Deep Dive: Nikon Z 50 versus Nikon D500. Why we're selling.

today a fun video I'll share an exercise that Raymond and I did when trying to figure out what camera to sell after having purchased several bodies in the last year most recently the Nikon d50 inevitably comparisons are going to be made between the new to market Nikon d50 mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera and the trusty flagship of Nikon DX DSLRs of the venerable G 500 I have had viewers ask me about the comparison and I drew some of my own comparisons in my review of the Z 50 last week I will link to that review in the description but in the review I said that our Z 6 was no longer on the chopping block which is what we thought we were going to sell when we bought the Z 50 but now we think it's the D 500 that will be headed out the door we aren't saying that the Z 50 and the D 500 are necessarily comparable bodies for everyone but we did say that they kind of fit into the same slot for us and unfortunately it's time to make some tough decisions and get rid of some cameras before we move on to the challenge of choosing favorites amongst my cameras a quick announcement I have announced my next photography tour it is to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks it is coming up very soon in May of 2020 I will put a link up above and in the description to where you can learn more about it there was actually an error in pricing that we have corrected so you may want to recheck the page even if you've already looked at it I hope you can join us when we looked at our lineup of camera bodies with an eye to have bodies that cover all of the bases we want to be able to pick out a camera and go out and shoot anything I enjoy it we saw that the D 500 has been sitting on the Shelf unused for quite a while and we purchased this and reviewed it nearly four years ago and it used to serve the place as an everyday shooter but also our key body for action and wildlife up until about a year ago I wouldn't have dreamed of picking up any of my other bodies for that type of work but we purchased some incredibly capable bodies in the last year and add in that I don't have a lot of room for a camera that doesn't have the video capabilities that I often need for my work namely quiet continuous autofocus and face detector in video and so sadly the D 500 became the camera that we thought we might sell however we went on an outing with it and the z50 to see how they really do compare on a typical shooting day we also thought it would be a fun exercise to think about how the specifications compare and somewhere along the way I will address how the other cameras that we own fit into our lineup before I begin this I want to make clear that the D 500 is a great camera if you have one and you love it it's probably all you need we still do love it for fast action and the flexibility that it offers when trying to keep up with pro sports Little League or anything in between but as much as we would like to we just can't keep all of the cameras and we have found that it is the d 500 that gets left behind when we head out with our cameras it's all about my work and the way we shoot everyone has their own preferences so this test between the D 500 and the Z 50 was an informal non-scientific test we outfitted the D 500 with the 35 millimeter F 1 point 8 DX prime lens and F mount lens and then the Z 50 with the 35 millimeter F 1 point 8's a full frames e-mount lens we roamed the Phoenix Art Museum independently but we also took some of the same shots with both setups and even interpreted some of the same objects differently just to give you an idea of how the two different cameras see the world but also to do a real-life comparison to see how we each enjoyed using the two cameras and how they did technically speaking the takeaway was that both DX cameras are competent and capable that's not really a surprise though the biggest difference was in terms use of the camera and it's a good example of how much personal preference plays into which camera is best for any given photographer and how those preferences can change over time let's dive into some technical differences while the D 500 is a DX legend the Z 50 is no slouch it checks in at 11 frames per second the D 500 can come close to that especially when using a speedy XQD card the difference with the D 500 and the pro level full-frame action-oriented Nikon DSLRs has always been not just their frames per second but the ability to acquire focus instantly quickly raise the mirror fire the shutter and then get the mirror back down as well as the buffer and we will get to the buffer in a minute but let's discuss the responsiveness of acquiring focus and taking the photo first we noted with our Z 6 and Z 7 that they do this very well without the extra steps for the mirror and then we put the Z 50 through the paces and we found the focus performance to be indistinguishable from the c6 and c7 the only slight problems occurred when we were using the kit lens on the Z 50 which is forced to shoot at a smaller aperture