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Ten things we’re hoping for from the Nikon D850

Nikon has announced the development of a the D850 – the long-awaited successor to the D810. As we’ve come to expect from such announcements in the past, Nikon is being vague on exact details, but promises that the D850 will be ‘a formidable tool for creators who will not compromise on exceptional image quality and versatility.’

We don’t have detailed specs yet, so until more details emerge, we’ve made a wish list. Click through for ten features that we’re hoping to see either added or improved in the forthcoming D850. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments.

More pixels (but not too many more)

A well-processed Raw file from the D810’s 36MP sensor contains a lot of detail, but we’d expect the D850 to offer at least a modest increase in pixel count.

The D810’s resolution of 36MP is more than enough for most applications, but we’d be surprised if the D850 doesn’t come with a higher megapixel sensor. In general, more pixels means better images, but we hope that the increase in resolution is reasonably modest. After all, 36MP is fine, and more pixels = bigger file sizes, and more work for the camera’s processor.

The same or better low ISO DR

This shot from the D810 was exposed for the highlights at ISO 64 and selectively pushed by 4EV – while retaining highlights – post-capture.

One of our favorite things about the D810 is its incredible dynamic range at its true ‘base’ ISO of 64. If you’re a regular lurker in DPR comments threads you’ll know that whether or not you need more DR is still (for some reason) a topic of hot debate. We’ll save you a lot of research and just say once and for all that more dynamic range is always a good thing. More DR means greater potential for capturing a wider range of tones in a single, clean, exposure. In fact, ISO 64 on the D810 allows it to compete with medium-format image quality.

If you’re still unconvinced, read this.

The D5’s autofocus system

The D5’s 153-point AF system is superbly versatile, and much more effective in poor light than the D810’s older system.

It’s a pretty safe bet that the D5’s 153-point autofocus system will find its way into the D850. The D5 (and the D500, which uses the same AF array) offers truly state-of-the-art autofocus, including excellent accuracy in poor light (not a strength of the D810) and an extraordinarily capable 3D AF tracking system.

There’s a common misconception that AF tracking is only really useful when shooting sports, action and wildlife, but we’ve come to appreciate it for portraiture, too. Especially for kids and babies, who don’t always stand as still as photographers would like.

4K video

The D500 and D5 offer 4K video capture, with some restrictions – we’re hoping that the D850 improves on their video specification.

The D850 will probably offer some flavor of 4K video capture. If it does end up with a 42MP sensor like the one on the Sony a7R II, we’d love to see D850 provide the same kind of video resolution options as that camera, with full-frame 4K plus an option for higher-quality oversampled 4K with a Super 35 crop.

Even if the D850 doesn’t ship with a7R II-style 4K feature suite, we’d at least hope for the addition of more sophisticated highlight warnings, plus focus peaking, which is a glaring omission from the D500 and D5. Oh and the reason we’re not clamoring for on-sensor masked PDAF: the artifacts it can result in with most mirrorless cameras when shooting into back-light.

XQD support

CompactFlash has been around a long time, but XQD cards are the future. The D500 offers one XQD slot and one SD slot – we’d expect the D850 to provide the same configuration.

It’s had a good run, and honestly it’s hung around for a lot longer than we thought it would, but the venerable CompactFlash memory format has had its day. The XQD media used in the D500 and D5 is smaller, mechanically simpler, and much, much faster.

Since Nikon is pitching the D850 as having ‘high-speed capabilities,’ we’d expect that the D850 will at least offer a single XQD slot, probably with an SD slot as backup/overflow (like the D500).

An articulated, touch-sensitive LCD

The D500’s rear screen is touch-sensitive and semi-articulating. We’re hoping to see the same screen on the D850.

We’d expect the D850’s rear screen to at least offer the 2.36M-dot resolution and limited touch-sensitivity features of the D5, but we’re really hoping that it’s articulated, too. While potentially less robust than fixed displays, tilting screens are much more useful, especially for landscapes, and indeed any tripod-mounted shooting from low or high angles.

Proper electronic first-curtain shutter implementation

This is what mirror/shutter shock looks like at its worst. We’re hoping the D850 offers a more effective electronic first curtain shutter feature.

The D810 improved on the D800-series by offering electronic first-curtain shutter (EFCS) to reduce the risk of shutter shock, but in our opinion, it didn’t go far enough.

With the D850, we’d love to see Nikon implement this feature properly, which means decoupling it from the mirror lock-up drive mode. Essentially it could operate much like the existing exposure delay mode, but with a much shorter delay. When the shutter button is pressed, the shutter and mirror would lock up, and the exposure would be started electronically a fraction of a second later.

We’ve found even a quarter of a second (or less) to be long enough to allow mirror vibrations to die out. A proper EFCS implementation would go a long way to avoiding mirror and shutter-related shake, especially some of the odd results we saw with some Nikon VR lenses.

Built-in Wi-Fi (and improved SnapBridge)

Snapbridge has improved since we first encountered it in the D500, but it’s still not great. We’d expect some degree of built-in connectivity but are hoping Nikon has made a fair few steps forward.

The D810 arrived before built-in Wi-Fi was widespread in Nikon’s lineup and we’d expect the D850 to offer built-in connectivity of some kind, as opposed to being limited to using external Wi-Fi modules. Nikon’s beginner-focused ‘SnapBridge’ system provides full-time Bluetooth connection but it offers limited access to, or control over, Wi-Fi. As such, it would seem like an odd fit for a camera that promises both high speed and high resolution capture (but hey – Nikon put it into the D500, so who knows?)

If present, we’d expect the D850 to feature Nikon’s full ‘SnapBridge’ suite, which includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. We can only hope that the company continues its efforts to improve the system.

Improved Auto AF Fine Tune

Auto AF Fine Tune is a great feature, but there’s room for improvement. We’re hoping that Nikon has refined it in the D850.

The D5 and D500 offer automated AF point calibration, but it’s not as useful – or as easy to use – as we’d like. Since higher resolution bodies require even greater AF precision, we’d love for Nikon to do some work on this feature in the D850. Specifically, we’d like to see the Auto AF Fine Tune extended to all AF points, not just the center point, and we’d like to be able to calibrate for different subject distances, and for ends of a zoom lens’s range. We’d also like calibration to be made more consistent – often the obtained value varies every time you try it.

In theory, if Auto AF Fine Tune could be improved along these lines, the D850 owner would be able to all-but guarantee accurate autofocus on each of his/her lenses, in any shooting condition. This has become expected, thanks to mirrorless.

Smaller body, illuminated controls

If you’ve ever shot at night, or early in the morning, you’ll appreciate the value of backlit controls. Will the D850 inherit this feature from the D5 and D500? We hope so.

The D810 is a pretty beefy camera, and not the most comfortable DSLR to hold and use for extended periods of time. We’re really hoping that the Nikon D850 gets slimmed-down a little, in the same way as we’ve seen with the D750 and D7500.

Another feature that we’d like to see included in the D850 is backlit controls. The ability to illuminate key control points in the D5 and D500 is extremely useful for low light and night shooting.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)