Product Comparison: Nikon D5 vs Nikon D850

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Best Pick

Nikon D5 (XQD-Type)

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Nikon D850 FX-Format Digital SLR Camera Body

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General Specifications

Brand

Nikon

Model

D850

Origin

Thailand

About the Product

Nikon D5 has a Nikon F lens mount and currently there are 302 native lenses available for this mount. Besides providing one of the largest selection of lenses, Nikon F mount also has backward compatibility which means that you can use F mount lenses even dating from 1960s.

The D850 puts staggering image quality and impressive performance within reach of working photographers everywhere.

Key Specs

Sensor Resolution

20.8 MP

45.7 MP

Sensor Type

CMOS

Lens

Body

Viewfinder

Optical

Pentaprism

Sensor Resolution

Size & Weight

Height

6.3 in.

4.9 in.

Width

6.3 in.

5.8 in.

Depth

3.7 in.

3.1 in.

Weight

49.9 oz.

32.3 oz.

What customers say about "Size & Weight"

Nikon D5 (XQD-Type)

It is a good size and weight, it feels comfortable, but not too heavy.
I love the size of the camera and the intuitive falling to hand buttons.
I use it for wildlife photography so almost silent shutter and lightweight make it an ideal companion.
It feels comfortable in the hand, with all of the important buttons and dials within reach. It is relatively light given the size and equipment.
Personally I would like to see a tad more weight to the camera, but many will prefer its lightweight body.

Nikon D850 FX-Format Digital SLR Camera Body

Super well designed, comfortable, if not a tad on the heavy side. It's a beast of a camera though, so I can absolutely forgive the weight, and it's by no means uncomfortably heavy.
The body is just about the same size as the D810 and the weight seems similar in my hand.
With respect to size, I did get a chance to shoot it side by side with my friends D810. The D850 did sit better in the hand than the D810. The D850 felt a bit heavier, but more comfortable to hold.
This camera is heavy. Its the first Nikon I have owned where it has felt heavy in my hands.
The d850 is a little heavy, but out shines any camera I have ever owned.

Imaging

ISO Settings

Auto: 100-102400

Auto: 64-25600, Extended: 32 - 102400

Burst Mode

Yes

Low Light/High Sensitivity

Yes

Face Detection

Yes

Image File Format(s)

RGB, RAW, JPEG, RAW + JPEG

RAW, JPEG, RAW + JPEG

Face Detection
Low Light/High Sensitivity

What customers say about "Imaging"

Nikon D5 (XQD-Type)

Its high-resolution 20.8 MP sensor delivers superb performance at both low and high ISO levels.
The quality is very good and low light performance is good as well.
I use the camera every day in my art business in low light conditions and so far it is doing what I needed straight away.
There is so nice screen, the ISO range is great and noise is acceptable.
If you hold the camera still and put your subject in the appropriate light, you will get images that most people think are so near professional.

Nikon D850 FX-Format Digital SLR Camera Body

If you know anything about the D850, you'll know that the autofocus in the body is industry leading.
A huge number of autofocus points, incredible focus speed, it's absolutely incredible.
This camera is a beast. It's got a whopping 45.7 megapixels. This was a major upgrade for me, coming from the 24.1 megapixels in my D5200.
It has great low-light capabilities, and the autofocus works surprisingly well even in low light.
The low light performance isn't great and as a whole... it lacks the finer points of higher end cameras.

Display

Display Type

TFT-LCD

Screen Size

3.2 in.

Screen Resolution

2359000 dots

Touch Screen

Yes

Vari-angle Display

Yes

What customers say about "Display"

Nikon D5 (XQD-Type)

With this model it feels like you have a real investment that will allow you to do anything you want and the information panels help you see instantly which options you have selected.
The rear display is bigger and brighter than on other Nikon models I have seen.
Al the controls are straight forward and simple to work out and the large screen size makes this all the more accessible.
The rear screen is large and useful, the buttons are well made, decent camera!
Pictures are so sharp, colours are amazing, screen is large and clear.

