NIkon D850: Unboxing And Full Menu Setup

OK, I normally don't do unboxing videos, but I've had a few requests for it - along with a lot more requests for my initial setup. So, in the video above, we'll do a very brief unboxing so you can see just what you get with the new D850 and then we'll dive into the setup.
For setup, we'll go into the menus and I'll show you all the things I change / adjust - and more importantly, why I make the adjustments I do. We'll go through the Setup, Playback, and Custom Settings menus. NOTE - for this video we're only going to discuss the options I change, not the ones I leave alone.
Finally, this is just a quick video and isn't my normal style with all the fancy b-roll, cuts, etc. I just don't have time right now for one of those (this video would have taken me 30 hours + of production work if I went that route).
Nikon AF Book:
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[@backcountrygallery]

Have nature and wildlife photography questions? Check out the BCG Forums! Ask and answer gear and technique questions questions, post photos and more. Check it out and sign up today! bcgforums.com/index.php Bonus - I also post exclusive tips, tricks, and techniques to the forum you can't get anywhere else! Check it out!

[@cheristader8842]

I just upgraded to the D850 and was so thrilled to find this vid (somehow I new I would!) Your tutorials have been so helpful with my previous D7200, I knew I could count on you with the D850. Thank you!

[@darrenfrancis5042]

Loving my D850

[@DennisWachtel]

thx Steve for taking the time! Already have the ebook...great reading material! Looking forward as your field report.

[@andyf4970]

I got mine 27 hours ago and I am already in love. Had my first trial photo shoot in a studio today and the results took my breath away. I also tried Snap Bridge and managed to take some selfies. It's far from perfect, but I might find it useful, will see. Thanks for the tips, mine were 90% the same.

[@ronleach5512]

As usual another excellent video. Your videos and your Nikon Autofocus book have helped my photography improve immensely. Thank you.

[@garyross9163]

Steve, This was great! I have been a Canon guy for a long time but just switched from Canon to my first Nikon. I cannot tell you how useful this is for folks new to this platform.

[@dillanmcsparen]

Thanks for this quick set up info! As usual you're my "go to guy" for all of my Nikon gear. I just got my D500 back from the shop and all settings are reset to factory settings and my memory chip is not loading my saved settings and I have a shoot in a few hours! This got me up and gong fast. I also LOVE your online books, I just downloaded the 2 new ones, Deep Focus Techniques, and Secrets to Exposure and Metering for Nikon. I can't wait to find a moment and go through them. Again thanks so much for making my photography journey so much easier to understand!

[@arturocalvo8034]

One of the best phototutorial channels in KZbin.Congrats.

[@scorpio4230]

Thanks so much for this video! Finally getting ready to move up from my Nikon D5200 to the 850e and will be following your recommended setup instructions. Although I’m photographing mostly sports/cityscapes and sometimes wildlife while being able to change the in-camera settings when necessary, it’s been great to get your explanation regarding some of the more complicated (and perhaps mundane, given that ordinarily one would have to read pages of instruction manual information to hopefully understand, what you do very clearly, in a fraction of the time) information. Another aspect which has made me a subscriber is that you are a dedicated Nikon photographer/ambassador! Since all of my cameras have been/are Nikons, as well as the lenses, it’s fantastic to be able to learn how to take great photos with Nikon products. Thanks for the information and please keep the great videos and newsletters coming!

[@colindee5677]

Thank you for this, I’ve just replaced my D850 after my previous one followed a retreating wave off a beach. Unsurprisingly both the lens and the camera were ruined! So, this was really a helpful suggestion for settings that I had not considered before. Very well explained and with just the right level of detail.

[@PatriciaPomerleau]

Thanks so much for this video Steve! I received my D850 right as promised on Sept 8. There are lots of general "what do I think about the D850" videos, but you are the only one who has taken the time to go through the menu set up so thoughtfully. I'm looking forward to your full assessment after you kick the tires. I also just bought your Nikon AF book and am planning on much better images from now on : ) Your videos are great. Good voice, well modulated, great info. A trifecta.

