Ron, this is fantastic. Beautiful area and photos. I have seen many people using their phones to film with and the new ones like yours are pretty awesome. I love the PF500 and it impresses me what you and James get the the D500.❤
Great video Ron as I love my D500 & I always like video's about the results of this camera ...I am only a hobbyist but just love taking pics of whatever interests me in any location.... thanks for sharing... cheers from Australia 🦘🦘😊
Greetings Robert, Thanks for the comment. I love the D500. Recently been doing some testing with older vintage lenses and plan on doing a video with those lenses. Australia, Wow I am global. Cheers to you too my friend.
Hope you enjoy that setup. It will produce good results for you. I still my D500 and my 500PF lens. Use it almost daily. Cheers and thanks for the comment. Ron
With long telelenses it is just great. Like the 200-500mm, the 300mm f4, 70-200mm f2.8 etc.. You can do landscape but most wide angle apsc zooms are not that good. Lots of problems with edge sharpness and autofocus reliability. Only lens that works is the 14-24mm f2.8.
If you're on a budget, the Z fc focuses great for wildlife compared to the D5xxx or D3xxx. I'm hoping Nikon releases an Pro Level APS-C Mirrorless in the future.
@@bassangler73 Photography is my hobby so the 500mm f5.6 PF is good enough for now. In your video you mentioned you want to wait for ISO goes down a little bit. How high ISO do you use for BIF? I have found out that the ss of 1/3200th or 1/4000th and the ISO is under 1000 are the optimum settings. Thank you.
@@georgetran1766 Well my situation is that I suck at BIF. So I concentrate on perched birds (On a Stick). I shoot alot in low light, early morning or early evening time. So my ISO will creep into the 3600-4000 range if I let it. The D500 is not the greatest Low Light performer as far as images. Topaz Denoise does a really good job of cleaning them up. Now if the 500PF was an f/4. That would be great.
Works perfect for me although i am getting jealous as i shoot more video... i watched someone get some flawless footage of owls in flight by just keeping them in frame and the z9 did the rest. Its such a game changer
Hey Ron, enjoying your channel, I own a d500 and 200-500 5.6 and have been thinking of getting a z8, keeping my d500 as a backup, both for wildlife.Are you satisfied with your Z8 purchase, especially w the recent 2.0 update? Cheers, Alan from Nova Scotia Can.
@rdphoto2 Awesome Ron, will you be doing a video on settings on your Z8 for mammals, birds and bif? Hope you are enjoying the 2.0 update, sounds like it will be better for birds af especially. Looking forward to spring after a long cold winter here in Northeast,and all the migratory birds making a visit here. Keep up with your great videos,Happy shooting Ron! Alan
Hi Ron, what a great place! Couldn’t help but notice all those ‘Towers’ in the area, but then I remembered You said You were in Tenn. (TVA) They did some nice improvements. I think we might be distant cousins; I love Deer and I live out in the Country, and Deer come through my Front and back yards quite often. I love when the little fawns show up with ‘Momma.’ 😊 Lol @06:15. “ I’m not up on my ducks.” 😆 Our Craft takes a lot of time and patience, no doubt. Hope Your Channel grows Ron, and I have joined in by SUBscribing, if You’ll have me. 😆 Stay Safe
New subscribe! Hello Brother from a different mother (and father)! I am writing this comment halfway through your video, so I haven't seen any part where you question if a D500 is still a good choice in 2024. I would say that if you are getting good photos out of it, then keep hold of it for now. I have had a D500 and sold it (which I kinda regret a bit). But you asking the question about the D500, to me says you are wavering on the fence about the possibility of going Nikon Z, am I right? I had a Nikon Z62, and it was a marvellous camera, only problem was that it wasn't very good for photographing birds. I got some decent photos out of it, don't get me wrong, but they were more by accident than the normal course of events. I made the leap that you are probably considering, when I came into a little unexpected money. I bought a Z9 and a 400 4.5. This was before the firmware update that brought us Bird eye autofocus (BEAF)! Before BEAF to was like chalk and cheese. I was getting shots that I never got with the Z62. Shots I couldn't hope to get, like, don't lift the camera to your eye, you won't get it! And then came BEAF and I haven't looked back. I have stopped chimping a while ago and that the only real problem, I can get carried away following the action in the Electronic View Finder and not look at the light meter and might screw up the exposure, but that's the only problem. A bigger problem is hard disk space. I shoot the Z9 at 20 FPS and I still get too many exposures. If I have had a heavy trigger-finger day I will try to stop somewhere and mark the good exposures in camera as keepers (don't delete) then select delete all. Scary when you first do it, but it really helps. I have tens of thousands of exposures I will never look at again, I really should do a cull.... So my advice? If you have the money, go for it, the Z9 is the camera to go for, not sure if the Z8 has BEAF or not? With the Z9 you get dual CF Express Cards, which is all you'll ever need. The battery on the Z9 is enormous too. You'll be able to keep you long F glass and get a FTZ adaptor. The 400mm f/4.5 is a beast of a lens. If you want ro check out some of my work, you can head ver to Instagram (instagram.com/tonyhedges2) I hope this has been helpful. Good luck with your photography.