Nikon D850 FX-Format Digital SLR Camera Body

I was skeptical that I would ever use the touchscreen aspect of the screen but I must say I was wrong. I use it very often. The screen itself is large, bright, and great resolution.
You can pinch to zoom on your pictures and zoom in to see some incredible detail this camera takes.
Screen tilts up and down, a really handy feature that I forget about too often.
I especially love picking focus points on the rear touch screen -- so much easier than doing so using the buttons on the camera.
That rear screen. It is so clear and bright it pushes me to make more use of Live View, And about time Nikon offered a tilt screen.

Features

Water Resistant

Shock Resistant

Panorama Mode

Shooting Modes

Flat, Landscape, Monochrome, Neutral, Portrait, Standard, Vivid

AUTO, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual

White Balance Modes

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

Auto, Cloudy, Direct Sunlight, Fine-tuning, Flash, Fluorescent (7 types), Incandescent, Natural Light Auto, Shade, Preset manual, Color Temperature

Shutter Speeds

30 - 1/8000

Panorama Mode
Water Resistant

What customers say about "Features"

Nikon D5 (XQD-Type)

Weather sealing, great ergonomics, beautiful LCD and a rich menu system.
The camera feels like a solid, professional tool and has a wealth of buttons/knobs to help you access all the features that you could need.
The selecter for modes and release, is more solid and has failsafe buttons to stop your selection moving unless you choose it to.
All the major settings are adjustable from buttons on the camera body as opposed to accessing menus which speeds things up.
It has amazing picture quality. And if you are a beginner the auto mode allows you to still get a hang of the camera while still getting awesome pictures.

Nikon D850 FX-Format Digital SLR Camera Body

The weatherproofing is excellent. You can watch tons of review videos where you'll see them leaving the camera on a tripod in rainy weather to do a timelapse, and then they simply dry it off with a towel later.
Having come from the D5200 I feel like the controls are much more intuitive and better placed so as to be more ergonomic.
As a person who loves to do astrophotography, one of my favorite tiny improvements is the illuminated buttons! I don't know how I survived without that before this.
The ergonomics -- a lot of people have commented on the deeper hand grip. A real positive for handheld.
The Fn buttons are useful for setting quick commands (note, if you don’t see an option, scroll down…there are pages and pages of options for each button!) This is very nice!

Connectivity

PictBridge Enabled

Yes

NFC Enabled

Yes

Integrated GPS

Yes

Output(s)

HDMI, USB 3.0

USB 3.0, HDMI Type C, 3.5mm jack

Number Of Memory Card Slots

What customers say about "Connectivity"

Nikon D5 (XQD-Type)

Top features from my point of view are the 20.8mp sensor and the dual memory card slots.
I love having two SD card slots - I did a wedding and the security of knowing there was a backup was a relief.
The image quality is excellent with large file sizes, indeed one can use two SD cards and captures JPEGs and RAW images at the same time if required.
LCD screen for displaying settings, 20.8 megapixel sensor, dual memory cards, good build quality in general.
Dual SD card slot. Useful when shooting RAW+JPEG, or just having larger volume for photographs or having one backup card.

Nikon D850 FX-Format Digital SLR Camera Body

Buy the high speed SD cards. They are crazy expensive, but they will fit directly into most computers while allowing you take photos almost as fast as you can push the button.
The SD/XQD Card door is a little easier to open and close if compare with my previous camera, and it feels nicer to the touch with a textured rubber cover.
The bluetooth hasn't been a problem. Use the camera menu to turn it on and, if the phone/tablet is paired, it will quickly connect.
The iphone wifi sync feature is incredible-- you can see what the camera sees on your phone and control the shutter.
The WIFI connection was a big disappointment, so slow and a lot of disconnections.

Power

Battery Model

Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery EN-EL18a

Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL15a

Battery Life

3780 frames

1840 frames