Have a decision to make...
I am using 2 Nikon D300 for weddings, seniors, and other events
Love these cameras with 17-55 f2.8 and 85 f1.4 lenses and SB900
Last year saw thinking to buy D700 and 24-70 but not sure is that worth $2500 difference
The D700 would be a better choice than the D300. Just use FF compatible lenses with the D700 and the DX compatible lenses on the D300. You don't *have* to pick up a 24-70 to make good use of the D700. In addition to the 85/1.4, you could also pick up a couple cheap FF primes which would shine on it.
By all means, go with the D700. I have the D700-D300 combo. The 24-70 will basically give you what the 17-55 offers on DX, but even better image quality. The 85 f/1.4 is even more beautiful on FX, great bokeh.
My next step would be two D700s with 35 f/1.4 on one body, 85 f/1.4 on other for weddings. But since Nikion does not have an AF 35 1.4, I'm not springing for a second D700.
deepbluejh wrote:
The D700 would be a better choice than the D300. Just use FF compatible lenses with the D700 and the DX compatible lenses on the D300. You don't *have* to pick up a 24-70 to make good use of the D700. In addition to the 85/1.4, you could also pick up a couple cheap FF primes which would shine on it.
What he said. I really enjoy the FF world, you could shoot a 35mm and that 85(135mm effective on DX) and have a great kit.
By all means, go with the D700. I have the D700-D300 combo. The 24-70 will basically give you what the 17-55 offers on DX, but even better image quality. The 85 f/1.4 is even more beautiful on FX, great bokeh.
My next step would be two D700s with 35 f/1.4 on one body, 85 f/1.4 on other for weddings. But since Nikion does not have an AF 35 1.4, I'm not springing for a second D700.
D700 for sure. Simply for the full frame sensor. Also, instead of getting the 24-70, why not the 70-200? I am sure the Nikon version is better than the Sigma one (I use Canon so I wouldn't know...)
I had the D300 and it was very nice, especially coming from a 40D/5D combo. However, the iso performance and the "depth" of FF makes a huge difference. A lot of people go FF and wind up going all FF. I, personally, didn't like having a mixed bag of crop and FF even though it has advantages in terms of varied focal lengths. The IQ from the D700 is on a different level and you'll be able to see that right off the bat.
A nice setup would be a D300+17-55 and D700+ 85/1.4 and Sigma 50/1.4.
just be prepared to get two D700s after a while... it's hard to go back to crop after using FF. I have the D700/D300 combo, and plan on selling the D300 after the wedding this weekend.
I think the d700 is absolutely worth it. I have the d700 d300 combo and I will be changing to full frame for weddings next year for sure. I actually just picked up the 85/1.4 and it does look amazing on the d700, the 300 looks awesome as well but it feels different. I think it's just the camera body.
One thing I know for sure is that when I look at my photos in lightroom from the last wedding and see what they were shot with, the d700 with 24-70, or 85 mm were a way higher % than shot with the d300.
Get the D700 and get ready to replace your d300 with another D700.
Once you start shooting the d700 the d300 will not satisfy you...at least that was my experience, especially for wedding use.
I only use my d300 now for ring pictures with the macro and for a knocking around camera.
D700 , you will love the 85mm 1.4 on it. I shoot a d300/d700 combo with a 20 - 35 f.8 on the d700 and either a 35-70mm f2.8 or 80-200mm f2.8 on the d3000. Also, the extra reach is sometimes nice with the DX.....thomas
If you need to upgrade one on your bodies, then yes, going FF will probably be worth it. Outside of some of the image-quality intangibles that FF provides, if you make good use of the shallower DOF and better high-ISO performance then you will benefit from a new D700.
That said, I don't know that a D700 + 24-70 will significantly outperform a D300 + 17-55. Not in a way that will meaningfully effect your revenue. If both of your current bodies are working fine and your clients are happy, maybe you don't need to spend that money for another year. Maybe by that time the D700x will be out. Who knows?
We're in the process of making a similar decision, and I think that we're going to get the D700 to pair with the D300 and Fuji S5 that we use. I'm excited about the FF possibilities, and I think that we can maximize our coverage by using the crop body in addition to the new FF body.
Well, here's my spin, though not the most popular.
I have a D300, two D300s' and a D700.
I only shoot the D700 with the 85/1.4. I have the 24-70 but never put it on the D700 as that lens was always used on a body with dual cards (D3).
However, I just got the 17-50 VC from Tamron and coupled with the D300s, I don't use the D3 and 24-70 now. In fact I sold the D3, but still have the 24-70.
So for my shooting, I prefer the smaller/lighter D300s with dual cards and the Tamron (once I got a good one) with VC.
I have been playing with using my other D300s with the 50/1.4 instead of the D700. Not because I don't like the D700 / 85 combo, on the contrary, love it. Its because I like to use cameras with dual cards.
So for now I am more often choosing the D300s till the D700s comes along with dual cards.
If dual cards are not needed, the 700/24-70 combo is better for IQ than the D300s with the Tamron, but not till you get over 1600iso, IMO.
nick53097 wrote:
Have a decision to make...
I am using 2 Nikon D300 for weddings, seniors, and other events
Love these cameras with 17-55 f2.8 and 85 f1.4 lenses and SB900
Last year saw thinking to buy D700 and 24-70 but not sure is that worth $2500 difference
to buy D700 and 24-70 but not sure is that worth $2500 difference