[@terrygoyan3022]

Thanks for this video. It really is applicable to most current Nikon cameras. Love the set up tips and I use them on my D500 and D750. It takes time to learn all the possible set up features on new cameras and this video gives a leg up by someone that uses these cameras on a daily basis!

[@shalynhuehn4194]

I have to say thank you for this video! I just picked up the D850 (first pro camera) and your video really helped me set it up specially with all the new advanced features! I did change one thing, which may help other people. I'm actually using the front Pv button as my AF-ON. I have small hands and I found it uncomfortable to reach for the back AF-ON button. This front AF-ON is sooo much easier for me to use!

[@ckhatri13]

Thanks for the settings walk-through! Loving this camera so far!

[@marilyngiannuzzi9867]

I will get mine tomorrow,so excited!

[@jorisvanderhoevenphotography]

Thanks for the informative video, Steve! Also, thanks for your e-book on the nikon autofocus system. While I was waiting for my D850 pre-order to arrive, I decided to pick up your book and read through it. Now that my camera has arrived everything makes a lot more sense. It's quite a jump coming from the D3200, but your e-book makes the complex autofocus system and all its options a lot more easy to understand. Cheers, Joris.

[@bhuboydeleon3699]

Huhuhu, just bought d500 last march, now this beast comes, need to buy it, and have now the best of both world for my wildlife and landscape photography

[@glhernan1]

Thank you Steve. I really needed this info. Love my D850

[@jpaul4595]

Thanks Steve, this will be helpful. I just ordered a D850 and it will delivered this week. Nikon has a nice promotion that includes the grip, so I pulled the trigger. I have been very happy with my D810, but looking forward to the D850.

[@ekpunjabi38]

Thank you my friend, it was pretty straight forward to follow your instructions. I was setting up my new Nikon D850, you helped me a lot.

[@rotvonrat]

Your videos are not only brilliant, but very educational even for an older photographer like me.

[@Sean_Coyne]

Thanks Steve, that helps get things up and running out of the box, when everything is a bit overwhelming. Of all the great things I love about the D850 over my D7200, one of the most obvious was, as left eye user, the back focus button placing means I no longer poke myself in the right eye, as would sometimes happen on the D7200. :-) Just loving this camera!

[@GUERRO06]

great job stevo!!!! ordered mine last week...IM PUMPED!!!

[@rockycpa]

I can't wait to get mine.

[@bassangler73]

Thanks! Im anxious for your full review

[@daviddowling9830]

Just received mine today and went straight to this tutorial. Hint for those viewing on an iPad,select your playback speed to 3/4,makes it much easier to follow,beside sounds like Steve just had one too many.😃

[@skakdosmer]

Congratulations with your new camera! Very nice to quickly see your settings. Not all of them apply to my Canon Eos 70D, but there was one or two that made me think, that's a good idea!

[@TonyTarantula]

Loved the unboxing. I put away the cable clip thingy too as I figured I would never use it. Great vid.

[@StafferryWildlifeGallery]

Such a very nice review, and D850 just amazing!

[@desertoo23]

I just can't wait for the full review with some amazing pictures as you always do. The best reviewer hands down!

[@backcountrygallery]

Thanks! I'm anxious to head out with the camera and start shooting :)

[@desertoo23]

Oh, yes please!!!!

[@1023lgordon]

Thanks Steve, another great video you explain thing's very well, I was following along with my D500, looking forward to your next video...

[@andrewn7329]

Excellent review as always

[@nicks231988]

Yayyyy. So excited to set my camera the same way u did. 😁😁😍📸 I just got my D850❤️😁🥂

[@Sykosis138]

Awesome Steve. Thank you.

[@VladimirNaumoff]

Excellent presentation Steve. Really helpful!

[@PictoWrit]

Thank you for your comprehensive video.

[@richardg6949]

This was a good one, I set mine up as I watched this.

[@angelomarcialis7376]

Excellent tutorial Steve!

