The Nikon D850 is a professional-grade DSLR camera released in 2017, featuring a 45.7-megapixel full-frame sensor for exceptional image quality. Designed for professionals and enthusiasts, it offers advanced controls and customization options. The official user manual, available as a PDF, provides detailed guidance on operation, settings, and troubleshooting.
1.1 Overview and Key Features
The Nikon D850 is a 45.7-megapixel full-frame DSLR camera, offering exceptional image quality and versatility. It features a tilting touchscreen, 4K video recording, and an advanced 153-point autofocus system. The camera supports RAW and JPEG file formats, with options for compression and customization. Its robust build and weather-sealing make it ideal for professional and enthusiast photographers seeking high performance in various shooting conditions.
1.2 Target Audience and Use Cases
The Nikon D850 is designed for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts seeking high-resolution imagery. It excels in studio, landscape, and portrait photography, as well as wedding and event coverage. Its advanced features and durability make it ideal for those requiring precise control and reliability in demanding environments, ensuring exceptional results across various photographic disciplines.
Unboxing and Initial Setup
The Nikon D850 comes with a body cap, rechargeable battery, charger, and user manual. Initial setup involves charging the battery, inserting it, and attaching a lens. Simple steps ensure you’re ready to shoot.
2.1 What’s in the Box
The Nikon D850 box includes the camera body, EN-EL15a battery, MH-25a charger, body cap, eyepiece cap, UC-E22 USB cable, and user manual. A strap is provided for comfortable carrying. Additional accessories like lenses are available separately.
2.2 First-Time Setup and Initial Configuration
Begin by charging the EN-EL15a battery and mounting a lens. Insert a memory card and power on the camera. Set your language, time, and date. Use the touchscreen LCD to navigate the menu for initial configuration. Refer to the user manual for detailed steps on setting up autofocus, metering, and other custom preferences to optimize your shooting experience.

Basic Camera Controls
The Nikon D850 features intuitive controls, including a mode dial, AF buttons, and a touchscreen LCD. These tools allow quick access to settings, ensuring efficient operation during shoots.
3.1 Exterior Buttons and Dials
The Nikon D850 features a comprehensive array of exterior buttons and dials designed for intuitive control. The mode dial on top allows quick selection of shooting modes, while AF buttons enable precise autofocus control. The touchscreen LCD provides easy menu navigation and focus adjustment. Dedicated dials for ISO, exposure compensation, and white balance ensure rapid access to key settings, enhancing workflow efficiency during photography sessions.
3.2 Understanding the Camera Layout
The Nikon D850’s layout is ergonomically designed for intuitive operation. The camera features a sturdy magnesium alloy body with strategically placed controls, ensuring easy access to key functions. The 3.2-inch tilting touchscreen LCD and optical viewfinder provide excellent visibility. The top panel includes a mode dial and buttons for ISO, exposure compensation, and white balance, while the rear offers a multi-selector joystick for focus point selection, enhancing shooting efficiency and comfort during extended use.

Shooting Modes
The Nikon D850 offers various shooting modes, including Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Auto, catering to both professionals and enthusiasts. The official manual provides detailed guidance on selecting and utilizing these modes effectively for optimal results.
4.1 Mode Dial Options
The Nikon D850’s mode dial offers a range of shooting options, including Manual (M), Aperture Priority (A), Shutter Priority (S), Programmed Auto (P), and Auto modes. Additionally, it features User Setting modes (U1, U2, U3), allowing photographers to save and quickly access custom configurations. This flexibility ensures the camera can adapt to various shooting scenarios, from professional workflows to casual photography, catering to both enthusiasts and experts.
4.2 When to Use Each Mode
The Nikon D850’s shooting modes cater to different photography needs. Manual (M) mode offers full control for professionals, while Aperture Priority (A) is ideal for depth-of-field control. Shutter Priority (S) is perfect for freezing or blurring motion. Programmed Auto (P) balances flexibility with automation, and Auto mode simplifies shooting for beginners. User settings (U1, U2, U3) allow customization for specific scenarios, enhancing workflow efficiency.