when zooming F 6.3 at 50 millimeters remember when using a variable aperture lens like that the camera has to do all of its metering and focusing at that base aperture for the focal length whereas with an F 2.8 zoom you may be shooting at F 6.3 but the camera can use the additional light to set up the shot at F 2.8 and then adjust to your desired aperture while shooting what this means is that some of what holds the Z 50 back are the lenses that are typically used with it I mentioned this in my review the D 500 user may have more wide aperture zooms and Prime's in their bag ensuring that the camera can perform at peak effectiveness when we use these more expensive lenses on our Z 50 it was very responsive so in terms of the responsiveness and general snappiness both cameras did very well let's dig in on some but certainly not all of the differences between these two great DX cameras both can produce excellent results in either experienced or novice to intermediate hands the z50 is simpler while the d500 has more options overall but especially when it comes to dynamic area auto focus and tracking neither Raymond or I ever fell in love with a 3d tracking on the D 500 but it is an option that the Z 50 does not have and I know that there are a number of you out there that expressed that you like it the D 500 also has multiple configurations for Ramon's in my favorite focusing mode for action dynamic area while the Z 50 does have dynamic area mode but without the choices for the number of focus areas that isn't really an issue for us but it might be for you now the Z 50 does have object tracking you have to be in Auto area and then click the ok button to start tracking the object but these are the benefits of mirrorless coming to fruition in that viewfinder data can be observed and processed by the camera while with the D 500 the only time the camera can real-time process what you'd see on the screen is in Live View mode which I've never been a fan of for DSLRs in fact I'm not even willing to compare the D 500s live view to the Z 50s normal mirrorless operation because for me using the D 500 or any DSLR and live view is simply an exercise in frustration especially if I am shooting any sort of action here's a big difference between the two cameras the D 500 gets the buffer advantage with a much larger buffer and it also has the overall speedier XQD card compatibility the Z 50 has a decent buffer but not as good and it uses a single UHS 1 SD card which are slower but they're of course everywhere and yes one card slot on the fifty and two on the D 500 Raymond and I did a quick comparison between the two buffers we set both cameras to 14-bit raw and continuous firing with the D 500 writing to an X Beauty card in one of its two slots and the Z fifty writing to an SD card in its single slot [Applause] that's quite a difference but I like to keep in mind the practicality of it do you need that Deepa buffer I almost never do it's something fun to play with but for me it simply isn't necessary even when I shoot action on wildlife I am much more mindful in the shots I'm capturing it is an extremely rare occurrence when I fill a buffer but there are a lot of folks out there that would like to mash down that shutter release button and they enjoy seeing what happens speaking of fast action there's no doubt that the D 500s closest competitors for fast action photography are nikon zone d5 with a nod to the D 850 and really the sony alpha 7r for alpha 9 and alpha 9 to Sony's alpha 9 series are a showcase of what fast action and tracking can look like on a mirrorless camera I do own the alpha 7 r4 and here's another disclaimer if you own something else and you shoot action and wildlife with it that's great I have not met a camera that I couldn't shoot action with like the Z 50 it isn't meant to be you know marketed for action but it's no slouch I rode back and forth on my mountain bike while Raymond tested it out and we ended up with a ton of InFocus usable photos continuing on with the idea of fast action here at HQ we have that sony alpha 7r 4 and we have a nikon z6 and z7 along with the Z 50 and the D 500 we have a full spectrum converted Nikon d810 and a couple of older Nikon DSLRs and we have our eyes on a couple of newer options out there from different brands we keep a lot of cameras and lenses handy to show you how they work and frankly because we just plain love cameras we even have several film cameras hanging around for when I find the time to load some film into them mirrorless cameras do a good job of making DSLRs feel unnecessarily large and a bit Hollow Raymond and I both like the sleek feel of our mirrorless cameras even though he has giant sized hands and even my hands are for my size mirrorless bodies seem to they just make our hands happy which it counts for us even with a large lens the small mirrorless bodies feel solid and then picking up a DSLR afterwards it just feels a bit cumbersome in comparison just looking at the Z 50 and the D 500 everything on the Z 50 feels more compact but also more tactile than