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Archive 2014 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass

  
 
Berschwinger
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


After seemingly years of seeing others ask how to blow their cash, seems it is finally my turn! I haven't bought any new gear in multiple years and will have extra cash for just that this season. I'm giving myself roughly $2-3k budget. I shoot family portraiture and vacation. I only use flash when I absolutely must, and shoot a ton of high iso. Don't do any sort of studio work - purely in the moment on the fly type shooting. My current kit:

D700, gripped when not travelling
17-35 Tamron - 90% of travel use
35 f/2D - compact kit for when my wife wishes I'd just leave it at home
50 1.4 Sigma - 90% of daily use
55 2.8 AIS macro - got it when I need it
85 1.4 Sigma - hardly ever leaves the bag - should be used more
SB-900

Priorities for me, probably in order of importance:

Fast AF speed w/o hunting - 17-35 and 35 tend to hunt particularly in lower light
Compact size/portability - if it is large I won't carry it (think 70-200 2.8)
Absolutely no routine use of menus on bodies - D3xxx, D5xxx info menus drive me nuts
High iso quality - D700 yellowing above 3200 really bothersome
Large aperture - shoot a ton of low light

I realize the answer is always "only you know what you need", but I really think this helps to get others opinions and experiences. Also just helps me to clear the air and think it through. Thanks all!



Nov 07, 2014 at 09:34 AM
johnctharp
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


Grab a D750, with or without the kit lens. Much cleaner high-ISO shooting and will AF in the dark.


Nov 07, 2014 at 10:14 AM
ckcarr
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


I'm always for upgrading once you get the bug.

Regroup. Put everything up for sale at once. See what sells.
(I don't know what any of the non-Nikon lenses go for though)

Don't keep the D700 as a backup. The "Ask" is around $1,100 right now on buy & sell. Don't have any idea what the final selling price is.

Consider the D750 along with the D810, unless your preference is for the D700 / D810 body & control size. If the camera sells first, so much the better. That will force and drive a decision. For $35 you can have Amazon overnight a new camera.

I'd buy the D810 myself.



Nov 07, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Kell
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


"I shoot family portraiture and vacation. purely in the moment on the fly type shooting."

something along the Fuji lines is what I would do..only reason I own a D610 is for the 70-200 need for sports/ action..I use my Sony RX100 on my motorcycle trips..for all around photography I'm with the smaller, lighter, less is more trend



Nov 07, 2014 at 11:22 AM
mawz
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


D750 and replace the 35/2 with either a 35DX (yes, it does cover FX almost completely) or the 35/1.8G FX. That's your budget there.

Then sell the D700 and buy a 20/1.8 (since you want aperture for high ISO shooting, this is the better solution for wide).

Remember the D810 is not significantly better than the D700 at high ISO. It's more colour stable, but otherwise quite similar. The D750 has a real advantage at high ISO's.



Nov 07, 2014 at 12:24 PM
Dustin Gent
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


D750. But remember that the new sensors are super demanding. I thought that was a "hee-haw" when I was deciding on what to get (ended up with a D600 and 14-24), but it is true.

If you need to 2.8 on an UWA lens, there are a few options, but not a budget friendly



Nov 07, 2014 at 12:46 PM
groob
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


Sounds like the D750 is the perfect camera for your needs. You could get the D750 and the 20mm f1.8 for about $3000.


Nov 07, 2014 at 03:53 PM
rw11
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


One more for the D750 - Fast AF speed w/o hunting and high ISO

sell the Tamron for sure, the 85 that you rarely use can be sold later if the D750 doesn't "make" you use it. keep the 55 Micro or give it to me.

next question is what single lens best meets your specs. for a single do "most of it" lens? maybe the 24-85 VR if the zoom to 120 is too big?



Nov 07, 2014 at 04:02 PM
ckcarr
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


Forgot about that.
The D750 kit with the 24-120mm VR f/4.0 is on sale still.
Get that. Sell everything, get a nice sharp low light lens to supplement....



