Nikon upgrade dilemma

[Tommo1965]

Hi all

Im in a right old dilemma as the title says.... I've a mind to upgrade my D300s and Id love a D800 ($3600)....but do I buy a used D700 ($1800} and a imported 24-70 AFS {$1700}

as you can see the figures stack up the same, my lenses at present are a Nikon 17-35 ,70-200VrII , 60mm micro AFD and a Tamron 24-135 F3.5-F5.6....

On the D300s I use the 17-35 quite a lot and the 35mm end just scrapes in for portraits etc...I love the 70-200 but I find that a bit long for portraits on the d300s. {not enough room in my home studio}.I expect on FF body Id use it a lot more ..the tamron is a great walk about lens and good FL..but lacks the IQ of the nikon pro lenses..

so whats your advise....as I cant seem to get it straight in my head....one minute I talk myself into the D800..the next Im off looking on ebay at D700 and 24-70 AFS.....my head will explode soon Im sure

why do I want to upgrade the D300s...Id like lower noise at higher ISO..and better IQ

cheers for any advise you can offer

steve

[Blueywa]

Steve,
It's the old story when new units are put out, we all go through it.
I'm sure you would be aware that the batteries and grip (if you use one) on the D300S will suit the D700, So if it were me I'd go with the D700.

[rirakuma]

Whichever way you choose you'll want more so if you get the d700 combo you wish you had the extra pixels of the d800. If you get the d800 you wish you had the 24-70 for flexibility. Personally Id go for the d800, the 60mm micro will be a good walk around lens. If you cant afford the 24-70 the 24-120 is a also a great lens to consider in the future.

[rirakuma]

lower noise and better IQ, both ticks for d800 right ?

[BLWNHR]

As a D700 owner, I say go the D700/24-70 route. Words cannot describe how much I love this combination. The body does everything you need it to (ISO, fps & decent resolution) and the Nikkor 24-70/2.8 is simply brilliant. It is nearly impossible to make it flare, it focusses fast and it is sharp as a tack. Perfect for a portraiture home studio.

[Lance B]

I agree with Adam, above. The D700 and 24-70 is a fantastic combination with stunning results and you will not be disappointed in this combo. I have used it for 2 years and it never let me down once. The high ISO ability of the D700 is amazing and is almost on par with the D800, as much as you'd be hard pressed telling the difference. You can easily use ISO3200 and ISO6400 with good exposure and a good noise reduction software. It's almost criminal what you can get away with with the D700, it is that foolproof and easy to use, yet with outstanding results.

You can keep your D300s for any wildlife when you need reach and you'll have all bases covered. The problem with going the D800 route is that you really don't have a standard range zoom or lens, until you can save up for a 24-70.

I know I have just obtained the D800, but a major driving force behind that was the fact that it serves me as two cameras in one, an FX camera and a DX camera, as I can crop the 36Mp back to 16Mp of my current D7000 for my birdng photography.

[Tommo1965]

thanks for the help Guys..Im certainly leaning more and more to the D700/ lens combo..if I already had my lenses in place the decision for a D800 would be easier....I certainly have a huge hole in my pro lens FL and the 24/70 would be used as a new W/A lenses to replace the tamron .....or perhaps the new 24/120F4

crikey its hard to make sure you invest your hard earn't in the right place, in the old days before kids,marriage and mortgage Id have just got both and been done with it...bugger

looking at the new D3200 with it huge jump in sensor Tech..makes me wonder what we will see to bridge the gap from there to the D800...!!...with bodies the dust certainly doesn't seem to have settled yet

[Lance B]

Steve,

The thing about the 24-70 is that it is a fabulous lens and a lens that you will keep through many body changes. You can always get a D800 at some later date, but if you get one now, what lens are you going to use as your "standard" zoom? You will not be able to use your D800 for many shots as you don't have a lens to use in the most useable area and an area where the 24-70 is superb. However, if you get the D700 and 24-70, you can happily shoot with it until you are ready for the D800, if you still actually need to get one, and then sell off the D700 and use that money to help pay for the D800 at a future date.

[Xebadir]

I am in agreeance with all of the above. My D800 is arriving today, but if I didn't already have a D700 and 24-70, and I had the choice between having a 24-70 with the D700 or the D800 I would choose the lens option - its an incredible piece of glass that will outlast any body you buy. When its on my D700 it is my goto lens - and even though I broke one at one point due to tripod failure I would still have it over a newer body (the d700 isn't really to be scoffed at, still a crazy good camera).

[Tommo1965]

after much thought and considering the changing world of camera bodies at the moment...Ive decided to hold off on getting a D700 at the moment..and go for the lens now instead...the release of the D3200 with it 24 M sensor makes me think the something is in the water for a mid level body...so Ill wait until the dust settles hopefully Ill be better informed on the newer bodies and see if the D700 still is the way to go...even if the newer bodies dont cut it for me hopefully there will be a heap more D700 on the market by then and prices may enable me to keep my D300s too

thanks for all the advise guys... truly helpful

[arthurking83]

..... makes me think the something is in the water for a mid level body...so Ill wait until the dust settles hopefully Ill be better informed on the newer bodies and see if the D700 still is the way to go...even if the newer bodies dont cut it for me hopefully there will be a heap more D700 on the market by then and prices may enable me to keep my D300s too

thanks for all the advise guys... truly helpful

If I was in this situation, I'd be inclined to do the same thing right at this point in time.
(did the same thing early last year as predictions of D700 replacement was rife).

