The most popular word in the gadgets industry at the moment seems to be ‘flagship’. Every phone and gadget maker now has a flagship product. At least this leads the competition to make better products at a lower price and then claim them to be the flagship killers. But what if a company creates a product capable of killing its own flagship?

Nikon may have done just that. It is now over two months since they introduced the D-850 and the photographs on the net can’t seem to get enough of this camera. It’s highly capable and extremely versatile and dangerously close to the flagship D-5, which is the go-to prosumer D-500. Is the buzz justified? Having had the camera for a few weeks, I would say the answer is very nearly a yes.

Jack of all trades

The D850 seems to solve a lot problems at the same time — kind of a jack of all trades and a master of a few as well. For starters, it has a great sensor with a high-resolution pegged at a whopping 45 megapixels. Now, before you fall into the megapixel trap, let it be known that this camera has the brains behind it to support that resolution. It now uses Nikon’s Expeed 5 image processor and when you add the 153 point Auto-Focus system, you truly get the best of all cameras.

Landscape, portrait and fashion photographers look for high-resolution coupled with low-light performance. On the other hand, action and wildlife photographers look for speed. The amazing thing is that the D-850 delivers on both counts.

Solid ergonomics

As is expected of Nikon pro-cameras, the D-850 is also built like a tank, yet the ergonomics have the subtle improvements to make the grip more comfortable. The body is only marginally heavier than a D-500 and much lighter than a D-5. And of course, the chassis is weather-proof. The touch screen which was once frowned upon by the pros, is now becoming a requirement and on the D-850 the touch panel now also supports menu functions sorely missed on the D-5 and the D-500.

Impressive firsts

The D-850 also introduces some totally new stuff, at least for this type of camera and from Nikon. First up, Focus Peaking. In live-view when trying to compose a shot you can now set a colour to see the object in focus. This feature does exist in point-and-shoot cameras but seems to be a first in DSLRs.

Another first for the D-850 is the Focus Stack. Ever wondered how some photographers are able to take incredible detail shots of an insect head or a flower and while using a macro lens, which is totally wide open, and still achieve a great depth-of-field? Well, the answer is simple, they usually stack multiple photos, the problem is that when you do that manually, you have to keep changing the point of focus and once you have a stack, you process them in software. The D-850 now takes away the pain of creating the stack, you tell it how many photos your stack needs and it starts shooting till it reaches infinity focus or the stack number, whichever is earlier. Now all you need to do is crack open that focus stack software and produce those wonderful images, be it star trails, landscapes or bug heads.

Finally, this camera also shoots video at 4K UHD and that too full-frame. A boon for videographers.

One may wonder about this comparison with the D-5 and the D-500, it is with good reason. Many photographers would already own one of these cameras and would be wondering where the D-850 fits in for them. At this stage, I would say if you already own one of the flagships, no need to change. There are many places where the D-5 will outshine the D-850, specially when looking at high-speed action and low-light. Of course, the D-850 packs in a much higher resolution so if that is critical or important to your work then consider it.

Sheer capability

The D-500 is a crop-sensor and using the D-850 in cropped mode would be a waste. However, when it comes to speed, the D-850 will not only need the extra battery grip, high-capacity battery but also an XQD card to match up to the D-500 and still be short. The D-850 delivers a maximum of 9 fps when coupled with the extras. The D-500 can shoot at 10 fps without the extras.

For someone looking for a new camera in the Nikon stable, this is a great buy. The price point is well below the flagship D-5 and a little higher than the D-500 — truly the sweet spot. Be warned, this is not an amateur camera, but intended for the pros. I would also say this will cater to the serious amateurs and videographers for sure.

Price D-850 For comparison: ₹2,54,950/-D-500 ₹1,41,950/- D-5 ₹4,45,950/-

Pro: 45 mega-pixel with incredible detail, 4K full-frame video, rugged weather-proof with good ergonomics.

Cons: Requires high-speed cards, battery and battery grip for 9 fps, live-view autofocus still a little clunky

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