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Nikon D500 vs Nikon D810A

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

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NikonD500NikonD810A
Overview
ReleasedApril 2016May 2015
Image and sensor
Camera typeDSLRDSLR
Sensor formatAPS-CFull frame
Sensor typeCMOSCMOS
Sensor dimensions23.5 × 15.7 mm35.9 × 24 mm
Effective resolution20.9 MP36.3 MP
Largest image5568 × 37127360 × 4912
RAW recordingYesYes
Standard ISO range100–51200200–12800
Sensor detail21.51 million total pixels; Japan gives 20.88 million effective pixels, rounded to 20.9 million in Nikon USA. DX and 1.3× image areas; maximum cropped image 4272 × 2848; sensor-cleaning systemFX CMOS with 36.3 million effective pixels USA/global or 36.35 million Japan, 37.09 million total; no optical low-pass filter. Modified IR-cut filter transmits four times more H-alpha light than D810. Nikon warns of red casts under near-infrared-rich lighting or with reflective subjects and does not recommend general photography. Image Sensor Cleaning and Image Dust Off; FX 7360 × 4912, 1.2× crop 6144 × 4080, DX 4800 × 3200 and 5:4 crop 6144 × 4912
Image formats12-bit or 14-bit NEF RAW with lossless compression, compression or no compression; TIFF RGB, JPEG and RAW plus JPEG. Medium/small RAW are 12-bit losslessly compressed12-bit or 14-bit NEF RAW, uncompressed, lossless-compressed or compressed; Small RAW fixed at 12-bit uncompressed. TIFF RGB, JPEG Fine/Normal/Basic with size-priority or optimal-quality compression, simultaneous RAW/JPEG; Flat and adjustable/custom Picture Controls
ISO detailExpanded equivalents ISO 50–1640000; Auto ISOStandard ISO 200–12800 in one-third, half or whole stops; Lo expansion to ISO 100 equivalent and Hi expansion to ISO 51200 equivalent; automatic sensitivity control
Image processorEXPEED 5; dedicated autofocus processor; Advanced Scene Recognition SystemEXPEED 4
Lens and shooting
Lens mountNikon F mountNikon F mount
StabilisationOptical lens stabilisationOptical lens stabilisation
Maximum continuous burst10 fps5 fps
Lens detailCompatible G/E/D AF NIKKOR lenses support full functions, subject to PC lens restrictions; body AF motor for compatible screw-drive lenses. Non-CPU AI lenses support aperture-priority/manual; non-AI, IX and F3AF lenses unsupportedF mount with body AF coupling and contacts; G/E/D, other AF and AI-P lenses with restrictions; non-CPU AI lenses usable in A/M/M* with registered lens data, DX lenses use DX crop. Non-AI, IX and F3AF lenses excluded; USA G/H notation conflicts with Japan A/M/M*
AutofocusMulti-CAM 20K; 153 points including 99 cross-type, with 55 manually selectable including 35 cross-type; 15 points support f/8, nine selectable. Centre detection to -4 EV; single-point, dynamic 25/72/153, 3D tracking, group and auto-area; automatic AF fine-tuningAdvanced Multi-CAM3500FX phase detection with 51 points, 15 cross-type and 11 f/8-compatible points; -2 to +19 EV at ISO 100 equivalent, 20°C. AF-S/AF-C, fine-tuning, single-point, dynamic nine/21/51, 3D tracking, group-area and auto-area. Live view uses contrast AF-S/AF-F and face/wide/normal/tracking areas; current USA detection-range -1 EV entry conflicts with its own -2 EV sensitivity entry and Japan, while AF-A listings conflict with Japan modes
Shutter1/8000 to 30 seconds, Bulb and Time; flash sync 1/250 second; electronic front curtain in mirror-up mode; shutter tested to 200000 cyclesElectronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter, 1/8000 to 30 seconds, Bulb and Time; electronic front curtain in mirror-up mode. M* adds 4/5/8/10/15/20/30/60/120/180/240/300/600/900-second presets. X-sync 1/250 second, up to 1/320 with reduced flash range
Burst detailUp to 10 fps with full AF/AE; up to 200 losslessly compressed 14-bit RAW images or 79 uncompressed 14-bit RAW images under Nikon's specified ISO 100 conditions with Lexar Professional 2933× XQD 2.0. Card, settings and scene affect burst depth; quiet continuous approximately 3 fpsApproximately 5 fps full FX or 5:4 and 6 fps DX or 1.2× crop on EN-EL15. DX reaches 7 fps with MB-D12 using batteries other than EN-EL15, or qualifying AC power; 1.2× remains 6 fps. Quiet continuous approximately 3 fps. M* continuous shooting at exposures of 4 seconds or longer removes the 100-shot limit, subject to battery/card capacity
Stabilisation detailOptical VR depends on the lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation. Electronic movie VR available at Full HD, with an additional cropVR depends on attached lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation
FlashNo built-in flash; hot shoe and PC sync terminal. Compatible Speedlights provide Nikon CLS; radio control of SB-5000 requires optional WR-R10/WR-A10Built-in i-TTL pop-up flash, guide number approximately 12 m at ISO 100, 20°C; commander mode, hot shoe, PC sync terminal and compatible Auto FP Speedlights
Exposure controlsP/S/A/M; 180000-pixel RGB metering with 3D Colour Matrix Metering III, centre-weighted, spot and highlight-weighted modes; ±5 EV compensation; Active D-LightingP/S/A/M and long-exposure M*; 91000-pixel RGB matrix, centre-weighted, spot and highlight-weighted metering; ±5 EV compensation and exposure/flash/white-balance bracketing; HDR, interval timer and virtual horizon. Japan centre-weighted default 12 mm and spot range 2–20 EV differ from USA 8 mm and 0–20 EV
