help with purchase

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samsnikon

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its not me, but a friend has about £3.5k to £4k to spend on his dslr setup.

I have recommended a d700, with a 50mm 1.4 lens, a nikkor zoom something in the 300mm range VR and potentially a wide angle 12-24.

Is this a good choice or would canon be better.

My only reason for going with Nikon is because I have one and understand it more.

Also he is not interested in the video capability.

thanks

sam
 
Has he ever used a 'proper' camera before?

Only reason I ask is because D700 is quite a level to come in at.

The new D3100 has full HD video capabilities..
 
You could get a 5dMk2 with some nice L glass for that I think, that would be my preference. At that money tell him to go to a shop and try out the various top end canon and nikon bodies. It's as much about personal prefernce than anything else I think
 
D700 is a pro camera with a pro interface so if he is comfortable with that then great - I'd be going for a Used set up of a d700, 12-24, 24-70, 70-200 personally but it would very much depend on what sort of shooting he does.
 
He has gone to Jessops and likes the look and feel of the Nikons.

He is going to be shooting mainly grand prix cars, people, pit and paddock stuff etc. Hence the wide angle and zoom lens.

I know its a big step but does not really want to start small. I did point out the d7000 but as he as the funds he may as well jump in.

I think he is also going to do some classes

sam
 
If you're friend is into sports then he should be looking at the Canon 7D or Nikon D300S. The Canon 5D (mark whatever) and Nikon D700 are great for portraits and landscapes but for Sports/Action/Wildlife you are better off with a top end crop than a bottom end full frame camera. This is due to the crop factor giving you more reach with your lenses on a crop body.

He should then spend the money he's saved on the body on a really good, fast medium zoom.
 
just to point out the 12-24 is a DX lens, and will very likely vignette badly at the wide end on a d700. For your friends shooting needs I'd be more inclined to go for the d300s. 12 -24 is likely to be too wide at first, but if he really wanted something v wide then the older 16-35 is great.
 
D700, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8. Job done. Maybe even a 14-24 f/2.8 if he has any money left.
 
alexhcowley said:
If you're friend is into sports then he should be looking at the Canon 7D or Nikon D300S. The Canon 5D (mark whatever) and Nikon D700 are great for portraits and landscapes but for Sports/Action/Wildlife you are better off with a top end crop than a bottom end full frame camera. This is due to the crop factor giving you more reach with your lenses on a crop body.

He should then spend the money he's saved on the body on a really good, fast medium zoom.
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+1 I think I would go this way too.

Is the intention to make money from the shots, or is it just an expensive hobby purchase ?

What does he have at the moment (if anything) ?
If the answer is nothing, then he will also need to factor in other things like filters / flashgun / tri/monopod / batteries / cards / case etc etc.

For motorsport does he have access to press areas ? You would need a massive zoom to get anything decent at somewhere like Silverstone if you're in the public areas.
 
Hmm the D700 is FX ie full frame so you loose the crop factor, I cant see him needing to go that wide and 300mm may be a little short.

I would revise it to (all Nikkors):

24-120mm F4 VR
85mm F1.8
80-400mm VR

If he wants an Ultra wide there's still room to stick a 14-24mm in if he wants and can afford it or you could go the 300mm F4 and add a teleconvertor which would give him a 420mm F5.6
 
iancandler said:
Hmm the D700 is FX ie full frame so you loose the crop factor, I cant see him needing to go that wide and 300mm may be a little short.

I would revise it to (all Nikkors):

24-120mm F4 VR
85mm F1.8
80-400mm VR

If he wants an Ultra wide there's still room to stick a 14-24mm in if he wants and can afford it or you could go the 300mm F4 and add a teleconvertor which would give him a 420mm F5.6
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The 80-400 is far too slow for motorsport and tbh the budget of £3.5-4k isn't going to buy much in the way of suitable glass if half of it is going on a D700 body. All that's really left is enough for a new 70-200 VRII, a UV filter a decent strap and a bag.....
 
How about this...

