Those who have followed this blog know that for almost three years now, I’ve relied on a combination of a DSLR (first a D7000 and then a D750) and a Nikon 1 with the FT-1 adapter to photograph wildlife. In Africa, this combination has yielded some incredible shots, including the leopard cub I used both as a holiday card image and as a screen saver. The DSLR was always my “ready camera”, the thing I grabbed for a quick shot before I tried the same picture with the Nikon 1. This was because autofocus on the Nikon 1/FT-1 combination was more problematic.
When the D750 came along (which I used with the Nikon AF-S 80-400 lens), I found that in many cases, perhaps as many as a third of all shots, I was getting a better image with the D750 than with the Nikon 1 even though the latter, with my Sigma 50-500 lens, was an effective 1350mm. I spent a lot of time reviewing images in Lightroom, and I concluded that the problem was focus accuracy in nearly all cases. The Nikon 1 has only a single focus point when the FT-1 is used, continuous focus is a bit problematic, and the focus point is large enough that it often covers more than the subject—particularly for bird photography.
Then there’s ISO. The Nikon 1 has a 1-inch sensor and limited ISO and noise resistance, and this also contaminated some shots. If you shoot above ISO 1000, there can be noise issues, and the auto-ISO function only goes to ISO 3200. With the D750 I’ve gotten good images at ISO 10k, and the camera will go up to ISO 51,600.
All of this made the Nikon 1 a poor choice for birds in places like the Costa Rican rain forest, and that’s ultimately what got me wondering whether I could do better with a new crop-frame (APS) sensor Nikon. It would have a multiplier of 1.5, not as good as the Nikon 1 but better than the full-frame D750, so pairing with the 50-500 gave me a 75-750mm zoom. That’s almost twice the effective zoom as the 80-400 gave me on the D750.
When Nikon announced the D500 it seemed almost perfect. Its resolution is 21MP, not quite as good as the 24MP of the D750 but over twice the resolution of the Nikon 1. It also promised to have the best autofocus of any enthusiast-grade Nikon, nearly as good noise performance as the D750, and ISO much higher (in theory, over ISO one million!). So I ordered one, and it came on Monday of this week. I’ve had only a limited chance to test it out, but what I’ve seen so far seems to validate my assumptions.
The autofocus on the D500 is amazing, and when compared with that of the Nikon 1/FT-1 combination it’s nothing short of phenomenal. Lock is quick and positive and focus tracking works exceptionally well, where 3D tracking is not available with the Nikon 1 combo. The image quality, based on back-yard bird photo comparisons, is better than the D750 at the same relative bird-image size, and also better than the Nikon 1 combo. Shots at ISO levels where I’d have had intolerable noise on the Nikon 1 are clean on the D500.
The downside of the D500 is weight. The camera is a bit bigger and heavier than the D750, though not as big as the D2X I used for years. Unless you’re used to holding a big camera, the combo is going to require a monopod or tripod. I use a monopod routinely for my long-reach camera on Africa trips, but I’d prefer to hand-hold on trails for obvious reasons.
I need to do more testing, and in particular I need to get some experience on hike-and-shoot birding trips, one of which I intend to take later in the spring. However, for now, I think it’s clear that the improvements in DSLR technology have finally offset the Nikon 1’s crop-factor benefit.
Some qualifiers here, though. First, I’ve been using a V1 model of the Nikon 1, the first to be released and the one with the lowest resolution and lowest ISO. Later models have better stats in both areas. However, DXO Optics tests don’t give them any edge in resolution. Second, and most important, I’m using the FT-1 adapter to mount long standard Nikon lenses rather than using native Nikon 1 lenses, which defeat most of the advanced autofocus features of the camera (phase detection focus, motion tracking, full continuous focus). Third, I’m looking for a strategy that works in all conditions, not just in good light in a vehicle in Africa with a monopod.
I still believe that for somebody looking for a light, compact, wildlife camera, the Nikon 1 with the native 70-300 lens would be very hard to beat. It has a reach of 810mm equivalent, which is more than my D500 with the 50-500 can match (750mm). If you don’t want to lug a lot of gear on your vacation and want good wildlife reach and RAW shooting potential, the Nikon 1 with the 70-300 paired with something (like another Nikon 1) with a wider-angle lens would be perfect.
I stress the RAW here because I also had a chance to look at pictures taken with the Nikon CoolPix P900, taken by a friend in Costa Rica. This camera has an equivalent of a 2000mm zoom, but it doesn’t shoot RAW and doesn’t offer the noise performance of either the Nikon 1 or the D500. However, it’s incredibly handy, and for those who don’t post-process it can produce arresting images of birds and wildlife under most conditions.