What would you keep and what would you sell?

Good morning. I'm a brand new owner of a D700 after deciding to expand to FX over the weekend (aided by some fortunate fundulation). I'm trying to decide if I should keep my D40 and D90 rigs.

As a bit of background, I was into photography big time in college and grad school (20 yrs ago), but had to put it aside during the child-raising years. 5 ot 8 years ago we moved to digital with a small point and shoot and then upgraded that after a few years to another (both coolpix models). 2 Years ago, I took the plunge with a D40, and this past spring upgraded to a D90 in anticipation of a very serious trip with my youth group.

I got the D700 w/50mm 1.8 this weekend when I sold a vehicle I no longer needed and my VP of Acquisitions approved the move to FX (she even drove me to BestBuy) with some of the proceeds. So obviously I'm working through the "letter to George" from The Online Photographer (I'm not the George, seriously, but very close so far).

So I have 3 rigs...

1. D40, 18-55, SB400

2. D90, 18-105 (never got around to selling it), 18-200, 35 and SB600

3. D700, 50mm (used 24-120 on the way).

I kept the D40 as a "backup" when I got the D90, but I never used it since. I know the flashes will work with the new system, but I expect I'll be upgrading that shortly too.

So I could envision keeping the D40 as a very light travel rig ( or maybe even the D90 for that)... maybe selling the D40 rig and the 18-200, but keeping the D90 kit as a "backup". But I'm also wondering if the backup ever get's used. I also realize that the more DX stuff I sell, the more I can fill out the FX rig.

I'm strictly in the lucky amateur category. I photograph events and travel in my own life... never made money photographywise, nor do I intend to. Nobody else in the family is interested in DLSRs (we even need to keep a basic point and shoot for said VP and son).

Would you keep a backup DSLR rig in that case? Which one?

Thanks for your opinion!

-George

PS - If it helps, some of my pics (from all 5 cameras) are on http://www.georgereiner.smugmug.com

Hi George

You say you are a lucky amateur. Well, you are =)

I also came from a D40, but sold it right after I bought the D700. I also thought I'd be using it as a backup or lightweight travel kit. Bah..I never did. Once you have a taste for the D700's files, you'll never go back.

I'm a little more than a lucky amateur, but the path was more or less the same. I bought the D40 after 6 months with an F4; one year later I outgrew the D40 and moved to the D700. A couple of months later I sold the D40 to fund a used D300 (as a backup). And I sold the D300 right before I moved to Germany.

Keep your '700, your nifty-fity and the SB600. Sell everything else (including the 24-120 you mentioned!) and buy 20 f2.8 and 85 1.8 (eventually the 135 f/2 if you're into short teles). You'll be left with some money to go on a trip and enjoy your new camera!

Be aware that this is just my opinion. Backups are for professionals, who make money from photography. I'm not a professional, but I do make some income and I will need a backup body at some point. But if I didn't make money out of it, I'd be using only primes (lighter, smaller and faster than any zoom).

Cheers! And congratulations =)
Pedro.

http://www.fotografamos.com

George, I would take Pedro's advice.
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Silent Oracle

Keep the D700 and 50mm

If primes-only will not work for you, you might consider the 24-70/f2.8 or the new 24-120/f4

This would be my setup if I had to sell everything but one lens: D700 & 24-70.

--
E, F and EF shooter, no system is perfect

For a general kit for full frame I'd be looking at 24-120 and 50mm f/1.4 or 16-35, 50mm f/1.4 and 70-300mm.

You will have the 20-120 and 50mm so you can soon see if you would want to upgrade them for better IQ or the f/1.4 for the 50mm. Or you might find you like something wider for landscape (16-35) or longer for sports/zoo trips (70-300).

I'd sell all the other gear, as said before back ups are only really needed if you are donig something like a safari, photographying a wedding or if you make money from it.

The D700 has a pop up flash, so if you are going to have an flash gun better to have one that can move the head around for bounch flash.

