More Camera System Planning, Thoughts……
Over the last year I’ve shared with you about how I’m trying to decide what I’m going to be shooing with when Nikon takes back all their toys!! Like all thought processes this has been a moving target as new circumstances have come to bare on the decision making. I’m getting closer to knowing how to tackle the problem of what cameras and lenses to select.
Here are the factors that I’m curenty dealing with:
1. What gear will give me the best possible image quality.
This one is pretty easy. Today the better cameras, pro and semi pro, from everyone are extremely capable! While the D800 certainly produces files much richer with detail than a D7000, in practical, everyday use, it’s hard to see the difference, the differences between the D800 and D600 are very small indeed. I’m leaning toward the D600 and D7000 and a two body DSLR system. I still own a mint condition D700, which I love and works fantastic with all that old manual glass, so I’m sure I’ll keep that around too! With a full frame camera and DX camera I can stretch the utility of my longer glass! For example my ancient but “sweet” Nikkor 400 f 3.5 with the D7000 attached is a 600mm f 3.5, pretty cool! I have absolutely no complaints about the quality of both of these bodies! Is a D800 in my future, not sure, budget and needs will dictate that one, but for now the D600 has proven to be about all I could ever ask for! Except for that bracketing function, sure wish it had 5, 7, and 9 stops brackets! Firmware could fix that, hope someone is listening in Japan…..
2. How much weight am I willing, and able, to carry?
This one is tougher! If I use my gear out of the back of my FJ, I can take all the gear I want, but if walking around for an extended period of time is part of the plan, I want (o.k., need!), to use lighter gear! I’ve been checking out the use of smaller mirror-less cameras like the Nikon 1 Series the V2 and J2 and the Fuji X10 and it’s bigger brother an sister. A number of other folks make mirror-less cameras too, but I’m not thrilled about the build quality except for Nikons and Fuji’s. I’m convinced that with the right amount of care, these cameras can rival the big beefy DSLRs on image quality! For saving your back and making photography more fun again, (for old guys like me), they may just be the ticket!
3. What fits my budget?
No one has unlimited funds, well no one I know, so cost is going to have to factor in my decisions. I already own my prime Nikon glass; 16-35, 24-120, 70-300 and a 105 Micro. I also have a bag full of older manual lenses that I really like to use when I can slow down and take my time! A mirror-less body and a few lenses will not break the bank and sure will be a welcome relief for travel and general walk around work. I think I’m getting close on this front.
4. What kind of subject matter do I expect to be shooting and what gear is necessary to make those images?
Travel, fine art, Americana, and smattering of nature will be about my only kind of shooting in retirement! No more sports, no more serious wildlife! High speed cameras, and very long glass, are pretty much off the table for me now. I’m entering a time in my life that I hope to shoot things that interest me, not editors!! The nice thing about this kind of work is it is far less “gear dependent.” I will still do close-up work, but once again, that is a less demanding specialty! I’ve long believed that with a wide angle zoom, medium zoom, and short telephoto zoom, plus some way to shoot in close, you can do 99% of this kind of subject matter!
Caveat: None of us knows what is coming next, and that could alter the plan, but I think I’m getting close to solving this riddle!
Now, I just want to go out and make some images!!!!
Blessings,
the pilgrim
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2013 at 5:55 pm
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That all sounds very well thought out. I’m thinking about upgrading to the D7000 from my D5100 because I have a scratch on my sensor and the D7000 has better controls and a bigger better viewfinder. I tend to shoot in bright light and that 1/8000 shutter will let me take the picture without pumping up my aperture and losing the depth of field I’m looking for. The extra fps might help with birds (I love birds) and the extra storage slot and weather sealing are nice bonuses.
Unrelated… Have you found that with all that resolution the D800 is very unforgiving of bad technique? I haven’t had a chance to play with one, but I would think with that much resolution it would really show even a tiny bit of blur if you are shooting unsteadily or with too slow shutter speed.
Ha! I knew once I had my heart set on getting a D7000 that the D7100 would finally come out and it they just announced it. http://www.nikon.com/news/2013/0221_dslr_01.htm Maybe the D7000 prices will plummet for me.
That is my biggest complaint, it does not allow any room for sloppy technique, if you use it very carefully it is incredible, if you ease up, it will bite you!
I knew it! I’ll have to invest in a real tripod if I ever get a D800. 🙂
Oh wait I can barely afford a used D7000! Never mind! Have a great day, Bill.
I’m totally enjoying vicariously how you’re working through this decision – it’s a big one, I know. I love my Nikon D7000 – would never give it up, and the more I use it and the more I get to know it, the more I love it! Then, I have been thinking a lot about the D600 vs. D800 and definitely I’d go for the D600 unless I got a huge mega-gig new computer with lots of hard drive backup. Even then, I might not be happy with the D800 because of the small margin for error. I will be so excited if I get to have the same 2 cameras you’re talking about, the D7000 and the D600 so it sounds awesome to me. I’ve also been wondering about the D4 – Moose shoots a lot with that for the wildlife, especially the birds. I was wondering what you think about the D4 – of course, it’s mega-expensive . Then, what do you think about the following 3 lenses – the 14-24, 24-70, and the 70-200 – I think they’re all f2.8.
