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Replacing my trusty D700 as main shooter......

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chester0711

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It has honestly been years since I even cared about equipment. I currently have a D300s and D700. The day I bought the D700 I fell in love, what a great Camera body. That said, my D300s is my backup. I would like to go all Fx and will be selling off the D300s (I wont get much I know) and the D700 gets the job as backup.

At any rate, I typically put low light shooting (IQ at higher ISO's), overall IQ, and then the smaller things like AF in low light etc....on my list of concerns.

I don't shoot video, so I have no real need/concern for that but I guess you never know, right?

Weight is no issue, poor ergonomics however can tend to bug me a bit (Yet, I have held a few of the newer bodies and they are quite nice in comparison to the older D700 and D300s) I have a lrger hand and a tiny little body can tend to annoy the crap out of me.

Lenses consist of:

Nikon 70-200 f2.8

Nikon 24-70 f2.8

Nikon 14-24 f4 (I do like to shoot landscape and wildlife but for pure pleasure and this lens is used primarily for that, except when I want a creative portrait or something.)

I shoot in all types of situations.... home studio, events, some wildlife and landscape, location portraiture, kids sports from time to time, and Macro.

My budget would sit anywhere from $1000-$2000, with a desire to land right in the middle.

In my dream of dreams I would love to be able to afford a D5, D4s , etc but do not have the jack!

I do like to blow my pictures up to 20x30 24x36 so MP does matter to me a bit.

I will most likely buy used as I just cant accept buying new camera bodies.

Any thoughts or recos would be appreciated, thank you.

--
w
 
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I've been seeing refurb or grey market D800's going for $2000 lately.

Except for your budget, the D810 makes the most sense.

I too came from a D300/D700 combo (to D800e/D810 combo now). Once I got the D700, life was good. The D300 did wildlife. The D700 did everything else. Both cameras were gripped, large Nikon battery, RRS L-plates. The bodies were similar enough that I occasionally picked up the wrong one.

Then the D800e came along.

D300 immediately went to the closet, in spite of the frame rate advantage. I had 15mp DX crop instead of 12mp, so there was no resolution advantage, and the sensor was way ahead of the D300's.

And then I was surprised when I tried to shoot the D700 and D800e as a combo. I shouldn't have been, seeing as how the sensor tech in the D700 was so similar to the D300. The D800e sensor was enough better (dynamic range as well as resolution) that I found myself swapping lenses between cameras instead of using the D700. On a 3-week European trip I brought a backpack of camera gear with the D700 as backup camera - it never left the backpack.

Since the D700 was getting no use, and I like shooting with two bodies, I added a D810 and demoted the D800e to backup. That works for me.

An issue I had that bugged me a lot, besides the sensor difference between D700 and D8xx, was the battery differences. Since I shoot gripped DSLRs with large batteries, I was carrying 4 types of batteries and 4 different chargers. That got old on day one of traveling. At least with two D8xx bodies I have only two chargers, and I often can leave the large battery charger at home since the battery lasts so long. Except I bought non-Nikon (Smartree) large batteries that have a very small wall plug charger, and it's no problem to pack. (Unlike the overpriced Nikon charger).
 
chester0711 said:
My budget would sit anywhere from $1000-$2000, with a desire to land right in the middle.

In my dream of dreams I would love to be able to afford a D5, D4s , etc but do not have the jack!

I do like to blow my pictures up to 20x30 24x36 so MP does matter to me a bit.

I will most likely buy used as I just cant accept buying new camera bodies.

Any thoughts or recos would be appreciated, thank you.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
chester0711 said:
It has honestly been years since I even cared about equipment. I currently have a D300s and D700. The day I bought the D700 I fell in love, what a great Camera body. That said, my D300s is my backup. I would like to go all Fx and will be selling off the D300s (I wont get much I know) and the D700 gets the job as backup.

At any rate, I typically put low light shooting (IQ at higher ISO's), overall IQ, and then the smaller things like AF in low light etc....on my list of concerns.

I don't shoot video, so I have no real need/concern for that but I guess you never know, right?

Weight is no issue, poor ergonomics however can tend to bug me a bit (Yet, I have held a few of the newer bodies and they are quite nice in comparison to the older D700 and D300s) I have a lrger hand and a tiny little body can tend to annoy the crap out of me.