[@donwest1869]

As always, great tutorial. I'm using a bunch on my new 850; I have a D500, so many are familiar

[@JaseEvoX]

Good job Steve, I got my D850 on Thursday, love it already but look forward to hearing what you think of it after a good test

[@The_Active_Region]

Steve, thanks for showing how to set up the menu on the D850 and what things mean. You saved me from many hours of fumbling through the manual. Great channel and photography related information.

[@stuartlaird9848]

Thanks Steve, very helpful

[@01157929]

Hi just got my D850 camera before I had a D7000, I really love this camera I did all the settings just like you did, hopefully I get to share some pictures here, thank you very much👍👍

[@jameslarsen9814]

I use Canon, but I watched most of this video anyway lol - great work! The D850 looks like an absolute beast. That price point is very reasonable too considering the specs. Can't wait to see your full review! On another note, I wish Canon would put out a body like this!!

[@virendraprajapati1835]

Lovely presentation

[@mmike6457]

very helpful setup !! THANK YOU

[@ophimages7595]

This is a great video and so helpful, Steve is one of the best wildlife photography on KZbin, As all way thank you

[@npet6842]

Great lesson for us Canon users thinking of jumping ship .

[@MohammadIrfanSafdarAli]

Thanks for wonderful review 👍

[@melodicprogressivehousemph6429]

Literally just picked mine up. Got the D850 with 10k shots + Nikon battery grip + RRS L bracket for 1.9K Was a steal as the battery pack and L bracket amounted to $600. So I basically got the camera for $1300. Ended up befriending the chap.

[@Richie_RHD]

Thank you for this. I couldn’t seem to get my images on the screen to appear as they are when in post production. There was an area you covered that I had set to low instead of normal. Now my photos don’t look under exposed on a quick review.

[@tw9535]

Great video... as you always do. I would have bet the first setting you would go straight to is disengaging AF-ON from the shutter button. Even before setting the date/time!

[@safeharbor7]

Love your videos Steve, thanks for the help. Thumbs up...

[@8888Riley]

Just ordered mine!! Thanks for this great video.. cant wait till its in my hands.. I have coveted this camera ever since it came out! Chose it over the Z7 after much much debate :P

[@RustyCraven]

I have never used anything but Canon, Still have A1 film camera, up to 5DS R. Just ordered my first Nikon D850 and look forward to some serious testing. Surely do appreciate your video to help getting started.

[@clasijuls1]

thank you sooo much Steve ,helped me sooo much

[@timafter909]

Great video, Clear and really useful. . Just got my D850 and wow. A "few" more options than the 750 which in my former job in communications my camera was D750 Have not done first shoot yet although going from 25 to 46 me a photographers friend warned me that even after shooting for 20 years the pixel size and detail increase could show small errors while handholding in landscape and architecture that the 750 could hide. Don't know....yet. Followed your setup instructions and for most part they are what I would use. Bonus. The 850 is the "beast" and I (think) am going trekking this summer. Thanks for bang up presentation. I will be checking out the book(s) for sure and the tips and tricks . 😆

[@kkonstantinosss2]

Excellent video!

[@irajnaghash]

Thank you very good information and setting.

[@kevinhartman1863]

Finally got mine yesterday, should have been here on September 8th as well....my 40th birthday. Oh well now I got it.

[@johnmontana18]

very helpful, as I reset and was unsure how to get settings back as they were. Thank you

[@josephmelario8411]

this was very well done , Thank you .

[@alienm2554]

Thank you Steve, this is my first Nikon and I was a bit lost...hahaha

[@rameshgangale3623]

Wonderful camera, someday i hope to own one.

[@jc32750]

Ha ha, I went through my D500 settings as you were setting up your new D850. Nice refresher.

[@backcountrygallery]

Yup, the options are about the same between those two bodies.

[@19Photographer76]

Great refresher!

[@puvat4480]

Thank you so much brother❤

[@namly9868]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

[@zyiola]

I'm waiting to get mine at some point.

