Product Comparison: Nikon D810 vs Nikon D850

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Nikon D810 FX-Format DSLR Camera (Body Only)

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Nikon D850 FX-format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

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General Specifications

Brand

Nikon

Model

D810

D850

Origin

Thailand

About the Product

One look at the jaw-dropping image quality possible with the D810 and you'll never look at image quality the same way. The level of detail and sharpness, the wide dynamic range and rich tonality in nearly any light is simply staggering—almost unimaginable until now. For still and multimedia photographers including landscape, studio, wedding and portrait pros, the D810 will ignite your creativity and help you capture images that astound. For cinematographers and camera operators, the D810 will become one of the most versatile and important tools in your arsenal.

When Nikon introduced the D800 and D800E, it set a new benchmark for DSLR image quality and super high resolution photography that approached medium format. Now, five years later, Nikon proudly introduces the next evolution in high resolution DSLRs, a camera that allows photographers to capture fast action in 45.7 megapixels of brilliant resolution.

Key Specs

Sensor Resolution

36.3 MP

45.7 MP

Viewfinder

Optical (pentaprism)

Sensor Type

CMOS

Lens

Body

Sensor Resolution

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Nikon D810 FX-Format DSLR Camera (Body Only)

This is a pro level camera. The sensor size is bigger than D750 and D610 and also it got rid of the optical low pass filter. These are the determining factor of this camera which make it stand out in the crowd.
I combine it with the Nikkor 28 - 300m zoom and it does everything I need to do without changing lenses.
Coming from the D610 I already knew what I could expect from the D810. For me the group area AF, 36MP sensor and the expanded native ISO range were the biggest selling points.
The only downside of this camera is finding lenses that are up to the challenge of it's incredible resolution.

Nikon D850 FX-format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

Sensor definitely improved, ISO performance for the same shot from D810 same lighting conditions show much more micro contrast in images with great noise control. Note not a big change in base ISO 64 to 800 from D810. D810 still great
The new sensor and increased resolution gives me a very compelling reason to use this camera. When combined with my Otus 55mm lens I have something that closely resembles medium format. I can crop, crop, and crop and still get excellent resolution and edge contrast. It is amazing.
So far, I am impressed. The auto-focus is really impressive with some modern lenses and my favorite 55mm 2.8 AI-s lens works. Focus peaking in live view is fun and useful.
This camera is just amazing in every sense of the word. The large megapixel sensor allows me to crop waaaay down and still have fantastic detail; the low light and high ISO capability truly expand shooting possibilities.
Most of my lens are manual focus but tried few times with AF Nikon/Sigma Art lens on the new focus stacking feature. Makes things easier by adding steps. Does not work on MF lenses. Not a con thats the way it is.

Size & Weight

Height

4.9 in.

Width

5.8 in.

Depth

3.3 in.

3.1 in.

Weight

31.1 oz.

32.3 oz.

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Nikon D810 FX-Format DSLR Camera (Body Only)

It is lighter than D800. Which mean less weight hang on your neck.
The weight is very reasonable and the overall build of the camera is excellent.
Image quality is sharp. Nice decent weight.
The overall weight is a little heavy, but if you desire the high resolution as I myself do then you don't mind the weight.
The Nikon D810 is considerably heavy in weight. I do not like to use a Tripod all the time, and have been advised to pace myself, or risk getting slight aches.

Nikon D850 FX-format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

Weight is comfortable. Menu controls are easier to navigate too.
It's important to know this is a big and heavy camera but the features make it a worthwhile companion (for what I want to do).
My only criticism of the camera is that it is big and heavy.

Imaging

ISO Settings

64 - 12800

64 - 25600

Burst Mode

Yes

Low Light/High Sensitivity

Yes

Face Detection

Yes

Image File Format(s)

JPEG, RAW, TIFF

Face Detection

What customers say about "Imaging"

Nikon D810 FX-Format DSLR Camera (Body Only)

Resolution, Colors and Dynamic Range are incredible
Autofocus is quick and accurate in reasonable light, I found continuous AF to be pretty accurate and kept up with most things I tried shooting
ISO at 6400 show less noise than D800. Image shoot during night on street look more dynamic color and sharper.
Fantastic image quality. Fast and accurate autofocus
High ISO could be better; I'm fine with the quality up to 3200 ISO (I feel like I'm being nit picky since 3200 is already fairly high)

Nikon D850 FX-format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

Incredible image quality, particularly sharpness.
Focus system is improved, though far from perfect. Face/object-tracking is nice but hit-or-miss. Re-selecting a face/target is confusing.
Image quality is amazing. You can see the difference in detail compared to the D810. Its not a huge jump but noticeable. I also think ISO 64 is cleaner on the D850. When raising shadows the colors are truer and the detail is not lost.
No focus peaking with 4K video (there is focus peaking with 1080P video).
Some low ISOs actually seem *noisier* at 1:1 than the d800, including ISO 400. Weird... Obviously with the added resolution you can resize to 36mp and get some pretty nice clean results, but I was still surprised by this.
Would have been nice to have focus peaking for 4K, maybe firmware upgrade Nikon?

