Nikon D500 learning curve

Since I was asked about this, I'll share.

First the D500 is nothing like the D5000 so I'm not sure how much will be useful. It's too bad Thom Hogan didn't write a guide for the D5000.

The D500 is a professional camera with banks for the configuration settings and a completely different button layout.

It shoots 10 fps, has 153 focus points the cover the whole frame and it has a myriad of Auto focus options.

I've only snapped a few hundred pictures trying all my lenses out and it is doing really well, but I'm just starting to figure it out.

The shutter is very quiet, the high resolution tilting touch screen in back is great for reviewing images and for tripod work or shots very low to the ground where you can use live-view.

This is shot with my 50mm lens at f1.4 no flash. The auto white balance is very good and exposure metering is very good. I did have to drop the exposure 0.7 EV to expose my black cat properly.
This lens is not tack sharp wide open, but that isn't what I was going for.



The D500 has no built in flash and my SB-800 iTTL flash is driven automatically by the camera. It gets, aperture, ISO, focal length and measures approximate distance to the target. It also has a pre-flash to help adjust exposure and to help with focus control.

The D500 can focus in -4.0EV lighting up to an f8 lens which is great. It can even drive my clunky 80-400mm lens pretty well.

So far my primes are all shining. My 35mm f1.8, and 60mm f2.8 macro are both tack sharp wide open and smaller.
And my new 16-80mm f2.8-4.0 VR lens works beautifully.

Because the white balance is nailed almost every time, I don't feel the need to shoot RAW. My D90 had great WB when I used my SB-800, but otherwise it was hit or miss.

This was the 4th shot I took with it.
What I liked was that I shot this hand held @ 80mm f4 1/30s ISO 800, the blacks didn't get noisy at ISO 800 and the VR worked well.
This is a 100% crop showing every pixel.


My radio controlled remote arrives today which has a great range and doesn't require line of sight, which will be a huge improvement over the IR line of sight remote my D90 used.

Later on this week my L-Bracket for my Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head will arrive.

I won't go much further unless there are questions.

This is the D500 with vertical grip, SB-800 flash, wireless remote and a 50mm f1.4 lens.

Looks like a fun 'toy' Mark, who knows, perhaps you'll be the next O. Winston Link ..............

twich54 said:

Looks like a fun 'toy' Mark, who knows, perhaps you'll be the next O. Winston Link ..............

Click to expand...

I have no illusions. It is just another toy and photography is just another hobby.

I'm starting to get the camera configured now and I'm having fun with it.

My L-Bracket arrives today and I'll be able to start playing with long exposures

Then I'll tackle the AF-C 3D AF mode.

Thanks Mark, while you are correct, yours and mine are very different, I appreciate any info. I would never use the built in flash on mine, nasty things! I'm a natural light or 'fill in' guy. Love your kitties!! shallow depth of field, centered on what you wanted sharp is a nice touch!

I'm not liking what I've taken lately, part of that is so many buttons and screens to adjust. My grandfathers 1950's Contax IIIa still works, I might have to go retro rangefinder and stick with what I know best...Haha, NOT! No one processes film anymore...let alone print...sad! Again, thanks Mark! I hope I can get into this new stuff!

stuwee said:

Thanks Mark, while you are correct, yours and mine are very different, I appreciate any info. I would never use the built in flash on mine, nasty things! I'm a natural light or 'fill in' guy. Love your kitties!! shallow depth of field, centered on what you wanted sharp is a nice touch!

I'm not liking what I've taken lately, part of that is so many buttons and screens to adjust. My grandfathers 1950's Contax IIIa still works, I might have to go retro rangefinder and stick with what I know best...Haha, NOT! No one processes film anymore...let alone print...sad! Again, thanks Mark! I hope I can get into this new stuff!

Click to expand...

Most on camera flashes are horrible and make a picture look like a snap-shot. They don't have enough distance from the lens, or bounce cards or diffusers.

You need to run your camera in aperture priority mode and set your depth of field. To get a nice out of focus blur and to isolate your subject you may need a lens that has a larger aperture which is a smaller f number.

For a DX camera the 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.8 are both excellent lenses that are not very expensive.

With a lens like one of those you can get nice isolation, but depending on your lighting you may need to use a tripod, or a flash to get a decent shutter speed so your subject is sharp.

I shot the kitties with my 50mm f1.4 at f1.8 hand held in warm light from my home's light fixtures before the sun was up. My D500 does a great job with white balance in these conditions, but your D5000 may struggle somewhat with getting the white balance right. The other issue is that I was using ISO 1600 to get a fast enough shutter for a sharp image. Your D5000 will likely be grainier and have more noise at that ISO rating.


In summary:
You need a lens that lets you get the isolation you need and is still sharp.
You need to use Aperture priority on your camera (set the dial to "A") to set your depth of field. Smaller aperture number are thinner DOF.
Then you need to add lighting, wait for the sun, adjust ISO or use a flash to get a shutter speed that will work for you.
If you shoot RAW you can compensate for white balance issues on your computer afterwards.

With film a someone else did all the processing with digital you do all the processing yourself.

This is a similar shot taken with my D90 using the same lens in the same light.
You can see how my D90 doesn't compensate for warm lighting nearly as well and needs to be shot RAW and fixed in post on my computer.