Seems unanimous, I agree with all the responses. You're not a professional, so no need for backup. And it's just sitting there wasting money away doing nothing. Even if the D700 breaks down, it's not like your life depends on it while it's sent in for repair.

The D40 and D90 are great cameras, but they won't see the light of day once you get used to the D700. I'd say in your position, sell all the DX gear and the SB-400, and use the proceeds to invest in a SB-900. With it and the SB-600 as your off-camera (remote) flash unit, you can explore some neat flash lighting setups.

Note that in my case I have a D700 and a D300 because I do use both pretty much 50/50, but it doesn't sound like you have the seame needs I do.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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One thing you could consider is having the D40 converted to infra-red. May open up a whole new area of photography for you. I was in the same delema a while back with my D100 and once I converted it to IR I found myself using it much more as ideal IR conditions are in bright sunny days where the harsh light is crappy for regular photography.
--
Karel

I'd be concerned that the D700 with the older 24-120 would have worse IQ than the D90 with the 18-105 VR, but I suppose you can always sell the 24-120 get a better FF zoom later on.

Thus, I'd pobably keep the primes & flashes, & sell the DX bodies & zooms.

I have D300 and D700 but I've converted to all FX lenses. My reason for keeping the D300 which is a fine camera is for birding, general wildlife, safaris and historic re-enactments and some airshows. You don't currently have any long lenses so I'm guessing your not into anything that demands them and in that case I would say sell your DX stuff. I have them both so I take them both (just in case y'now), and quite often wish I hadn't apart from the occasions mentioned above.

Keep the D700 if you dont want or need movie.....
You normally dont need a backup if your not working as a fulltime pro.
Sell the dx stuff.
That will fund some of your FF stuff....
Peter

George,

I'd suggest to keep D90 and 18-200 for now and sell your D40 and other DX lenses, and the SD400.

I would not keep D90 for backup. But keeping it for travel is a very valid cause. I'd keep D90 for travel and D700 for event and serious shooting. If you ever get into shooting wildlife/birds, then D90 give you a 1.5X crop factor which is also very valuable.

Eric

Hi George,
Lots of great opinions here!
My gear is as follows:
D700 w/Grip
14-24 (seldome use this wonderful tack sharp low distortion lens.)
24-70 (On my camera most of the time.)
24-85G for traveling lite. (A cheap fun AF-s lens thats lite and easy to carry)
70-180 Micro Nikkor (My favorite lens ever..... G-d I love this lens.
70-300 VR (Lite, fast focus and acceptable performance.)
and flashes, and tripods, and monopods, and releases, and .......

I have owned a 70-200vr, 80-400vr, 105 DC, and to many others to numerous to think of.

I have had in this order a Nikon F Photomic T (Late 60's). My next Nikon slr was a D70 30 some years later. Then a D200 then a D300. I sold the D300 when I purchased the D700. I do miss the 12mp in DX a lot!

I suggest you sell everything but the D700 and the SB-600. (A fine flash) If sharp is important to you get a 24-70 as a general purpose lens. Frankly I hate changing lenses so I do not care for primes. If you want to keep the D90 for DX reach and 720p movies be my guest. Then I would get a 70-300 for the long end. You can use it on both bodies. The build is acceptable and the performance is better than it should be for $500 USD. I sold my 70-200vr because a new replacement was in the wind. I purchased the 70-300vr as a temporary lens but I really love it and for my needs, I use it more than I did my 70-200! It is lite and works well.

Of course your needs may be very different than mine. I was an equipment junkie, but today I am a guy that can say "I like the 70-300vr" As I get older, I don't care what my fellow enthusiasts think. I use what works for me. If I want a SB-400 because it is lite and compact, that is what I will use.

Good luck!

--
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I hunt, I peck, I squint, all on a Dell M1330 13' laptop. So don't laugh, I'm happy there aren't more typo's!

I have the D60, D90, and D700, so a similar setup.

My normal advice would be to keep the D40 or D90, the 35 and the 18-105 VR as low weight travel camera. If you were a birder, I would recommend keeping the D90 for it's AF system. However, I can sure appreciate how light and unobtrusive the D40 is.

