D500 vs D4

CarlosFrazao · Oct 12, 2016

hey guys its been awhile, hope all is well... i currently run a d7200 and d7000 as my current cameras, really haven't touched the d7000 In months to be honest, I'm looking at upgrading in the next few months to something a little better and quicker and, i have been looking around and the d500 is a wow camera but its just priced crazy here in south africa and i can get a second hand D4 for cheaper most of the time. so heres the question which one would be my best upgrade its old vs new but one is a flagship and full frame so that in itself should still bring it to the same level as the d500 or still slightly better still... my main intrest are wildlife and birding, but the last few months i have started making some cash off of my people photography so I'm looking at the something which will produce better shots for low light as well.. at the moment my mind is saying D4 and get it over and done with, oh all my lenses are full frame as well.. any advice please thanks guys

tirediron · Oct 12, 2016

I would certainly go for the D4 over the D500 simply for the build quality if nothing else.

coastalconn · Oct 12, 2016

There are many things to take into consideration with the D500 vs D4.
From a wildlife perspective... If you are always focal length limited the D500 is a no-brainer. Personally I think it is a bargain for what it is.

Take one of your D7200 files and reduce it to 3200 wide on the long side and then crop your image from that. That is the resolution you would have on the D4. Of course you could get around this by using a teleconverter, but then you loose the 1 stop advantage... In DX mode, the D4 doesn't really offer anything over the D500.. Photographic Dynamic Range versus ISO Setting Combine that with incredible AF, great ergonomics,handling and buffer and it is one heck of a bargain. A friend of mine has both the D500 and the D4S and the D4S ists in his car most of the time.

OTOH you will not be gaining much in the IQ department over the D7200. Although the D500 does seem pretty good at high ISO

From a people perspective the D4 will walk on the D500 for the most part. Part of this has to do with the fact to obtain the same framing you will need to be closer to your subject so you will benefit from a shallower DOF.

Edit: forgot to ask about glass? Sometimes glass may be a better upgrade.. I picked a 300 F2.8 AF-S II over the D4..

shadowlands · Oct 12, 2016

And the D4's low light performance... yum!

Solarflare · Oct 12, 2016

Well with these choices the D4.

You will need new glas though if you had DX glas before.

CarlosFrazao · Oct 16, 2016

thanks guys for all the comments guys appreciate it. well I'm really looking for something that is faster than my current camera the 6 frames isn't doing it for me and I'm losing lots of shots in the wildlife department because of that, also I'm looking for a camera that will be a beast in low light and have great dynamic range too... here in south africa in the parks and reserves you mostly drive around in your car so you can get pretty close to most animals and have bird hides which you can sit in as well so I'm not thinking that id be in too much of a disadvantage loosing the crop sensor even though i will be keeping my d7200 as a back up body as well.. my current lens line is the following sigma 150-600 C, tamron 24-70vc, tamron 35mm, nikon 50mm future purchases will add a 85mm, 70-200 and one day the 200-400..

coastalconn · Oct 16, 2016

CarlosFrazao said:
thanks guys for all the comments guys appreciate it. well I'm really looking for something that is faster than my current camera the 6 frames isn't doing it for me and I'm losing lots of shots in the wildlife department because of that, also I'm looking for a camera that will be a beast in low light and have great dynamic range too... here in south africa in the parks and reserves you mostly drive around in your car so you can get pretty close to most animals and have bird hides which you can sit in as well so I'm not thinking that id be in too much of a disadvantage loosing the crop sensor even though i will be keeping my d7200 as a back up body as well.. my current lens line is the following sigma 150-600 C, tamron 24-70vc, tamron 35mm, nikon 50mm future purchases will add a 85mm, 70-200 and one day the 200-400..

As much as I love my D500 for what, where and how I shoot, in your situation I think the D4 will be great for you. Then try to upgrade your big lens next...

photo61 · Dec 11, 2016

coastalconn said:
There are many things to take into consideration with the D500 vs D4.
From a wildlife perspective... If you are always focal length limited the D500 is a no-brainer. Personally I think it is a bargain for what it is.

Take one of your D7200 files and reduce it to 3200 wide on the long side and then crop your image from that. That is the resolution you would have on the D4. Of course you could get around this by using a teleconverter, but then you loose the 1 stop advantage... In DX mode, the D4 doesn't really offer anything over the D500.. Photographic Dynamic Range versus ISO Setting Combine that with incredible AF, great ergonomics,handling and buffer and it is one heck of a bargain. A friend of mine has both the D500 and the D4S and the D4S ists in his car most of the time.

OTOH you will not be gaining much in the IQ department over the D7200. Although the D500 does seem pretty good at high ISO

From a people perspective the D4 will walk on the D500 for the most part. Part of this has to do with the fact to obtain the same framing you will need to be closer to your subject so you will benefit from a shallower DOF.

Edit: forgot to ask about glass? Sometimes glass may be a better upgrade.. I picked a 300 F2.8 AF-S II over the D4..

coastalconn · Dec 13, 2016

Damn you Carlos, this thread has been bouncing around in my head for 2 months now so I just had to buy a D4 to find out for myself

Merry xmas to me...

robbins.photo · Dec 13, 2016

coastalconn said:
Damn you Carlos, this thread has been bouncing around in my head for 2 months now so I just had to buy a D4 to find out for myself Merry xmas to me...

I blame Carlos.

Bad Carlos. Shame on you.

Lol

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

JoeW · Dec 14, 2016

Let me chime in...I was looking between the D500 and D600 (currently have two D7000 bodies). I went and tried out both cameras (and will get the D600/D610). But the D500 impressed the hell out of me. Something that no-one has mentioned in this thread but Derrel posted about when I asked the TPF about this choice was how shockingly good and fast the autofocus system is for the D500. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be, increasingly I find that for sports and wildlife, I often use autofocus. Seriously--if you shoot sports or birds or some other form of wildlife that moves quickly, I'd take the D500 over the D4 b/c of the ability to adjust to movement.

Desert Rose · Dec 14, 2016

D500. No brainer, newer tech surpasses the older D4 tech.

CarlosF · Dec 14, 2016

coastalconn said:
Damn you Carlos, this thread has been bouncing around in my head for 2 months now so I just had to buy a D4 to find out for myself Merry xmas to me...

Haha that's not fair now I also want one haha, I'm about to leave for a 4 day trip in the African bush to go test the d500 out properly wish me luck

coastalconn · Dec 14, 2016

CarlosF said:
coastalconn said:

Damn you Carlos, this thread has been bouncing around in my head for 2 months now so I just had to buy a D4 to find out for myself Merry xmas to me...

Click to expand...

Haha that's not fair now I also want one haha, I'm about to leave for a 4 day trip in the African bush to go test the d500 out properly wish me luck

Well that sure sounds like a fun way to test it out

I wanted a D4 for awhile and found one at a great price used from a reputable dealer... Hopefully it's not too beat up.. I should find out this weekend..