Nov 07, 2014 at 04:25 PM
Joseph.
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


D750 and 1.8Gs


Nov 07, 2014 at 04:33 PM
Two23
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


You are being pulled in two directions. For travel, something like the Fuji or Olympus OM-D is perfect! However, their weakness is fast AF and ISO above 1600. Probably the perfect system for you might be the Sony A7, with the Zeiss lenses. The problem is not only is your camera dated, so are your lenses. I have a D800E and won't even consider taking it on long family trips. Too big, too bulky. I'm buying an Olympus OM-D with two f2.8 zooms for that. Unless you are doing a lot of really big enlargements, you probably don't need a D8xx at all. That said, buying a used D800 would give you more badly needed cash to update lenses. No way I'd spend the big bucks for a new D810, unless you are doing paid wedding work, and even then the D750 would do the job for less.


Kent in SD



Nov 07, 2014 at 06:28 PM
rw11
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


do you ever shoot action? ever in low light?


Nov 07, 2014 at 08:14 PM
cope07
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


I think your two best options are a Nikon D750 or a Fuji XT1
For the Nikon D750:
-Great low light focusing and tracking
-Great High ISO
-Higher Resolution
-lighter/smaller body than your D700 (but IMHO with a better grip)
-pretty small package with great lowlight abilities when paired with a f/1.8G prime
-optical viewfinder (if that is important for you over an EVF)



For the XT1
-exposure preview EVF
-substantially smaller body (and less so lenses when compared with 1.8G series, fast zooms are a good bit smaller)
-metal body, lots of tactile buttons
-less intimidating for family photos
-Good High ISO, but not D750 caliber

I think you basically need to decide what is more important to you: performance or size/weight. Maybe use camera size/compact camera meter to compare camera and lens sizes



Nov 08, 2014 at 08:25 AM
Berschwinger
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


rw11 wrote:
do you ever shoot action? ever in low light?


Yes if you call chasing my over amped 3 year old around. She is all over the place, and usually the ambient light is poor. Don't know if I would use the X-T1 in those type situations, but the thinking was that would be a camera I would more likely have on me more frequently. Certainly I would expect a D750 or D810 to be much more functional.



Nov 08, 2014 at 10:34 AM
Berschwinger
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


I think the D700 gets the job done. Do I push it to the limits performance wise? Yes I think I do, so I think that I can definitely benefit from either D750 or D810.

My issues with D750:
- Lack of AF-ON button - can reprogram AE-L but I use that for flash lock when using flash.
- Plasticy shutter sound/feel - quieter than D700 but doesn't feel quality
- Square viewfinder - had it for years on DX but I prefer the round viewfinder
- Max shutter of 1/4000. I go over that often shooting in daylight, but I do have a ND4 filter

So are these enough to bump up to a D810? My gut tells me pick up a X-T1, but I'll be duplicating most of my kit in a different mount. Seems wasteful, and I'm still not getting the best performance I could have had. The thing is like 1/3 the size though, and pairing it with a pancake the two aren't even comparable. X-T1 is what the DF should have been.



Nov 08, 2014 at 10:54 AM
mawz
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


cope07 wrote:
For the XT1
-exposure preview EVF
-substantially smaller body (and less so lenses when compared with 1.8G series, fast zooms are a good bit smaller)
-metal body, lots of tactile buttons
-less intimidating for family photos
-Good High ISO, but not D750 caliber

I think you basically need to decide what is more important to you: performance or size/weight. Maybe use camera size/compact camera meter to compare camera and lens sizes


Having just come from Fuji X back to Nikon, do not expect good high ISO from the Fuji X bodies. They do not do as well at high ISO as the current Nikon DX bodies, let alone any FX body. My D3200 is noticably better at ISO 3200 and 6400 than my X-E1 was (X-E1 has identical RAW IQ to the X-T1) The D700 is significantly better at high ISO than the X-T1. It's worth noting that Fuji overstates their ISO ratings something fierce. The listed ISO 200-6400 range in RAW on all X bodies is in fact 125-4000. This is a win at low ISO where you really do want ISO 125 instead of 200, but when you need 6400, it simply isn't there on the Fuji. The Fuji's extended ISO settings (100 and above 6400) are also JPEG-only.

A pity, as the rest of the package is superb. The lenses are outstanding and the bodies range from good (X-E1) to superb (X-T1).