Keep your SB600 and sell the SB400. The SB600 does very well, and is considerably smaller than the SB900. As a serious amateur, I do not see you needing all the extra features of the SB900.

Assuming you sold the D40 and kept the D90, you should have about $1300 from all that. If you sold the D90 instead, you could have $1700 or maybe even $1800.

For your full frame outlays, there are several options. You have a low light prime (50 is great indoors on FX), and you are getting the older 24-120 VR. That lens has a poor reputation, but I have seen good shots with it. Check it out and if you do not like it, don't hesitate to send it back or get a refund.

That newer 24-120 f/4 VR looks promising but wait for the reviews.

That should do it for a while. However you could get either the 70-300 VR (if you want more tele), or one of the wide angles such as the 16-35 VR, older 17-35, or maybe the Tokina 16-28.

A macro lens like the Tokina 100 might be a good choice too (not sure if it is full frame capable...). That would open a new world to you.

And do not forget a great tripod and ballhead - or some HDR or pano software, or even a night course in photography at your local comunity college. Those are all worthwhile expenditures that could pay big dividends for your hobby.

--
Catallaxy

I would sell all DX-only glass (trust me, you will not use it) and SB400. As for bodies I would suggest keeping one but only if you venturing places where you do not like to take your main camera (basically any harsh environment - seaside, hiking, kayaking, skiing and so on) otherwise sell them also while they still can return some money. As mentioned above you do not need back-up if your income does not depends on your gear. As what to buy instead, it is personal choice, being not professional by myself I do not care if my shooting going in slow pace and enjoy swapping primes. Though it is not necessarily may suit you.

Cheers

Thanks folks.

The values some of you listed seem high. I was intending to just put the stuff on ebay and let the market sort out the price - a 99 cent start with no reserve usually generates a lot of bids and everything has ended "about where I want it to be". Of course, that's until my D90 kit sells for only 99 cents.

Anyway, while I'm carefully laying everything out and taking pictures, I'm wondering if there is a better way to try and sell it?

I tried selling my vehicle on CL, but all that did was produce a bunch of phone calls from dealers telling me how much I was overcharging and offering to buy it for 50% of my asking price. Only when I listed it on autotrader, did I get it to move quickly for $100 less than my asking price.

So... is there a better site/way to sell photographic equipment than an ebay auction?

Thanks,

-George

George07748 said:

So I have 3 rigs...

Click to expand...

What I might do ...

George07748 said:

1. D40 sell
, 18-55, sell
SB400 keep (travel)

2. D90 keep (travel and backup and second body)
, 18-105 (never got around to selling it), sell
18-200, keep (travel)
35 and SB600 keep both

3. D700, 50mm keep both (duh)
(used 24-120 on the way). sell

Click to expand...

Then, acquire a Tamron 28-75 2.8 (no BIM) from keh.com or equivalent (my bargain quality lens is perfect and cost me around 250) and the Nikon 70-300VR (wicked sharp from 70-200 and covers FF) ... an excellent overall kit on a budget.

I have something similar but with the D300 as backup to my D700 ... I also have the Nikon 85 1.8D, an awesome budget portrait lens.

Good luck ... such fun to be shopping again

--
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Thanks...

So you would keep the D90/18-200 together along with the SB400 as a "travel" kit?

I had thought about doing that, but I kept the D40 as a backup/travel for the D90, and in the end, I just couldn't leave the D90 behind on our recent youth trip to England. I doubt I could leave the D700 as well. Perhaps if I was going somewhere "less safe", but I don't expect to do that frequently and for "less safe" travel, I'd probably keep the D40.

Why would you keep the 35mm (it's DX)? I'm expecting that I'd eventually get the 35mm f/2 FX, so I'm not sure something would be gained by keeping both.

I'm not so worried about a budget kit... I got the used 24-120 just so I'd have some mid-range zoom for now (to capture youth/church events).

The kit I'm planning to put together is...

