For those calling for a for a pro-level APS-C camera from Nikon, the company has answered the call and showed off the results at the CES 2016 in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Confirmed alongside the D5, the D500 features an APS-C camera sensor in a compact build.
There might not have been much surprise when Nikon unveiled the $6,500 D5 at CES 2016. The bigger surprise might have been unveiling of the much more affordable D500, which has a suggested retail price of $1,995.
The D500 is essentially the result of Nikon stuffing as much of the D5 into a compact FX-format body as it could. The same 153-point AF system found in the D5 has been built into the D500, affording for precision in subject acquisition during burst capture of up to 10 frames per second, the D5 is capable of catching new shots at up to about 12 fps.
The 20.0 MP DX-format camera "supports 4K UHD movies, meeting the demands of multimedia professionals, while the new EXPEED 5 image-processing engine enables it to deliver high-quality images and movies and realizes a wide sensitivity range from ISO 100 to 51200, expandable to Hi 5 (ISO 1640000 equivalent)," said Nikon.
Nikon also talked up the D500's agility, especially as it concerns telephoto shooting. Thanks to the camera's DX-format, its angle view is roughly at par with a lens that has an approximately 1.5x focal length.
"If you want to get closer to your subject but don't have time to change the lens, the D500's 1.3x image area may be just what you need," said [pdf] Nikon. "By providing an angle of view equivalent to that of a lens with roughly double the focal length in 33mm format (approximately 1.3x equivalent of DX format), it allows quick, dramatic changes of composition."
That agility and wide angle of view is especially useful in video because the camera can capture full-HD movies and frame them in cropped sizes.
And on the subject of video, the D500 captures 3840 x 2160 at playback speeds of 30, 25 and 24 frames per second for nearly half an hour. The camera includes a Vibration Reduction feature to keep the horizontal, vertical and rotational shake in check.
Nikon has set the D500 up for a March 2016 release. For $3,069.95, Nikon is offering D500 camera bundled with AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR lenses.
