Decent Glass or D300???

C

contrastingLight

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Richard
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I am in a quandary, do I buy some decent glass or a Nikon D300?

I currently own a D80, and would love to upgrade.
However the sensible side says buys some decent glass and the body can wait till next year.

I am currently looking at,
Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Nikon AFS 28-70mm f/2.8


Any suggestions?:thinking:

Cheers

CL:shrug:
 
contrastingLight said:
I am in a quandary, do I buy some decent glass or a Nikon D300?

I currently own a D80, and would love to upgrade.
However the sensible side says buys some decent glass and the body can wait till next year.

I am currently looking at,
Nikon AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Nikon AFS 28-70mm f/2.8


Any suggestions?:thinking:

Cheers

CL:shrug:
Click to expand...

Well, the D300 would give you the pleasure of using a pro spec camera with appropriate build quality although experience says that the glass won't get any cheaper but the body will.

If you've got the self-discipline go for the glass now and wait for the body - says he who recently did just the opposite! :eek:

Whatever you decide, enjoy......:)
 
the d300 is a great camera, but so is the d80 ( i have both )

unless you feel you have "out grown" your d80 i would spend the money on the glass. and wait for the prices to come down on the body or when the replacement for the d300 comes out next year snap one up second hand, but them im sure you will be after the replacement?! and the d300 ( like the d200) will be classed as "old technology"

but! having only bought my d300 on sunday im not a good one to talk but i do intend to buy glass as well once ive 100% decided what to get.

if im honest im really glad i bought the d300 and never held back on the purchase, i find the pictures so much crisper and consistant than the d80. oh and it handles like a dream, just waiting for the battery grip to come through the door and i will be completly happy.
the d300 just so needs a grip. but i suppose if youve never used a grip you dont miss it.
 
Well if you buy a nice new glass you'll improve your results, but then if you buy the D300 your also improving results, so it comes down to what you really prefer. The D300 is a fantastic camera which throws out just the same quality shots as the D3, there is no difference in the shots I've seen between the two using the same lens. You will always get the 'what you buy now will be out dated in a year', thats life I'm affraid (and to be honest I'm sick of hearing it). I upgraded to the D300 from a D200 and notice quite a difference so I'm sure you'll be making a big step going from the D80 to the 300.

Only one person can make that choice ;)

Mark
 
Why do you feel the need to upgrade?

What do you think you could do with a D300 that you can't do with your D80, and how important is that?

What do you think you could do with the lenses you mentioned that you can't do with your existing lenses (you didn't say what they are, by the way), and how important is that to you?

Answer those questions, and your path should be obvious.
 
upgrading glass will offer better investment, as it will work with any body you buy. you are looking at the pro spec glass if im not wrong(not a nikon man) and you will notice a difference, especially indoors without flash. bodies go out of date faster than glass, so i would plump for glass personally.

the only reason to update your body is because your d80 isnt capable of doing what you want it to or because you like new stuff.
 
I have the D80, D300, D700 and a batch of pro lenses including the 70-200mm and IMO you will get more from the 70-200mm than upgrading from the D80 to D300 unless you already have quite a few pro lenses?

The D300 is a real step up don't get me wrong but I have taken some awesome photos with the D80 and it's a more than capable camera. As others have said, the body will also drop in price much more so if it's still nagging at you in 6 months you can pick one up then.
 
I'm in the same position, and I reckon go glass, glass, glass!

Whilst the D300 is very tempting, the attractions of the D300 over the D80 are wants rather than needs for me (the only exception being the better high ISO performance).
 
The answer to your question may depend on what you shoot.

The main benefits of the D300 are improved shooting at higher ISO and a much better AF system.

Having owned both a D80 and D300, glass is probably the best option, unless the features above are really important to you (they were to me).
 
Thanks for the replies.

I am currently using a Nikon AF-S DX VR 18-200mm 3.5-5.6G IF-ED as my main walk about lens, I have a wide angle in the shape of Tokina 12-24mm f4.0 AT-X and have just bought a 50mm 1.8

I like a lot of differing aspects of photography, architecture, street, landscape, candid & also some nature thrown in.

I also tend to take a lot of low light photos, landscapes and city night scenes.

My main reason for upgrading would be for the the low noise and increased ISO available with the D300.

I am erring on the side of getting some better glass at the moment and improving my range & buying the D300 later next year.
I also feel I haven't had the full use out of my D80 yet and the upgrade would be a rush.
However the results I am seeing on the web is quite tempting:bang::clap::shrug:

cheers

CL
 
Taking what you shoot, I'd go for the glass.

Improved ISO is not going to help that much for low light architecture / landscapes. I'd use a tripod, long exposure and lower ISO for something like that. Something which the D80 should be fine with.
 
I also feel I haven't had the full use out of my D80 yet and the upgrade would be a rush.
Click to expand...

Answered it yourself. Buy Glass.

When you have buy the body.
 
gribbsy said:
Taking what you shoot, I'd go for the glass.

Improved ISO is not going to help that much for low light architecture / landscapes. I'd use a tripod, long exposure and lower ISO for something like that. Something which the D80 should be fine with.
Click to expand...

:agree:

100% actually
 
OK this is exactly something that happened to me.

I had a D80, and needed (wanted) something **** hot for motorsport. It was a toss up between a D300 or the 70-200 AF-S VR. So I bought both!

OK, I didn't. After trialing the 70-200 VR on my D80 I knew I had to have it! So I bought that and concentrated on improving on my motorsport. It wasn't long before the results were very apparent!