[@612morrison]

I use Nikons "manual viewer 2 app" for all the manuals for cameras and speedlights. There all in one place and its easy to find what your looking for.

[@grossidm]

Looking forward to getting mine Steve. I guess they send them to ya'll before us "regular" people ;). Happy to find out I'm not on the backorder list. It's going to be my second body so I don't have to keep switching from my 600 on the tripod to 2-500 handheld to chase creatures. I'm stoked about having some better ISO performance over my D500 when I'm shooting above 1600.

[@niftytubeman]

PDF of the manual is a gold hint.

[@BaharaniBoy]

I like it thank. For all video.🌷

[@franksamet]

Very useful

[@gm010379]

THANKYOU...

[@marlonfarmer3544]

Purchased a D850 recently and things we’re going well until last week when the camera no longer responded to my Nikon 105 F2 DC it does read my Sigma 85mm f1.4 either. Probably not the forum for this but I’ve been scouring the web for answers without success. I did factory reset already didn’t help. Camera works well with 50mm, 24-70 and 105 macro.

[@blarkdexture8899]

Cool!

[@jzjz001]

Hi Steve, Thanks for the video! I look forward to your field test video in a few weeks. I'm very interested in your evaluation of the ISO sensitivity. From the specs, the max ISO is 2 stops short of the D5's, which is disappointing, especially for wildlife shooting. So waiting to see what you think of it. Thanks man! Enjoy your new toy! -Jack

[@WillN2Go1]

This was really helpful. Thanks. I just got the D850 and for some dumb reason I missed the RAW setting. I thought I had it, but the menu with all the JPEG settings was short and followed by blank space. Your video made me scroll down a bit more and there were all the RAW settings. I don't remember having this problem on the D2X, the D5200, or the D7200. Thanks. (The manual is a joke. I guess I have to check out your book...) AND... your Auto ISO trick with birds? My head exploded and the last little bit of film in there went up in a puff of smoke. Been using that one since you first released it.

[@roberts693]

Hi Steve. This video is so informative. I have my D850 on order here in Sheffield, England.I used your video to set up my D810 some time ago. Can't wait for your field testing of the D850. Your style is so relaxed & flows very logically. I'm not sure what types of xqd card to put in the D850? I shoot landscape and macro, so speed is not an issue here. Never bought an xqd before & because of the cost I don't want to buy a card I don't really need. Enjoy the D850. Regards. Robert

[@briandobyns1718]

I enjoy your book and this is a nice video on setting things up. Would love to see a video on using custom settings bank and photo shooting banks. I often switch from shooting landscapes to indoor sports, outdoor sports, people in low light/daylight, etc. I am wondering if using the different banks if it would make it easier to switch between them all rather than readjusting my camera setting every time.

[@Nikonmannen]

Nice video

[@HHTV60]

I'm watching this in the summer of 2020, after the shipment of my pre-ordered Canon EOS R6 got delayed till October ... So, I cancelled the order and switched back to Nikon, and got a brand new gray market D850 for 50 bucks cheaper than the R6. Thanks for the tips.

[@matthewbaken7669]

Autofocus mode restriction is very handy. I shoot sports and have inadvertently switched to AF-S, which is very very frustrating.

[@stevenlui8105]

Another good one Steve! I've tried my D850 briefly to take some BIF photos and didn't find any big difference with my D500 in terms of control and AF performance. I've yet to check image quality because of not able to access Raw files in LR at the moment. But I guess I'm very likely selling my D500 after the vertical grip arrives.

[@akshaydhawde8732]

Hey, This is a really cool video. I enjoy watching all of your videos on your channel. The videos are really informative. Can u also do a tutorial kinda video for nikon d7500?

