Nikon D850 new or D4s Mint?

[italy74]

Hello everyone.
As many of you, I ordered the camera in mid September ..and it's not arrived yet.
For a little more, I spotted an apparently minty D4s sitting on the shelf of a reputable store.

D850 would give me an edge in terms of image rendition, iso 64,portability af very sensitive, on the other hand almost for the same reason I wonder if dealing with fine tune and huge files is what I really want. D4s ..well you know it and from those having it I'd like to know how it works in terms of light sensitivity. Someone said that despite being the top of the line, it's AF system wasn't that good ( also D750 it's said more accurate andlight sensitive but this comes from specs, not field usage. ) If you would like to get a very long lasting body, which would you choose and why ? Thanks

http://www.rcefoto.com/usato/rce-foto-verona-san-giovanni-lupatoto-via-madonnina-48/prodotto/nikon-d4s-body-nital-2014/

 

[italy74]

D4s seems having also a very linear and good response to noise and d/r

 

[Jonathan F/2]

You have all that nice Zeiss glass that could really maximize the 45mp of the D850. I'd wait.

 

[TonyW]

It really depends what type of subject you are interested in but I agree with Jonathan with all that lovely glass it would be a shame to not utilise to the best and faced with a similar choice I would not hesitate to miss the D4 (even though I have not used it!) and go for the less expensive and new D850 for the following reasons:
Just released vs 6 year old. Should equal genuine improvements to handling focus etc not to demean the D4 in any way
Focus stacking
Focus Peaking
Tilt Screen
WiFi
Bluetooth
+1.5 stop DR
No AA filter (better resolution although possibility of moire)
Better IQ LCD screen by a good margin
If you are printing often then the approx x3 MP count of the D850 offers the potential for better IQ in standard printing modes or even in the higher modes of 600 or 720 PPI

AF fine tune is a fine feature to have and could prove beneficial relating to your great glass collection. Files are considerably larger but that is only to be expected with camera progress and of course storage is relatively cheap these days.

Charts are not the be all and end all but can offer some useful insight, short of handling the cameras over and extended period so...
Performance comparisons
Photographic Dynamic Range versus ISO Setting
Shadow Improvement of Photographic Dynamic Range versus ISO Setting

 

[gnagel]

It all depends upon what you shoot primarily. For me, the D850 is a no brainer.

Glenn

 

[Allan]

Unless you need high ISO and many fps I would definitely go with the D850.

 

[Butlerkid]

Did you watch the Steve Perry reviews of the D850? He finds it very comparable to the D5 in focusing and tracking. And prefers it over the D500. It is finally a camera that does just about everything really well.

I'd definitely get the D850.

 

[italy74]

Thanks everyone.

 

[Mike Delgado]

I like my D850 but my D4 is still in the bag!

 

[designdog]

I have a D3s, Df, and a D5. which is the best camera I have ever owned. Also owned the D800 and D810. And, my name is on the list for a D850, although I don't think I will buy it.

The D850 is a great camera, and very hard to get right now. But, this time next year they will be in abundant supply, and going for significantly less money (grey market here.) In short, they will be a dime a dozen.

The D4s is a great camera, and it is very hard to get a pristine one with low shutter actuations. Also, at the price you will pay for it, the camera is depreciated, and, after that same period of a year, will be worth close to what you paid for it. You could sell it then, buy your D850, and probably have some cash left over.

Have you ever owned a Nikon pro camera? Owning one is like my grandfather once told me "every man should own a twelve cylinder car once in his life." Specs be damned. There is nothing like the feel, capability, and experience of shooting with a Nikon pro camera. Ignore the current hoopla on the D850 and seize the day!!!

 

[italy74]

Designdog, if you look at the link above, apparently it seems very well kept. The seller states it has 39,400 actuations and this is not a problem at all, I know such cameras are rated for 200,000 - 400,000 so I could even die (!) in the meantime before I get to that amount... From those who have/had it and then migrated to D850 I was interested especially in how the viewfinder and the AF (said to be "inferior" to D750 on a mere spec fact) was actually working in low light. Having had both the D600 AND the D500 (and having tried briefly the D750 when it came out) I definitely noticed a quantum leap in dim light between the D600 and D750/D500 so I was wondering how it would apply to an "intermediate" (for hardware and time release, not spec wise) camera between D600 and D750.

