[Shanti]

Glad you found a better combo than the K-1+DFA 150-450. The D500+200-500/5.6 is a very nice "tool" working like a machine gun and super fast AF. I was not so impressed though (I'm one of those who preferred the D750+200-500 combo as the IQ was excellent and the files so easy to PP that I was amazed) as I still saw a lot of OOF frames in those huge bursts (I'm talking about aviation photography and AIF). There are so many more frames though that you get many more keepers and it is highly unlikely to miss any "important moment" that happens all of sudden! If you miss it with the D500 then there is nothing you could do about it in the first place!

But to return to my initial findings, I know that there is not a perfect camera or combo and surely the D500+200-500 is better than the K-1+DFA 150-450 in speed, AF and reactions in general, but I was expecting maybe too much and I wasn't that impressed after all. I decided to stay and fight with my K-1 and find ways to work around its shortcomings, because when the K-1 delivers the pics are awesome (only comparable with the D810 from what I've seen). Different shooters-different interests-different priorities and so many different options available is what makes all this diversity in the photographic world!

I will get the K1 again for FF work,as the IQ was so good just mine was defective..
but with D500 I get so many more--keepers-- & catching the right moment while in flight is always tricky/exciting/frustrating --but now I have more to choose from..the group AF C in D500 is amazing ..maybe one day Pentax will get that tech
& now the Sigma 500 F4 is out at 1/2 price to the Nikon one $6000..street, cheaper after a yr I think(takes time to sell a kidney )
but the 200-500 has got me some great shots already..if only I can open the NEF files!! CS6 won't & DNG conversion I think loses something

[farhagh]

if only I can open the NEF files!! CS6 won't & DNG conversion I think loses something

Have you updated your Camera Raw?

[Shanti]

Have you updated your Camera Raw?

with CS6 can only go to 9.1 & need 9.6 fro D500 nef files...will try Capture One Pro trial & see if that works,otherwise must buy a new ligthroom standalone

[farhagh]

with CS6 can only go to 9.1 & need 9.6 fro D500 nef files...will try Capture One Pro trial & see if that works,otherwise must buy a new ligthroom standalone

I see; I thought it was only CS5 (which I stayed with) and older. Good to know.

[rawr]

Where are you getting that info about only 37 AF points for f5.6? From what I can find all are available up to f8 where it becomes 15.

I forgot about this thread. Sorry.

While Nikon say in the D500 brochure [PDF, 9 MB]:

"All 153 focus points are compatible with AF NIKKOR lenses with an open aperture of f/5.6 or faster. The 15 central focus points (nine selectable) work with an effective aperture of f/8"

they also highlight how in the range of f5.6 to f8 (eg typically with the use of a 1.4 TC), only 37 focus points will be active - viz:


So the AF point fall-off on the D500 with slow telephotos likely goes 156 -> 37 -> 15.

[RonHendriks1966]

So with the 200-500mm lens you have all 153 focus points. Using the 1.4x converter, your aperture is f7.84 and you still have 37 focus points. Using 1.7x or 2x coveren leaves you with 15 focus points.

[rawr]

So with the 200-500mm lens you have all 153 focus points. Using the 1.4x converter, your aperture is f7.84 and you still have 37 focus points. Using 1.7x or 2x coveren leaves you with 15 focus points.

Yes. A big virtue of the constant f5.6 of the Nikon 200-500 is retaining full AF point coverage with cameras like the D500.

[Shanti]

Yes. A big virtue of the constant f5.6 of the Nikon 200-500 is retaining full AF point coverage with cameras like the D500.

doesn't matter really with AFC Group AF setting ,37 points I can get BIF easily..ca. 80% keepers..
I get people on the bird forums asking me why my pics are so much bettter now!!! BIF ones D500 kicks butt...

[biz-engineer]

I get people on the bird forums asking me why my pics are so much bettter now!!! BIF ones D500 kicks butt...

Good to read that the new camera fixed the issues you had before, without the need for you to improve your technique.

The reason why I'm still using Pentax is that I don't want to go back to where I was with P&S cameras (use auto mode and get good photos without having a clue what it does). Thanks to Pentax , and those imperfect results, I learned a lot, which I would never ever have learned if I purchase high end canon/nikon gear right at the beginning. I guess what keeps me interested in photography is to still have to make choices that the camera does not make, and improves my technique. By the day the camera will do it all for me, I think I'll lose interest in photography.

[dcBear78]

Good to read that the new camera fixed the issues you had before, without the need for you to improve your technique.

The reason why I'm still using Pentax is that I don't want to go back to where I was with P&S cameras (use auto mode and get good photos without having a clue what it does). Thanks to Pentax , and those imperfect results, I learned a lot, which I would never ever have learned if I purchase high end canon/nikon gear right at the beginning. I guess what keeps me interested in photography is to still have to make choices that the camera does not make, and improves my technique. By the day the camera will do it all for me, I think I'll lose interest in photography.