Greetings, Thanks for the Comment. I actually jumped ship once to Sony. I am back with my D500 and 500PF Lens. I will not let that mistake happen again. I did just today take delivery of a Z8 to go along with my 180-600 Lens. I plan on using as my Zoom Option for Wildlife since my D500 / 500PF will be Prime Fixed. I am actually getting into more videos so will enjoy having the Zoom Option. The Z8 is smaller and alot went into the consideration to get it. Including reading many reviews and watching endless YT Videos on the differences of the Z8 and Z9. I think the Z8 will benefit later this spring from the same firmware BEAF that the Z9 got. At least I hope so. Now I am waiting to see what Nikon does with the Fictional Z6iii. I have savings just for that if the body is right. Cheers and thanks for stopping by. And subscribing. Ron
@@Ron.Durant I think there is enough of a difference between the Z8 and Z9 for them to allow Z8 to have BEAF. I prefer the 2 CF Express Card slots (though to be honest only once I overflowed onto the 2nd card, as my cards are 256 GB!). It's more the built in grip, I like to shoot other things, not only birds, so I like being able to shoot vertically. That big battery is pretty good. I am interested in the Z6III too, some are claiming it's a cut down Z8! Stacked sensor but only 24MP, sounds good as a B camera...
With only rumours floating around of probable Z90 or Z80 being launched and no confirmation as yet the D500 is "The King" in crop sensor category in Nikon line up....🤞🤞 Keeping fingers crossed for the rumours to become reality soon.
The Nikon ZF was built to chip away at the Fujifilm camera users period. Nikon has lost a pretty big chunk of their market and making a retro style camera is their marketing plan to get some of that business back. Canon is also working on one taking a direct target to Fujifilm users, it’s that simple. I was loyal to Canon for about fifteen years but do to becoming disabilities and having severe health issues I couldn’t handle a 37 pound backpack and all that gear any longer. I switched to Fujifilm and my backpack is 18 pounds now with the same coverage I had with Canon. But there is a whole lot more to it than the weight. I like the Fujifilm Film simulations and I have up to 14 of them loaded in my camera. If I want to shoot Ilford HP5 I just load the simulation in my Fujifilm camera and I am good to go. I also shoot HP5 in my Nikon film camera and believe me you cannot tell the difference. The film simulation are very accurate. I can load Kodak Ektar or Portra 400 the same way. I also like shooting old vintage glass on my Fujifilm camera. I can use the same AIS kind on my Fujifilm camera as I do on my Nikon Film camera. I am considering buying a Nikon ZF because I have a lot of vintage Nikon glass. However it will not replace my Fujifilm camera. I shoot a Canon film camera, two Rollieflex TLR’s, also. My main workhorse is a my Fujifilm camera. When you get into the Fujifilm system it is very hard to leave it. I am hooked. At this point I am 67 and most of my work is freelance. I was paralyzed from my ribs down and after three years of physical therapy I can now walk but my legs are very weak and only good for about two hours each day. So I choose my paid work sparingly. Most of what I do is for my pleasure. Cheers!
