Nikon D500 discontinued. What now?

I came across this article today: https://nikonrumors.com/2022/02/01/the-nikon-d500-is-now-officially-discontinued.aspx/

Nikon D500 is a very popular camera for underwater photography and I know that a lot of forum users, including me, are still actively using it. I've invested a small fortune in this system (camera, lenses, housing, ports, ...) over the last 1.5 years and now I'm wondering what to do now. Would it make sense to buy a spare body just in case the main one breaks for some reason, gets stolen, etc.? Or would it be better to just hope for the best and wait for Nikon to release an equivalent mirrorless camera, maybe Z9s smaller brother Z90 and then slowly migrate to a new system? This is definitely a more expensive option, especially with the recent increase in price for Nauticam housings.

Discontinuation definitely doesn't mean that all existing D500s will stop working. But in case something happens to it, you're left with an empty housing, bunch of lenses and ports and with very little options what to do, since it will be next to impossible to buy a new replacement body. Are you a D500 owner? What are you planning to do now?

Used bodies, especially for popular cameras, are available on the secondary market for many years after the manufacturer has ceased production. You can go on ebay and easily get, say, D200 bodies for peanuts (well, a moderately large sack of peanuts), and that has been out of production for well over a decade. If something happens to your D500, getting a replacement won't be problematic for the foreseeable future.

Until Nikon mirrorless offers native fisheye options, and an AF system that is as good as that on the D500, the smart money would be to stock up on D500 bodies!

I'm also hopeful for a new D500...but this may be a forlorn wish rather than anything actual.

Part of the problem is that the D500 is so good for underwater use, it is hard to imagine what improvements a new model could bring. I guess sensor performance?

I think the problem is that all the camera companies know that their current cameras are all great - so they need new tactics to make us buy new stuff. Yes they can up the tech and the specs, but the improvements are no longer game changers. 

Since the start of the digital era there has been a reason to upgrade your camera every 2-5 years. Now the technology is so accomplished people don't see the point. 

For camera companies, their best profits are in encouraging everyone to switch to their new systems: Mirrorless. Which are also better suited to working well for both stills and video. 

SLR options will be less and more expensive. Because getting all the keen photographers into Mirrorless means new camera and lens sales.

Alex

2 minutes ago, adamhanlon said:

Part of the problem is that the D500 is so good for underwater use, it is hard to imagine what improvements a new model could bring. I guess sensor performance?

Fish Eye AF could be one such feature. Though, to be honest, I have zero problems keeping the single AF point on the fish's eye and all photos come out razor sharp exactly where they need to be. So it's really only a nice to have feature, but far away from mandatory to have.

Sensor performance is also good enough. I rarely bump the ISO higher than 400, most of the time it's set to 100. More megapixels wouldn't hurt, but this brings bigger RAW files and more issues with the diffraction.

The only real upgrade that I see are new, sharper lenses. Some of the popular lenses that Nikon shooters use are over a decade old now. 105mm f2.8 VR has been introduced in 2006 for example and it's slowly starting to show its age, especially when compared to the new 105mm Z-lens. But as you said, they need to introduce a native fisheye lens first.

56 minutes ago, Barmaglot said:

Used bodies, especially for popular cameras, are available on the secondary market for many years after the manufacturer has ceased production.

I'm with Barmaglot.

It was Adam back in 2017 who persuaded me to go with the D500 rather than the D850 and it's a decision that I have never regretted for a second. Great call, Adam - thanks!

Like Andrej, I've got a lot tied up in the system and in the last few days have mulled over getting a second body. As you pretty much all suggest, I can't think of anything that the D500 does not do that I "need" so I'm not thinking at all about a change. Alex's point is a good one: the technology now is so good, what could be the game-changer?

So if I see a D500 body at a killer price, I might (might) splurge. But I'm confident too that 2-3 years down the road, you'll be able to find one that is fine for an u/w housing. And, who knows, in 2-3 years time, maybe there will be a game-changer that I, errr, need.......

17 minutes ago, TimG said:

I'm with Barmaglot.

It was Adam back in 2017 who persuaded me to go with the D500 rather than the D850 and it's a decision that I have never regretted for a second. Great call, Adam - thanks!

Like Andrej, I've got a lot tied up in the system and in the last few days have mulled over getting a second body. As you pretty much all suggest, I can't think of anything that the D500 does not do that I "need" so I'm not thinking at all about a change. Alex's point is a good one: the technology now is so good, what could be the game-changer?

So if I see a D500 body at a killer price, I might (might) splurge. But I'm confident too that 2-3 years down the road, you'll be able to find one that is fine for an u/w housing. And, who knows, in 2-3 years time, maybe there will be a game-changer that I, errr, need.......

 

Definitely - don't panic!  used Nikon D500s will be around readily available and increasingly cheaply for many years.  Maybe 5-10 years from now try and find a low shutter count body but be patient.  Did I say don't panic? 

I've seen this before from other announcements like Olympus being sold _ I say so what ?  It it's a good camera it will continue to be good and there's enough been sold that picking up a second hand one is no biggy.

If you're happy with you system, just keep it and have fun. I think the used market will provide bodies for years to come until you want to switch to mirrorless if you ever need to. I mean good pictures will stay good at this point. 

Alternative you could build a mirrorless system very slow for non underwater stuff, but I think you're happy so have fun until you might want to try out new stuff. 

I have an extra D500 body that can be moved into dive camera service easily.  As long as my housing stays operable, I am good even if my D500 dive camera disintegrates.  Cameras get discontinued and new stuff gets introduced, otherwise camera companies can't sell anything.  Unless you want to completely change systems and formats,  there is no reason to change from a D500.  Anything you buy new today may be discontinued within a few years.

Go to MPB and get a clean used D500 body, or check Nikon refurbished, or even splurge on a new one.  Much cheaper than starting over with new camera, new housing, new lenses, adapters, etc.

Unless you just want an excuse to get something new, of course.  Been there and done that plenty of times.

35 minutes ago, Draq said:

Unless you just want an excuse to get something new, of course.  Been there and done that plenty of times.

 I know that feeling!

Totally agree though on your point on no reason to change. The Z9 technical advances sound fabulous - but underwater? I could well be tempted topside. But I'd struggle to think of anything I can't do with a D500 underwater that something else might give me. 

Nikon has formally announced the end of D500, with the D850 obviously next in line with the likelihood of no DSLR replacement coming in the foreseeable future. This is because all the major camera manufacturers are putting all their energy in the mirrorless direction. Does that mean these two DSLR’s too antiquated to continue using? Hell No!!! 

The D500, like my D850’s are going to remain champion camera systems for still photography for years to come. Besides my beloved modified Nikonos R-UW 13mm fisheye won’t work on a mirrorless system due the design/nature of the lens’ autofocus system.  

For me to switch out now, I would need to see something far more compelling from the mirrorless camp in terms of what I am seeing now for underwater use.