Nikon DSLR. Help me choose.

M38A1 said:

Everything you need to know is right HERE

.

Click to expand...

Alright, the D4 it is

Sent from a phone thingy

M38A1 said:

Everything you need to know is right HERE

.

Click to expand...

Actually, that article is pretty true, especially for me. I am currently on my 5th digital camera since 2001, although I didn't take as many steps as the article suggests.

My first digital was a Nikon Coolpix; one of those "hinged in the middle" things. That camera got my feet wet in digital after many, many years in film. I shot pictures, built my own website and had a blast learning digital. But, there were limitations to the CoolPix, so I began looking at a better camera.

Next came a Fujifilm Digital ZLR, non-interchangeable lens zoom. It was great, until the limitations. So back to looking at better cameras.

Next was the Nikon D40. I love that camera and still have it. I found the limitations and started looking at better cameras, but kept the D40 and use it in my camera "system".

So, I added the D90, and then recently, the D7000.

I use all three Nikons, for different uses. And I am adding to my system, so everything works together.

So, with that being said, my suggestion is to buy the best you can afford right now while looking "down the road" to how this purchase will fit in with additional lenses, bodies, etc.

Good luck with your decisions and let me know if I can help? We can always meet someplace if you want to look at different bodies, lenses, etc.

I think the 7100 is the sweets pot for my budget.
The D800 is awesome, but the cost makes it crazy. Ditto the D600, which loses a few features compared to the 7100.
Provided I take a little care to make sure the lenses are FX compatible, I won't prevent myself from moving FF later.

I've spent a lot of time behind my dad's D70 and 90. Only a little time behind my brothers 3100, but enough to be bothered by the lack of controls compared to the 90.

My wife doesn't allow me into Arlington Camera alone. They're far too friendly and willing to let me play with the different cameras



Sent from a phone thingy

M38A1 said:

Everything you need to know is right HERE

.

Click to expand...

You know, I read that quite a few times before purchasing anything and I ended up with my 5100, a 35mm f1.8 and an 85mm f1.8. So far, a few years later I am quite pleased with the setup.

DFW_Warrior said:

You know, I read that quite a few times before purchasing anything and I ended up with my 5100, a 35mm f1.8 and an 85mm f1.8. So far, a few years later I am quite pleased with the setup.

Click to expand...

I was pondering the 35/50/85mm question.

Why did you go with the 35 and 85?

50 is a little too tight on a crop body, so they 35 gives you the same relative field of view on a crop as 50 does on a full frame. And the 85mm is pretty tight on a crop body but gives the proper amount of compression for portrait shooting. Plus it gets me out of the face of the person that I am shooting. And everyone prefers to not have a camera jammed into their face.

Another bonus of the 85 is the background stacking you are able to pull off. For example, at Canyonlands NP the welcome sign is a long way away from the road. If I had used the 35mm it would have looked a longgggg way away from the bike. But by shooting it with the 85 it flattened out the image and it looked like I was almost parked a few feet away from it.

And there are a few reasons I didn't get any zoom lenses. First is that I don't do any sports photography, so moving a few steps to get the right framing is just fine. Second, is that it allowed me to have two really fast lenses for not too much money. And third, is that with two really good primes and a really good sensor taking the picture, I can digitally crop later if I really need to. I just had a 20"x60" photo made from a cropped down image out of my 5100 and it looks darn good.

Looking at what Ken Rockwell suggests, and comparing to my budget, I may go with a 55-200 and a 35/1.8G.
Sadly, both are DX lenses, but I don't see going to a FX body for a very long time.

I have the 35 1.8 & 55-200; both fine lenses. I don't care for the variable aperture and plastic mount on the zoom, but it is an incredibly sharp, light & useful lens. You won't be sorry with either lens.

Most of the DX lenses are inexpensive and do the job well for most people.

I chose to limit my DX to just a few lenses and fill out the gaps/wants/future FX desires with used manual focus Ai or Ais Nikkors. All I lose is the autofocus.