Nikon D500 hands-on review

January 11, 2016Angela Nicholson

It has a smaller body and sensor than the D5, but the D500 has many of the same components as Nikon’s new top-end camera. Find out our first impression in our hands-on Nikon D500 review.

For ages there’s been an empty space at the top of Nikon’s line of APS-C or DX format SLRs where the hugely popular Nikon D300S used to sit and I had a feeling that the company might use CES to announce something to fill it. Happily I wasn’t disappointed and the Nikon D500 was unveiled before a huge crowd of journalists (me included) at the annual trade show in Las Vegas.

Some may have expected the replacement for the D300S to have been called the D400, but with the announcement of the D5 at the same time, Nikon has opted for a name that sits more comfortably alongside.

While the full-frame D5 is Nikon’s flagship SLR, the D500 is the company’s highest level DX format model and it’s aimed at professional and enthusiast photographers who want a smaller, lighter alternative to a full-frame model and/or the focal length magnification of the APS-C/DX format sensor. Body and sensor size aside, however, yhere are many similarities between the two new cameras.

While Nikon’s other recent APS-C format SLRs have 24 million pixels on their sensors, the D500 has an effective pixel count of 20.9 million. The D5’s effective pixel count is 20.8 million, but as it uses a full-frame sensor the photoreceptors are larger.

Nevertheless Dirk Jasper, Product Manager for Nikon Europe, tells me that the two cameras’ sensors are built to Nikon’s specification and use the same architecture.

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Both new cameras also have Nikon’s EXPEED 5 processing engine and in the D500 this enables a maximum continuous shooting rate of 10fps (frames per second) for up to 200 14-bit lossless compressed raw files and a standard sensitivity range of ISO 100-51,200 with five expansion settings taking it up to the equivalent of ISO 1,640,000.

While this is stop lower than the D5’s incredible ISO 3,280,000 maximum (yes that is ISO 3 million) it’s still an amazingly high figure and a first for an APS-C format camera.

To compliment this low-light capability the D500’s autofocus (AF) system has a central point that is sensitive down to -4EV while the surrounding points operate down to -3EV. Like the D5 the D500 uses the Multi-CAM 20K AF module and has a total of 153 AF points, with up to 55 being individually selectable (the rest are support points). Of the 153 points, 99 are the more sensitive cross-type.

Nikon has given the D500 two card ports, one for SD type media and the other for XQD cards. To date XQD cards haven’t been seen widely, but they are fast, enabling extensive burst depths and quick image transfer.

As we expect now, the D500 is capable of recording 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) movies in 30p/25p/24p. And unlike the D5 which is limited to just recording 3 minutes of 4K footage, the D500 can shoot in bursts of 29 mins 59 sec.

Naturally there other video resolutions available including Full HD at 60p for slow motion playback. Nikon has also given the D500 an in-camera Vibration Reduction (VR) system to smooth out hand-held footage. It’s also possible to create 4K timelapse movies in-camera.

Exposure metering is determined by a new 180,000-pixel RGB sensor which also helps with white balance, the automatic scene recognition system and in turn the autofocusing.

On the back of the camera there’s a touch-sensitive 3.2-inch 2,359,000-dot screen. As on the D5 this can be used for zooming into and scrolling through images as well as keying in copyright information. However it’s also possible to set AF point with a tap of the screen – this can’t be done with the D5.

The D500 debuts Nikon’s SnapBridge technology, something that is not found in the D5. This is designed to enable the camera to be continually connected to a smartphone or tablet via a low-energy Bluetooth link (or via Wi-Fi). Once the first connection has been made images can be transferred automatically, making them ready to share from your phone.

Images are transferred to an app, which will be available for iOS and Android devices and it’s possible to set the size of the image as well as determine which shots will be copied. Details on this are a little thin on the ground at the moment as things are still being finalised.

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Hands-on Nikon D500 Review: Build and handling

Nikon has given the D500 a metal chassis that makes it more robust than the D300S, but not quite as tough as the D5. All the joints and controls are also weather-sealed to a higher standard than the D300S. There’s even a weather-proof cap to protect the hotshoe when it’s not in use.

