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Part 2: did you receive your D850


d_ponce

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I pre-ordered through B&H on August 28th, a few days after Nikon announced it would be shipping on the 7th. I have not received it yet. I am wondering if I would have better luck going direct through Nikon or another store? Suggestions from those that pre-ordered and received theirs? thanks, much!
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Nikon's official announcement of the D850 was on August 24 (not counting the pre-announcement without much details): Nikon Officially Announces the D850

 

As far as I know, some people who pre-ordered immediately on August 24 are still waiting. Unless you are an NPS member, I would expect that one may need to wait a few weeks. Back in 2012, the D800 and D800E were in high demand. I ordered a D800E back then and waited almost exactly two months from mid April to mid June. I seriously doubt that the D850 shortage is as bad.

 

Just be a bit patient.

 

P.S. Specific to B&H, they are in the middle of a number of Jewish holiday closings, from late September to mid October. Needless to day, they will not ship in the days when they are closed:

Store Info | B&H Photo Video

Edited by ShunCheung
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Thanks, ShunCheung -- I've waited for what feels like years -- my patience is waning (just kidding!) :-) :-) My D810 needs a friend - lol! 2 months!? :-( I'm going on a Nikon workshop in a few weeks and was so hoping to have it by then but I guess I will just have to be patient. :-) I don't remember waiting for the "then, much sought after" D3s when I pre-ordered it back in 2009 - I suspect it is all part of the marketing hype: tell people it is finally ready, but it really isn't -- but at least the wait is over in our heads. :-) It worked for me. :-) Yes, I wondered if the holidays may have been the reason -- which is why I thought I would post this to see if it is just B&H that is not shipping them because they are closed.
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It seems that Nikon have five-year intervals between FX cameras that really create a stir. The D3 was Nikon's first full frame, and offered both new AF and a major improvement in high ISO image quality. The D800 was the first high resolution Nikon which did not come with a big compromise at high ISO and was priced competitively. The D850 combines high fps rate, high resolution and the new AF. D3 - 2007, D800 - 2012, D850 - 2017. Edited by ilkka_nissila
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To me, Nikon's break-through DSLRs are the D3/D300, D800/D800E and the D5/D500. The D850 reuses the AF technology from the D5/D500 and improves upon the D800/D810.

 

To me, the D850 is more an incremental upgrade, although this is the first time the Multi-CAM 20000 AF module is available on an FX body that costs less than $6500. However, I think Nikon's marketing has done an excellent job, and it has been 3 years since the introduction of the D810, instead of 2. I had anticipated that the D850 would appear at Photokina 2016, instead of August/September 2017. The pre-announcement of the D850 on the day Nikon Corp turned 100 .... has clearly drummed up plenty of demand.

Edited by ShunCheung
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To me, Nikon's break-through DSLRs are the D3/D300, D800/D800E and the D5/D500. The D850 reuses the AF technology from the D5/D500 and improves upon the D800/D810....To me, the D850 is more an incremental upgrade,

 

Totally agree! Now - tell everyone else that so that they will stop clamoring for it so I'll get mine! :-) :-)

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BH has it listed as "Pre-order" only. Amazon lists delivery as 6-8 weeks. So unless Nikon is deliberately holding back supply to stimulate orders, I suspect they are actually sold out.

 

Perhaps the Nikon Workshop will have a few lenders bodies available. Of course if you really want to use something different, bring a film body and a few rolls of Black and White film (as well as your digital).

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While the new AF technology was introduced in the D5 and D500, I think the D850 is what many people have been waiting for (to make the most of high resolution, excellent AF is very useful). I think the D500 and D5 are excellent but after the long period of Nikon trying to get people used to FX being the high end, the D500 came a little out of left field, and people weren't prepared for it. The D5 is too expensive to be the volume seller. Nikon in their recent financial statement note stagnant demand for D5 and D500 in Q1 (the D7500 is reported to be selling well in the US market, however they say that the product mix change reduced profits; this is because the D5 and D500 were new products in 2016, and the less expensive D7500 in 2017). Some people say that the high end is not important for the financial outcome but this note would seem to suggest that the high end models are very important for profitability.

 

I think in 2016 a lot of people were actually hoping for the D810's successor to come out and now we are seeing that pent up demand reflected in long waiting times. While no doubt action images also benefit from the advanced AF (I enjoy shooting action with wide apertures and getting almost every shot in focus), I think the most benefit is when it is combined with a high resolution sensor. Whether those high resolution images are actually needed or not is a different question, but many people seem to want them anyway. I personally like 20-24MP because it speeds up my workflow. However, I think most enthusiasts think differently and they expect gradual improvement of image quality including detail - hence the expectation is on the high res FX.

 

I think Nikon was prepared for continuing slowing down of the camera market but now they seem to be revising their estimates to be a bit more positive. If I read the statement for Q1 correctly, In April-June 2017, Nikon sold 720,000 DSLR cameras (710,000 in the same period of 2016). Lenses April-June 2017 1,080,000 (1,030,000 in the same period of 2016). Compact camera sales 770,000 units (2016: 840,000). These are the realized three-month sales. They're predicting the financial year to end with 27% profits in the imaging business.

