This camera is phenomenal! I’ve admired it for years, and I finally decided to buy one now that they are more affordable. It’s everything I imagined and so much more. As a wildlife photographer, I love the fact that this camera has a massive 45.7-megapixel sensor. This allows me to crop my images down to a fraction of their original size and still enjoy razor-sharp detail. Next, the autofocus is wonderful when photographing moving subjects such as birds in flight.
As someone who has been using a mirrorless camera for the last year or so, the super-long battery life on the D850 was a breath of fresh air. With the optional battery grip, you can get over 3,000 pictures without running out of juice.
I’ve been a hobbyist Nikon photographer for more than a decade, so I was able to jump right in and start getting great pictures immediately. This camera is not well-suited for beginners, but you won’t be disappointed in the D850 if you are a serious hobbyist or even a professional photographer.
Finally, a word for those who may be considering going with a mirrorless camera instead: I have a Z50, and it’s a great little camera. I wanted to make the jump to full-frame, and for a while, I seriously considered upgrading to the Z6 or even the Z7. For me, the main advantage of mirrorless cameras is the electronic viewfinder; what you see is exactly what you’ll get in the final photograph. The d850 is my first DSLR, and I’m having to learn that my pictures won’t look exactly like what I see through the viewfinder. However, there are some drawbacks to mirrorless as well: drastically inferior battery life, slower autofocus, and more expensive lenses just to name a few. I was also bothered by the fact that mirrorless cameras are unlikely to hold their value over time. The Z6 and Z7 have now been replaced by the Z6ii and the Z7ii, significantly eroding their resale value. Rather than buying a mid-range mirrorless camera that may soon be overshadowed by a newer model, I decided to get the best DSLR ever made – and I haven’t regretted it for a second.

What an upgrade! Always shot on Nikon from D90 to D3200 and now this D850! Jaw dropping resolution and amazing quality especially on my style of landscape astrophotography! Super impressed and will not need another camera for years to come!

There was never any doubt that the Nikon D850 was going to be a great camera. The specs tell part of the story: a 45.7-megapixel back-side illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor, 4K Ultra HD video, a tilting touch-sensitive screen, Nikon’s best autofocus system, great color, highlight peaking indicators, built-in focus shift, electronic front-curtain shutter, and I could go on. But what makes it a great photographer’s camera, beyond the technical specs, even beyond image quality, is that it’s fun to use.

Have been shooting Nikon gear for a lot of years. 13 years with a Nikon D50 APS-C and then stepped up to the D7500. When I was presented with an opportunity to buy the D850 I jumped on it and have not been disappointed. The transistion from APS-C sensors to a full frame sensor took a bit to get used to especially with the resolution being 8 times the D50 and over 2 times the D7500, but was quickly overcome by changing some of my shooting habits. The resolution is great and the color is awesome straight out of the camera. I already had a collection of full frame lenses so I did not need to buy a a bunch of new gear to transition to full frame, so keep that in mind if you’re moving into a full frame for the first time from a crop sensor camera, because full frame lenses work great on crop sensor bodies. BUT crop sensor lenses do not work well with a full frame body unless you switch the capture mode to DX (crop/APS-C) format, in which case its a waste of a great sensor and you should look at the D500 or D7500. I have taken low light, night time, long exposure, and full sun pictures and have had no problems and love the quality of low light and night photos that can be taken with this camera. The menus are natural and intuitive for me since I am a previous Nikon DSLR shooter. I can say this camera is not for everybody due to its size and weight (body alone) and then add in high end all glass lenses and the weight can be a bit much for long day shots for some. I have weighed one of my combinations of the D850 body and Tamron 150-600 and it comes in at just about 7 pounds. So if weight and big size is an issue be warned this is a bigger camera but not un-manageable even for my girlfriend who has small hands.