Think full-frame DSLRs, and high speed and high resolution immediately come to mind.
These two factors are thoroughly considered by photographers when choosing their workhorse camera to purchase, alongside ISO and AF performance. Typically, this choice is also dependant on the photographer’s genre specialisation (e.g. wedding, landscape, sports).
For instance, commercial photographers for landscape, fashion and wedding genres would seek out cameras with high-resolution performance to deliver sharp and ultra-high image quality especially for enlarging print purposes and performing extreme crops.
On the other hand, sports photographers would require fast continuous shooting speed and strong ISO capabilities especially in the high-sensitivity range to capture high-action sports photography.
Oftentimes, these features were present in cameras at the expense of each other. A spectacularly high resolution would be paired with a lower speed simply because its core audience – the landscape, fashion and wedding photographers – would not require high speeds to capture stunning shots, but would prefer a higher resolution; and vice-versa for a lower resolution and higher speed combination.
With this as a backdrop, the D850’s entry into the market is one that has been lauded as a ‘photographer’s dream’ because of its unmatched balance of high resolution and high speed, and a remarkable dynamic range alongside other features.
But, how has Nikon’s continuous innovation over the years with significant improvements made to its professional FX system line-up led to the creation of the D850 – and how has it managed to balance its heritage with the need to ensure its technology is at the forefront of change as seen through the evolution of key models in recent years?