Edited on Nov 08, 2014 at 11:32 AM · View previous versions



Nov 08, 2014 at 11:26 AM
mawz
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


Berschwinger wrote:
I think the D700 gets the job done. Do I push it to the limits performance wise? Yes I think I do, so I think that I can definitely benefit from either D750 or D810.

My issues with D750:
- Lack of AF-ON button - can reprogram AE-L but I use that for flash lock when using flash.
- Plasticy shutter sound/feel - quieter than D700 but doesn't feel quality
- Square viewfinder - had it for years on DX but I prefer the round viewfinder
- Max shutter of 1/4000. I go over that
...Show more

Couple notes:

Set the Fn button to AE/FL-lock. Works very well overall.

Don't worry about the shutter compared to the D700, you have the exact same EV at max shutter and base ISO (1/8000 at ISO 200 or Lo1[100] vs 1/4000 at ISO100 or Lo1[50]) so you actually gain as you've got more highlight recovery and can overexpose by an extra stop or so and still recover vs the D700 files.

The D750 also shares the D700's shutter life rating of 150k, the different sound is mostly in how the vibrations are transmitted (shutterbox on D700 is magnesium with a magnesium shell, the D750 is magnesium with a carbon fibre impregnated thermoplastic shell. D750 is actually tougher)

That square viewfinder actually covers a larger viewfinder (0.7x 100% vs 0.7x 95% on the D700), The main loss is actually the eyepiece shutter, not the round eyepiece (although the D750 will shed the rubber eyepiece like all square finders, the D700 locks its eyepiece in place)



Nov 08, 2014 at 11:32 AM
mmurph
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


I also couldn't give up my DSLR's, and would not suggest it. I do have a mirrorless as a 2nd tier or 3rd tier kit, which limits the amount that I am willing to spend on mirrorless. I wouldn't spend much more than about $1k on that right now.

I have had 6 different mirrorless over the past few years. Lately I have been looking at the A6000, A7, Fuji XE-2, and Olympus EM-5.

The problem with the Sony are the crappie, (A6000 kit lens) limited, (A7) or expensive lenses (both. ) The Fuji lenses are also pretty expensive on the surface, but compared to the Sony A6000 I think it is not so bad, because the Fuji 18-55 2.8-4.0 gives you a very good "kit" lens out of the box.

There was a used Fuji XE-2 kit with the excellent 18-55 that sold here used for $825, which is getting close to the going price. You can add an 18 2.0 used for about $300, which gives me the basic kit that I need. You might add one reasonable portrait prime instead. Then use that as a lower ISO portrait and travel kit.

The other option that I am going to compare to is a Nikon D5300 (or D3300) with the new 18-55 VR II collapsible kit lens, which is surprisingly good. Plus the Excellent+ Sigma 17-50 2.8 OS for more speed, which you can buy for $350, a real bargain. Plus the Nikon 35 1. 8g and 50 1.8g for about $150 each.

Thst is about the same net cost as a Fuji XE-2 with 2 prime lenses. It gives you a great, small DSLR for casual use.

Then invest the other $2k in your main DSLR kit.

Good luck!



Nov 08, 2014 at 01:37 PM
m.sommers00
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


Given that you take the D700 on vacation, a 750 or 8x0 won't be shocking.

For your needs I'd say a 750 would fit the bill well coupled with a 16-35 and 24-120. It's a slick travel combo. I've used it for multiple trips taking my D800 and hasn't let me down. Of course if I could afford a D810, 14-24, 24-70 and Zeiss 100 plus filter and kit I'd do that but I travel solo typically with photography being a major factor for travelling. Depends how much you're willing to haul and focus is on the family vs. photography driven.



Nov 08, 2014 at 02:09 PM
gfinlayson
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Upgrade Advice - Compact vs D810 vs Glass


D800 and save some cash?..... Uses CF the same as your D700, similar control layout. I'm not convinced the D810 is enough of an upgrade for the extra $$$. The D750 has the "DX" control layout which is hard work compared to the 'pro' layout of the D8xx and is dual SD card....

The 35 f/2 will show its weaknesses on the newer sensor bodies - the 35 f/1.8 G is an option although the bokeh isn't the best. The 28 f/1.8 G if you can live with a little wider would be my choice - the distortion is easily correctable, it's sharp wide open and the bokeh is very buttery.



Nov 08, 2014 at 02:59 PM
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