the D 500 I guess you could say that it feels just lean and mean and again for how I shoot and how much I shoot the haptics matter now there's a trade-off unlike the D 500 there is no vertical grip for the Z 50 that holds more batteries or expands the form factor and it does not share the battery with the D 500 z 6 and z 7 the Z 50 battery is smaller with less capacity for most purposes that's not a big deal for us though it is kind of a bummer but those things could be a deal-breaker for a pro shooter on top of the ergonomics of the D 500 just not being enjoyable for me anymore Raymond and I were laughing in the museum pretty much every time we would take photos next to each other he was all stealth and quiet click as the photos taken with the Z 50 but not me with the D 500 the sound of a DSLR and a quiet museum is deafening I don't actually mean deafening but it was pretty loud after having used primarily mirrorless cameras for the last year I didn't like it and something else the viewfinder we all used optical viewfinders forever I never thought I would mind it and I mean electronic viewfinders were not so great for a very long time but now that I'm using current generation electronic viewfinders the immediate feedback on my finished product is invaluable I've had more than one viewer get a little snooty about that saying that using an electronic viewfinder is lazy but I disagree they are efficient if you don't like it though that's cool go old school with an viewfinder okay if Raymond and I could only have one camera and we were choosing between the Z 50 and the D 500 this would be a much more difficult decision I've had many of you out there ask me which you should purchase or if you should switch to the Z 50 from the D 500 the D 500 is that trusty gunslinger of a camera that will get the shot with your tried-and-true f-mount lenses every time even in a thunderstorm well there's e-50 can use those f-mount lenses too with the FTZ adapter and the newer Z lenses it's not as deep into professional sports functions such as the variety of autofocus modes and other extras like the D 500 dual memory card slots and does not appear to have the extensive weather proofing that the D 500 has remember that the D 500 lacks a pop-up flash which helps a lot with weather sealing but the Z 50 seems to hold the future in its hands with video and auto focus detection options it would be a tough choice for me and my work but my situation might be unique from yours and that I do work with my camera in both photo and video and because of that I do own multiple camera bodies not to mention the fact that Raymond my partner in crime is also a photographer and working on this channel so we wouldn't do well with just one camera body can you imagine we'd have to like arm wrestle for the camera every time we went out so here's what I am not telling you I'm not telling you to change a thing if you own a D 500 or you're considering one and you feel that that's the camera for you then it is period don't let anyone else tell you otherwise the D 500 is as great a camera in 2020 as it was in 2016 it pains me to let it go almost as much as when I sold the d300s saying goodbye to that one was rough if we were given the choice today for an all-around camera with the latest tech at a low price the Z 50 most of the boxes it's not going to appeal to those exclusively looking for full-frame nor those that have decided that Ibis is a must-have you won't find Ibis on the Z 50 or the D 500 if you're looking for a Nikon that's tailor-made for sports and fast action either at an amateur or professional level the D 535 the upcoming D 6 are all great choices if you want the absolute latest and best tech in Merrell is that is also extremely well suited for fast action and offers tremendous flexibility within those capabilities well well let you form your own judgment on that but for us the sony alpha 7 r4 fits the bill nicely with a nod towards the alpha 9 and alpha 9 - I have used the alpha 9 and was absolutely blown away by the speed and responsiveness this video is not about that though it's not about which fast action camera you should purchase this is really this is just a part of the behind the scenes here in snap check land that I wanted to share these are things that we discuss here hopefully I did not make things more confusing for you we have our observations and you may have yours let me know down in the comments if you do and of course check out the to are linked below I will also be reviewing the sony alpha 7 r 4 soon so make sure that you're subscribed and hit the bell so that you will receive notifications when I share new videos and like this video if you enjoyed this kind of a thing thanks for watching

Channel: Leigh TheSnapChick

Views: 84,818

Keywords: Deep, Dive, Nikon, z 50, versus, d500, why, we're, selling, z50, nikon z, action, wildlife, compare, comparison, photography, photographer, snapchick, snapchick.com, leigh, raymond

Id: y_dSrz8iWIk

Length: 18min 19sec (1099 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 24 2020