I then waited for the D300 to drop in price but long too long. I sold my D80 for a healthy amount plus a backup amount so I was able to get a D300. :)
 
If you really need high ISO performance then get the 70-200 now and save (a lot) for the D700. The D300 is better than the D80 but not by a huge margin in my experience.
 
If high ISO is your game, the D80 is not going to be fixed by adding 2.8 glass...
 
contrastingLight said:
I like a lot of differing aspects of photography, architecture, street, landscape, candid & also some nature thrown in.

I also tend to take a lot of low light photos, landscapes and city night scenes.

My main reason for upgrading would be for the the low noise and increased ISO available with the D300.
Click to expand...

Buy the glass and put the camera on a tripod (ISO problem solved) especially for cityscapes :naughty:
 
I'd say save your money and get the glass that you need. I have a D80 aswell and have used the 70-200 on there for a week and loved it. Im saving for this lens and a 24mm prime for my landscapes to go with my very capable D80:)

GLASS!!:D
 
Thanks to everyone for their help with this, the decision is made some new glass is the order of the day.
Think it will be a 70 - 200 2.8 probably hire one to ensure its what I want then look at a 28-70mm f/2.8 or a fast prime.
Then followed by either D300 or D700 later next year better get some overtime in to pay for it all..........:clap::clap::clap:(y)

Thanks for your help

Richard
 
Just to clarify, Nikon DX lenses will not make use of the full frame sensor of the D700. I'm not sure what states Sigmas as the equivalent, though.
 
contrastingLight said:
Think it will be a 70 - 200 2.8 probably hire one to ensure its what I want then look at a 28-70mm f/2.8 or a fast prime.
Then followed by either D300 or D700 later next year better get some overtime in to pay for it all..........:clap::clap::clap:(y)

Thanks for your help

Richard
Click to expand...

I think you need to be aware of the limitations of Nikons 70-200 f2.8 if you are eventually getting a full frame dslr, dpreview state in their review of the lens review here

" The 70-200mm VR gives a less than sublime performance on FX, essentially doing a very good impression of a lens which was optimized primarily for the DX format. Corner sharpness and falloff (or in this case, more correctly vignetting) are especially problematic, but distortion and chromatic aberration are also less well controlled on the larger format."

I know Ricky1981 doesnt have a problem with his D700, but others do.

I notice you also have a Nikkor 18-200vr. I kept my 18-200vr and bought a D300. The lens performs so much better on that camera than my previous D80 D200`s, its like getting a better lens anyway.
Heres some more food for thought, its is a thread started by someone who rates his 18-200vr alongside pro glass. he`s not alone......

Most people seem to encourage others to get better glass first. I dont agree, but thats just me!
The D300 does such a good job of fast focussing, great for action shots, and its CA reduction would be brilliant for shots of architecture and trees with any lens.

I think your ultimate choice of D300 or D700 ( or whatever comes out next) should be a big deciding factor in your choice of lenses now, if you are going for glass first.

If your choice will be a d700, you may want to make sure any lenses you buy will be suitable for the FX format, a D300 will give you a wider range of choice. I expect the 70-200 f2.8 will be updated soon to take advantage of full frame sensors. That would give me reason enough to hold off on that particular purchase.

By all means, get glass first and enjoy it on your present camera, just make sure that whatever body you buy in the future will take best advantage of the lenses you have just bought.

Allan
 
allanm said:
I think you need to be aware of the limitations of Nikons 70-200 f2.8 if you are eventually getting a full frame dslr, dpreview state in their review of the lens review here

" The 70-200mm VR gives a less than sublime performance on FX, essentially doing a very good impression of a lens which was optimized primarily for the DX format. Corner sharpness and falloff (or in this case, more correctly vignetting) are especially problematic, but distortion and chromatic aberration are also less well controlled on the larger format."

I know Ricky1981 doesnt have a problem with his D700, but others do.
Click to expand...

Well there's problems and there are problems. "less than sublime" does not mean unusable, nor does it mean will not give good or great results.
 
Isn't that why they are about to release a new version of the 70-200 to fix the FX sensor problem...

Any day now...
 
desantnik said:
Isn't that why they are about to release a new version of the 70-200 to fix the FX sensor problem...

Any day now...
Click to expand...

Oooh... maybe the s/h market will be flooded with cheap, low usage examples of the old one?

Yeah, right!!
 
The only issues I have ever heard from actual owners of the 70/200 with D3/700 are slight softness when shooting landscapes and even the only in the corners. It is a cracking lens for what it was intended for and you can find loads of sample photos already showing how well it performs with the FX bodies.
 
OutLore said:
Oooh... maybe the s/h market will be flooded with cheap, low usage examples of the old one?

Yeah, right!!
Click to expand...

Heres hoping.....

Allan
 
allanm said:
Heres hoping.....

Allan
Click to expand...

Yeah, was thinking of getting one next time I am in the states... but might wait now and see if there's any s/h ones come up... What with the exchange rate now, only makes them about £200 cheaper stateside....
 
I agree with everything that's been said above,glass is the way to go, but the latest body is also nice to have too :thinking: :shrug:

It's probably going to be at least another couple of years before we see a sub-£1000 Nikon FF body (the D700 will probably settle at around the £1600 mark where the 5D sat) and at least the same again before it filters (if you pardon the pun) down to the D80 class, so you/we need to bear that in mind . ass Allan says, when choosing new gear.

I haven't used the 70-200 on a D80, however it's predecessor, the 80-200 AF-D always seemed as if the lens was too heavy for the mount and was going to rip it out the body. I know it wasn't, but being a big, solid lump of a lens it just felt that way...
 
I used the 70-200 on my old D80 and it was a pleasure to use... just wish I still had one for my D300
 
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