Autofocus System
The Nikon D850 features a sophisticated autofocus system with 153 AF points, including 99 cross-type sensors, ensuring precise and rapid subject tracking. Phase-detection technology enhances accuracy, while advanced modes like 3D tracking and group-area AF optimize performance in various lighting conditions, making it ideal for dynamic and professional photography applications.
5.1 Phase Detection and AF Points
The Nikon D850 employs an advanced phase-detection system with 153 AF points, including 99 cross-type sensors, ensuring precise focus acquisition. These points are strategically distributed across the frame, enabling wide-area coverage and enhanced subject tracking. The system excels in low-light conditions, delivering fast and accurate autofocus performance. This technology is particularly beneficial for capturing sharp images of moving subjects, making it ideal for wildlife and sports photography.
5.2 AF Modes and Custom Settings
The Nikon D850 offers multiple AF modes, including Single AF, Continuous AF, and Group-Area AF, each tailored for specific shooting scenarios. Custom settings allow users to fine-tune AF behavior, such as adjusting AF-C priority or focus tracking. These options enable photographers to personalize the autofocus system to their shooting style, enhancing accuracy and efficiency in various photography genres, from portraits to action shots.
Metering and Exposure Control
The Nikon D850 features advanced metering modes, including Matrix, Center-Weighted, and Spot, ensuring precise exposure control. Adjust exposure compensation and bracketing for optimal results in various lighting conditions.
6.1 Metering Modes Explained
The Nikon D850 offers three metering modes: Matrix, Center-Weighted, and Spot. Matrix metering balances exposure across the entire scene, ideal for complex lighting. Center-Weighted prioritizes the center area, useful for portraits. Spot metering measures a specific point, perfect for high-contrast situations. These modes ensure precise control over exposure, helping photographers achieve their desired results in various lighting conditions.
6.2 Adjusting Exposure Compensation
Exposure compensation on the Nikon D850 allows fine-tuning of exposures by ±5 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 EV increments. Accessed via the exposure compensation button and command dials, this feature helps adjust brightness without altering aperture or shutter speed, ensuring optimal results in challenging lighting conditions.

White Balance and Color Settings
The Nikon D850 offers precise white balance control, ensuring accurate colors in various lighting conditions. Custom color profiles can be created for personalized image output, enhancing creativity and consistency.
7.1 Understanding White Balance
White balance adjusts colors to match lighting conditions, ensuring accurate tones. The D850 offers modes like Auto, Preset (e.g., Daylight, Fluorescent), and Custom, allowing precise control. Preset modes handle common scenarios, while Custom enables manual adjustment for specific lighting. This feature is crucial for professional results, as it enhances color accuracy and consistency in images, tailored to creative or technical needs.
7.2 Custom Color Profiles
Custom color profiles allow photographers to tailor color reproduction to specific needs. The D850 supports creating and saving custom profiles, enhancing color accuracy. Using Nikon software, users can adjust hues and saturation, ensuring consistent results. This feature is ideal for professionals, enabling precise control over the color palette and matching creative visions or brand requirements effectively.

