Night race

At a glance

£3,499body only

• 45.7MP full-frame FX CMOS sensor

• ISO 64-25,600 (expandable to ISO 32-102,400)

• Up to 9fps with EN-EL18b battery in MB-D18

• 3.2in tilting touch-sensitive LCD

• Dual card slot (XQD+SD)

• 4K video

For this panning shot I increased the sensitivity to ISO 20,000. A few years ago this sensitivity would have been deemed unusable Nikon D850, Nikon AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, 1/160sec at f/4.5, ISO 20,000

The D850 didn't suffer in any way as a result of getting absolutely drenched during the shoot

‘The grip’s larger-capacity battery increases the shooting stamina from 1,840 shots to over 5,000’

You wait weeks for your chance to shoot an event you've been looking forward to, only to have your high hopes ruined by the weather. It's a situation most of us can say we've experienced at some point and for me, today seems to be that day. As my eyes adjust to the fading light and I attempt in vain to find the optimum wiper setting to clear the windscreen of persistent drizzle, I consider making a U-turn and heading home. Not one for being defeatist, I carry on driving into the gloom, spurred on by the thought that tonight I have a date with one of the best DSLRs ever made. I am referring to the Nikon D850 – a camera I reviewed a couple of months ago and came to the conclusion is an all-round sensation. Since writing my verdict, I've been itching to get back out with it again to shoot something that involves putting all of its key strengths to the test simultaneously.

As I hand over my ticket for tonight's Britcar ‘Into the Night' race event at Brands Hatch, it dawns on me that I've photographed numerous motorsport events in daylight,