The ww ultimate DSLR

One of Nikon's last DSLRs, the pro-spec D850 still has a lot to offer, as John Gilbey discovers

- John Gilbey

When it was first released in 2017, I thought that the Nikon D850 DLSR would remain forever out of my reach, as the launch price was a penny under £3,500. Happily, the coincidence of receiving a cash advance on a new book and the arrival of one of Nikon's very welcome seasonal offers meant that a D850 eventually came within my grasp.

I bought my Nikon D850 in the autumn of 2022, when it was already clear that the combination of mirrorless systems and the new Z-mount were likely to consign the F-series DSLRs to history sooner rather than later. So why did I buy a D850, when a newer technology was available? A good question, but the answer is complicated.

I've used Nikon products for pretty much the whole of my professional career, beginning with the F3 film SLR which I still use regularly. During this time, over 30 years I guess, I've assembled a collection of lenses and accessories when I have needed something for a special purpose. This ranges from specialised macro lenses and bellows, to long-focus telephotos and fisheyes. It represents a substantial investment, one I have no wish to set aside without a good reason.

With this in mind, any future purchases needed to allow this set of kit to remain useful. When the first Z-mount cameras were launched, I was interested enough in seeing one up close that I travelled two hours down the coast to Carmarthen Cameras, who had samples for inspection. I had high hopes for adding a Z body to my working kit, and the availability of the FTZ adaptor supported this. That is, until I realised that this mount adaptor was intended for lenses with an internal autofocus motor, while the original 'screw-drive' AF-D lenses were unsupported except in manual-focus mode.