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A guide to "Capturing Motion" in low light situations

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Nikon D5 "Real World Review"

This is a “Real World Review” of the Nikon D5. A huge thank you to the Philadelphia Union for allowing us access to the field to capture these images. I also want to thank BorrowLenses.com for sending me the Nikon 400mm 2.8 and the 600mm F4. Order the Nikon D5 XQD Version from Amazon Right Here.

Click the links to download zip files that contain photos taken in Real World Situations with the Nikon D5. Click Here to download a FREE Trial of Lightroom so you can open the RAW DNG Files.

Nikon D5: Soccer 1
Nikon D5: Soccer 2
Nikon D5: Baseball
Nikon D5: Hillary Clinton
Nikon D5: Miscellaneous

Click Here to access all the FULL RES Exported JEPGS

Is the Nikon D5 worth the hefty price tag of $6,500? Well, that depends on who you ask and wether or not the person buy it actually needs it and will use it to it’s full potential. My goal with the Nikon D5 “Real World Review” was to push the camera as far as I could to test its limits while attempting to capture quality usable images.

This time around i’m going to let the video above do most of the talking. The D5 handles very well all the way around and it should being that it’s the flagship of Nikon’s lineup. The autofocus for sports is tremendously fast. The 12 frames a second though not the fastest on the market get the job done. And the low light capability of this camera is pretty much unmatched in the world.

I have included RAW files from not just the Union Soccer game but from a Major League Baseball Game, a political rally, skate park and two mini portrait session. I think this is a well rounded set of images to help you decide if this camera is for you.

Being there are two versions of the D5, the XQD and the CF, which do you go with? I think this is a complete no brainer, you go with the XQD all day long. There is zero buffer lag no matter how many shots you take and for 4K video you will want the speed of the XQD Cards. I use the
LEXAR XQD.

The major question always comes down to would you buy it. The truth of the matter is I did buy it, the camera I was using is the one I purchased. What many people need to realize is this is a very specialized piece of gear. It’s not meant for everyone, it’s meant for those who have a use for the best built, most rugged professional camera that Nikon makes. It also doesn’t hurt if you are a full time working professional photographer or someone who can simply afford the best toys around.

If you are someone who is a Nikon shooter and is in the market for a sports, photo journalism, concert camera than you can not go wrong with the D5. As I say often enough, glass, glass, glass, glass, glass. If you own a camera like this you better put proper glass in front of it for the best results.

Remember, the gear doesn’t make the photographer, the photographer makes the gear. If you don’t understand the fundamentals of photography you will be hard-pressed to capture quality images with any camera. Get out there and shoot, have fun and stop over analyzing the crap out of everything.

Real World 4K Footage from the Nikon D5.