Gear Review
T
he Nikon D850 is Nikon’s latest high-resolution full-frame
DSLR, boasting a 46MP backside-illuminated CMOS sensor.
But, in a fairly radical departure for the series, it is also one
of the company’s fastest-shooting DSLRs. This combination of
properties should significantly widen the camera’s appeal to high-end
enthusiasts as well as a broad range of professional photographers.
Key Specifications:
• 45.7MP BSI CMOS Sensor 7
• 7 fps continuous shooting with AE/AF (9 with battery grip and
EN-EL18b battery)
• 153-point AF system linked to 180,000-pixel metering system
• UHD 4K video capture at up to 30p from full sensor width
• 1080p video at up to 120p, recorded as roughly 1/4 or 1/5th
speed slow-mo
• 4:2:2 8-bit UHD uncompressed output while recording to card
• Battery Life rated at 1840 shots
• 3.2” tilting touchscreen with 2.36M-dot (1024×768 pixel) LCD
• Illuminated Controls
• 19.4MP DX crop (or 8.6MP at 30fps for up to 3 sec)
• SnapBridge full-time Bluetooth LE connection system with Wi-
Fi
• Advanced time-lapse options (including in-camera 4K video
creation)
High resolution
The D850 has gained a more usable electronic front curtain shutter
option (EFCS), which can now be used quiet shutter modes, as well
as live view and Mirror-Up mode. To get the full benefit, though,
you need to turn on exposure delay (which has had two sub-second
delay settings added). However, exposure delay persists across all
shooting modes.
The D850 has no anti-aliasing filter, which should allow for slightly
finer detail capture but with added risk of moiré, if any of your lenses
are sharp enough to out-resolve a 45.7MP full-frame sensor.
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High Speed
In addition to the increased speed, the D850 also gains the full
AF capabilities of the company’s flagship sports camera: the D5.
This includes all the hardware: AF module, metering sensor and
dedicated AF processor, as well as the full range of AF modes and
configuration options, which should translate to comparable focus
performance combined with high resolution.
Impressively, the D850 can shoot at nine frames per second if
you add the optional MB-D18 battery grip and buy an EN-EL18b
battery, as used in the D5. As well as increasing the camera’s burst
rate, this combination also ups the battery life to a staggering 5140
shots per charge.
Video capabilities
In terms of video, the D850 becomes the first Nikon DSLR to capture
4K video from the full width of its sensor. The camera can shoot at
30, 25 or 24p, at a bitrate of around 144 Mbps. It can simultaneously
output uncompressed 4:2:2 8-bit UHD to an external recorder
while recording to the card. Our initial impression is that the video
is pixel-binned, rather than being resolved then downsampled
(oversampling), but we’ll be checking on this as part of the review
process. This risks lowering the level of detail capture and increases
the risk of moiré, though it’s a better solution than line-skipping.
There also seemed to be a fair amount of rolling shutter, but again
these are only first impressions from a camera running non-final
firmware.
As you’d expect from a camera at this level, the D850 also includes
the Power Aperture feature that allows the camera to open and
close the lens iris smoothly when in live view mode. There’s also an
‘Attenuator’ mode for the camera’s audio capture, that rolls-off any
loud noises to avoid unpleasant clipping sounds.
Reviewed by Editorial Department of Chiiz.
Gear Support: Nikon Experience Zone, Capital, Esskay Enterprises, Delhi.