heimbrandt

Shun, I am sorry that you have dropped more camera gear. I hope your repair will not be that expensive and that you have had your share of dropped equipment for years to come. Even though there are several reports of this problem, I would not call it a common problem. Consider how many lenses Nikon has shipped with this foot design since 2003. According to Photosynthesis.co.nz over 800 000 of Nikon 70-200/2.8 (versions 1-3) have been made, of which 67 612 are E FLs with the exact foot in question and 5 834 of the 500/5.6PF lenses (per July 31, 2019). Perhaps I am overly cautious, but I regularly check that everything is tight before (and sometimes even during) use. Knock on wood, that is a practice that has served me well. I had the 70-200/2.8 VRII for quite some time and since this January, I have the E FL. I am yet to experience that a lens foot has even started to work its way loose. My only beef with the Nikon feet is that they lack the Arca Swiss mount (and that the 600G came with an unnecessarily tall foot, as did the 400 and 500 G VR). While I do agree that the tripod collar on the VRII required slightly more torque to lock down than that on the E FL, both where/are easy to secure. I would say so, but I noted that there is a thread on Fredmiranda about a user that had that plate (where the foot attaches to the tripod collar) come off - apparently all four screws had worked their way loose... Stay safe!

Actually, for some reason you do (feel the need to) compare the two more often than most other members here bother to do. In the real world, most "affordable" kei cars are still made in Japan. On topic - great news and it really looks like an interesting 85 mm lens! I completely agree with Illka that prices must come down in order for the masses to make the transition from phones to mirrorless ILCs.

Castelpietra in Vipiteno in the Italian Alps: Nikon D850, AF-S 70-200/2.8E FL

True, and since you already have a very good camera for landscape, Option 2 is a good alternative. How long are you prepared to wait? An advantage with going with Option 3 now is that all photos you take will benefit from an increased image quality, not only some of them. That is why Option 3 is a good alternative. Mirrorless is the future, but mirrorless cameras are not really there yet for birds in flight. DSLRs still have the upper hand for erratic and fast moving subjects. I suggest you rent a D850 and a D500 over the weekend and form your own opinions as to what Options 2 and 3 would really mean for your photos.

Michael, a year ago my options looked the same as yours do (I had the D800E, which is equal to the D810 you have in terms of image quality). After much though and testing, I went with option 3. Here is why that was the right choice for me and my needs/wants. I used the Nikon 16-35 f4 VR, Nikon 24-120 f4 VR, Nikon 70-200 f2.8VRII and the Nikon 300 f2.8VR (the latter with TC-14EIII and TC-20EIII for birds). Reach is a concern for birds and it was my interest in bird photography that got me thinking about an upgrade in the first place. For horses, studio work and general photography I was more than happy with my D800E. Even 5 fps in DX crop mode was ok for birds, but I felt the af could perform better for birds (@600mm f 5.6) and that I wanted more pixels in DX crop mode. A question, which Nikon 80-400mm do you have? If you have the older version (non-G), consider upgrading that as well. The G-version is noticeably sharper, has faster AF and better VR than the older D-version. Regardless, have you tried AF fine tune at 400 mm? I noted that you have the 500 PF on order, which will sort your long end. In order to help me make my mind up I rented a D500 for a weekend and used it at an airshow. I had previously borrowed a D850 from a friend (who upgraded from the D810 to the D850 - a decision he never regretted.) The D850 proved to be a significant upgrade from my D800E in terms of image quality, af, speed and general handling. The difference in DX crop mode was much greater than I expected it to be. The D800E/D810 are good in DX crop mode but the D500/D850 are significantly better in DX mode. I believe this is also why Option 2 makes much sense and why others have went down that path. The D500 is truly a great camera for birding and I completely understand why birders love it, For me, I noted that I wanted more versatility which made me decide against it. A D850 with a grip would be equal to a D500 for birds and "add the FX advantage" for everything else. Moreover, I wanted to see what Nikon's mirrorless offerings would bring to the table. I was at Nikon's Z-series launch event and quickly experienced that the Z7 was behind the D850 for bird photography (both the EVF, AF speed and its FPS lagged behind). Add to that the lack of a grip (I want a grip for better balance with the 300 f2.8VR.) and I realized that I should either get a D850 and be done with it or add a D500 and later upgrade the D800E to a D850 - and probably sell the D500 at that point. The D850 would stay for years to come, thus I got the D850, grip and D4/5 batteries (and that stupid expensive MH-26 charger - which I fortunately found used). I have not looked back since. It should be noted that I only remove the battery grip for travel photography - like I did with my D800E before. I have since replaced the 70-200 f2.8VRII with Nikons current 70-200 f2.8E FL. It was another costly upgrade that I am yet to regret. Being a birder, I also tested the 500 PF, but noted flare that might be problematic. (It is otherwise an excellent lens that really takes the TC-14EIII well, should one want more reach.) Since reach is key for birds and 500mm would mean even more use of a TC (which slows the AF down and the 2x reduces IQ noticeably), more cropping, I got a used Nikon 600 f4G VR this spring (which I gladly use with the TC-14EIII). A 500mm f4G VR or the 500 PF would also be excellent choices but I can use the workout of handling the 600 f4. I suppose the misty highlands would render any potential PF flare problems moot, so I am sure you will be very happy with it once it arrives. I hope this helps.