Greetings Russell. I too considered the Zf for a future purchase. I need one more body to fill out my arsensal before I retired the end of this year. I am looking for a smaller rig that I can do some street type or walk around photography and the newer Fuji Cameras are some that I have investigate. But, I would really like to stay with Nikon since i have a fair amount of F-Mount Glass. So I am waiting to see if Nikon does release a Z6iii or possibly a Z50ii. We will see. Thanks for stopping by and leaving the nice comment. Ron
That has been my wish ever since the Z8 came out...we definitely need one, I would like to be able to take advantage of some of the new glass...Other than that though I'm still very happy with the D500 for bif..
In 2024, I think, SONY A9iii is the best camera for wildlife photography. It shot 120 picture in one second. Well, if you have budget constraint D500 is good enough.
I use a D500 and the 200-500mm.
That is a great lens also.
@@Ron.Durant what you think about sigma 150-600mm contemporary?
I think the best equipment is the person holding the camera. You make it all look so easy!
Thanks Tim.
Ron, this is fantastic. Beautiful area and photos. I have seen many people using their phones to film with and the new ones like yours are pretty awesome. I love the PF500 and it impresses me what you and James get the the D500.❤
Thank you. Appreciate the kind remarks. Some times I use my iPhone 13 Pro and sometimes the DJI Pocket 3. The mood has to strike.
@@Ron.Durant 💖
You got the best combo for birding made!! Nice shots!
I think I do too. But will see this week coming. I have another surprise.
Nice, I am anxious to find out@@Ron.Durant
Great video Ron as I love my D500 & I always like video's about the results of this camera ...I am only a hobbyist but just love taking pics of whatever interests me in any location.... thanks for sharing... cheers from Australia 🦘🦘😊
Greetings Robert, Thanks for the comment. I love the D500. Recently been doing some testing with older vintage lenses and plan on doing a video with those lenses. Australia, Wow I am global. Cheers to you too my friend.
Thank Ron for sharing with us. 😊
You bet!
I’m still using mine and can’t imagine replacing it yet. I’m using the 200-500 Nikon with great results, but would love to have the 500 pf
I have not tried the 500pf on mine yet. I love the D200 and the image it produces.
The last time I used the 200-500 was the day I bought the 500PF…the 500 is much lighter, and the image quality is markedly better.
I'm still using my D500 with a 500mm f4.
It's a great body.
Awesome combo! I still use a D500 as well...I haven't found any other camera I like as well for bif..
Got my D500 for 350 USD used, today
Got to pair it with my 200-500
Hope you enjoy that setup. It will produce good results for you. I still my D500 and my 500PF lens. Use it almost daily. Cheers and thanks for the comment. Ron
That's a steal, I never see them below 500
With long telelenses it is just great. Like the 200-500mm, the 300mm f4, 70-200mm f2.8 etc.. You can do landscape but most wide angle apsc zooms are not that good. Lots of problems with edge sharpness and autofocus reliability. Only lens that works is the 14-24mm f2.8.
I agree. APSc wide angle are not that great
If you're on a budget, the Z fc focuses great for wildlife compared to the D5xxx or D3xxx. I'm hoping Nikon releases an Pro Level APS-C Mirrorless in the future.
Thanks for that info.
The Nikon 500mm f5.6 PF is one of the best telephoto lenses.
I agree with you.
@@Ron.Durant It pairs with my Z9 (before Z8 rolled out) and FTZII perfectly so I don't need to buy new Z 600mm f6.3 S. ❤
I agree, you would have to go to a 600f4 to top it in my opinion. Definitely one of Nikons gems just like the D500 and D850..All 3 were underpriced.
@@bassangler73 Photography is my hobby so the 500mm f5.6 PF is good enough for now. In your video you mentioned you want to wait for ISO goes down a little bit. How high ISO do you use for BIF? I have found out that the ss of 1/3200th or 1/4000th and the ISO is under 1000 are the optimum settings. Thank you.
@@georgetran1766 Well my situation is that I suck at BIF. So I concentrate on perched birds (On a Stick). I shoot alot in low light, early morning or early evening time. So my ISO will creep into the 3600-4000 range if I let it. The D500 is not the greatest Low Light performer as far as images. Topaz Denoise does a really good job of cleaning them up. Now if the 500PF was an f/4. That would be great.