Lenses consist of:

Nikon 70-200 f2.8

Nikon 24-70 f2.8

Nikon 14-24 f4 (I do like to shoot landscape and wildlife but for pure pleasure and this lens is used primarily for that, except when I want a creative portrait or something.)

I shoot in all types of situations.... home studio, events, some wildlife and landscape, location portraiture, kids sports from time to time, and Macro.

My budget would sit anywhere from $1000-$2000, with a desire to land right in the middle.

In my dream of dreams I would love to be able to afford a D5, D4s , etc but do not have the jack!

I do like to blow my pictures up to 20x30 24x36 so MP does matter to me a bit.

I will most likely buy used as I just cant accept buying new camera bodies.

Any thoughts or recos would be appreciated, thank you.
Click to expand...
 
Dyun27 said:
chester0711 said:
It has honestly been years since I even cared about equipment. I currently have a D300s and D700. The day I bought the D700 I fell in love, what a great Camera body. That said, my D300s is my backup. I would like to go all Fx and will be selling off the D300s (I wont get much I know) and the D700 gets the job as backup.

At any rate, I typically put low light shooting (IQ at higher ISO's), overall IQ, and then the smaller things like AF in low light etc....on my list of concerns.

I don't shoot video, so I have no real need/concern for that but I guess you never know, right?

Weight is no issue, poor ergonomics however can tend to bug me a bit (Yet, I have held a few of the newer bodies and they are quite nice in comparison to the older D700 and D300s) I have a lrger hand and a tiny little body can tend to annoy the crap out of me.

Lenses consist of:

Nikon 70-200 f2.8

Nikon 24-70 f2.8

Nikon 14-24 f4 (I do like to shoot landscape and wildlife but for pure pleasure and this lens is used primarily for that, except when I want a creative portrait or something.)

I shoot in all types of situations.... home studio, events, some wildlife and landscape, location portraiture, kids sports from time to time, and Macro.

My budget would sit anywhere from $1000-$2000, with a desire to land right in the middle.

In my dream of dreams I would love to be able to afford a D5, D4s , etc but do not have the jack!

I do like to blow my pictures up to 20x30 24x36 so MP does matter to me a bit.

I will most likely buy used as I just cant accept buying new camera bodies.

Any thoughts or recos would be appreciated, thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
toomanycanons said:
The OP would pick up a D750 with his big hands, first words out of his mouth will be "feels like a toy". D800 all the way.
Click to expand...
Who cares what it feels like? As a photographer I'd be more concerned about what comes out of the camera. The D750 is solid in build and performance even if it is smaller. Adding a grip to it will give it more substance if the OP needs it.
 
Dyun27 said:
toomanycanons said:
The OP would pick up a D750 with his big hands, first words out of his mouth will be "feels like a toy". D800 all the way.
Click to expand...
Who cares what it feels like? As a photographer I'd be more concerned about what comes out of the camera. The D750 is solid in build and performance even if it is smaller. Adding a grip to it will give it more substance if the OP needs it.
Click to expand...
 
I love this board, everybody is very quick to help. I appreciate all of your feedback.

All of my research and most of the responses above seem to point towards something in the D800 family.

For those of you familiar, it seems I can get a used D800e for a similar price to the D810. Would you say one beats out the other? I know the 810 is newer, but anything that sets it apart in a major way good or bad?

I looked at the 750 and it is nothing to scoff at..I also have a grip I could use to "enhance" the size if you will.

I am leaning towards an 810. The 700 would be my backup.

I always feel so foolish purchasing bodies, but I like full frame (I don't do much in regards to wildlife or anything that would call for extreme Telephoto) so the D300s collects dust.
 
Okay so is the D750 superior in regards to IQ?
 
I've got both D800e and D810. The differences seem minor, but they add up. The sensor is basically the same - don't expect any noticeable differences there - but the shutter is noticeably better (both faster and quieter), the AF is better (plus has Group AF), the frame rate is 20% faster, white balance is a bit better, and I hear video has significant improvements (I don't use it).

The D810 is basically a D800s and is what the D800/800e should have been all along. It's noticeably a better camera, especially for wildlife or sports where the AF and speed improvements are more needed. Quieter shutter is appreciated in many indoor situations as well.

There are a lot of grey market cameras out there recently, and pricing is low. Refurbs are available too, with a 90-day warranty.