Image Quality and File Formats
The Nikon D850 delivers exceptional image quality with its 45.7-megapixel sensor, capturing detailed photos. It supports various file formats like NEF (RAW), TIFF, and JPEG, offering flexibility in post-processing. The camera also features compression options to optimize file sizes without compromising quality, making it ideal for professionals seeking precise control over their images.
8.1 RAW vs. JPEG
The Nikon D850 captures images in RAW and JPEG formats, offering flexibility. RAW files provide superior quality and editing flexibility but are larger and require post-processing. JPEG files are compressed, smaller, and ready for sharing but offer limited editing. This balance suits different workflows and preferences, allowing photographers to choose based on their needs for quality and convenience.
8.2 File Formats and Compression
The Nikon D850 supports various file formats, including RAW (NEF), JPEG, and TIFF. RAW files store uncompressed data for maximum quality and editing flexibility. JPEG files are compressed, reducing file size for easier storage and sharing. The camera also offers lossless compressed RAW options, minimizing file size without sacrificing quality. These formats cater to different workflows, from professional post-processing to everyday shooting needs.
ISO Sensitivity and Noise Reduction
The Nikon D850 offers an ISO range of 64-25600, extendable to 32-102400. Its advanced noise reduction system ensures low-light performance, delivering clean images across the entire sensitivity range.
9.1 Managing ISO Settings
The Nikon D850 offers an ISO range of 64-25600, expandable to 32-102400. Users can set ISO manually or use Auto ISO for dynamic lighting conditions. For optimal results, start with lower ISOs to minimize noise and increase only when necessary. The camera’s advanced noise reduction system supports clean images even at higher sensitivities, ensuring flexibility in various shooting environments.
9.2 Noise Reduction Techniques
The Nikon D850 employs advanced noise reduction techniques to deliver clean images, even at high ISOs. The camera features in-camera noise reduction, which can be adjusted to balance detail retention and smoothness. For optimal results, shooters can apply noise reduction during post-processing using Nikon’s software or third-party tools, ensuring minimal grain while preserving image sharpness and clarity in low-light conditions.

Focus Shift Shooting
Focus Shift Shooting combines photos taken at different focus positions to create a single image with extended depth of field, ideal for macro and landscape photography.
10.1 What is Focus Shift?
Focus Shift Shooting is a feature on the Nikon D850 that enables capturing multiple images at varying focus points. It combines these images to create a single photo with extended depth of field, ideal for macro, landscape, or product photography. This technique ensures sharpness across the entire image, enhancing detail and precision in critical focus areas.
10.2 Using Focus Shift for Depth of Field
Focus Shift Shooting on the Nikon D850 allows photographers to achieve greater depth of field by capturing multiple images at different focus points. The camera combines these images into one, ensuring sharpness across the entire frame. Ideal for macro, landscape, or product photography, this feature enhances detail and precision, making it a valuable tool for professional and creative applications.
Live View and Video Shooting
The Nikon D850’s Live View mode offers a tilting touchscreen for flexible shooting angles. Review images in real-time to check exposure and focus. Enable live view for precise manual focusing during video shooting.
11.1 Using Live View
The Nikon D850’s Live View mode offers a tilting touchscreen for flexible shooting angles. It enables real-time preview and precise manual focusing. Use the touchscreen to pinch-zoom for focus checks or tap to position the focus point. Live View is ideal for both still photography and video recording, providing a convenient way to frame shots and adjust settings on the go.
11.2 Video Shooting Capabilities
The Nikon D850 excels in video recording, offering 4K UHD resolution at 30p and Full HD at 120p for smooth slow-motion footage. It features a tilting touchscreen for easy framing and focus adjustments. The camera supports flat picture controls for enhanced color grading and focus peaking for precise manual focusing. These features make it a versatile tool for professional-grade video production and content creation.
Playback and Review Options
The Nikon D850 offers robust playback features, including image review with zoom, focus peaking, and histogram display. Users can easily navigate and analyze shots using the touchscreen interface.
12.1 Reviewing Images
The Nikon D850 allows for detailed image review on its high-resolution LCD screen. Use the touchscreen to zoom in, check focus with focus peaking, and analyze histograms. Pressing the OK button centers the zoom on a specific area, enabling precise review of image sharpness and exposure details.
12.2 Playback Features and Options
The Nikon D850 offers robust playback features, including a tilting touchscreen for flexible image review. Users can zoom in on images, utilize focus peaking to verify sharpness, and display histograms for exposure analysis. Additional options include deleting unwanted photos, protecting favorites, and creating slideshows. The camera also supports wireless image transfer for easy sharing and backup.
Menu System Navigation
The Nikon D850’s menu system is intuitive, offering customizable options for quick access to frequently used settings. Users can navigate via the multi-selector or touchscreen, with clear categorization of shooting, playback, and setup menus. The menu guide PDF provides detailed explanations for advanced customization and troubleshooting.
13.1 Navigating the Menu
Navigating the Nikon D850’s menu is straightforward using the multi-selector or touchscreen. The menu is divided into shooting, playback, and setup categories for easy access. Use the multi-selector to scroll through options and press OK to select. The touchscreen allows tapping to choose menu items. A detailed menu guide PDF is available for advanced customization and troubleshooting.
13.2 Key Menu Options
The Nikon D850’s menu offers essential options for customization. The Shooting Menu includes ISO, white balance, and autofocus settings. The Playback Menu allows image review and editing. The Setup Menu covers camera maintenance and connectivity. Custom Settings enable personalization of camera behavior. Refer to the Menu Guide PDF for detailed explanations of each option and how to optimize them for your photography needs.