Works perfect for me although i am getting jealous as i shoot more video... i watched someone get some flawless footage of owls in flight by just keeping them in frame and the z9 did the rest. Its such a game changer
I just ordered a fluid head to out on my tripod for smoother video. I’m like you, finding myself doing more video
Hey Ron, enjoying your channel, I own a d500 and 200-500 5.6 and have been thinking of getting a z8, keeping my d500 as a backup, both for wildlife.Are you satisfied with your Z8 purchase, especially w the recent 2.0 update? Cheers, Alan from Nova Scotia Can.
Hey Alan, yes very satisfied. It takes a little time to dial it in for the Focus and Shooting Banks but worth the effort to learn about the camera.
@rdphoto2 Awesome Ron, will you be doing a video on settings on your Z8 for mammals, birds and bif? Hope you are enjoying the 2.0 update, sounds like it will be better for birds af especially. Looking forward to spring after a long cold winter here in Northeast,and all the migratory birds making a visit here. Keep up with your great videos,Happy shooting Ron! Alan
Hi Ron, what a great place! Couldn’t help but notice all those ‘Towers’ in the area, but then I remembered You said You were in Tenn. (TVA) They did some nice improvements.
I think we might be distant cousins; I love Deer and I live out in the Country, and Deer come through my Front and back yards quite often. I love when the little fawns show up with ‘Momma.’ 😊
Lol @06:15. “ I’m not up on my ducks.” 😆
Our Craft takes a lot of time and patience, no doubt. Hope Your Channel grows Ron, and I have joined in by SUBscribing, if You’ll have me. 😆 Stay Safe
Thank you George for your kind remarks here and on my other videos. Glad to have you Join the Channel and Welcome. Where are from?
@@Ron.Durant Hi Ron! Thanks for replies. I sent You an E-Mail earlier. 👍
I would say yes, wish I had one.🎉😂😅😮
New subscribe! Hello Brother from a different mother (and father)! I am writing this comment halfway through your video, so I haven't seen any part where you question if a D500 is still a good choice in 2024. I would say that if you are getting good photos out of it, then keep hold of it for now. I have had a D500 and sold it (which I kinda regret a bit). But you asking the question about the D500, to me says you are wavering on the fence about the possibility of going Nikon Z, am I right?
I had a Nikon Z62, and it was a marvellous camera, only problem was that it wasn't very good for photographing birds. I got some decent photos out of it, don't get me wrong, but they were more by accident than the normal course of events. I made the leap that you are probably considering, when I came into a little unexpected money. I bought a Z9 and a 400 4.5. This was before the firmware update that brought us Bird eye autofocus (BEAF)! Before BEAF to was like chalk and cheese. I was getting shots that I never got with the Z62. Shots I couldn't hope to get, like, don't lift the camera to your eye, you won't get it!
And then came BEAF and I haven't looked back. I have stopped chimping a while ago and that the only real problem, I can get carried away following the action in the Electronic View Finder and not look at the light meter and might screw up the exposure, but that's the only problem. A bigger problem is hard disk space. I shoot the Z9 at 20 FPS and I still get too many exposures. If I have had a heavy trigger-finger day I will try to stop somewhere and mark the good exposures in camera as keepers (don't delete) then select delete all. Scary when you first do it, but it really helps. I have tens of thousands of exposures I will never look at again, I really should do a cull....
So my advice? If you have the money, go for it, the Z9 is the camera to go for, not sure if the Z8 has BEAF or not? With the Z9 you get dual CF Express Cards, which is all you'll ever need. The battery on the Z9 is enormous too. You'll be able to keep you long F glass and get a FTZ adaptor. The 400mm f/4.5 is a beast of a lens. If you want ro check out some of my work, you can head ver to Instagram (instagram.com/tonyhedges2)
I hope this has been helpful. Good luck with your photography.
