Precision reliability: Nikon shows off its weather and toughness testing methods for the Nikon D850

 

 

Earlier this year, we did extensive water torture testing on a variety of industry-leading cameras, including the Nikon D850. The success of the D850 helped us crown it the best camera of 2017. In a recent video published by Nikon Asia, we gain valuable insight into why the D850 was so successful in our own water torture testing and also why it excelled in different environments during Field Testing.

When manufacturing and testing the D850, Nikon engineers looked at ways to ensure that there was not going to be ingress of water or dust during not just normal use, but extreme use as well. For professional photographers such as Marcel van Oosten, he regularly takes gear into very harsh environments where his equipment is subjected to very hot and cold temperatures, dust, water, ice and more. When your livelihood is on the line, you must be able to trust your equipment to perform in even the most demanding scenarios.

Nikon designer Hirokazu Tsuchihashi says, "There are times you want to take a picture, even though it's raining or it's dusty. The [D850] has extensive sealing to prevent water and dust from getting in. We've tested water resistance by simulating rainfall from various directions. We wanted to design a camera that wouldn't let a single drop of water in, even after a long time in the rain." In addition to testing for rainfall and dust, Nikon also subjected the D850 to incredibly humid testing environments. Further, the magnesium alloy body was designed specifically to protect the most sensitive components inside the camera. Nikon tests the camera in drop, impact and vibration tests in addition to the weather testing. You can see some of Nikon's testing equipment and hear from different designers and engineers in the video below.

It's worth noting that Nikon are far from the only company testing their cameras to these extremes. In our water torture test, other cameras performed admirably as well. Nonetheless, we thought this Nikon video was neat and worth sharing.

(Via Nikon Asia)