Nikon camera upgrade

[JessHens]

Hi everyone,
Would love some input/advice on a camera upgrade. I currently shoot with a Nikon D7100 crop sensor with kit lenses 18-55mm and 55-300mm, I’m looking to go full frame with a tight budget. I shoot landscapes and getting into nightscapes but I’m also looking to do some portrait as I’ve been getting some requests from friends and family to do some shoots with them.
What would you recommend and is the a good and trusted secondhand site to purchase? I’m too scared to fork out a bit of money on something from eBay or marketplace.
Thanks
Jess

[ameerat42]

No technical advice just yet, but an impression from me. This:

...I currently shoot with a Nikon D7100 crop sensor with kit lenses 18-55mm and 55-300mm, I’m looking to go full frame with a tight budget...

...sounds like a potentially unsatisfactory compromise.

Do you know if your lenses are at least suitable for a FF sensor? That would provide a saving if they are good enough quality.

[arthurking83]

Lenses!
Like Am said, this is the important bit. What you currently have, may dictate which way to go!

Also! .. define tight budget if you can.
Maximum upper dollar value, are you willing to go second hand .... etc.

Good bargains can be had in the Fx secondhand sector in Nikonland at the moment as many are selling off DSLR gear to fund mirrorless systems.

Do you want/need mirrorless? Is a Fx DSLR a consideration. D750's are very good value for money, highly capable landscape lens. If you want more pixels, D810 is still going to be good value too.
D850's are probably still a bit on the high price by comparison to the other two DSLR models mentioned.

If you go a cheaper Fx mirrorless(eg. Z5), the budget killing darker side to this move is going to be the cost of full frame Z lenses to use with it.

I wouldn't worry too much about having only Dx lenses for use on an Fx Nikon camera, they work fine, still give you the same Dx format as you've been used too, but many can actually image just a tad more than the Dx frame captures anyhow.
Each lens varies in this respect .. so as before .... what lenses do you have?

[JessHens]

I was going to completely upgrade everything body and lens (24-70mm f2.8).
I’ll be keeping the 7100 and lenses as a backup

[Mary Anne]

Hi everyone,

What would you recommend and is the a good and trusted secondhand site to purchase? I’m too scared to fork out a bit of money on something from eBay or marketplace.
Thanks
Jess

Have you tried some of the Camera Stores.. I do know Teds camera stores here In Qld sell 2nd hand gear.
You will probably find Stores in the State you live in by asking Google

I bought a 2nd hand Olympus E-M1 camera on ebay a couple of years ago and I use it often and it's still working well.

[arthurking83]

I was going to completely upgrade everything body and lens (24-70mm f2.8).
I’ll be keeping the 7100 and lenses as a backup

D7100 is still a very good camera, so to keep it is a sound premise.

Lets say you have $1.5K as a budget.
That would easily get you a D750 or a D810.
They each have their respective merits... eg. D750 has a more flexible sensor in that you will exctract a bit more detail in editing if ever needed but D810 has more pixels, could be handy if you need more cropping(or say Dx mode).

24-70/2.8 is perfect for an Fx camera, so no need to rid yourself of it. Is it the Nikon version or a Sigma/Tamron model? All three very good lenses(I have the Tamron VC version).
What you will find on an Fx camera is that 24mm will feel very wide, so landscape images will appear more landscapey through the viewfinder.

if you're budget can be stretched to a new lens as well, I can highly recommend the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6. Not the sharpest lens ever made, but more than adequate for most purposes.
If you're the technical type and want to do professional structure imagery, this is not the lens for this purpose. But for nature landscapes as an amateur(thinking from my own perspective here too) 90% acceptably fine.

Other lenses of interest could be say a macro lens for times when you just can't ever seem to get close enough to a particular subject(flower or nice shape or whatever) .. a Tamron 90mm macro lens is cheap and cheery.

Remember all these lenses will work on the D7100 too, so if you get a longer focal length lens it will feel longer on the D7100, and shorter(wider view) on the Fx camera.
If you got the D810, it's pixel capacity in Dx mode will be very similar to the D7100 in so many situations that you will eventually feel that it's no longer useful.
If you went for a D750, the additional pixels capability of the D7100 compared to a D750 in Dx mode will be enough to make it feel worth keeping the D7100 tho.

The choice you face is: how much(budget) and what do you want to do with the gear(landscapes/macro/nature/small animals/etc)

Note that a D810 type Fx camera will feel big and chunky in your hands too compared to a D7100 type camera body. A D750 will feel a lot more familiar by comparison.
D810 type camera(D800/D850 all pretty much same, just sensor differences) will have a lot more features that you never knew you needed tho!

[jim]

D7100 is still a very good camera, so to keep it is a sound premise.

[etc]

What I was going to say.

[Lance B]

Agreed, the D7100 is still a great camera. Also, what is your budget?

[GourmetSaint]

I have an older D800E and recently added a D750 body. I use the Tamron F2.8 24-70 zoom on one and the F2.8 70-200 zoom on the other.

I bought the second D750 body, used with a low shutter count, as I hated swapping lenses "in the field". Previous owner had barely used it. You can get some great bargains online.

D750 is a great camera. Quiter and smoother than the D800 and can be controlled wirelessly if required.

Cheers, Mark

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