D700
Either 24-120 f/4, or 28-300 when they become available...
SB900 & SB600 flash (still have not settled on what to do with SB400).
Eventually 35 f/2, 50 f/??, and maybe 85 f/1.8 primes (maybe 1.4)

I have a good Gitzo Traveler/RRS BH40 tripod, so I think I'm OK on that front. I'll keep the slingshot 200 for carrying and store what I don't need for a given trip in a file drawer.

So... I'll decide tonight, but right now I'm leaning towards selling all the DX. I'd probably approach it as a D40 complete kit with SB400 and small bag & field guide book, a complete D90 kit (maybe with the SB600???) and Field Guide and ByThom ebook, and maybe sell the 18-200 separately.

Would you do this on ebay or somewhere else?

George,

You sound a lot like me, had D40 and D300. I made the mistake of selling the D40, later I bought a D5K. Just right that can convince the "boss" to carry it instead of the P&S sometimes. Its also my primary vacation and snap shot camera.

The D700 is nice, buit like a rock, wonderfuly output. Since I got the D5K honestly for day-day there is nothing it can't do except the sports and extreme performance. My D700 sady died from a 5foot fall to the concrete on a full run. I have since found and confirmed the D5K actually works very nicely for almooost everything.

With sports season coming again its D700 or D3s.

IMHO keep D40, small, light, keep the 18-200, flash and 35 1.8 and sell everything else. D40 you really can't get much for it and 5 Meg is good enough for those that know what is important. D90 has a bit of value but sell soon before the rumored D95 or D7000 or whatever its called comes out.

George07748 said:

So you would keep the D90/18-200 together along with the SB400 as a "travel" kit?

I had thought about doing that, but I kept the D40 as a backup/travel for the D90, and in the end, I just couldn't leave the D90 behind on our recent youth trip to England. I doubt I could leave the D700 as well. Perhaps if I was going somewhere "less safe", but I don't expect to do that frequently and for "less safe" travel, I'd probably keep the D40.

Click to expand...

Ok, so that's why I said might

I have the D300 / 18-200VR and I must say that I still prefer to carry the D700 / Tamron 28-75 / Nikon 70-300VR ... it's just so much more ....

George07748 said:

Why would you keep the 35mm (it's DX)? I'm expecting that I'd eventually get the 35mm f/2 FX, so I'm not sure something would be gained by keeping both.

Click to expand...

It's a nice low light lens for the DX cam ... but if you get the FX you would naturally dump the DX ...

George07748 said:

I'm not so worried about a budget kit... I got the used 24-120 just so I'd have some mid-range zoom for now (to capture youth/church events).

Click to expand...

That lens is decent but generally not regarded as tack sharp. The Tammy, on the other hand is fast and can be tack sharp stopped down just a bit ...

George07748 said:

The kit I'm planning to put together is...

D700
Either 24-120 f/4, or 28-300 when they become available...
SB900 & SB600 flash (still have not settled on what to do with SB400).
Eventually 35 f/2, 50 f/??, and maybe 85 f/1.8 primes (maybe 1.4)

Click to expand...

Nice ....

George07748 said:

I have a good Gitzo Traveler/RRS BH40 tripod, so I think I'm OK on that front. I'll keep the slingshot 200 for carrying and store what I don't need for a given trip in a file drawer.

Click to expand...

I like the off trail 2 for my "at destination" case ... I tend to bring the equipment to the destination in the big Lowepro compu-whatever the name is ...

George07748 said:

So... I'll decide tonight, but right now I'm leaning towards selling all the DX. I'd probably approach it as a D40 complete kit with SB400 and small bag & field guide book, a complete D90 kit (maybe with the SB600???) and Field Guide and ByThom ebook, and maybe sell the 18-200 separately.

Would you do this on ebay or somewhere else?

Click to expand...

My fire sale (at least a dozen items including a pro lens, several zooms, the G10 etc) was conducted on fredmiranda.com ... and was very successful. I sent stuff throughout the US and Canada and the 300 F4 AFS to Australia. No glitches at all ... (well, one slow delivery to the US over Christmas) ...

--
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