Just bought a Nikon 400mm AF-S f/2.8 G ED VR - Need body advice!

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In an impulsive moment on eBay I just won a Nikon 400mm AF-S f/2.8 G ED VR for an unbelievable price which puts me in a bit of a dilemma as I'm a Pentaxian!

My usual setup for wildlife is a K-3 with an F*250-600mm F5.6, a fantastic setup to be honest but with the usual Pentax caveat of below par autofocus performance in comparison to it's peers. With the new K-1 nearly with us I was originally looking towards adding that to the kit bag as I also shoot landscapes.

The idea of narrow depth of field with a full frame camera greatly appeals but I am used to only using crop cameras which of course can help with reach shooting wildlife. Budget wise I could stretch to a D810 or D500 but I could only afford one of them!

The question here obviously is what body to get?

My gut feeling is to go for a D810 but I would really appreciate any advice from real life experiences, especially those that have gone DX - FX or those that currently shoot with a 400 f2.8.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

PS, I will be going to the Photography Show on Tuesday to get a feel for the new bodies!
 
What body? You need a very muscular body...or at least muscular arms to hold that beast!
 
you cannot go much wrong with the D750, D810 ............ or a D4 with or without the S
 
Having been used to 600mm you will find 400mm limiting, however the 400 f2.8 takes converters well so you can get there :)
In your situation I would be inclined to wait until I could get some more information on the D500 ... i.e. well after the launch, if it's as good as it purports to be with AF & ISO control then it will be a winning option to give you that extra 'reach' (to the purists ... I know!) 600mm before you use converters.
 
I would probably tend towards the D500 if the real performance matches the spec. AF should be more accurate, quicker and fills more of the viewfinder and noise performance should be better. Although the 400 is an amazing lens I found it slightly short quite often for wildlife on FX and either the high res of D810 or smaller sensor of D500 would help here and I doubt either camera would be vastly better in that respect. I'm probably on my own here, but I do find wandering round with it hand held works ok and you can get some spontaneous shots not otherwise possible. A monopod is a reasonable compromise though to make life a bit easier and cheaper than gimbal + tripod.
 
BillN_33 said:
Have you got a good tripod and Gimbal head?
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Yup, thats thoroughly sorted as my current kit is around 7KG, we have a Gitzo 5562GTS, Gitzo 5541 monopod and Wimberley head.
 
BillN_33 said:
you cannot go much wrong with the D750, D810 ............ or a D4 with or without the S
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The budget won't stretch to a D4 yet (maybe a used one in the future)! Thought about the D750 but I do like to print large (we have a Canon iPF 6450) so now that I've remembered that the D810 does sound like the way to go!
 
gramps said:
Having been used to 600mm you will find 400mm limiting, however the 400 f2.8 takes converters well so you can get there :)
In your situation I would be inclined to wait until I could get some more information on the D500 ... i.e. well after the launch, if it's as good as it purports to be with AF & ISO control then it will be a winning option to give you that extra 'reach' (to the purists ... I know!) 600mm before you use converters.
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Have looked at a couple of reviews where converters were used and this definately helped to pull the trigger as I'm used to a good zoom range!

It is worth waiting to see how the D500 is received but is the D810 due for an update soon?
 
Unlocker said:
It is worth waiting to see how the D500 is received but is the D810 due for an update soon?
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Personally I don't think the D810 needs an update it's a great body giving great resolution, however every (almost) wildlife photographer needs more reach, hence my suggestion of waiting for the D500 experiences. I have a D810 & D7200 and the D7200 gets used more for wildlife :)
 
Unlocker said:
In an impulsive moment on eBay I just won a Nikon 400mm AF-S f/2.8 G ED VR for an unbelievable price which puts me in a bit of a dilemma as I'm a Pentaxian!

!
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I really hope you checked the seller out and spoke to him and havent transferred any money before physically seeing the lens in person, Ebay is a major source of scammers for Nikon and Canon 400mm f/2.8 lenses selling for £2,700-2900 from people with low feedback (usually under 20 sales)
 
Gary Coyle said:
I really hope you checked the seller out and spoke to him and havent transferred any money before physically seeing the lens in person, Ebay is a major source of scammers for Nikon and Canon 400mm f/2.8 lenses selling for £2,700-2900 from people with low feedback (usually under 20 sales)
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Agree with Gary - if its the lens I think it is then there are some odd things about the advert? Location of the lens? The fact that there was no reserve and a much higher cash/collect offer was rejected? Hope I'm wrong and its all legit. Great buy if it is!!
 
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Well at first glance it looks legit - I tried google images searching by the URL of the images (presuming this was the sale - link) and they came up fine - the seller history was established but old - could be they don't buy or sell all that much.

The Q&A is a little funny, so watch the seller doesn't come back with its already sold - but that could have been a dodgy buying scam of some description.

Fingers crossed all is good though and if so you can;t go far wrong with the D750 :D
 
Is it the one that has been removed - sold at £2,900 - BIN

saw it - looked extremely doggy
 
Oh... :(
 
JohnN said:
Well at first glance it looks legit - I tried google images searching by the URL of the images (presuming this was the sale - link) and they came up fine - the seller history was established but old - could be they don't buy or sell all that much.

The Q&A is a little funny, so watch the seller doesn't come back with its already sold - but that could have been a dodgy buying scam of some description.

Fingers crossed all is good though and if so you can;t go far wrong with the D750 :D
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Hopefully it's okay but it's cheap and shows two different locations, Brentwood & Rochdale ... wouldn't be the 1st time an old account has been hacked.
I always look for other photographic items in the details of past sales/purchases ... didn't see any here.
 
Yeah, I saw that too, but very few items in the history had descriptions so I couldn't decide either way - well other than various car parts.

