Nikon D5 and Nikon D500 Announced: 4K Video, Advanced Autofocus
Get Nikon D5 DSLR and Nikon D500 DSLR at B&H Photo, now available for pre-order.
See all newly-announced Nikon products and all products announced at CES.
The Nikon KeyMission 360 Action Camera is a new type of product for Nikon.
CES is just underway, with Nikon unveiling the Nikon D5 and Nikon D500, both capable of 4K video and seemingly neither supporting an EVF (though as yet this is not ruled out, no mention has been made).
Both cameras could be interesting with the Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR (sports and wildlife and such). Could be good pairing in my mind: a D5 plus a D500 sidekick.
Nikon D5
Full-frame 20.8 megapixel pro DSLR shooting up to 12 fps with AF and up to 14 fps without. ISO 100 to 102,400 with Lo 50 and extended high mode (presumably not a real ISO) up to 3.28 million (!). What remains puzzling to me is the whole idea of continuing to bang a mirror up and down for shooting: why not skip the mirror and keep the blackout to near zero?
Advanced autofocus might be the best in the industry for tracking motion.
The D5 also includes 4K video, a first for Nikon but with a severe cropping factor in 4K mode, it’s not at all interesting compared to Sony 4K video in the A7R II or A7S, since no wide angle shooting is possible.
The 3.2" rear LCD is 2359K dot (2.3 megadots), the highest-res rear LCD yet seen in a DSLR, the closest thing to a Retina display yet.
Nikon controls are excellent, proven by years of experience. If only Sony and Leica would deliver this kind of pro-grade stuff.
Nikon D500
APS-C 20.9 megapixel enthusiast DSLR. Captures 4K video (smart move!), but the price of about $2000 seems oddly high in this market when a 24MP D5500 is going for around $600. Still, wildlife photographers looking for reach will no doubt want the advanced AF performance of the D500 as well as the weather-resistant body and 10 fps shooting. As with the D5, where is the high-res EVF option?
The D500 includes 4K video but also with a severe cropping factor in 4K mode, so it’s not at all interesting compared to Sony 4K video in the A7R II or A7S, since no wide angle shooting is possible.