Nikon Z9 (DX) VS Nikon D500 - DSLR vs Mirrorless - Image Quality Test

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#nikonZ9 #NikonD500 #nikonphotography

[Fred-B]

I came here as I was considering replacing my D500 with a Z9 (gear acquisition syndrome). Thank you for the info. I think that my D500 still has a few good years left in it.

[FlashOnTwos]

You just convinced me to NOT buy the Z9 and instead continue to embrace my fabulous D750 cameras!

[bradtrounson]

Thanks for the info. I disagree about the noise aspect. I have been able to get within a few meters of birds and still get my shots. Apart from that it's nice to know that the D500 is still doing well comparatively to the latest tech.

[LEXPIX]

Niely done. I used to have the D500 and was the best crop DSLR I owned. I am surprised how it held up against the Z9. Now video is where the Z9 trounces the D500, no contest, but then again, so is the price difference.

I think Nikon went with the lower resolution on the Z9 LCD screen to be able to output the 8K video without having it choke on all them pixels.

[mariusvaiciulis]

d500 actually has a software limit. if you were to press the shutter button once again, it would start yet another series of 200 photos. that's not a limitation of buffer, more like safety mechanism, in case of shutter button being pressed by accident in the bag

[OkwyUgonweze]

My Z9 is doing just great, I no longer shoot the D500 and D850 .For me the difference is mostly in the lenses.The mirroless lenses from Nikon is mind blowing.
The Z9 was so good that I have two, now the weight is forcing me to sell one .if you want an unused Z9 hit me up.
On a side note, the cfexpress type b card is so mainstream now that it’s actually cheaper than the sd card us II.

[martinhancock]

Looking at the price difference, the Z8 doesn't offer much of an advantage over the D500 and any differences can easily be fixed in post. No wonder used D500's and D850's are so popular. You can buy either with a 150-600mm Sigma or Tamron lens for less than the price of a Z9 body and still have enough change for another lens or a decent tripod and gimbal head.

[JohnSmith-vyoh]

I wonder how photographers managed to achieve such amazing wildlife results prior too mirrorless!! 😮

[bowstobourbon]

Thank you! I have a d500 and was getting some fomo, kinda want the x-h2 but i dont think i “need” it now :) cheers!

[stjepanjina]

D500, an amazing machine, tx for the test!

[MichaelH-ckhg]

I have a D500. I was thinking about getting a Z9 or maybe a Z8. I don’t do video and just photos. Also, burst mode doesn’t really matter to me. I have the battery grip on my D500, so size isn’t an issue. I think I’ll just keep the D500 for now. Maybe I’ll have both. Anyway, I appreciate your video.

[tlewisAK]

I already own a D500. Not changing anytime soon.

[MrHitthespot]

I really like my D500 EVEN HERE IN 2024. THE D500 AND the Nikon 200-500 lens has been worth every penny.

[hotflashfoto]

I have 4 D500 bodies. I can shoot all 200 images to my XQD or CF cards without the lag toward the end of the 200 that you experienced, where there started to be a slow-down between images. Mine go all the way to 200 in 20 seconds without any change in the speed or sound. It may be because I shoot RAW, not JPG, but on top of that, I rarely shoot 200 images at a time anyhow, so this really doesn't matter in real life. The reason for the buffer was because there were folks who found that the power switch would sometimes get switched on in transit and the shutter button get pressed, only to fill the card and/or kill the battery. Did that lesson transfer to the Z9? Apparently not.

The monitor on the D500 having 2359K dots vs the Z9 having "only" 2100K dots is such a small difference that it is trivial and nothing for anyone to be concerned about. And to say that Nikon would "cheap that out" just shows how little you know about the role the monitor actually plays in determining whether an image is sharp or not. Your statement infers that those extra dots make a huge difference, when all it really does is up the bragging rights for those who care about being arrogant.

"D500 shooters are amateurs" is a laughable statement on your part. That is simply a statement that attempts to shame people into spending money to keep up with a trend that they may not be able to afford, or more likely have the intelligence to choose not to follow.

I came here because of owning the venerable D500 and thought I might actually learn something, but that is sadly not the case. Maybe you should learn how to actually operate the cameras you're testing before publishing videos about them.

[romanpul]

There is one thing you got wrong. Both the Z9 and the D500 use single processors. But besides that I find that the Z9 handles color fringing better than the D500. It seems like there was some green fringing on the wires on the D500 shots which weren't there with the Z9

[lifestyleisa]

I really want to see a comparison between the D5 and any good top mirrorless camera

[carloscipriani]

Por seis mil dólares de diferencia yo me quedaría con la D500 (precios de Uruguay). Es un pequeño cañón que seguirá vigente hasta el año 2030. Y se puede complementar muy bien con una Z5. No sé precisa más.

[pjazzz]

You encourage me to keep my D500. Thank you.

[philipwilliams]

Some comparisons shown are up to 30mins apart so lighting is subject to change/ the comparisons should be identical time wise /

[mistergiovanni]

Talking about only photography the D500 is aging nicely. Except the shutter noise issue, it's still a great action camera at a very affordable price. But the comparison in crop mode on the Z9 I don't know if it makes much sense, who would use the Z9 in crop mode? Will using a high resolution FX sensor and then cropping even above the APS-C crop result in higher quality images? Love your content.