D700 is an astounding camera, be under no illusion about that, and you will love it to bits and beyond.
If it wasn't for the fact that it didn't have video, I'd have got one myself years ago too!
But I need video, and D800's video is fine for me .. and I also want the move to Fx format, so any old video camera just won't do .. one device, many uses so to speak.

From reading the opening post tho, it seems that the D700 and 24-70 combo is going to be ideally ideal!
Only reason not to go for a D800 is for the purpose of printing! Do you print large? Have you ever captured an image and thought to yourself .. gee that'd look great in a large A2 sized print, but the intense graininess or lack of sharp detail will make it look less impressive!
If so, then you need the D800.
If you are struggling to find that perfect lens combo, then it's obvious that the 24-70 will provide the better creative spark you may be looking for.. D700 will complement that nicely... don't get another Dx body(if the D400 turns out to be Dx again).


I've been trying to conjure up ideas for a perfect camera body for my purposes:
D400 uses old D3s sensor, with proper HD video(@ 1920x1080) and up to 60fps, although 30fps is really all I'll ever use most of the time as I'm not into slow mo video.
It'd do 6fps, as you don't want it to delve too far into D4 performance levels.
I'd have two card slots, and hopefully one of which has to be either CF or XQD(not both SD!!).

The sensor exists, and has been paid for already in terms of manufacturing and hardware costs.. so it should cost Nikon nothing in terms of producing these sensors.
This could make for a low cost Sony A800 style sub $2K full frame camera body .. initial RRP would be $1999, which of course would drop over time.

A more perfect camera I can't really think of ..... in reality that is! .. we all have our 100Mp, 25fps, ISO1million, Fx sensored dream camera, but I'm exploring something that could be made based on currently known quantities.

One thing I really don't need(or even want) is 36Mp, and 50Mb raw files .. and trying to compress that much info into a file that is in keeping with AP rules!

it's hard enough now to compress a 25Mb raw file into a 250kb jpg and maintain a good level of quality.
Quality slider is going to have a hard time at the usual location of 80% ... and will have to get used to something more like 40%!!!

[Tommo1965]

LOL..ive bought a D700. .. couldn't help myself...

[arthurking83]

LOL..ive bought a D700. .. couldn't help myself...

... Oh! And I'm sure that you'll be glad that your will isn't as strong as you'd really like it to be!


My problem is that my will is unfailing and more solid than Gibraltar!
I'd love to have the D700, even if I get a D800 a week later too!
My problem is that I can't seem to give in to the temptation of the D700, as I know there's a 70-200VR in that allocated slot and/or a few other goodies too.

[NoSideshow]

Last week I sold my 3 yo D700 + MBD10 for $2400 on Gumtree. I could have sold it ten times over. I'm going back to film for a while as thats where my heart is and my three film bodies are going up in value.

If I were in the market for a Nikon FX body it would have to be the D800, but not at $3600. I never print above A3 so I;ll waittwo years and the D800 will be $2k.

[Tommo1965]

after a couple of days with a D700...I now get what what all the D700 users love about this cam.....to have a FF viewfinder again is worth it alone, the extra FOV at the wide end is also great..my 17-35mm is now silly wide, i can almost see myself in the pictures its that wide...my 70-200 is now more usable, as I always felt it was a little too long at 70 on a crop body..very good portrait lens now
I think ill be very happy with this cam for a couple for a while..I might look at a D800 in a year or so..maybe not..perhaps the D900..now for that 24-70 lens


oh and I now reckon I know why Nikon released a D800 with 36 Megapixels . if it had only been a small increase to say 16M...with the same noise at high ISO that the d800 has ..I doubt many D700 users would have took the plunge...but at 36m its another world for detail


well that's now something less for me to think about { camera upgrade} ..I might actually go take some photos now !!

[Lance B]

Great to hear that you have your D700, and more importantly, that you are very happy with it. It really is a gem of a camera and I am still going to keep mine even though I have the D800.

Enjoy your new camera and post some pics!

[Xebadir]

Enjoy that new Steve, glad to hear it has worked out for you .

I'd love to have the D700, even if I get a D800 a week later too!
My problem is that I can't seem to give in to the temptation of the D700, as I know there's a 70-200VR in that allocated slot and/or a few other goodies too.

Or you could cave like me - and buy a D800 and a 70-200VR to go with an existing D700 - my bank balance hates me :P.

[Blueywa]

Smart move Steve (IMO)... where did you get it?

I'm still considering the move to FX and the D700, and keeping the D300S.

[Tommo1965]

Hi Bluey

Bought it from some bloke in Cannington...it was in the Gumtree...I wish Id kept my D300s too...but at the time I needed the extra $1000 to put into the D700..Ive spent way too much on photo gear as it is !!....still miss the D300s though..and I feel its af was a tickle snapper than the D700..might be just me though ?

[MissionMan]

I just shifted to the D700 (bought it new when the D800 was released because I wanted the extra frame rate for sports). I honestly haven't looked back and I haven't missed the extra megapixels. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have them but if you can't do what you want with the D700, the D800 isn't going to do it for you so I suspect you'll be very happy with the D700. I also have the 24-70 combo with the D700 (get a 70-200 as well if you don't have one already). The noise levels on the D700 still astound me.

Congrats on the purchase. I'm sure you and your new baby with have many happy years together. BTW, I can highly recommend Thom Hogan's guide for the D700 if you haven't already got it. Great detailed info on the camera and the settings.