The D850, AF-S 16-35/4 VR, AF-S 70-200/2.8E FL and the TC-14EIII is my "minimalist kit" when traveling. Still on the road thru Europe and would I have left anything at home, it would have been the TC, which I only used in the Alps for a few shots. Since we are driving, I would not have had it any other way. The 24-120/4 VR was an alternative but I know i most often find it too long in the older European cities, thus stil having to carry a second lens. That is why I prefer the wide-angle and tele-zooms only. The 16-35 is very good at 35 and with the D850, I can crop if I want anything that is between 35 and 70mm. I have a Domke F-3X bag with me but has only used it a few times. Most of the times I have had the camera over the shoulder and the other lens in an old LowePro lens case in my belt.

While driving thru Austria the day before yesterday, I drove past this view just west of Innsbruck. Nikon D850, AF-S 70-200/2.8E FL VR

I met this shy black-throated loon on midsummer's day. Unfortunately, this was as close as he swam before he returned to his family. Nikon D850, AF-S600/4 VR, TC-14-EIII

What you have observed may well be normal and nothing that Nikon would consider a defect or malfunction. The viewfinder has a transparent layer which indicates the coverage of the af points that are housed in the bottom of the mirrorbox. They do not match 100 % in placement or size. Just about all (D)SLR cameras with AF are built this way. Service is only considered necessary when the offset/mismatch is notable, most likely due to impact damage. Your lightmeter uses an even finer grid, but uses the selected af sensor to determine which spot is ”most” interesting. Thus, spotmetering is only as accurate as your af (in this regard). If you want to know the actual offset, use AF-C and single point. Pan/tilt slowly and once the camera is able to focus, you are just at edge of the usable area of the selected af sensor. I would not say that you need a bigger target for this. I have dabbled with AF Fine Tune with bookcovers and that has been just as accurate.

I went birding this weekend past. Here is one of the birds I photographed, a northern long-eared owlet: Nikon D850, AF-S 600/4 VR

Compared to the 2D EVFs, how is the 2D in optical viewfinders less realistic? On an EVF related note, not every photographer has perfect colour vision. More men than women suffer from (more or less) impaired colour vision. Many are even not aware of it. If the photographer belongs in that category, then the colours EFVs reproduce matters little.

Ed, some is the key word here. Most wildlife photographers would agree with Shun. Moreover, Sony are still at a disadvantage when it comes to supertelephoto lenses compared to Canon and Nikon. I found the Z7’s evf to lag too much for my taste. Knowing it was Nikon’s first generation of FX evf, I compared it to what I would expect to be the ”best”; the Sony A9. It was perhaps slightly better, but still not good enough for me to prefer it to an optical viewfinder for bird photography. Low light event photographers would probably prefer evfs. Horses for courses.

I have not used Ortery Capture, but I do know that Lightroom would not be my choice for shooting tethered. From Capture One, you can control the camera fully from the computer; including starting live view from the computer, selecting focus points from the computer and setting the exposure. They have a trial version that you may want to check out.

Here is a wood sandpiper I met not long ago: Nikon D850, AF-S600/4G VR, TC-14EIII

Am I the only one that see the fun in the fact that the Z-series FW was announced months in advance, whereas this just pops up out of the blue? Granted, I would also prefer getting face detect af and RAW video, but still...

To me, barbecue season stretches from January 1st to December 31st, but the oystercatchers return with spring. This one is from Åland, an independent part of Finland: Nikon D850, AF-S 600/4 VR yardkat: I am sorry for your loss.

I use Godox 2.4GHz system, X1T and X1R for Nikon and it has never failed me. The XPro transmitter has a better interface, but both work equally well.

The red-throated loon can look a bit loony just before take off: Nikon D850, AF-S 600/4 VR, TC-14-EIII