D300s
MB-D10
Nikkor 70-200 VR
Nikon AF-S 2x Teleconvertor
Nikkor 35 f1.8 DX (or the 35 f2 AF-D might be a good investment in case they ever upgraded to FX)
Nikkor 12-24 DX

8fps, up to 600mm with the crop and 2xtele and would leave plenty of money for accessories.

Just my 2 cents :)
 
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TCR4x4 said:
Where did he say motorsport?

He said grand prix cars, people and paddock. To me that means stationary cars in the paddock and the people there.
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Why would you need 300mm+ for walking around a paddock ?
I think I inferred from the OP that it meant shots of moving cars / motorsport too :thinking:
 
Sounds like a bonkers amount of money to spend on a first DSLR outfit. I hope he has previous experience or extra money to pay for some training! Jumping in straight with a pro camera such as the D700 will be very daunting and there are none of the 'hand holding' modes that might be useful for someone learning.
 
I am going to take him to Jessops again and choose between the d300s and d700.

The motorsport angle is because he can get a pit and paddock pass, so he is a fairly unique position.

Just to answer a few more questions - first DSLR experience, does not want to comprise and can afford it.

sam
 
TCR4x4 said:
Where did he say motorsport?

He said grand prix cars, people and paddock. To me that means stationary cars in the paddock and the people there.
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grand prix cars, people and paddock - seems to me thats motorsport, no matter how much you want to argue about them being stationary. I've never met anybody yet who goes to a grand prix with the purpose of looking at the parked cars :)
 
boyfalldown said:
grand prix cars, people and paddock - seems to me thats motorsport, no matter how much you want to argue about them being stationary. I've never met anybody yet who goes to a grand prix with the purpose of looking at the parked cars :)
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I know plenty of people who go to airshows to look at parked planes and arent that interested in the flying ones.

Sounds like the Op's mate might have a bit more money than most and wants a new toy, so TBH it doesnt matter what he gets, he still wont know how to use it properly for a while, so maybe he will be better off taking pics of the stationary ones for a while.
 
samsnikon said:
I am going to take him to Jessops again and choose between the d300s and d700.

The motorsport angle is because he can get a pit and paddock pass, so he is a fairly unique position.

Just to answer a few more questions - first DSLR experience, does not want to comprise and can afford it.

sam
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Its not a worry about being to afford it, its about being able to use it! We don't want him to end up as a 'all the gear and no idea'! ;)
 
Don't forget to sell it all here when he gets bored with the new toys ;)

So would rather he got a 7D, might do you a favour being a Canon user too :thumbs:
 
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got to be a D7000 and an assortment of lenses. D700 won't offer many advanatages other than bigger viewfinder and dearer glass.
 
menthel said:
Its not a worry about being to afford it, its about being able to use it! We don't want him to end up as a 'all the gear and no idea'! ;)
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when I started photography my first slr was a fully manual film camera

why is it so much harder now?

Even on a full pro camera you can start with the basics
 
keirik said:
when I started photography my first slr was a fully manual film camera

why is it so much harder now?

Even on a full pro camera you can start with the basics
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If you have lots of time and patience. Not something you find too often now. However, for someone learning its good to have something to fall back on when you can't get one shot in focus or exposed correctly its stops you getting demoralised and then putting away £3000 worth of kit!

I too started fully manual but had my dad to teach me but we didn't have much choice as my dad's cameras were generally manual and he couldn't afford anything better at the time.
 
BazEP said:
D700 is a pro camera with a pro interface so if he is comfortable with that then great - I'd be going for a Used set up of a d700, 12-24, 24-70, 70-200 personally but it would very much depend on what sort of shooting he does.
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Sorry - brain fart - meant 14-24 rather than 12-24
 
Given what's been said regarding his purposes I think the D7000 is probably the best bet with whatever mid-zoom (17-55mm 2.8) and a long tele (although he'll prob need to go sh for the tele). I'd prob add in a fast prime or two aswell (thinking 35 and 85's).
 
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I wouldn't have minded starting with a D700. If you fling it into P mode and auto-iso with a 24-70mm f2.8, where's the big difference to an entry level camera?
 
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