Is 2017's Nikon d850 really still the best dslr of 2024?

Nikon’s D850 is a pro-level camera that is widely considered to be at the pinnacle of DSLR technology. Though it may be showing its age now, first hitting the market in 2017, it remains a phenomenal tool that’s capable of producing world class images, and a fitting swansong to bookend the reign of the DSLR. The question is, if you’re one of those people who isn’t ready for the world of electronic viewfinders and smaller mirrorless bodies, clearly dominating the modern photography landscape, is the D850 still a viable choice for a serious photographer?

A lot has changed since the D850 first hit the scene, with the onslaught of mirrorless cameras and advanced AI technology moving the photography landscape along by leaps and bounds. That said, many people still consider DSLRs to offer some key benefits, such as larger, more tactile bodies, better battery life and optical viewfinders - as opposed to the sensor readout of an electronic viewfinder, essentially a small digital screen, found in mirrorless cameras. These are all areas the D850 still excels in. 

Before the photography world turned science fiction into science fact, photographers everywhere were turning to this exceptional DSLR to craft world-class imagery, so it has the chops… but does it still have the appeal?

NIKON D850 - THE PROS AND CONS

Pros Cons

Excellent image quality Heavy

Top notch autofocus - for a DSLR Lacks modern features

Great battery life End-of-life tech

Pinnacle of ruggedness

BUILD AND FEATURES

Tipping the scales at 1005g and boasting a rugged magnesium alloy chassis and extensive weather sealing, this camera was designed to work anywhere, anyhow. As you’d expect from a body weighing in at 1kg, there’s plenty of room for youR hands and a raft of function buttons bring most major settings to your fingertips. 

The first port of call for the D850 is the large, but extremely comfortably, moulded handgrip, which gives you an instant feeling of security and tremendous grip - a boon when you’re swinging around larger lenses! You have a brace of dials, front and back, to adjust your settings, such as shutter speed and aperture, and a perfectly placed joystick to cycle through the 153 points of phase detection autofocus with the tip of your thumb. 

The viewfinder is large and bright, and you’ll find a raft of function buttons lining the left of the sumptuous 3.2in vertically tilting touchscreen that features a still relatively high-res 2359k-dot display - perfect for reviewing your images on the go - though it doesn’t offer the same level of functionality as mirrorless cameras, where you can seamlessly switch between the electronic viewfinder and rear screen to frame your shots. 

To store the space-hungry 45.7MP RAW or JPEG files you get both an SD and XQD card slot, the latter offering a boost to read and write speeds. While SDs are plentiful and cheap, the power of hindsight allows us to compare the XQD to the ill-fated Betamax. It has now been largely superseded by the CF Express format, though is still supported by Nikon and readily available

PERFORMANCE

Despite clearly showing its age in some areas, what still shines through is the image quality. The 45MP sensor really shines and, thanks to the lack of an AA filter, the sharpness the D850 commands is still world class. The saturation and slightly warm colouring lend themselves perfectly to most photography scenarios - to my taste it's the greatest colour science on the market - and it’s still able to go toe-to-toe with today’s crop of flagship models. The ISO ranges from 64-25,600 ( expandable from 32-102,400) allowing you to capture clean images in lower light, with anything upto and around ISO 6400 showing a comparatively low noise pattern. This is great if you’re using a superzoom lens with a maximum aperture around the F5 range, or capturing weddings of events in dimly lit surroundings. 

The autofocus system offers a fast and accurate 153 points of phase detection AF, but as is the limitation of DSLR design, they’re grouped closer to the centre of the frame unlike mirrorless cameras where the focusing tends to extend to near-full frame coverage. It's fair to say that it's not as responsive or capable as the latest cameras, even lacking advanced eye-af or tracking modes, but it gets the job done with relative confidence. It also manages to rattle out an impressive-for-the-time continuous shooting speed of 7 frames per second, which can be further boosted to 9 fps with the optional MB-D18 battery grip. It’s not the most blistering burst speed for sure, but it’s still capable of capturing something like the full bird-in-flight pattern or key action shots with aplomb. 

Although it lacks the newer implementation of AI subject detection modes found in recent mirrorless cameras, the 3D-tracking system - powered by the Expeed 5 processor - still stands up as one of the greats, especially in the DSLR world. When you’ve got a moving subject in your sights and it’s gunning it down the barrel, it’s going to do a solid job of keeping focus. If your subject is a little more erratic and dotting round the frame, you may find this is where DSLR tech struggles a bit. Likewise, there's still a lot of focus & reframe needed here - anyone remember that?! However, you can effectively focus down to -3EV meaning the AF system will work in low-light conditions and it's still a reliable workhorse for most situations.  

Relying solely on the mechanical shutter design, you do hear the unmistakably reassuring slap of the mirror every time you capture a shot. However, the D850 was one of the few DSLRs to include silent shooting as an option, though in reality it’s rather sluggish. That said if you’re working in environments where volume is a trigger, such as a wedding with an uppity vicar (it happens!) and you’ve got your shot lined up it's a viable option should you require it.

For anyone wanting to capture some video as well, you can get 4K 30p out of this and the image quality is more than useable. You are limited to 4:2:0 8-bit, and the weight and lack of image stabilisation (another drawback of most DSLRs) is going to limit your useable movement ranges, but for anything locked off, like interviews or pieces to cameras, it will do the job. For slow motion you can acpture Full HD 1080p at 120fps and, if you're into this kind of thing, there's an 8K timeapse feature that will give you some epic timelapse footage.

VERDICT

The Nikon D850 was widely considered to be the best DSLR ever created upon its launch back in 2017. I personally relied on one as my daily workhorse for a long time, and I absolutely LOVED it! Little has changed. It still offers world-class image quality, a competitive continuous shooting speed and decently solid AF system that makes it the obvious choice for any mirrorless holdouts. The rugged and tactile design also makes it an appealing pick for those who demand reliability in extreme environments.  While it’s true that it does give up autofocus features and reliability, as well as capture speed, portability and video shooting options, it may be the best all-round and rugged mirrored option on the market and remains a joy to use for all purists. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for the ultimate in tactile and reassuringly chunky while wanting to reap the benefits of excellent image quality and exceptional battery life. In 2017 it was a 5-star review. In 2024 it loses a star to account for the advance in tech, but it gains a star in my heart! 

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