 

[designdog]

Never had the D750, but owned a D4s briefly (traded up to the D5.) as I recall, the D4s was better at low light focus acquisition than the D810. Better iso at low light as well.

 

[Ronald M]

My D750 AF is superb. Never misses on static subjects. Don`t do BIF or sports

 

[Fabrian]

Designdog, if you look at the link above, apparently it seems very well kept. The seller states it has 39,400 actuations and this is not a problem at all, I know such cameras are rated for 200,000 - 400,000 so I could even die (!) in the meantime before I get to that amount... From those who have/had it and then migrated to D850 I was interested especially in how the viewfinder and the AF (said to be "inferior" to D750 on a mere spec fact) was actually working in low light. Having had both the D600 AND the D500 (and having tried briefly the D750 when it came out) I definitely noticed a quantum leap in dim light between the D600 and D750/D500 so I was wondering how it would apply to an "intermediate" (for hardware and time release, not spec wise) camera between D600 and D750.

It's impatience that's causing your grief. Based on what you shoot, you want the 850. Don't forget, the excellent D3s, D4, D4s, D5 are all AA filtered sensors. I cannot go back to them after being free from that filter. Hang in there, you'll be glad you did.

 

[Tinstafl]

I lov both my D5 and d850 and use them for different things but if I had to choose one it would be the 850. It does slow down post a bit though.

 

[italy74]

Update: tomorrow I'll go and check another used D4s I spotted online with shutter unit just replaced (!) and costing even 500€ less than the D850. The choice has remained the same, with a caveat. In the meantime I could try both the D850 and the D4 (not the S) and well, at least on a mere first sight, the D850 looked very good to me - I actually liked it, but I had a totally different sensation when I handled the D4 and my heart skipped a beat. In these months I had even wondered if I could afford a D5, especially after seeing a few JPG SOOC from a friend of mine. Unfortunately, because of some breaking news about my job ( there's a sale of a business unit ongoing, thus all our contracts are on the line, as it often happens for such things ) I won't be probably able to afford a D5 safely as I'd have loved to, BUT I still have the opportunity to get the D4s OR the D850. I think within the end of February I should own the one or the other and start looking for a couple of AF lenses, the 24-70 2.8E and the 300 F/4 PF; I won't go into detail about the Nikon VS Tamron story - I had the Tamron so it's not about quality I'm comparing the two things or figures. I noticed that both for the 24-70 and the 70-200, Nikon has a quite fair advantage about the magnification ratio, almost 1:3.5 vs 1:5 from Tamron and that alone is very appealing to me, especially if I'd be getting the D4s, because I might render the same subject larger on the frame if I need to, thus "recovering" some of the detail I'd otherwise lose / trade in the lesser MP camera. I usually shoot at close range and this is definitely a neat thing.

 

[kilofoxtrott]

It depends on what you need:

D850 - high resolution
D4S - Working horse

It's your decision

Regards
Klaus

 

[TANG0F0XTR0T]

Dino,
I have a D810 and a D4s. I want a D850 but want a D5. I can't afford either and would have to sell the 2 bodies I have to afford one or the other.

At the end of the day, the D5 cost and capability vs the D850.......well, your head will come back to the D850 but your heart will go back to the full size pro bodies like the D4/D5. The pro bodies are so nice and they feel better with the larger lenses.

I'm in the same dilemma and will have to make a decision at some point. I'll be honest though, the better decision is the D850 with that fine glass you have. A D4 or D4s will work fine but you won't be able to crop near as much or see the detail you can see from D850 files.

 

[italy74]

Klaus, right today I'll make the money transfer for the D4s. While I like "fine glass" (of wine? lol) I will anyway get AF lenses too and just like someone else in the forum, I have still USB2 ports on my 2012 iMac, choosing the D850 wouldn't be more expensive only per se ( 500 eur more ) but for all that would come with it. New hardware, new software and more time probably calibrating everything to a point that it would be impractical for me to use; I don't want being all spraying and praying but neither locked onto a tripod pixel peeping on live view the whole time. Probably, if most of my work would be in studio, I'd be thinking differently, but in general I'd rather go out and shoot rather than spend time AFTER shots on iMac. The only extra I'll be getting asap is a fresh new EN-EL18B battery that seems very longlasting.

 

[italy74]

Click! The order has been submitted and paid.. the biggest investment I ever made on a camera should be here by the end of the week.