the D850 does small birds

[Beagledog]

Hi all,

Testing out the D850 with the Nikkor 200-500 F5.6 at the Rifel Bird Sanctuary over the past few weeks. It is an excellent combination. I think the high ISO noise is better than the D500 so it is fast becoming my favorite camera for birds.

A few shots of small birds, for the most part no cropping and minimal processing.

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Black Capped Chickadee. 1/800 at F8 ISO 6400. small amount of cropping.

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Dark Eyed Junco (Oregon subspecies). 1/1250 at F5.6 ISO 3200 full frame.

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Another Dark Eyed Junco 1/1250 at F5.6 ISO 3200 full frame

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House Sparrow 1/1600 at f5.6 ISO 3200 Full frame

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House Sparrow 1/1250 at f5.6 ISO 3200 Full Frame

The birds were shot at high shutter speed as they were flitting about and moving their heads quickly, so a slow shutter resulted in blurred heads. As I was so close to the birds the depth of field is narrow making focusing on the eye difficult, but, the D850 nailed it most of the time ( as long as you get the red square over the eye..)

The biggest advantage in the high ISO is that you can down-sample reducing noise. Yes at 100% there is noise but when down-sampled to that of a D500 image the D850 really rocks. I will allow my ISO to range up to 3200 with the D850 while the D500 is not allowed to play above 1600....

Cheers,
alexis and Georgie Beagle

" I let mom use my D850 cause i'm nice and she gave me treats..." - Georgie Beagle

 

[Reggie]

Outstanding shots, really great detail. Good job.

 

[nuclearjock]

Very nice. I've put the D850 through its paces with small birds and I'm still grabbing my D500 for small birds.

 

[Beagledog]

Outstanding shots, really great detail. Good job.

Thanks Ron, I appreciate the comments.

Very nice. I've put the D850 through its paces with small birds and I'm still grabbing my D500 for small birds.

Hi Rick,

Ya, the D500 is a really fast camera and works well on birds. In this case I was able to get close enough to the birds so the shots didn't need cropping making the higher ISO available via down sampling to reduce noise.

The crop factor and the viewfinder being full view of the crop on the D500 makes is a better camera when you can't quite get close enough with a full frame.

I love them both and think they are different tools for different jobs.

Rick, thanks for your kind words.

Cheers, alexis and Georgie Beagle

" ok, the D500 with the 300pf is awesome and almost better than treats... just saying..." - Georgie Beagle

 

[Tony Ad]

Amazing set!

 

[bobbyv]

Nice feather detail. Looks like a nice lens/body match up.

 

[Louis Champan]

Terrific set, but the second shot is a Killer, not sure you could improve on that shot.

 

[james thiel]

Great job and thanks for posting your thoughts on the D850. I have been on the fence between getting a second D500 or getting the D850. I already own one D500, D810 and D800 so now I am more torn than ever. The D850 also has the new focus stacking ability which I think I would use a fair amount as well so now maybe leaning more towards that body over a second D500.

 

[Beagledog]

Terrific set, but the second shot is a Killer, not sure you could improve on that shot.

Thanks Louis, your kind words mean a lot to me...

Amazing set!

Nice feather detail. Looks like a nice lens/body match up.

Tony and Bobby, Thanks for the kind words.

Cheers,

alexis and Georgie Beagle

" I would have shot these but the darn Rifel sanctuary will not let dogs wander about..." - Georgie Beagle

 

[mark_smith]

Those are just incredible. My D850 is out for delivery today. I can't wait to try this combo on birds. I have a feeling it will be hard to beat the D500 when it comes to reach. Have you tried a teleconverter with that combo yet?

 

[Beagledog]

Great job and thanks for posting your thoughts on the D850. I have been on the fence between getting a second D500 or getting the D850. I already own one D500, D810 and D800 so now I am more torn than ever. The D850 also has the new focus stacking ability which I think I would use a fair amount as well so now maybe leaning more towards that body over a second D500.

Thanks for your kind comments. Like you I have the D500, D800 and D810 when I got my D850. For me having a different camera with different capabilities works for me, rather than 2 D500's for birds I went with the D500 and the D850. The focus stacking is just incredible and the silent (electronic ) shutter makes all the stacking and time lapses I do not burn the mechanical shutter.

Cheers,
alexis and Georgie Beagle.

" now that mom has the D850, I get the D500 and the 300PF all to myself...." -Georgie Beagle

 

[crazy]

Very impressive......a moment of weakness could see me returning to FF.

 

[Beagledog]

Those are just incredible. My D850 is out for delivery today. I can't wait to try this combo on birds. I have a feeling it will be hard to beat the D500 when it comes to reach. Have you tried a teleconverter with that combo yet?

Hi Mark, thanks for your kind words. No, I haven't tried the teleconverter (TCIII 1.4) yet, I am afraid it would make focusing too slow as you can only used the f8 focus points, Next time I go out for birds I'll give it a try.

Very impressive......a moment of weakness could see me returning to FF.

Thanks Don, Yes the 850 makes full frame work for small birds, one can crop if need be plus the focusing is really much better than the D810, I think the focusing is as good as the D500. Not D5 good, but pretty darn good.

Cheers,

Alexis and Georgie Beagle

"ohooo, too much candy..... " - Georgie Beagle

 

[Geof]

Darn nice shots....especially for a Beagle...

 

[Binnur]

A lovely set, #2 is my fav .

 

[Allan]

2 is my favorite too - a very pretty type of junco, much nicer than what I see here.

The shorebirds and migrants are gone so I haven't had a chance to compare my D500 vs D850 for small birds yet.

 

[greyflash]

Small birds are difficult to photograph successfully and here you are with a gaggle of them. Well done.

 

[Beagledog]

Thanks all for your kind words.

Darn nice shots....especially for a Beagle...

Yes, Georgie is a quite accomplished photo-dog-rapher....

A lovely set, #2 is my fav .

Thanks Binnur, #2 really works for me too.

2 is my favorite too - a very pretty type of junco, much nicer than what I see here.


The shorebirds and migrants are gone so I haven't had a chance to compare my D500 vs D850 for small birds yet.

Thanks Allan, Yes the Oregon subspecies of the junco is really special, love that it looks like it is wearing a hood.

Small birds are difficult to photograph successfully and here you are with a gaggle of them. Well done.

Thanks Gordon, yes the small birds are so fast, I haven't got them in flight yet. These guys at the Rifel Sanctuary expect treats so they are a little easier to get.

Cheers,
Alexis and Georgie Beagle

"Thanks Geof, I am glad someone realizes the beagle rules this roost..." - Georgie Beagle