Nikon D850
£3,499/$3,297 (body only)
Resolution, speed and power – the DSLR is back!
With mirrorless cameras (or CSCs) grabbing so much attention, a few people are starting to write off the DSLR as old-school
technology. Nikon isn’t one of them, thank goodness, because otherwise we wouldn’t have had the D850. Following on from the D810, the D850 adds resolution, continuous shooting speed, video capabilities and a tilting touch-screen display.
Let’s start with the sensor. With 45.7 million pixels, this is the second-highest resolution full-frame camera on the market. It doesn’t quite match the 50.6 million pixels of the Canon EOS 5DS, but the Nikon D850 is so much more powerful in other respects that a handful of megapixels hardly matters.
Then there’s the seven-frames-per-second continuous shooting speed, a useful increase over the old D810, and an impressive buffer capacity (for a high-resolution camera) of up to 51 raw files. But that’s not the end of the story. With the optional MB-D18 MultiPower Battery Pack and EN-EL18B battery, the D850 can shoot at up to 9fps – that’s practically dedicated sports DSLR territory.
To achieve this camera’s continuous shooting potential, you’ll need fast memory cards; the D850 comes with one XQD slot and one UHS II compatible SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.
The autofocus is the same high-tech 153-point AF system used in the action-orientated D5 and D500.
The touchscreen display doesn’t just tilt. It has another trick – a 6fps silent live view mode for shooting in situations where silence is essential.
As if that wasn’t enough, the D850 also shoots full 4K UHD video using the full sensor, so there are no annoying video crop factors. The D810 was a great camera – but we think the D850 could be an industry legend in the making.
WINNING features
New 45.7 megapixel full-frame sensor for ultimate detail 7fps continuous shooting, 9fps with optional battery grip Advanced 153-point AF system from the Nikon D5 and D500