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Totally agree! Now - tell everyone else that so that they will stop clamoring for it so I'll get mine! :) :)

d_ponce, after getting two new Nikon DSLRs last year, I haven't ordered the D850 yet. Thanks to pioneers like you to pay top $ for the D850 and test things out for the rest of us. :)

 

I am planning to buy one when the price drops to $3000 with a free MB-D18 grip. I would imagine such deals will be available by the holiday season, 2018.

 

I recall that last year, the D500 was pretty hard to find early on. I checked with my local store and got nowhere, and they have since gone out of business. Eventually I found out that Best Buy had them in stock and got one of the last ones they had at that time. Last year I had a trip to Africa lined up so that I was eager to get new cameras. There is no such urgency now.

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d_ponce, after getting two new Nikon DSLRs last year, I haven't ordered the D850 yet. Thanks to pioneers like you to pay top $ for the D850 and test things out for the rest of us. :)

 

I am planning to buy one when the price drops to $3000 with a free MB-D18 grip. I would imagine such deals will be available by the holiday season, 2018.

 

I recall that last year, the D500 was pretty hard to find early on. I checked with my local store and got nowhere, and they have since gone out of business. Eventually I found out that Best Buy had them in stock and got one of the last ones they had at that time. Last year I had a trip to Africa lined up so that I was eager to get new cameras. There is no such urgency now.

 

And that Africa trip had to be phenomenal! wow. I spend too much on camera gear to afford trips to Africa. LOL! I'm only an early-adopter when it comes to my camera equipment -- otherwise, waiting for the best deal is my strategy as well. Money 'means nothing' - lol - when it comes to photography -- everything else, I'm a penny pincher. :) The only reason I have been chomping at the bit for the successor is because the D810 is such an incredible camera for my needs, I'd buy a second if that wasn't so silly. I agree, I think a lot of folks skip a few generations for various reasons and at this price point people are ready to take the plunge -- but I'm not buying that they really have sold out already. I think the initial release was so small even if demand was minimal there wouldn't be any available. I can't believe they made enough for their anticipated orders and have run out. If so, there would be a lot more people on this thread stating they received theirs. I suspect this may have been a marketing strategy. Aside from the holidays, B&H has to be one of their largest suppliers in the US -- I'm guessing. If Nikon truly had the stock, they would make sure their largest distributors were well supplied, I'm thinking. The fact that even on the Nikon website they say they are not available yet that tells me the Sept 7 date was only a 'teaser release'. But, again, for those chomping at the bit, we'll take it -- it means it's getting close. :-)

 

On the other hand, they may have discovered a flaw -- so rather than have a recall early-on, as they did with the D800, they are taking the time to make them right before shipping them out -- nothing wrong with that! :-)

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, I think the D850 is what many people have been waiting for (to make the most of high resolution, excellent AF is very useful)

From this Nikon D850 Autofocus Tracking Not as Good as D5, Test Finds it appears that having the same AF module as the D5 does not equate with having the same AF performance. Not sure but believe there are similar differences between the D500 and the D5.

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A number of things could be slightly different. The power source is different, the mirror blackout percentage is different (at 10fps, D500 has mirror blackout for 61% of the time vs. 42% for the D5), use of EN-EL18(a/b) could improve this. The D850 is a high resolution camera and Nikon may have tweaked it to refine focus for a longer time rather than optimize it for speed. Since at a given fps the D850 has to process more image data, its data processing system could be a bit crowded to deal with AF as well as the D5 can (though there is a separate processor for AF, I suspect there may be need for the two processors to communicate).

 

Steve Perry's comment is worth a read:

 

D850 vs D5 AF Comparison....

 

"In addition - and this is the important part - I have WAY too many keepers of razor sharp terns in flight from my D850. So, while the D850 may (and I stress "may") not be quite as solid in the AF dept. as the D5, it's probably close enough not to care. As I mentioned before, with the action I've done up to this point (herons, gulls, and terns, and even a running wild horse), it absolutely seemed on par with the D5. I think it may only be getting that initial lock with very fast / tricky action that it may be slower than the D5. "

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I can't believe they made enough for their anticipated orders and have run out.

 

Of course they don't try to meet demand on the first day. Manufacturing is set up and then takes place at a fixed rate of cameras per day. It would be impractical to make (say) a hundred thousand cameras and store them in a warehouse for a few months (large costs, no income whatsoever) until they could be shipped all at once. They may make a few months' of production in advance to help supply for the high initial demand but they can't fully account for it since there is such a large difference in demand in the first months and later. It is typical that an in demand professional camera is first supplied to NPS members and then to the general population and it can take a few months before widespread general availability.

 

It's not a teaser release, but a camera which is in demand. One way the manufacturers adjust the demand is by starting with a higher launch price (which dampens the high initial demand a bit) and then gradually decrease the price to keep selling them after the initial rush is over. If they started at $2700 the preorders would be very high and Nikon would simply be throwing money away. They would not be able to supply for the demand and yet there are people who are willing to pay more to be among the early users.

 

In initial launch Nikon spread out the cameras to as many stores as possible because this is the only way to keep smaller stores alive (those stores are valuable because their existence allows people to go out and try gear). B&H gets a very large number of orders but Nikon don't supply them according to how many orders each store make, but one at a time per store until they have enough to send them out. Smaller stores usually are a much faster way to get a new in-demand camera than going on a waiting list on one of the larger stores.

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