

Is it worth holding out for a D850?
I'm not a pro, it's a life long hobby, I like landscapes, architecture, perhaps put my 80-400 on for some wildlife, air shows or Motor sport occasionally. Other times I still shoot film for the enjoyment and involvement.
Pictures I like I'll print out A3/A3+ or even A2 for the wall or a portfolio folder. (on Canon Pro1000).

Anyone lived with both?

 

[alchal]

I've had only the d850, with good glass it's brilliant, do expect a lot of noise however due to the megapixel count although I personally find it still a tad excessive, especially now I have an R5 to compare with, also has a strange grain to my eyes when compared to the R5 images.

Reason why I ditched it, even at iso 1600 some images just looked horrendous and I was denoize for every image.

A d750 is another option, cheaper than a d850 and a fab camera for what you want, this I have also used and can't fault it, also lighter, the d850 is a heavy weight beast.

 

[9designs2]

A lot of noise !!! never read or heard that before, Nikon seem to have very low noise for several generations now I though? Ken Rockwell review is saying how good it was at even 10,000

 

[ethan]

I switched from a D850 & D750 over a year ago and went to Sony. With regard to the noise it depends on what you are comparing it to? Saying that the 850 is an enjoyable and a solid camera still worth considering if your not moving to mirrorless imo. The crop factor will come in useful.

 

[9designs2]

What crop factor? they both full frame.... Not seeing any advantage to go mirrorless, don't need the high frame rates, plus I like a larger camera to hold. A 750 or 780 does look another tempting option, thanks for the heads up. My thought was if making a change go for the most amount of pixels as possible, at this level can't see I would ever want any more !

@alchal have you got an example of the "horrendous" noise at 1600?

 

[alchal]

What crop factor? they both full frame.... Not seeing any advantage to go mirrorless, don't need the high frame rates, plus I like a larger camera to hold. A 750 or 780 does look another tempting option, thanks for the heads up. My thought was if making a change go for the most amount of pixels as possible, at this level can't see I would ever want any more !

@alchal have you got an example of the "horrendous" noise at 1600?

I'll try and get one up tomorrow if I've got one hanging around now.

With regards to noise, in my opinion all makes seem to have different noise grain, horses for courses but I'm not a fan at all of d850 past 1600 and even then on occasions it was bad.

I'd go 750-780 but if you can push out the 780 is the same as the 750 but with a few nice mirror less touches.

I'd avoid the 850 in my opinion.

 

[dave28]

state of the art DSLR, very well made ( tear downs show it above cameras like the d750 / d810 in built quality )

the shutter is also more durable than the d750 class or crop sensors.

the rear lcd screen is epic, very detailed and touch screen.

the senror is a gem, the noise is slightly worse but its worth it for the near medium format image quality.

you can crop the hell out of a photo and still have a decent looking image, it quite funny how hard you can crop.

the AF system is superb, again better than the d750 class

I have owned most Nikon DSLR`s and always prefered the d800 / d810 / d850 to the others

the d600 / d610 / d750 were like a full frame in d7000 range body and the d800 range were the real full frame bodies

just my opinion, many people much prefer the d750 or have switched to mirrorless

 

[DeathStorm]

While the D850 is probably the last greatest DSLR I'd favour the D810 simply because it'll cost less than half and just as able to scratch the itch you mentioned?

I may be a little biased but I always had good results with a D810.

 

[ethan]

What crop factor? they both full frame....

@alchal have you got an example of the "horrendous" noise at 1600?

It has a crop mode for extra reach in addition to it being full frame.

 

[9designs2]

So a quick search on popular national store for used prices
850 £1800
780 £1600
810 £900
750 £700

The 810 still looks to be the best VFM, I guess the 780 is appealing for it's new tech and features hence it's holding strong used. 750 looks worst VFM, just buy an 810?

 

[Kei]

I bought my D810 in 2015 for more than a used D850 goes for now. I don't see me upgrading unless it dies as it still serves my needs perfectly and seems to perform every bit as well as current models. The current used price looks like a bit of a bargain. (provided that's for a lightly used model rather than something that's been heavily used)

 

[9designs2]

Hi Kei, it may have been yourself or one of the other regulars who posted some shots when they first got the 810, I remember being impressed with how much shadow detail could be pulled out. (Just been offered a clean but used 810 for £650, that's hard to ignore)
Used the camera comparison site, my 7200 is actually more advance than the 810, so I get the 780 suggestions.
I may visit a store and see some in the flesh, gauge the sizes.

 

[Kei]

Hi Kei, it may have been yourself or one of the other regulars who posted some shots when they first got the 810, I remember being impressed with how much shadow detail could be pulled out. (Just been offered a clean but used 810 for £650, that's hard to ignore)
Used the camera comparison site, my 7200 is actually more advance than the 810, so I get the 780 suggestions.
I may visit a store and see some in the flesh, gauge the sizes.

I'm pretty sure my brother has a 7200 and it's no contest, I completely prefer the 810 in all respects. I think it's mainly in video and live view AF where the improvements have been made. I rarely use video and if I do, I don't care for 4k as we still use 1080i in work. I almost only ever use live view for precise manual focus so it's focus speed doesn't matter either. If either of those matter to you, it may be worth considering the newer options.

 

[9designs2]

Thanks for the feedback.... I don’t do video, if I did I’d use my iPhone 12pro I guess.
Anyway pulled the trigger on a D810. Seller listed as very well looked after, it does look good in the picture and used mainly in doors. It does have 100k shutter counter, so half life, not that is likely to give up at 200k anyway. For an agreed price of 625.
Seems like a good deal to me.

Edit:-
Camera arrived and is in excellent condition and works perfectly. I've updated the firmware and Distortion table. Also just picked up a AFS-24-85 VR for £140, also in very nice condition...... hopefully I can stop scratching the itch now (3rd Camera I bough in last 2 months!)

 

[rodders]

I had an APC-S sensor and always wanted a FF, eventually did it and very happy with it.

Hope you enjoy it