I wouldn't worry much about D800 versus D800e, except when looking at older used D800's. There might possibly be a left-side AF issue, which was never there in D800e or D810. As far as D800 goes, adding a bit of sharpening in post makes a D800 effectively as sharp as a D800e.

I shot both D800e and D810 all afternoon yesterday at a zoo, and the one thing that stands out to me as the difference I noticed was the shutter (speed and noise).
 
chester0711 said:
I love this board, everybody is very quick to help. I appreciate all of your feedback.

All of my research and most of the responses above seem to point towards something in the D800 family.

For those of you familiar, it seems I can get a used D800e for a similar price to the D810. Would you say one beats out the other? I know the 810 is newer, but anything that sets it apart in a major way good or bad?
Click to expand...
No major differences, but lots of minor ones add up to a much better camera. Get the D810.
chester0711 said:
I looked at the 750 and it is nothing to scoff at..I also have a grip I could use to "enhance" the size if you will.

I am leaning towards an 810. The 700 would be my backup.

I always feel so foolish purchasing bodies, but I like full frame (I don't do much in regards to wildlife or anything that would call for extreme Telephoto) so the D300s collects dust.

--
w
Click to expand...
 
Yxa said:
The D750 is better above 3200 ISO you say

And how many pictures do one normaly take at souch high ISOs?
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Since you ask, I assume you are a unique photographer who only uses base sensitivity. The rest of us use 3200 ISO a LOT!
 
Yxa said:
Big difference, not

http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-D750-versus-Nikon-D810___975_963

The D750 is better above 3200 ISO you say

And how many pictures do one normaly take at souch high ISOs?

The IQ is better with the D810/D800

With the D750 you get a cheaper ( in some senses not only the price of the camera) a faster and lighter camera

I wouldn't mind having a D750 but it would be as a backup to my D800
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I've shot with the D800 for a couple of weeks and recently held the D750 and D810 side by side. Other than size and weight, the two cameras look and feel near identical in build quality.

Now onto ISO... personally I use ISO 3200 and above frequently. If you shoot in perfect light at all times, you certainly don't need a low light monster. If you take your camera out at night or shoot indoors under dim lighting, then you'll have to use those higher ISOs frequently.

Is the D750 leaps better in low light than the D800? No. Is it a visible difference? Yes. Is the D750 better at focusing in low light? Yes. Is the D800 still a great camera? Yes. Would I choose it for low light shooting? No.
 
Dyun27 said:
Yxa said:
Big difference, not

http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-D750-versus-Nikon-D810___975_963

The D750 is better above 3200 ISO you say

And how many pictures do one normaly take at souch high ISOs?

The IQ is better with the D810/D800

With the D750 you get a cheaper ( in some senses not only the price of the camera) a faster and lighter camera

I wouldn't mind having a D750 but it would be as a backup to my D800
Click to expand...
I've shot with the D800 for a couple of weeks and recently held the D750 and D810 side by side. Other than size and weight, the two cameras look and feel near identical in build quality.

Now onto ISO... personally I use ISO 3200 and above frequently. If you shoot in perfect light at all times, you certainly don't need a low light monster. If you take your camera out at night or shoot indoors under dim lighting, then you'll have to use those higher ISOs frequently.

Is the D750 leaps better in low light than the D800? No. Is it a visible difference? Yes. Is the D750 better at focusing in low light? Yes. Is the D800 still a great camera? Yes. Would I choose it for low light shooting? No.
Click to expand...
 
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analogue said:
I'm sure it's been mentioned but other then sensor/overall specs the main appeal towards the 8xx series VS 750 is the ergonomics, especially if you're coming from D700 background. Having that top left WB/ISO control is something I really miss on the D750 consumer form body. The mode knob is pretty useless to me. Of course I've set up movie record button to ISO change but it's a lousy compromise (fixed on the D500) that becomes even more confusing for someone like me that also shoots video (movie record button can't be changed in video mode). Also very very very annoying to lose top LCD real-estate and have to rely on the back LCD that illuminates each time you change top ISO. extremely distracting. it's a compromise i'm willing to accept for all the other advantages the D750 brings to me but I could see how a D700 user might feel a lot better with a D8xx. just my 0.2c
Click to expand...
If you're used to the D700 button layout, then yes, it is more comfortable to transition to a D800 type body. I'm only talking about IQ and overall feel of the two cameras when compared.
 
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