Nikon recently teased a full-frame D850 for its 100th anniversary, hoping it would fulfill the wish-lists of pro photographers. It has now unwrapped the DSLR and seems to have wildly succeeded with that goal. The D850 is entering medium-format territory, resolution-wise, with a 45.7 megapixel sensor, and can push those images through the camera at 7 fps, or 9 fps with the optional battery grip. And this time, Nikon didn’t leave videographers out, as it can handle 4K video at 30 fps.
The D850’s sensor is a pretty big jump in resolution over its predecessor, the 36.2-megpixel D810, and Nikon says it has an “unprecedented combination of resolution, dynamic range, ISO and processing power.” It’s the company’s first DSLR to boast a back-side illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor, and eschews an optical low-pass filter (OLPF) to preserve maximum sharpness. Nikon didn’t mention who built it, but Sony uses a pretty similar sensor on its 42-megapixel, full-frame Alpha A7R II.
Video-wise, you’re looking at 4K UltraHD (3,840 x 2,160) resolution that uses the full width of the sensor at 16:9, “to increase lensing options and provide a true field of view,” Nikon says. You can also capture 1080p video at up to 120 fps. Timelapse freaks get 8K images using the built in intervalometer, or 4K in-camera.
UltraHD video can be captured to the D850’s memory cards (XQD or SDHC II). However, higher-quality 4:2:2 8-bit uncompressed video (no 10-bit, sorry) is only available via the HDMI output to an external recorder (that’s very similar to how Sony’s A7R II and A99 II work, by the way). Videographers also get focus peaking, zebra stripes, and inputs (3.5mm, but still) for headphones and a microphone.
Source: via Engadget
