Upgrade options

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dracaj

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joe
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As i have come into a small amount of money i have decided to upgrade my gear (nikon d90 plus kit lens and 70-300 vr), i am not a pro but just love taking photos everything from landscape,cityscape, buildings inside and out to a bit of wildlife. have always thought about going full frame but still not sure.........
I have put together a couple of options and would like your thoughts please my budget is approx £3500.00
option 1 is a nikon d7100 with a 16-35 f4 a 24-120 f4 and a 70-200 f4.
option 2 is a nikon d610 with a 24-70 2.8 or the (24-120) and a 70-200 f4
thanks for any input.
 
I thought the 16-35 f4 was a ff lens. Is there not an economically more viable lens for a dx camera in option 1?

I upgraded from a d90 to ff. Love my d800.
 
Whilst option 2 will be great for the landscape, cityscape and buildings you may struggle with wildlife with regards length (subject dependant) as you are going from an effective focal length of 450mm max to only 200mm. As I shoot Canon and am not really sure about Nike lenses but you may find you want something longer. Either a Sigma 150-500 or Tamron 160-600, alternately something like a 400mm prime.

I have a 150-500 and I am looking at swapping to a 400mm as I find on FF for wildlife I'm always at the longer end
 
I don't think you need to front too much cash for FX items.
certainly change the 16-35mm

if you want to stick with Nikon one of the great landscape wide angle lens is 12-24f4 and 10-24mm both for DX sensors. or you can opt for sigma 10-20mm or tokina 11-16 but the later has flare issues i think (maybe the 2nd generations are ok)

I am currently using D7000 with nikon 12-24. it is superb.
http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/757-afs12244dx?start=2
2nd hand ones are very good price for this as noted in the review

for the normal zoom lens, the 24-120 won't perform as well as the 24-70mm for similar price (assuming you are trying to pickup a second hand 24-70 like the one in classified)

then you can look to keep your 70-300 or upgrade to sigma's 100-300 f4 (awesome lens) or 70-200 either tamron (USD VC) or nikon which ever comes at decent price, but if you are used to 300mm i think 300mm is what you want. and get a 1.4TC which won't cause any siginificant loss of IQ then boom you have the flexibility of running 140-420 (assuming 100-300mm) or 100-280mm which effectively become a 100-300.

with the above it should come sigificantly under the budget if you don't mind second hand gears.

But if you are looking to go full frame in the future, the DX lens can still be used on them and still produce decent wide angle. remember 12-24 is 18-36mm on full frame and 10-20 is 15-30 on full frame. so even the best full frame nikon zoom lens 14-24 f2.8 it is highly comparable. ;)

Ironically, i am considering the same options as you. I am leaning to FX lenses (24-70 and 100-300 if i can find one) while on DX body and then pickup a decent 2nd hand FX body later on as I don't have the fund for a full whack :D
 
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If you are choosing landscape/cityscape as your main subject then a wide angle option is almost certainly key. With this in mind I would consider these two options.

1. Cropped Sensor:- . D7100 with Tokina 11-16 AT-X Pro f/2.8 & Nikon 17-55 f/2.8G which will come to about £2400
2. FF:- Nikon D610 with Nikon 16-35 f/4 & Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 which should come in at £3850 (slightly over budget)

With the budget you mention though I'd certainly opt for the D610 (or D800 for an extra £150) and the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 and I would sit on the other £500 because you never know what's going to be needed until you er... need it.

A cracking lens the 24-70 and although not UWA will suffice for landscapes. For wildlife, maybe option 1 together with the Sigma 150-500.
 
Really though, wanting to do landscape AND wildlife causes damage to bank balances as they require totally different kit. I know (literally) a few people that do like landscape and birds but the vast majority of landscapers love purely landscape because (as with me) it's a passion in itself.
 
i am not sure about the Nikon 17-55mm, according to photozone it has issues dealing with backlite scenes which is going to be pretty common for landscape/buildings. I have the tamron 17-50mm non-vc and i cannot fault the lens at all, good contrast good colour and good sharpness. the only lens i would replace it with is certainly the 24-70mm
 
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