Scrumhalf wrote:
Any recommendations on first lens to get with a D800? 28/1.8 seems to get a lot of love... I need something that I can use the camera with for a while, getting used to it before dropping $s for the serious glass (although the 28/1.8 is no slouch from what I have read). Or maybe the 70-200 F4, something I would get anyway?
what kind of stuff do you shoot? 28mmf1.8 and 70-200f4 are completely different animals....
also, what budget are you looking at?
if you're just getting an interim lens to use while you save up for something better, the kit lens that comes with the D800 if you purchase it in a kit will do that at low cost to let you save up for some higher end lenses.
I current shoot with a Canon 7D with a 10-22, 17-55, 70-200 F4 L and 100-400L lenses. For those unfamiliar with the Canon ecosystem, the 10-22 and the 17-55 are probably the best crop UWA and standard zooms respectively - L-like optical quality for crop cameras. I feel like I have an awesome setup, but the pull of the Nikon sensor is frankly bewitching..
I would love to have a Sigma 35/1.4, but at this time, I don't want to add any more Canon lenses until I know which way I am going. Everything I have I bought used, so other than the hassle, I can come of of it at reasonably close to break even if I sell everything, so I am not too worried about switching systems.
I am interested in anything from landscapes to general family-type stuff to wildlife. No studio stuff, weddings, etc. I am strictly amateur, shooting for personal enjoyment and nothing else.
So on the Nikon side, I would like to recreate my Canon setup, which I feel is pretty much perfect for my shooting style. I would like to end up with the 14-24, the 24-70 and the 70-200F4 with perhaps the 80-400 for wildlife stuff. But that's a significant financial outlay and while it is within my means, I don't want to do it all at once. I would probably start with one lens with a D800 and then gradually add stuff as I simultaneously sell off my Canon stuff.
Well, at least that's the general thinking I have..
Nikon factory refurbed cameras come with a 90 day factory warranty,but if you purchase one from Cameta, they include a 12 month warranty. I purchased a factory refurbed Nikon D3 from Cameta with 10 clicks on the shutter. BTW, Cameta is approx. 2 miles from Nikon USA headquarters & service center. If there is an issure, they will probably just take it there.
I purchased my D5100, my dad's D5100, and a couple of lenses as refurbs. No issues whatsoever. I would have bought my D600 refurb as well, but I jumped on that bandwagon very early as there weren't any refurbs available at the time. The early adopter tax is irritating, but oh well. I'm quite happy with all my refurbs and gladly shop for them before shopping for new stuff whenever I can.
I just purchased a wife from Russia with a refurb body. She is expected to be here next Tuesday. If I don't like her, anyone had any experience with this and know if I can send her back?
Sorry it's late and when someone said "refurb body" I just had to.
FWIW I really don't like purchasing cameras as Refurbs. Lenses are a whole different animal though. Cameras to me are like purchasing a new car with used tires on it.
Hmmm.. to each his own, I guess, but I got my 7D with 140 clicks on it. It came from the Canon store after it had been thoroughly checked out by factory technicians. To me it was as good as new and I paid less than $950 for a camera that was selling new at that time for over $1200. I can't see how one could go wrong.
Scrum, I bought quite a few bodies and lens from the Canon store, all were excellent. When I was buying from Canon they seemed to stock inventory better than the Nikon refurb does, the only thing I had wait on from Canon was my IDMkIV. I've been looking for one of the 300's to show up in the Nikon store for awhile, no luck yet.
About your lens purchase, I'd buy one of the ones you want. First one I got for the D800 was the 14-24, when I bought it I was planning on using it for landscape only. The results I was seeing from the D800 were so mind blowing I picked up a 24-70, and my copy of it is much better than the Canon one I had at the time. If you want a cheap lens to fool around with I've found the 50 1.8 and the 85 1.8 to be very good. I can say without reservation I'm very happy with the Nikon glass, its very good.
I did the exact same with the refurbished D600. My body had about 7000 actuations. The sensor was littered with dust and barely usable. It cost me $75 at my local pro shop after receiving the body a day later to have the sensor cleaned. Disappointed Nikon sent this body out with a horribly dirty sensor at 7000 clicks. Other than that I also bought used from the same store and received a year warranty. Even with the inconvenience which was not that big of a deal, I netted a savings of nearly $400 over a brand-new body. Would recommend.
Thanks Rick and others! I have a lot of travel scheduled for this summer, so I am not intending to do a camera platform change in the middle of that. My 7D will see a lot of action over the next few months. I am almost certainly planning to switch to the D800 but will probably wait until the Thanksgiving/holiday season to see if I can get some good deals, as well as to see if Canon announces a megapixel camera of their own..
I can't bear the thought of giving up my big white lenses!
Tillman, I'm glad things worked out for you, but if I got a refurb with 7000 activations, it is going back. To me a refurb should have less than 100 actuations ideally, or no more than few hundred. 4 digits is too much IMO.
Anyone know what's up with the NIkon refurbished store? I can't find it, and I had it bookmarked - looked earlier today and all was good, now it's either gone or they've changed it a lot.
Yep, not sure what happened. I was looking at it just a couple of days ago - saw D800s for $2379 and getting ideas, and now the link is broken. There still is a page at nikonusa.com but clicking on it takes it to a domain name provider.
I purchased my refurbished d800 from Adorama. FWIW, I just did a quick google check and both Adorama and B&H have a little better pricing than the NikonUSA store on their d800 refurbs.
I've purchased quite a few refurbished Nikon items. Most recently a D7000 and a few lenses, all from Adorama. They've all been perfect from what I can tell, no sign of use what so ever. The body only had around 400 actuations. I'm all about saving money if I keep getting good stuff like this.
The only problem I have with buying refurbs is waiting long enough for them to be available.
Generally, I am on the cutting edge , or at least I used to be before I ran out of money.
When good products do come out, it is sometimes possible to resell them in the first few months for as much or more if there is a real shortage.
Of course, if there is no demand the resale value plummets.
, or at least I used to be before I ran out of money. 