Nikon D850: A Practical Setup and Shooting Guide
The Nikon D850 is built for photographers who need resolution and speed in the same body. With 45.7 megapixels, a 153-point autofocus system, and the ability to shoot 7 frames per second (9 with the battery grip), it handles landscape work, studio portraits, and even wildlife without breaking a sweat.
That said, there’s a real learning curve here. The menu system is deep, the custom settings are endless, and the camera gives you control over things most shooters never think about. This guide focuses on the settings that will have the biggest impact on your work from day one.
Getting Started
Charging the Battery
The D850 uses the EN-EL15a battery (or the newer EN-EL15b, which supports in-camera USB charging). Slide the battery into the compartment on the bottom and charge it fully before your first shoot. A full charge gets you about 1,840 shots, which is outstanding. If you’re doing video work, expect that number to drop significantly.
While you’re at it, check the firmware version. Go to the SETUP menu (the wrench icon), scroll down to Firmware Version, and compare it to what’s listed on Nikon’s support page. Firmware updates have fixed autofocus behavior, added features like CFexpress card support, and improved overall stability.
Time Zone and Clock
Every photo gets embedded with date and time metadata. If your clock is off, sorting and searching images later becomes frustrating. Go to SETUP > Time zone and date, pick your region, and set the correct time. If you travel for shoots, update this when you land.
Image Quality Settings
File Format and Compression
Out of the box, the D850 saves normal-quality JPEGs and compressed RAW files. That’s fine for casual shooting, but if you want the full benefit of that 45.7MP sensor, change a couple of things.
In the Photo Shooting menu, set JPEG quality to Fine and RAW recording to Lossless compressed, 14-bit. This gives you the most detail and the widest latitude for editing in Lightroom or Capture One. Your files will be larger (around 50-90MB per RAW), so make sure you have fast, high-capacity memory cards.
Color Space
The default color space is sRGB, which works if you’re posting JPEGs straight to the web. For anything involving post-processing, switch to Adobe RGB. It captures a wider gamut of colors, giving you more room to push whites, blues, and greens in editing software. You’ll find this under Photo Shooting > Color space.
Autofocus: 153 Points and How to Use Them
The D850’s AF system is borrowed from the Nikon D5, which was Nikon’s top professional sports camera. You get 153 focus points, 99 of which are cross-type sensors. That’s a lot of coverage, and it means the camera can track subjects across a wide area of the frame.
AF Modes
AF-S (Single Servo): Focus locks when you half-press the shutter. Use this for anything that isn’t moving: landscapes, architecture, still portraits, product shots.
AF-C (Continuous Servo): The camera continuously adjusts focus while you hold the shutter button. This is your go-to for moving subjects. The D850’s 3D tracking mode works well here. It follows a subject across the frame by using color and pattern recognition, and it’s surprisingly reliable for birds, athletes, and kids running around.
AF-A (Auto): The camera picks between AF-S and AF-C. It’s convenient but can second-guess you at the wrong moment. Picking the mode yourself is more predictable.
Focus Area Modes
Single-point gives you pinpoint control. Dynamic-area (with 9, 25, 72, or 153 points) lets surrounding points assist if the subject drifts. Group-area uses five points together and works well for erratic subjects like birds in flight. Auto-area lets the camera decide which points to use, and it’s surprisingly good when combined with face detection in Live View.
Back-Button Focus
Go to Custom Settings > a4 and assign AF-ON to the rear button. Then set a5 so the shutter button only activates metering. This separates focus from the shutter, giving you the freedom to lock focus once and recompose without the camera hunting every time you press the shutter halfway.
Exposure Settings
Exposure Modes
The D850 doesn’t have fully automatic or scene modes. It’s built for photographers who want control. Your four options are Program (P), Aperture Priority (A), Shutter Priority (S), and Manual (M). Hold the MODE button and spin the rear dial to switch between them.
Aperture Priority is the most versatile starting point. You set the f-stop, and the camera picks the shutter speed. It works for most situations and keeps you moving fast.
ISO Sensitivity
The native range is ISO 64 to 25600. That base ISO of 64 is lower than most cameras, which means cleaner shadow detail and more dynamic range in landscape and studio work.
Auto ISO is worth setting up. In the Photo Shooting menu, turn on Auto ISO sensitivity control, set a maximum ISO (try 3200 or 6400 to start), and pick a minimum shutter speed that matches your lens. For a 70-200mm, that might be 1/200. For a 24-70mm, 1/60 works. The camera handles the rest, and your shots stay properly exposed without you constantly fiddling with ISO.
Metering Modes
Matrix metering reads the full scene and works well in about 90% of situations. Center-weighted is good for portraits against busy backgrounds. Spot metering reads a tiny area around the selected focus point and is useful when the light is tricky, like a performer on a lit stage against a dark background.
Video Recording
The D850 records 4K UHD (3840×2160) at 30, 25, and 24 fps using the full width of the sensor with no crop. That’s a big deal because many cameras crop the sensor in 4K mode, giving you a narrower field of view.
For Full HD, you can go up to 120 fps for slow-motion playback. The footage is clean and detailed, though dedicated video shooters will want an external recorder for better codecs and longer recording times.
Use the HDMI output to feed a monitor or recorder. An external mic connected via the 3.5mm input will dramatically improve audio quality over the built-in stereo mic. Monitor your audio through the headphone jack during recording.
Focus Stacking
This is one of the D850’s standout features for landscape and macro photographers. In the Photo Shooting menu, go to Focus shift shooting. Set the number of shots (up to 300), the focus step width (start with 5 and adjust), and the interval between shots. The camera automatically shifts the focus point forward with each frame.
After shooting, combine the images in Photoshop or Helicon Focus to get a final image that’s tack-sharp from front to back. This technique is hard to replicate on cameras that don’t have this feature built in.
Custom Settings Banks
The D850 lets you save four complete banks of settings (A, B, C, D). Set up Bank A for landscapes (low ISO, narrow aperture, single-point AF), Bank B for portraits (wider aperture, face detection, Auto ISO), and Bank C for action (high burst rate, AF-C, dynamic area). Switch between them instantly through the Photo Shooting menu.
This saves a lot of time when you’re switching between shooting styles during an event or a day of mixed shooting.
Tips for Better Results
Use a fast memory card. With files pushing 50-90MB each at 7 fps, a slow card will bottleneck the buffer. XQD or CFexpress cards in slot 1 are the best option. Use the SD card in slot 2 as a backup or overflow.
Turn on illuminated buttons. The D850 has backlit buttons that glow when you activate them. It’s a small thing, but it makes a huge difference when you’re shooting at dusk or in a dark venue.
Calibrate your lenses. At 45.7MP, even slight front-focus or back-focus issues are visible when you pixel-peep. Use the AF fine-tune feature in the Setup menu to dial in each lens.
Shoot at base ISO whenever you can. ISO 64 gives you more dynamic range than almost any other DSLR on the market. Take advantage of it in good light.
Wrapping Up
The Nikon D850 is a camera that keeps giving you more as you learn it. The settings above will get you shooting confidently from the start, but don’t stop there. Dig into the custom settings menu, try different AF area modes, and experiment with focus stacking. The more you customize the camera to match how you shoot, the better your results will be.
See Also