Greetings, Thanks for the Comment. I actually jumped ship once to Sony. I am back with my D500 and 500PF Lens. I will not let that mistake happen again. I did just today take delivery of a Z8 to go along with my 180-600 Lens. I plan on using as my Zoom Option for Wildlife since my D500 / 500PF will be Prime Fixed. I am actually getting into more videos so will enjoy having the Zoom Option. The Z8 is smaller and alot went into the consideration to get it. Including reading many reviews and watching endless YT Videos on the differences of the Z8 and Z9. I think the Z8 will benefit later this spring from the same firmware BEAF that the Z9 got. At least I hope so. Now I am waiting to see what Nikon does with the Fictional Z6iii. I have savings just for that if the body is right. Cheers and thanks for stopping by. And subscribing. Ron
@@Ron.Durant I think there is enough of a difference between the Z8 and Z9 for them to allow Z8 to have BEAF.
I prefer the 2 CF Express Card slots (though to be honest only once I overflowed onto the 2nd card, as my cards are 256 GB!). It's more the built in grip, I like to shoot other things, not only birds, so I like being able to shoot vertically. That big battery is pretty good.
I am interested in the Z6III too, some are claiming it's a cut down Z8! Stacked sensor but only 24MP, sounds good as a B camera...
Why should it not be, it should be good until it no longer works.
Agree
Yeah but in terms of value for money so a cheap mirrorless camera like a Canon R50 has better AF.
With only rumours floating around of probable Z90 or Z80 being launched and no confirmation as yet the D500 is "The King" in crop sensor category in Nikon line up....🤞🤞 Keeping fingers crossed for the rumours to become reality soon.
D500 is great.. but the image quality of the newer Z cameras is just hands-down better than D500..
Agreed. I have the D500 and the Nikon Z8. Depends on the mood that strikes me when I shoot with today.
The Nikon ZF was built to chip away at the Fujifilm camera users period.
Nikon has lost a pretty big chunk of their market and making a retro style camera is their marketing plan to get some of that business back. Canon is also working on one taking a direct target to Fujifilm users, it’s that simple.
I was loyal to Canon for about fifteen years but do to becoming disabilities and having severe health issues I couldn’t handle a 37 pound backpack and all that gear any longer.
I switched to Fujifilm and my backpack is 18 pounds now with the same coverage I had with Canon.
But there is a whole lot more to it than the weight.
I like the Fujifilm Film simulations and I have up to 14 of them loaded in my camera.
If I want to shoot Ilford HP5 I just load the simulation in my Fujifilm camera and I am good to go. I also shoot HP5 in my Nikon film camera and believe me you cannot tell the difference. The film simulation are very accurate.
I can load Kodak Ektar or Portra 400 the same way.
I also like shooting old vintage glass on my Fujifilm camera. I can use the same AIS kind on my Fujifilm camera as I do on my Nikon Film camera.
I am considering buying a Nikon ZF because I have a lot of vintage Nikon glass.
However it will not replace my Fujifilm camera.
I shoot a Canon film camera, two Rollieflex TLR’s, also.
My main workhorse is a my Fujifilm camera.
When you get into the Fujifilm system it is very hard to leave it. I am hooked.
At this point I am 67 and most of my work is freelance.
I was paralyzed from my ribs down and after three years of physical therapy I can now walk but my legs are very weak and only good for about two hours each day.
So I choose my paid work sparingly.
Most of what I do is for my pleasure.
Cheers!
Greetings Russell. I too considered the Zf for a future purchase. I need one more body to fill out my arsensal before I retired the end of this year. I am looking for a smaller rig that I can do some street type or walk around photography and the newer Fuji Cameras are some that I have investigate. But, I would really like to stay with Nikon since i have a fair amount of F-Mount Glass. So I am waiting to see if Nikon does release a Z6iii or possibly a Z50ii. We will see. Thanks for stopping by and leaving the nice comment. Ron
If you want an APSC body for action photography. The D500 is still the only option. Maybe we’ll get a replacement someday.
I would hope Nikon releases a Z500 but I seriously doubt they will.
That has been my wish ever since the Z8 came out...we definitely need one, I would like to be able to take advantage of some of the new glass...Other than that though I'm still very happy with the D500 for bif..
In 2024, I think, SONY A9iii is the best camera for wildlife photography. It shot 120 picture in one second. Well, if you have budget constraint D500 is good enough.
I am just use to Nikon and their menu system. I have used a Sony before and did like it tho.