Either way it seems it wasn't that one, but the one that sold on the 18th.
 
JohnN said:
Either way it seems it wasn't that one, but the one that sold on the 18th.
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Oh dear ... sold and then re-listed, then removed!
Let's hope O/P either hasn't paid or has done so in a way that the money is refundable ... there was a condition set by the seller as to how it would have to be paid :(
 
smudgie49 said:
John...how have you established exactly which lens the OP is referring to?
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I haven't, just guesswork and eBay search, same as Gramps
 
markyboy.1967 said:
Go for the D810 to get you up and running and learn about the camera. this will give time for the D500 prices to settle and get some REAL hands on user reviews and then decide on what you want. i would pick up a used 1.4tc as well and you will have a great set up.
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Great advice from Mark and a set up to die for
 
JohnN said:
Well at first glance it looks legit - I tried google images searching by the URL of the images (presuming this was the sale - link) and they came up fine - the seller history was established but old - could be they don't buy or sell all that much.

The Q&A is a little funny, so watch the seller doesn't come back with its already sold - but that could have been a dodgy buying scam of some description.

Fingers crossed all is good though and if so you can;t go far wrong with the D750 :D
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Thats the one, did the usual checks that I could and it does seem genuine enough, the listing finishing at 4PM probably helped me a lot more than the seller. If it should be a hacked account, paying by Paypal with a credit card should see me ok. If it's not bogus then at £2k I'm really looking forward to it!
 
Unlocker said:
Thats the one, did the usual checks that I could and it does seem genuine enough, the listing finishing at 4PM probably helped me a lot more than the seller. If it should be a hacked account, paying by Paypal with a credit card should see me ok. If it's not bogus then at £2k I'm really looking forward to it!
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Hope everything works out okay for you :)
 
Unlocker said:
Thats the one, did the usual checks that I could and it does seem genuine enough, the listing finishing at 4PM probably helped me a lot more than the seller. If it should be a hacked account, paying by Paypal with a credit card should see me ok. If it's not bogus then at £2k I'm really looking forward to it!
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Great news - I saw eBay protection on there too, so good luck and if this pans out then you did very well :)
 
Unlocker said:
Thats the one, did the usual checks that I could and it does seem genuine enough, the listing finishing at 4PM probably helped me a lot more than the seller. If it should be a hacked account, paying by Paypal with a credit card should see me ok. If it's not bogus then at £2k I'm really looking forward to it!
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Fingers crossed Danny I hope all is OK - they are normally twice that price
 
markyboy.1967 said:
Go for the D810 to get you up and running and learn about the camera. this will give time for the D500 prices to settle and get some REAL hands on user reviews and then decide on what you want. i would pick up a used 1.4tc as well and you will have a great set up.
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My research so far seems to be coming to the same conclusion! Also adding the 2x tc could be better than what I already have and if it is I won't have to worry about losing length either!
 
tiddlybiz said:
I would probably tend towards the D500 if the real performance matches the spec. AF should be more accurate, quicker and fills more of the viewfinder and noise performance should be better. Although the 400 is an amazing lens I found it slightly short quite often for wildlife on FX and either the high res of D810 or smaller sensor of D500 would help here and I doubt either camera would be vastly better in that respect. I'm probably on my own here, but I do find wandering round with it hand held works ok and you can get some spontaneous shots not otherwise possible. A monopod is a reasonable compromise though to make life a bit easier and cheaper than gimbal + tripod.
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It would have been fine for the squirrels on Brownsea this week (we're currently in one of the cottages!) but even with 600 on a crop sensor shooting birds from the hide was a bit of a waste of time!

New_Mascot.jpg
 
I saw that pic from your links - really nice shot, still the 400mm would have been useless for that... well maybe not it could have stood on that too :D
 
Unlocker said:
Thats the one, did the usual checks that I could and it does seem genuine enough, the listing finishing at 4PM probably helped me a lot more than the seller. If it should be a hacked account, paying by Paypal with a credit card should see me ok. If it's not bogus then at £2k I'm really looking forward to it!
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Trouble is you will be waiting 30 days to get your money back
 
Unlocker said:
It would have been fine for the squirrels on Brownsea this week (we're currently in one of the cottages!) but even with 600 on a crop sensor shooting birds from the hide was a bit of a waste of time!

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That's brilliant Danny, absolutely brilliant !
 
Gary Coyle said:
Trouble is you will be waiting 30 days to get your money back
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Maybe, but worth finding out! At the worst, I get my money back, at the best, a 400 2.8 VR for £2K ;)
 
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OP you say you like the shallow DOF of FF but assuming you have the same camera to subject distance (which is usually the case with birding as you'll be in a set position) a crop body will actually give you a smaller DOF due to the extra effective focal length. Add to this the wider AF spread of crop bodies, particularly the spread on the D500 I would suggest that the D500 would be a better choice, especially considering the AF system should be better too.
 
Hi sir,
I have to refund your money because my supplier this time is not reliable. I don't want to take the risk.
Sorry for any inconvenienced caused.
Thanks and regard!
Ronald

Oh well, did sound to good to be true I suppose, will have to keep my eye open for other bargains!

Many thanks for the advice though, it was helpful and appreciated!
 
Unlocker said:
Hi sir,
I have to refund your money because my supplier this time is not reliable. I don't want to take the risk.
Sorry for any inconvenienced caused.
Thanks and regard!
Ronald

Oh well, did sound to good to be true I suppose, will have to keep my eye open for other bargains!

Many thanks for the advice though, it was helpful and appreciated!
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Makes you wonder what the guy is playing at - looking to get away with something easily?

I wonder if EBay will "ban" him?
 
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