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Monster Jam 2019

Week with Nikon D850

I've been using the new Nikon D850 for the last week after trading in the D810 which I've been using for the last 3 years. It's been a great camera for event and portrait photography although having taken 230,000 pictures it was starting to show its age!

As a former Nikon D810 user here are a few observations on the D850. It's far from a review, just a few things I've noticed from the last seven days.

  • Huge improvement in autofocus. High resolution cameras are much less forgiving when it comes to focusing and so it's good to see the D5 AF system in the D850.
  • Snapbridge - general pretty good although it can be a little buggy with images refusing to send. 
  • Silent photography at 45mp and focus peaking which makes this feature genuinely useful.
  • Seems slightly quieter than the D810.
  • Illuminated buttons at long last. Bizarre that this wasn't a feature on the D800/D810.
  • Massive resolution. The DX crop is 5000px across. Roughly the same size as a full frame image from the D5.
  • Raw files are roughly 50-60mb each (275mb uncompressed)
  • No built in FTP which is a shame. Despite having wifi it's not possible to send pictures via FTP without purchasing the WT-7 which is £1000. Snapbridge allows fullsize images to be transferred but it's not particularly streamlined.
  • When using DX crop mode you now get a greyed-out, shaded area around the crop area rather than the thin line on the D810. The result is it's easier to frame subjects.
  • There's no built in flash which I won't miss. The flash was permanently taped down on my D810.
  • Nikon are still not committing to one storage format. The D850 takes SDHC/SDXC and XQD cards. I'd much rather of seen two XQD slots.
  • High ISO noise? I've not really noticed a difference which I assume is an improvement seeing as the D850 is a much higher resolution camera.

Charlotte Church at Pride Cymru 2017

CARDIFF, WALES - AUGUST 27: Charlotte Church performs on stage at a Charlotte Church's Late Night Pop Dungeon performance at Pride Cymru's Big Weekend on August 27, 2017 in Cardiff, Wales. Pride Cymru aims to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender within Wales.

Live images - for event and conference photography

Lately I've been working on a system to speed up the delivery of images to clients - particuarly for conference and event photography.

Traditionally images are edited at the end of an assignment and then a Dropbox or WeTransfer link provided where the images can be downloaded.

Wifi-enabled cameras allowing images to be shared instantly.

To speed this up I am now able to provide images almost instantly by sending them directly from the camera to a Dropbox link where they are available to download within seconds.

This is particularly useful for conferences and events where images often have the greatest impact straight after they are taken. 

It's a system that's been successfully used on numerous events from conventions to university graduations and red carpet events. 

Being able to access the images through Dropbox will allow you to share the images straight away - reaching a global audience on social media within seconds.

For more information please get in touch at matthew.horwood@me.com or on 07725002000

Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay - event photography

Christmas lights switch on and Tenovus Cancer Care Sing With Us Choir at Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, South Wales.

2016 Fast Growth 50 awards - event photography

2016 Fast Growth 50 awards at the Mercure Holland House hotel in Cardiff, South Wales.

Sport Relief Mile in Cardiff, South Wales.

More event photography available here.

Canmol marketing awards 2015

Canmol Marketing Awards 2015 at the Cardiff City Stadium, South Wales.

Stephen Fry at the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts - press photography

HAY-ON-WYE, WALES - MAY 23: Comedian Stephen Fry reads extracts from his autobiography More Fool Me at the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts on May 23, 2015 in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.(Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

 Stephen Fry at Hay Fetsival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. (Photo by Matthew Horwood) 

 Stephen Fry at Hay Fetsival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. (Photo by Matthew Horwood) 

Stephen Fry at Hay Fetsival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. (Photo by Matthew Horwood) 

Stephen Fry at Hay Fetsival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. (Photo by Matthew Horwood)