[@backcountrygallery]

I just did a D7500 review that sort of acts as a tutorial. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKGsiGOVZbKEe8k

[@ghilbid]

Thank you for a lovely review. However, you missed out quite a few things in "Controls"'. You should have shared what they do even if you don't change them. I always set my Nikons as per my taste and preference too. I have a question to ask about ""Group AF"... of the four illuminated points, which one prioritizes the focus on a - say - elongated object. And what's happening in the dead center of those four illuminated points? And in your spoonbill picture reference of the same, which one should be kept on the eye of the bird, in that particular angle, for instance? Thank you.

[@Freddy2Noel]

Great set-up as always, thanks Steve. My D850 pre-order will be delivered only by the end of October,mid-November, damn! Any tip on how to get hold of one earlier? Looking forward to see your full review in a few weeks. Cheers

[@backcountrygallery]

LOL if I knew that, I could sell the info and retire!

[@daviddowling9830]

Love your channel Steve. I must assume that similar settings for a d750 and d500 would be pretty much the same, Still waiting for my 850.

[@backcountrygallery]

Pretty much. The D500 has most of the same settings, the D750 has a different menu and slightly different options. Still close though.

[@ghilbid]

Where can I find your review and test report about the D750? Also, ever since the last firmware update, when I mount a flash (Yongnuo 565EX), the shutter really has to be depressed hard in order to snap a shot. It's like I am pushing the camera to do that job. However, it was not the case before the latest firmware update that came out some months ago. But when the flashed are remotely controlled, it works like a charm. What's going on wrong and where? Thank you.

[@MegaMatojo]

Like to see how do with the big primes.

[@BerzerkaDurk]

1:45 - i believe that clip is for cable retention when using the HDMI port.

[@49eddieg]

Great stuff here but I have a question, Does Adobe Light Room support the D850 RAW Files?

[@daytonwhittle7592]

Yu the lead singer for journeys

[@ganeshbeee]

Hi Steve, Is it possible to assign the Pv or Fn button to choose between FX/DX modes? like for instance if i am shooting FX and would like to use DX for few shots, it will be great to hold the Pv/Fn to temporarily shift to DX.

[@MrJueKa]

thanks for showing your general menu setup - Why do you prefer "Active-D-Lighting" set to "OFF"? Isn`t "Active-D-Lighting" one of the great benefits Nikon cameras have?

[@christosphillips3568]

Steve thanks for sharing, You know, you gonna have to amend your e-book too now just like you did with the D7500 right? Hehe ....long hours await you my man ....congrats , mine was in yesterday.....loving it already👊

[@backcountrygallery]

Yup - I'll have the book updated about the same time the review comes out. The truth is, it's a pretty easy update though - all the custom functions are already covered, the AF system is the same as the D5/D500 so I just need to make those sections read D5/D500/D850. The only new stuff I see so far is the pinpoint AF in LV, focus peaking, and focus stacking. So, not too tough.

[@christosphillips3568]

No group vertical or horizontal like the D5 did you notice?

[@backcountrygallery]

Nope, just regular Group. I'm actually still not convinced of the usefulness of the H and L group AF areas, so not sure it's a painful loss.

[@christosphillips3568]

Neither am I TBH , frame rate rocks though cannot wait for the grip....Thanks man all the best with the review, sure looking forward to it about as much as the battery grip😂

[@backcountrygallery]

Yeah, one of the biggest selling points was the grip and no one has them!

[@MuraliKrishna-wj8qq]

I like nicon d 850

[@freedom978]

Hello Steve'' I would like to ask you another Q: Can i adjust/ increase the recording time on the D7200? I believe I am getting 10 minutes' ... I have been using the ISO setting as you last suggested and its been working good for me Thank you.

[@bhuboydeleon3699]

Hi steve, regarding the auto white balance, you did not change it, doest auto white balance settings, affect raw files, thanks

[@backcountrygallery]

I tend to leave AWB on for most shots, it doesn't "bake in" the settings in a RAW file. It simply puts them in, and you can easily change them when you output the RAW file. So, I don't worry about it too much. If it's really off I may change it in the field so what I see on the LCD more or less matches the scene, but that's just for me - I can do teh same thing with no loss of quality back in Lightroom.