If you are better because you use an inferior camera imagine how good you would be if you still used the P&S cameras?

[normhead]

I have a slightly different take on this. I don't really care how many keepers I get, as long as I get a few that I want.ANd as long as I have a few good images, I'll switch to the K-1 and spend some time trying to get an even better image.

With a camera like a D750 or D500 the probability is higher, but the potential for a great hi-res image is lower, if not impossible. I'm not really clear on what the deal is for high volume shooting. Most of the time I want one great image not a bunch of smaller ones.

I have seen exactly one guy who got great wildlife images without stalking a nesting site, which stresses the animals or birds, or baiting.

That was the guy who did the photos a Spirit Bear in the spirit bar rain forest. I was guy who'd been comfortable and lived with bears his whole life, and National pad for him to go get this image. He was in the bush on their dime for 2 months. That never happens to most of us. Most of the criticisms of baiting and taming animals, come from folks who don't have lot of wildlife images, but have a lot of opinions you how it should be done.

IN my 35 years in the bush, at least 3 weeks every year, I have seen 0 wolves, 1 bear cub that was gone so fast I didn't even have time to think "camera", 0 foxes, 1 Pine Marten, and probably 30 or 40 moose. People simply don't understand how difficult it is to get wildlife images if you are not in places where they are habituated. The reputable photography guides for the amateur wildlife photographer say right up front, find parks where animals are habituated.

My take on this is, do you want to see there to be pictures or don't you? Most wild animals avoid people.

[biz-engineer]

With a camera like a D750 or D500 the probability is higher, but the potential for a great hi-res image is lower, i not impossible. I'm not really clear on what the deal is for high volume shooting. Most of the time I want one great image not a bunch of smaller ones.

I was at a workshop for shooting BiF. We were a few Pentaxians, the rest of the group was shooting Nikon and Canon. The truth is, Pentax was slower than Nikon for AF tracking. BUT there were a lot of cases where the birds were so fast that no AF could follow. Nikon users switched to manual pre-focus and burst mode, and in those situations there was no difference between a K3, a D500 , 7D or a D5 or a 1Dx. The truth is, when the birds are really fast with erratic trajectories , it is very hard to get magnification with a long lens and keep the subject in the frame , so it does not really matter what camera we use. I found that when the subjects are slow enough to keep them in the viewfinder without the AF zone, Pentax AF tracking is sufficiently fast. It's always tempting to get a D5 or 1Dx , but that's a lot of money to get more keepers.

The bottom line is, there is a variety of shooting situations, from static in good light falling on the subject with nice smooth background, to ultra fast motion in low light with crappy backdrop, and I am not sure if the person seeing the image have any clue about the shooting conditions and if I would want to spend $6K+ to get sharp images in the worst conditions that the viewer is not aware of. By being smart about the weather condition we shoot in, we just save the cost of very expensive gear and the photos also look better.

---------- Post added 11-12-16 at 16:38 ----------

I have seen exactly one guy who got great wildlife images without stalking a nesting site, which stresses the animals or birds, or baiting.

With baiting, we end up shooting the same subject , on a tripod, from the same hide, with a $2K Pentax 300mm +TC and a $15K Canikon 600mm f4 combo, which pose the question how some people got convinced into buying their $15k gear for shooting baited animals at a short distance.

[biz-engineer]

And there are cases when you want to take advantage of the high iso capability of the 36Mpixel sensor because of the shutter speed needed to freeze motion of the birds in flight. Here below is an example of Bif sequence taken with the K1 and DFA150450. If the D500 was used instead, it would need a faster lens, i.e 500 f4 or 400 f2.8. The Nikon 200-500 on D500 would likely deliver more keepers but they'll all be significantly more noisy.

[ChristianRock]

In the meantime, forum member cleaverx is getting great results from a manual focus lens... the SMC 500 4.5... there's several posts he has made recently, here's one...

I mean... look at the bokeh on that!

The D500 is a very specialized camera and I'm sure that lots of people can appreciate and make good use of its features... it's been said many times, Canikon have cameras specialized in action/sports (which benefit BIF) and Pentax doesn't really offer anything to compete in that niche. But some people still exceed their supposed equipment limitations and can get great pictures with whatever they use, even manual lenses

[normhead]

In the meantime, forum member cleaverx is getting great results from a manual focus lens... the SMC 500 4.5... there's several posts he has made recently, here's one...

I mean... look at the bokeh on that!

The D500 is a very specialized camera and I'm sure that lots of people can appreciate and make good use of its features... it's been said many times, Canikon have cameras specialized in action/sports (which benefit BIF) and Pentax doesn't really offer anything to compete in that niche. But some people still exceed their supposed equipment limitations and can get great pictures with whatever they use, even manual lenses

And honestly, how many great pictures do you really need?