D500

It´s a great camera for sports and travel if you don´t want to lug around bigger FX equipment. Still a little noisy for me in low light when high shutter speeds are required but it´s not an FX body, and what it does it does well. Don´t care about WI/FI, Bluetooth or video - if I need a video I´ll use a real video camera. The batteries perform like they are supposed to after 3 or 4 charges, the FN2 button could be made more useful with a firmware update as could other minor changes as others have noted here.

Just recently got my D500. Photographically, I am very impressed the camera, but one of my reasons for getting this body in particular was all the hype about the connectivity with smart devices including Android and iOS devices. I learned the hard way that the advertising and specs reported are inaccurate when it comes to this feature. The camera is completely wirelessly incompatible with iOS devices at least until August ´16. WIFI, bluetooth and NFC ARE NOT CURRENTLY COMPATIBLE WITH IOS. This body is less compatible with iOS than prior generations cameras as it will not connect with Nikon´s current apps for iOS. I have read on some blogs that it will work with the WT-7 if you have one or want to shell out another $900. I cannot verify this as I do not have a WT-7.

Excluding this gross misadvertising, it really is a spectacular camera and the photos I have taken with it in just a few days experimenting with it are stunning. Once they resolve the compatibility issue with iOS, it will be great.

The main reason I write this review is so that others are not misled like I was.

I have used Nikon SLR cameras for more that 20 years. Starting with the D100, D200, D300, D700, D3, D4, D4s and recently was excited to read all the great reviews on the D500 so I decided to add a new crop sensor body to my camera bag.

To my dismay this new highly touted camera would not focus. I used four Nikkor lenses to try and find one that would focus. My AF-S NIKKOR 600mm F4G ED VR, AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR and AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR.

I have NEVER purchased a Nikon body that would not focus brand new out of the box. I have had to make some fine tune adjustments with some lenses and certain bodies over the years but most lens-body combinations worked great with no adjustments.

After much frustration and several hours of intense study of the D500´s Auto Focus features I began to work with the AF Fine Tune feature built in this latest Nikon offering.

By using this new feature I now have the D500 putting out acceptable results. It is obvious that to me that I will have to spend many hours fine tuning every lens I own and plan to use with this new body. Needless to say this is not acceptable for what its touted as a ´´Flagship´´ offering.

The D500 is loaded with great new features, the AF Fine Tune being the smartest thing Nikon has done. With out the AF Fine Tune feature I would be returning this camera to Nikon.

At this point, just having the D500 for three days, I am satisfied with the results I am getting but very frustrated at how much effect it has taken to get them.

I do recommend this latest Nikon crop sensor body but if you plan to purchase it you should become very familiar with the AF Fine Tune feature.

I would give the D500 five stars in every way except the auto focus. That is a very big miss in my opinion.

I was very impressed with all the features on this superb camera and I ordered it immediately as I´ve owned several of the previous top DX models and still use the D7200. It is only just before the box arrived and having read a number of web reviews that I realized it had no pop-up flash and I had to return it. It is the first top DX camera without one. I like the pop-up to fill in shadows in daylight and also to automatically control larger flash units. I also travel a great deal and I never bring along a heavy external flash. For most people this will not be a deal breaker since the camera has so many fantastic features. I almost wept when I had to return it. Nikon missed a great opportunity here.

This thing is a beast! It´s built like a tank and feels great. Everything about this camera is so stinkin fast it´s not even funny. Makes my D600 look like a joke. Absolutely love it and can´t wait to get in the woods and put it to work. Missed shots will pretty much be eliminated with this bad boy The pictures this thing takes are incredibly sharp and vivid without doing any tweaking so I can´t wait to see what it can do. If you have any hesitation about getting a d500 disregard it and prepare to be blown away. If you absolutely need a fx camera I would shy away from this one but for sports and wildlife it´s hard for me to imagine a better setup. The back order waiting is a pain but I don´t regret it for a second. If I had to come up with a complaint I guess I could say I might miss having an onboard flash maybe twice a year , but that´s just me. Make this investment and you won´t be sorry you did.