Video
Highest video resolution3840 × 2160 at 30 fps1920 × 1080 at 60 fps
Video detailH.264 MOV at 4K UHD 30p/25p/24p, Full HD up to 60p and 720p up to 60p; actual NTSC rates 29.97/23.976/59.94. Maximum clip 29 minutes 59 seconds; Flat Picture Control, power aperture, time-lapse and HDMI output. 4K uses a further approximately 1.5× crop within DX (Cameralabs). Live view and movies use contrast-detection AF-S/AF-FFX- or DX-based 1920 × 1080 at 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p and 1280 × 720 at 60p/50p; MOV H.264/MPEG-4 AVC with linear PCM. Full HD 60p/50p limit 10 minutes high quality or 20 normal; other modes 20 minutes high or 29 min 59 s normal. Time-lapse movies; current USA general 20-minute limit omits mode/quality differences
AudioBuilt-in stereo microphone, 3.5 mm external microphone input and headphone output; adjustable microphone sensitivity; linear PCMBuilt-in stereo microphone; external 3.5 mm stereo input and headphone output, adjustable microphone sensitivity
Screen and viewfinder
ViewfinderOpticalOptical
Screen size3.2″3.2″
Screen dots2,359,0001,229,000
TouchscreenYesNo
Tilting screenYesNo
Display detailReinforced tilting TFT with 170° viewing angle; limited touch functions for live-view AF/shutter and playback; dots count subpixels. Original Nikon US announcement gives 2359000 dots; Japan rounds approximately2360000Fixed 3.2-inch TFT, approximately 1229000 dots, 170° viewing angle and approximately 100% coverage; brightness adjustment and top status LCD. Exposure preview simulates 30 seconds for longer exposures, with up to 23× live-view enlargement; viewfinder virtual horizon illuminated red
Viewfinder detailPentaprism; approximately 100% DX or 98% 1.3× coverage; 1.0× magnification with 50mm at infinity; 16 mm eyepoint; viewfinder shutter and grid overlaysPentaprism; approximately 100% FX coverage, 97% DX/1.2× and 100% vertical/97% horizontal 5:4. Approximately 0.7× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity, 17 mm eyepoint, grid and depth-of-field preview
Connections and design
Wi-FiYes–
BluetoothYes–
Battery life (maker's claim)1240 photographs1200 photographs
Body weight760 g880 g
Release detailNikon's surviving Japanese product page records sale on 28 April 2016. The original US January announcement proposed March; that planned date was superseded. The same announcement explicitly calls D500 the successor to D300SMay 2015 release month; Nikon Japan records actual sale on 28 May, with global announcement dated 10 February. The regional day does not establish earliest worldwide sale
Recording mediaOne XQD slot and one SD/SDHC/SDXC slot with UHS-II support; overflow, backup, separate RAW/JPEG and card copying. CFexpress Type B support added to the XQD slot with firmware C 1.30One Type I CompactFlash slot with UDMA and one SD/SDHC/SDXC slot with UHS-I; overflow, backup, RAW/JPEG split and copying between cards
PortsUSB 3.0 Micro-B, mini-HDMI Type C, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets, ten-pin accessory terminal and PC sync. Optional GP-1/GP-1A or MC-35 connects GPS equipmentUSB 3.0 Micro-B, mini HDMI Type C, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets, PC sync and 10-pin remote/GPS terminal; wired LAN requires optional UT-1
Wireless connectionsWi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC; SnapBridge smartphone transfer and location sharing. Direct SnapBridge Wi-Fi connections added with C 1.20; optional WT-7 supplies wired/wireless network transferNo built-in Wi-Fi or GPS; optional WT-5 with UT-1, GP-1/GP-1A GPS, WR-R10 with WR-A10 or WR-1. Japan marks WR-1 unsupported in M* mode
Battery life detailEN-EL15 at launch; EN-EL15a/b subsequently supported. Approximately 1240 CIPA photographs with AF-S DX NIKKOR 16–80mm f/2.8–4E ED VR and no live view; separate Nikon continuous test approximately 2740 with AF-S NIKKOR 70–200mm f/2.8G ED VR II and VR off. Optional MB-D17 grip supports one EN-EL15-series battery, EN-EL18-series with BL-5 cover, or eight AA batteriesEN-EL15, approximately 1200 CIPA shots. Original global announcement separately claims up to 3860 without built-in flash or immediate playback, and up to 10660 using body EN-EL15 plus grip EN-EL18a under those conditions; these are distinct from CIPA. Optional MB-D12 takes EN-EL15, EN-EL18/EN-EL18a with BL-5 or eight AA cells
ChargingExternal MH-25a charger; optional EH-5b adapter with EP-5B power connectorExternal MH-25a charger; optional EH-5b AC adapter with EP-5B connector
DimensionsApproximately 147 × 115 × 81 mmApproximately 146 × 123 × 81.5 mm
Weight detailApproximately 760 g body only; 860 g with battery and XQD card, excluding body capApproximately 880 g body only; 980 g with battery and SD card, excluding body cap
MaterialsMagnesium-alloy top/rear and carbon-fibre-reinforced front monocoque; dust and moisture sealing; not a waterproof ratingDust- and water-resistant sealing; magnesium-alloy body documented on Nikon USA refurbished product overview
Colours–Black
In the boxOriginal EN-EL15 battery, MH-25a charger, DK-17F eyepiece, UC-E22 USB cable, USB/HDMI cable clips, AN-DC17 strap and BF-1B body cap; later Japanese supply also lists EN-EL15bEN-EL15, MH-25a, UC-E22 USB cable, AN-DC16 strap, BF-1B body cap, DK-17 eyepiece, USB/HDMI cable clips and BM-12 monitor cover (Japan package)

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