D850 vs D5 Menu & Controls ?

[WAngell]

Instead of every camera having a different layout I wish they would be a bit more consistent. Maybe have layout revisions so that some group of models have the same layout. EG, maybe D500, D5, D850 (and D7xxx?) all use the same basic layout. Then update it for the next group of models.

[ShunCheung]

I definitely welcome moving the ISO button to right behind the shutter release. I believe Nikon has consulted a number of professional users to come up with that change, and it has been applied to the D5 and D500 first two years ago, followed by the D7500 and D850 last year.

 

Recall that the D300 and D700 had the S/C/M switch below the shutter release 10 years ago, and plenty of people accidentally touched that setting. Nikon resolved that issue by replacing it with an AF/MF switch and then you hold down a button in the center of that switch and use the command and sub-command dials to change between AF-S and AF-C, as well as single, 9, 21 ... point AF. From the D800, D4 ..., Nikon DSLRs have that new type of S/C/M control.

 

I am glad that Nikon is continuously improving their cameras, but improvements imply changes.

Edited February 13, 2018 by ShunCheung

[Andrew Garrard]

WAngell: they do? The handling of the D500 and D850 is, I believe, almost identical. The D500 was certainly very similar to the D810 when I used both, and I believe the few differences were mostly mirrored by the 850. The single digit bodies are a completely different shape with controls in different places, so they're never going to be the same. (I'd have liked the extra function button from the D5 on the others, though; the one on the accessory grip is in a weird place.)

 

Shun: bad example. The S/C/M switch was stiff and mechanical and relatively hard to turn; I never once moved it accidentally, and having the area mode accessible to the right hand (if stiffly) was useful. The new control gets pressed accidentally when I'm reviewing images, because the button is easier to put pressure on and it's at the body balance point one-handed, but I can't reach it at all when in shooting position. I much preferred the old design. At least you can waste some custom buttons on AF mode on the latest bodies, but it's made the D800/D810 worse than the D700 (in this respect) for me.