One downside to making the camera more weather-proof and durable is that there’s no pop-up flash – but this shouldn’t be an issue for most of the D500’s target market.

While it’s smaller and lighter than the dual-gripped D5, the D500 feels pretty tough and well made. The large front grip and thumbrest on the back also make it comfortable and secure in your hand and the textured coatings add extra grip which is maintained even when damp.

Although the D500 has a touch-screen it can’t be used to make setting selections or navigate the menu and there’s a full compliment of buttons and dials. This includes a textured mini-joystick for selecting autofocus point quickly when you’re using the viewfinder. I found the controls and touch-screen very responsive.

Tilting brackets and articulation joints on screens are sometimes thought to be weak points on a camera, but the D500’s tilting screen feels very tough with a rugged mechanism and comparatively chunky surround.

Nikon has given the D500 a pentaprism viewfinder that shows 100% of the scene that will be captured in DX mode, so there should be no surprises around the edges of the frame. When the 1.3x magnification option is selected this field of view drops to 98%.

Despite the gloomy conditions when I was using a pre-production sample of the D500 it provided a clear view and the blackout time is very short when shooting at 10fps.

I can’t help feeling that the D500’s mirror could do with a bit more dampening as I was acutely aware of its movement when shooting at 10fps with my eye to the viewfinder.

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Hands-on Nikon D500 Review: Performance

I was able to use a pre-production sample of the D500 in a range of conditions including near darkness, rain and in very flat daylight. These gave a very good first test of the camera’s autofocus system and it passed with flying colours, keeping up with moving subjects well.

Naturally I want to test it much more extensively when we get a full production sample in, but my initial impressions are that it’s well suited for use by sports and action photographers.

Like Nikon’s other recent SLRs, the D500 uses a phase detection autofocus system when images are composed in the viewfinder and contrast detection when they’re composed on the screen in live view mode.

The live view AF system seems much faster and smoother than on past Nikon cameras, even in quite low light. While experienced videographers are likely to still prefer to focus manually, the live view AF system should prove useable when shooting stills hand-held.

Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to keep any of the images that I shot with the D500, or examine them on a computer monitor, so I was only able to check a selection on the screen on the back of the camera.

Nevertheless, it seems clear to me that the camera is capable of producing very high quality images within the native sensitivity range (ISO 100-51,200). The results at ISO 102,400 (Hi) also look very good in comparison with what has gone before.

However, the maximum value, ISO 1,640,000 (Hi 5) produced very noisy images with a strong magenta cast. Nikon hasn’t finalised the image quality from the camera (hence I was unable to keep any of the images that I shot) so it’s possible that the highest setting will produce more usable results when the camera goes on sale.

In other respects the D500 performed as we would hope, delivering well exposed images that have good colour and white balance. Nevertheless we’ll give a production sample a thorough test before we pass final verdict.

It will be especially interesting to test the D500’s SnapBridge technology when it comes to market as the necessary apps aren’t available yet and I wasn’t able to use it with the pre-production sample.

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Hands-on Nikon D500 Review: Early verdict

I’ve yet to test a full production sample or examine properly any images that I’ve shot with the D500, but my first impressions are very good. I think it’s going to prove a popular camera with serious enthusiast photographers – especially those who shoot lots of sport or wildlife.

Some of this target market may be disappointed that Nikon hasn’t given the D500 the same pixel count (24 million) as its other recent APS-C/DX format SLRs, but the rest of its specification and the autofocus system in particular are very attractive.

My initial shooting indicates that noise is controlled well in the standard sensitivity range (ISO 100-51,200) and even the lower expansion settings, but I’m yet to be convinced that the uppermost setting (ISO 1,640,000) will produce usable results. Time and a full production sample will tell.

Although some may see Nikon’s SnapBridge technology as bit of a gimmick, I think it has the potential to encourage photographers to use their dedicated camera more often instead of their phone.

According to Nikon it will be possible to keep the D500 connected to a smartphone without depleting the battery quickly and to transfer images automatically without filling up the phone’s memory in a flash. This will be essential to the success of the system and I’m looking forward to trying it.

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