Display

Display Type

LCD

Touch Screen

Yes

Screen Size

3.2 in.

Screen Resolution

1229000 dots

2359000 dots

Viewfinder Coverage

100%

Vari-angle Display

Yes

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

What customers say about "Display"

Nikon D810 FX-Format DSLR Camera (Body Only)

For long exposures, don't forget to use the viewfinder screen to block out any unwanted light from trickling into the sensor from behind. I learned that lesson the hard way.
The image you see on the new LCD screen is much better than what I am used to seeing.
Since there is no touch screen so the focus shift is a bit cumbersome in this camera. The dial located on the right of the screen is a bit difficult to navigate with. The touchscreen gives the flexibility to shift focus very easily which would make this camera perfect.
I wish the rear LCD screen tilted like on some of the other cameras.

Nikon D850 FX-format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

Rear touchscreen is iphone-like -- very responsive and intuitive to use. No lag.
Screen is much brighter than previous Nikons and the refresh rate seems to be totally "real-time" which is a real improvement.
Flip screen is definitely useful, especially for video.
Touch screen is nice (with some caveats).
Tilt screen is awesome addition for low shootings, only complain here is I wish it flips in portrait mode like GFX 50S

Features

Water Resistant

Shock Resistant

Panorama Mode

Shooting Modes

Flat, Landscape, Neutral, Portrait, Standard, Vivid, User-customizable Settings

Auto, Flat, Landscape, Monochrome, Neutral, Portrait, Night Portrait

White Balance Modes

Auto, Choose color temperature (2500K–10000K), Cloudy, Direct Sunlight, Flash, Fluorescent (7 types), Incandescent, Preset Manual, Shade

Auto, Cloudy, Daylight, Flash, Direct Sunlight, Fine-tuning, Fluorescent (7 types), Natural Light Auto, Preset Manual, Incandescent, Choose color temperature (2500K–10000K), Shade

Shutter Speeds

30 - 1/8000

Water Resistant
Panorama Mode

What customers say about "Features"

Nikon D810 FX-Format DSLR Camera (Body Only)

The viewfinder is huge and very bright. Even with the advancements in EVFs, I still prefer optical viewfinders and the D810's is a pleasure to look through.
Built in on camera flash for when you are shooting casually. My ancient flash-head syncs with this camera up to 1/250th, otherwise the curtain is visible.
Two card slots, one for an SD and one for a CF card.
Battery life drains fast. Extra batteries or a Vivitar grip + AA's is a must.
No 4K video capture.

Nikon D850 FX-format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

Autofocus is extremely fast -- noticeably better than my D800 or Df.
ISO button has been moved and is much easier to find/use.
Automated focus bracketing (and later stacking) opens up some fun opportunities.
Better viewfinder with specs it might seem small but very noticeable and bright.
Nikon does not offer inbody image stabilization nor prime lenses with VR. Unfortunate for serious videographers.
Nikon wireless iOS app is astonishingly, embarrassingly bad and has been for years.

Connectivity

PictBridge Enabled

Yes

NFC Enabled

Output(s)

HDMI C (Mini), Headphone Connector, NTSC, USB 3.0

Stereo mini-pin jack 3.5 mm, HDMI C (Mini), Mini-USB, USB 3.0

Number Of Memory Card Slots

Integrated GPS

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

What customers say about "Connectivity"

Nikon D810 FX-Format DSLR Camera (Body Only)

For closeup work with birds I found the CamRanger which mates through the D810's USB port to be very useful and allows remote adjustment of the majority of the camera's electronic--but not hand--controls at a distance.
No inbuilt Wi-Fi.
I do not like that it is not wifi capable.
The only thing i don't like is that although there are still two card slots you can't use the same cards. You have to use one SD and one CF. I don't think it is a good idea.

Nikon D850 FX-format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

It has sd card slot and you can do a lot of pics with a good high speed SD card.
No GPS. I could probably buy shoes now that have GPS so not having this in 2017 seems silly.
Nikon will tell you that SnapBridge will help you connect to your iPhone, it will only do that in a very temporary and fragile period, then it will disconnect and you will not get back that connection without going through a huge setup process over and over again.

Power

AC Adapter Compatible

Yes

Battery Life

1200 shots

1840 shots

Battery Model

EN-EL15 Lithium-ion Battery

EN-EL15a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery

AC Adapter Compatible
Battery Life

Nikon D810

Nikon D850

What customers say about "Power"

Nikon D810 FX-Format DSLR Camera (Body Only)

The battery is ok, I shoot about 900 frames and still one of six battery grid left.
Battery life is really great especially with the battery grip I got.
With one charge of the battery (capacity 1900 mAh) it is possible to make 1200 photos according to Nikon. They have improved the performance of the battery with 30 %.

Nikon D850 FX-format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

Battery life is awesome.
It works better with the battery grip with the DN-EL18 or the 8 AA batteries.
Snapbridge drained my battery in one day (while the camera was off) without actually transferring anything useful.
The SnapBridge seems to work fine, but drains the battery life a lot faster.

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link

Manual

Download