Anyone out there have a D850???

[Jonathan Levin]

If you do, I have a couple of ??? maybe you could answer.

1) I plan on using this camera with an external recorder, Atomos. Currently I use a D800e for this.

Could anyone confirm whether or not the HDMI input on the side of the D850 is the same size as the D800?

2) The D850 can use XQD cards and/or SD cards. Will an XQD card work in a card reader that reads SD? In other words, are SD and XQD the same physical size? I have a Lexar USB 3.0 reader that has a CF and SD slot, and wonder if that will work for XQD. I am aware that I can connect camera to computer and use Nikon Transfer. Just wondering about card reader thing.

3) And speaking of cards, I know that XQD cards have a super fast write time, but I am not a sports shooter, and tend to not nearly fill camera buffer the way I shoot. Do any of you use SD in the 850?

Aside from write time, any other advantages?

Thanks.

Jonathan

[Luke Miller]

The HDMI connection on my D850 is the same as that on my D810 if that helps. It is the small HDMI connection.

XQD cards have a different form factor than any other memory card (except for the coming CFExpress cards). So you will need an XQD reader if you decide to use them. I'm configured as XQD primary and SD overflow. For video I record to the SD card just to keep the stills and video separate.

Most of my video is done with my dedicated video cameras, but the D850 does do UHD at 30fps which matches those cameras. So it will get some use.

One video feature surprised me - Electronic VR. For HD (1080P) format the camera can be set to that mode and the recorded footage will be stabilized by the camera. Looks like the same method used by the stabilization software used in post. The recording area is moved around on the FX sensor to reduce motion effects in the footage. I've tried it briefly. It is a noticeable improvement with non-stabilized lenses and a is pretty impressive with a stabilized one. You give up focus peaking when it is enabled and it can't be used with UHD.

[Jonathan Levin]

Hi Luke.

And thanks so much for responding!

As I mentioned, when I record video with the 850, more than likely I will be recording to an external recorder like my Atomos. If the HDMI is the same size as the 810, then it is probably HDMI to Mini (type C?)

So for my still stuff, since I'm not a sports shooter and don't need the crazy write speed of XQD, it sounds as if I can use SD cards. I will always be shooting raw lossless compressed 14 bit, which I believe weigh in at 55MB each.

What I did not know about is the Electronic VR. This is very interesting to me since I will probably be doing some off-tripod (b-roll) hand-held video with the camera in something like this:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...2855/KBID/3801

I hope that this still works when shooting to external recorder. For my paid assignments, I still shoot 1080 so the UHD isn't an issue.

What's also great to know about this is I've been struggling to decide whether to get a dedicated video camera like the Sony Z90 or Canon XF400. This could solve that problem.

Right now the only issue is that apparently there is a 3-5 week wait time to get the 850.

If you have any sample to post that would be great, otherwise all insights and observations welcome.

Thanks again!

Jonathan

[Luke Miller]

Yes HDMI Type C on camera.

Many of the smaller dealers like Hunts, Berger Brothers, etc have very short wait lists. Short enough to leave un-allocated bodies after they receive a shipment. So if you get on the list you can get one in a couple of weeks. That is what I did.

[John Wiley]

Anybody know if the D850's HDMI output can do 120p HD? Or is the HDMI limited to 60p?