There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
Assuming you do a lot of sport, a D500 will do very well since it's AF is similar to the D5. Landscape and portraits would benefit more from higher MP, like the d850 but 24MP isn't bad. If you don't need more than 24MP, than it would be a good setup.
I believe the D500 is the best AF on a crop body unless the 7dII or a6900 comes out.
One thing to add is that one card slot is SD and the other one is XQD I believe so do be mindful to get a card for that other slot since it has faster writeout which matters for sport.
For Nikon there is no good AF adapter and most of all the lens are manually focused. For G lens there is no aperture control but there is a level so you can get an adapter and manually open it to the desired F-stop. Newer lens have only electronic aperture so you're either shooting wide open or fully stopped down.
Optically the lens work the same and if the body as IBIS, you can set it as such. For zooms, you will have to change this often so do keep that in mind. I've manually focused before and had no problems with birds but do keep in mind that you have to be fast enough to react and for teles, will be an even greater challenge.
Attached below is my 400mm prime with 2x TC. She's super heavy but still optically very good (1980s). The bird is a humming bird about to take off and the shimmer is from the sun in between the branches.
One other note the only truly oriented sports body is the A9 which plays ball with the 1dX2 and D5.
Here's the deal: a lot of very good photographs were taken with much lesser cameras (D90s for instance--in their day). The D500 vs D850 is really an apples to oranges comparison, as is Sport to Landscape--each has it's own pros and cons for those applications--so far, the D850 is the closest to a one size fits all, but they cost an arm and a leg and need the best lenses you can through at them.
So--first thing you must decide, is whether to go with a crop or full-frame sensor.
My vote is for full-frame. You might look for a D810 or even a D800e--check the refurb prices on Nikon's site--they are practically giving D810s away compared to their release price. Also check 610s (if you can find them).
Final note: If you're not into into post processing, forget the full-frames, not worth the money vs what you'll end up with (PP is half the game, maybe 3/4s).
And btw, if those lenses aren't really good lenses ($$$) sell 'em--they won't do much good on a high-end body.
I have the D800e and D850 and love 'em both. Several of my shots posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rayfriedman/
What kind of sports do you shoot, and from what distance? Shooting football from the sidelines is different than from the bleachers.
How much do you shoot sports vs whatever else you shoot? IOW how important is the D500 DX vs say a D850 or 750 FX ?