Moose does indeed use the D4 a lot, and his need for autofocus speed and frame rate, plus heavy build quality make the D4 the best option for him! If you plan to do birds in flight, and wildlife, the D4 is worth considering, the down side as you said is cost and weight to carry. I am starting to think of the D800 as a 4X5 view camera, highly specialized and great fro what is was designed for, but not a great everyday camera for all kinds of needs camera, as I said it’s juste so demanding of the photographer!
I think the D600 is a near perfect balance of resolution, after all it’s the second highest currently available DSLR, and ease of use, I also love it ergonomically, and the weight is reasonable.
As to the lenses, those are the three best Nikkors and the speed is handy, downside? They are a heavy trio and will wear on you if you carry them all day. I use the 16-35, 24-120 and the new 70-200 f4
for that reason, they are very, very close in sharpness and much lighter, and with the great high ISO performance of the D600 they are fat enough for me, for others maybe not??!!
Unfortunately weight vs performance vs resolution vs cost is an individual decision. For me I’ve found the more weight you can shed without loosing image quality the better off I am. Just food for thought!
This is a great answer – didn’t even think of the weight of those lenses. And I do love my 70-300 and use it for all my bird and other wildlife shots. I’ll be commenting on your other post from today that was just excellent! Thank you for your comments because weight is absolutely an issue when we’re out in the wilds shooting all those great landscapes and wildlife. Also about the D4 – it’s a someday maybe for me way down the line. And then, for me, as long as I can bracket 3 exposures like I do on the D7000 I’m happy with that in my HDR post-processing. I have found it to be exactly what I need. At least for now. In a year, I may be wanting 9 exposures and so much more so I can’t write that in stone. Thanks Bill – love thinking through these things and learn so much about gear along the way.
Let me add to that comment, I’m testing the 70-200 f4, and so far really like it, but still do not have a tripod collar which makes my decision hard. I still love the older 70-300 AF-S VR f 4.5-5.6 and may just still use it as my long telephoto. I can’t find a reason not to! As John Shaw used to say, any lens you already own is a good lens!
Selfishly I vote that you use a D7000. That’s what I have with a Tamron 18-270 lens that was recommended to me by B & H Photo. I take pictures for fun and love to learn as much as possible about my camera.
I respect your knowledge but disagree regarding the D800. I find it easy to shoot with even hanheld (granted not at low shudder speeds) and the file sizes manageable give the low cost of storage. The limited bracketing capability of the D600 makes it a complete no go for me. I think the D800 is a complete game change. changer. I pick it up more often than my D3s.
I do like my 16-35 and 24-120, but I also like my 24-70 and 70-200. Though I do leave the 70-200 at home if I’m going to backpack the gear any distance.
Bill I notice you keep referring to your go to light lenses the 16-35 and 24-120. I choose to use the 16-85 and 70 -300 vr lenses to only carry two lenses to cover that range. Does my decision sacarfice any picture quality compared to your choice of lenses. Just curious. Thanks Ken.
By the way I really enjoyed meeting and listening to you at the Wilderness Wildlife Week last month in Tenn.
Hi Shance. Thank you for the compliment. On top of the info in the link (Thanks AiM) i have set the shsnareps in the camera to maximum. The images are quite sharp however i still apply a touch more in PP (Post Production). I am using Picasa, which is a free programme and i highly recommend it for basic editing. As far as settings go i always shoot in manual and always use flash. 98% of the time i shoot hand held and I generally set shutter speed to the highest speed possible (1/250s in my case). This also helps with shsnareps. Aperature for all of the above shots was set at f/10 (f/10 is a very good starting point) with ISO of 400 for most of them and 500 for the rest. Those settings are a good starting point and to begin with you can set the ISO higher or lower as needed. Beware of going too high though as noise wil start to become an issue (noise reduction software can help in this case). From memory the highest ISO i have used is 1000 but that was in really low light with aperature set at f/22. Focusing is also really important. Try to focus on the eyes of your subject. With Macro that can be quite difficult as the subject is quite small and the tiniest of movements will make the picture out of focus. As the old saying goes practise makes perfect . Some people use a monopod and i know of others that use a broom stick for extra support. For me exhaling slowly or holding my breath for a split second before i take the shot helps as this minimises body movement. Lastly, and for this particular lens, i am using auto focus. As soon as the lens focuses on the subjects eyes (the focus point goes red and beeps) i fire off a shot instantly. I find this method works best for me. Then its a matter of looking at the shot taken and making any necessary adjustments. Apologies for the long reply but i hope this helps.