Custom Settings and Shortcuts
The Nikon D850 allows extensive customization of settings and shortcuts, enabling photographers to tailor the camera to their preferences for enhanced efficiency and shooting experiences.
14.1 Customizing Camera Settings
The Nikon D850 offers extensive customization options, allowing photographers to tailor settings to their preferences. Users can save custom configurations to the U1, U2, and U3 modes on the mode dial for quick access. The camera also features a “My Menu” option, enabling photographers to compile frequently used settings for easy access. This flexibility enhances shooting efficiency and personalizes the camera experience.
14.2 Creating Shortcuts
The Nikon D850 allows photographers to create custom shortcuts for efficient workflow. Assign frequently used functions to buttons like Fn or OK for quick access. The camera also supports customizing the “My Menu” feature, where users can compile their most-used settings. This personalization enhances productivity, enabling photographers to focus on creativity rather than menu navigation during shoots.

Troubleshooting Common Issues
The Nikon D850 user guide provides solutions for common issues like focus problems and error messages. The manual offers troubleshooting tips and maintenance advice to ensure optimal performance.
15.1 Diagnosing Common Problems
The Nikon D850 user guide helps identify issues like autofocus malfunctions or error messages. It provides steps to diagnose problems such as shutter lag or sensor cleaning needs. The manual includes troubleshooting sections for specific error codes and operational hiccups, ensuring users can address issues efficiently. Regular maintenance tips are also included to prevent common camera problems.
15.2 Solutions and Fixes
The Nikon D850 user guide offers detailed solutions for common issues, such as autofocus problems or error messages. It provides step-by-step fixes for issues like sensor cleaning, firmware updates, and resetting default settings. Users can also refer to the official manual or Nikon support for advanced troubleshooting. Regular maintenance and updates ensure optimal performance and prevent recurring issues.

Accessories and Maintenance
Essential accessories for the Nikon D850 include high-quality lenses, tripods, and memory cards. Regular sensor cleaning and firmware updates ensure optimal performance and longevity.
16.1 Recommended Accessories
For the Nikon D850, essential accessories include high-quality lenses like the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 for sharp images. A sturdy tripod ensures stability, while fast memory cards handle large files. Remote shutter releases and external Speedlights enhance creativity. Protective camera bags and cleaning kits maintain equipment condition. These accessories optimize performance and extend the camera’s versatility for professional and enthusiast photographers.
16.2 Cleaning and Maintaining the Camera
Regular cleaning is essential to maintain the Nikon D850’s performance. Use a soft, dry cloth to wipe the camera body and lens. For the sensor, employ a blower or brush to remove dust. Avoid harsh chemicals and ensure all cleaning tools are lint-free. Refer to the user manual for detailed maintenance guidelines to preserve image quality and extend the camera’s lifespan.


























































