My D500 shipped on the first day they were released (4/21/16) and I received it a few days later. I took it to the Florida Birding and Photo Fest and tried it out a few days later. Overall, I am extremely happy with the camera and do recommend it. I´ve been using Nikon cameras since the ‘80s and have owned 4 or 5 film bodies and this will be about my sixth digital body, including both DX and FX. I use this camera mostly for shooting wild birds and other wildlife.

Pros: Rendered photos exceptionally well in terms of noise, color and sharpness. It was very easy to operate, felt comfortable and lite in my hands. The controls were easy to find and use. I agree with all the good things said by other reviewers.

Cons: The camera failed when using SD cards. I did not have XQD cards to use at the time. Pretty much all controls and functions would freeze up. It could be used by releasing the shutter (no file would record). It functioned somewhat as if it were in the Mup release mode. Then the camera would work for a while and then fail again, especially if it was a while between shots or if I turned the power off. This happened using Lexar 1000 and 2000 cards. I tried SanDisk cards at the suggestion of a couple of guys trying out their new D5 and the camera worked much better, but still failed at times. With the Lexar cards I had to remove them from the body and reinsert them at times, with the SanDisk this wasn´t necessary. This suggests a problem with the memory card slots and/or perhaps the firmware.

I used it, with the same problem, after trying two different Nikon lenses and 3 or 4 different SD memory cards.

The retailer I had purchased from agreed to take the camera back and give a full exchange. Unfortunately, I don´t know when the replacement will arrive.

I am really enjoying using the D500 hardware, however the firmware could stand some improvement. I believe that Nikon should address 4 points in particular:
1) The options available to the MB-D17 FN button should include ISO. The button is placed exactly where the (newly moved) main ISO button is located, so it would seem to be obvious to permit duplication of that control.
2) Custom White Balance: Why only 6 presets, and why are we still having to use d-1 through d-6? I find it hard to believe that that it would be difficult to permit us to name the presets (perhaps 20ish characters with a short 3-character name for viewfinder use).
3) User Mode: I understand that this is a professional body, but what is amateurish about having frequently used setting available for immediate recall. I would have thought, by now, that M, A, S, and P would also include U. I would also like to see more than just 2 User banks. Why not a few dozen with the ability to name each (see size suggestions above). The sub-selector could be used to switch between the banks while the Mode button is depressed.
4) Quality viewfinder display: If you are going to put the Qual button where you can use it while shooting, why not display Quality in the viewfinder. the right-hand side of the viewfinder display already has multiple uses, how hard would it be to have it add another?

Please understand that I think that the D500 is a fabulous camera, and no camera can be perfect for every photographer, but now that you have this great hardware is seems a shame to restrain the firmware.

Today was a great day to test my new Nikon D500 camera body. Today was extremely cloudy, dark, and drizzling, allowing me to test the continuous high shutter speed and high ISO qualities of this new camera at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The camera didn´t disappoint. I have posted exposure information for each of the six images below.

Nikon knocked it out of the park with bases loaded!! with the Nikon D500. It is simply the best DX camera on the market incorporating technology from the flagship D5. Image acquisition and ease of composition is made eaisy with the user selected focus mode with the ability to move the focus points to where you need them or use the auto face detect / predictive mode, with 153 focus points and 55 user selectable, with up to 10 Frames Per Second, Nikon has a fast image tracking and acquisition system. Whew long way of saying this in a great camera..
- Bird / Wildlife photographers - your dreams have been answered.
- Sports and fast action shooters - Nothing better in this price range.
- Weather sealed and ready for action
- Lightweight and tough
- 100% bright clear viewfinder - what you see is what you get
- Image quality is outstanding all the way to 12,800 ISO (100 - 6400 is best)
- WiFi, BlueTooth, SnapBridge and your smart device = available images to send and post as soon as you take them
- 2 custom function buttons for your favorite menu short cuts
- Video all the way to 4K with mike and headphone jacks with HDMI output
- Touch screen LCD (with tilt) to view zoom your image creations using your fingers.
- Brings to the market new flash capabilities using the SB5000 (wireless)
Bottom Line: Nikon has delivered a stellar digital camera capable of producing beautiful sharp images due to the advanced focus system employed. If you are a wildlife or sports photographer you have a super fast and dependable camera at your ready. Also, for anyone who wants the best of a digital camera the D500 will deliver to high expectations with a Hugh selection of top quality lenses and accessories this is one rocking camera.