Hands-on with the Nikon D5 and Nikon D500: Amazing new DSLRs from Nikon

Hands-on with the Nikon D5 and Nikon D500: Amazing new DSLRs from Nikon

I got to shoot with both the new and at CES, and they are each amazing in their own way. For no-holds-barred shooting performance the ’s 14fps (12fps for up to 200 frames of RAW) and borderline-insane 3,000,000 ISO capability can’t be beat. But at over $6K and 3 pounds, with “only” 21MP of resolution, it certainly won’t be for everyone. It’s certainly the camera of choice for big-budget (and big backpack) wildlife and sports photographers, along with photojournalists who can deal with the size in exchange for unheard of low-light performance.

In contrast, the more modest is a massively-improved successor to the very-popular Nikon D300/s. Anyone serious about getting the best out of Nikon’s DX format should rush to get one. You can read more of my impressions of the camera in the . While it took much longer for Nikon to deliver on a prosumer DX-format model to succeed the D300, it’s also delivered a lot more camera than anyone expected.

Unfortunately, all the models at CES were prototypes, so while I could handle and shoot with them, we were not allowed to keep any of the images. So I’ll certainly be writing more about both models when production versions are available for review.

Price and Availability

Both cameras are available for pre-order from B&H. Nikon is hoping to start shipping in February (most likely to NPS members who tie their orders to their membership), and B&H lists March as when it expects to have stock. The is $6,500 for body only (either dual-XQD or dual-CF version), while the is $2,000 for the body only.