Keep D90 or upgrade to D7000

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smartidog

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jon
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Hi all.
Had my D90 for a few years now and for some unknown reason have a yearning for a D7000! (probably the fault of the for sale section on this site!)
Well what are your thoughts? Is it a worthwhile upgrade....... or is it just a silly phase I'm going through, as 10cc put it (I'm not in love, mid 70's).
Cheers
JON
 
You have answered your own question- you have no reason to upgrade:p

Nothing wrong with the D90- well apart from movie mode but then all Nikon's were crap at that and it's only recently Nikon have actually managed to not make an a*rse of it.

I see more benefit in having top end lenses and flashes.

If you have the money and want to do it then just do it. If you had a query that was along the lines of 'I am working in x conditions and the D90 is struggling even with my thousand pound f1.4 lens what do you suggest?' then that's a different story or ' I want a fit for purpose movie mode' but then the D7000 isn't really either;)

Personally I see little point given your opening statement but I am rather old school although I also think there's not enough of a difference between them. Slight ISO/ fps improvements etc but it's not going to radically change anything. A D700 on the other hand....:D
 
Get a d700 you'll be amazed at the difference!! Not a lot of difference between the d90 and d7000 in my humble opinion. hth mike
 
New d610 full frame may not be a bad idea. In dynamic range, noise etc it'll out perform a d700. A used d700 is still pricey, a new warrantied 610 is where my c£1k would go

D700 owners will go on about build quality, I only know of one mountain tog on here that probably requires that robustness of build. us mereortals who tog landscapes not mountain scapes are ridges or people/city scapes a 610 would be an epic upgrade
 
ST4 said:
New d610 full frame may not be a bad idea. In dynamic range, noise etc it'll out perform a d700. A used d700 is still pricey, a new warrantied 610 is where my c£1k would go

D700 owners will go on about build quality, I only know of one mountain tog on here that probably requires that robustness of build. us mereortals who tog landscapes not mountain scapes are ridges or people/city scapes a 610 would be an epic upgrade
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oh really, well i dropped my d700 with my sigma 150-500 on at the time glad i had a robust camera, the lens needed major surgery.;)
 
Thanks all.
Going full frame....... Will all my lenses be compatible! My friend has aD700 and yes it is an outstanding bit of kit, will also look into D610..........oh what am I doing!!
 
If you're seriously thinking about full frame just because some bloke you don't know on a forum suggested it.... Words fail me. You haven't even mentioned what you think you might get from a body upgrade that you're not getting from your D90. (My guess: probably nothing.)
 
Yep, well that's me told StewartR! Think we are all entitled to explore the Avenues of new equipment from time to time. But yes you are probably right, the D90 does really do all I need, should maybe get another lens. we all have an itch that needs to be scratched from time to time........ And I have one at the moment!
 
What are your photography interests?
Do you need the extra reach a crop sensor gives you?
My main body is a D300 and l did also have a D90 as a back-up and for kids to use.
I do mainly wildlife and some indoor sports, l part ex'd the D90 for a D7100 purely for
the high Iso capabilities, full frame was never an option for me.
 
Hi Gremlin. Mainly shoot pets/scenery /landscape. Think the D7000 sounds like it may be faster in some situations. But perhaps I need to improve my skills using the D90. Could be better to spend money on a new lens. Seem to miss the best shot to often! Love photography but feel that I am just no good at it sometimes.
 
smartidog said:
Hi Gremlin. Mainly shoot pets/scenery /landscape. Think the D7000 sounds like it may be faster in some situations. But perhaps I need to improve my skills using the D90. Could be better to spend money on a new lens. Seem to miss the best shot to often! Love photography but feel that I am just no good at it sometimes.
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i think we have all been here, I am also thinking upgrading MY D90 is the answer. I want a D300S but again it is an itch. That said, if you feel more confident / motivated / inspired by new kit then that can be enough to get things moving again.
 
Yes good point. That's another one that is on my mind the D300s, another as is the D90, iconic camera!
 
D300s isn't worth the money over a D90 as you'd gain pretty much nothing in terms of ISO performance for a start. D7000 is a very nice body with nice dynamic range and pretty good ISO performance, especially from the JPEGs straight from the camera. What lenses do you own? If you are heavily invested in DX lenses, I'd probably stay DX format, but if your lenses work on FX as well, perhaps a second hand D700 would be a nice upgrade after all. I'd rather have a D700 over a D600 (used both) as the AF is better and in my opinion, more usable than any ISO performance the D600 will give, especially in low light!
 
I doubt a D7000 would give you much more over a D90 IQ wise. A new lens would give you a more noticeable difference in IQ however switching from DX to FX would also, but mainly for indoors or poorer light conditions. I have a D90, D7100 & D700, out of my "collection" the D700 is easily my favourite camera. Reasons over D90/D7100 - speed, better dynamic range, most realistic WB, quick & accurate AF system, consistent metering, works better with older AF-D type lenses and it has the buttons where I like them.

If I was switching to FX and deciding between a D600/610 or D700, I'd go D700 all the way - what the D700 may lack slightly for with the older sensor IQ, it more than makes up for with better AF performance. I mainly shoot unpredictable moving subjects and for that the D700 will always give me the most keepers, no matter what light. The D600 may have slightly better ISO performance however in poor light the D700 will get your subject in focus whereas the D600 might - simple as that!
 
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Think best route (although new body is v tempting), is to get more glass, it would be a better investment I believe, so will start looking at some primes I think.
Current lenses are :- nikon DX 35mm 1.8, nikon DX 18-200 vr1 3.5-5.6, nikon 28-70 3.5-4.5 D, sigma DC 17-70 2.8-4.5 macro.
 
OK, an upgrade to your glass would be beneficial but that doesn't necessarily mean primes. For example if you had the Nikon 12-24 DX, 24-70/2.8 and 70-200/2.8 you'd be equipped for virtually anything with pro spec glass. That's three zooms, and you've already got three zooms (with a huge amount of overlap as things stand) , so you wouldn't even need a larger camera bag!

You don't have to do it in one hit either. For example, I think the single biggest improvement to your pet photography would probably come from using a 70-200/2.8. So sell the 18-200 and the 24-70, buy the 70-200, and you're covered with 17-70 and 70-200. Add an ultra-wide lens (eg 12-24) later, and then you can upgrade the 17-70 to, 24-70/2.8 without losing anything at the wide end.

There are lots of possible upgrade paths of course, and you haven't said anything about your budget and priorities. This is just an illustration.
 
Thanks Stuart, like the sound of the 24-70/2.8, can't really sell the 18-200 as the over half got it for me so that's a keeper but it's a usable bit of kit so no worries. Would be interesting to have a glance through a 12-24 so will have to pop into my wallet wrenching local independent photography shop! For the moment I have the 35 attached. Thanks again, Jon.
 
I haven't read the whole thread but I have been in he same situation.
I upgraded from my D90 to a D7000 and I've never looked back.

Mainly for two reasons, firstly due to the AF Finetune feature and secondly the double SD card slots are great for eye-fi cards.

Other than that they are very similar. You'll get better resolution and noise performance but if you don't need to upgrade then don't waste your money.

I always find a bigger benefit from a lens upgrade.
 
Went from a much loved D90 to a D7000. I was one of the unlucky ones with the D7000 ( focus problems)so moved on to a D7100 which I love. The 35mm f1.8G is fantastic on the D7100 and I also have the new Sigma 17-70mm C lens .
I personally would bypass the D7000,not because of my experience with it but because the D7100 is excellent value and the AF upgrade from the D7000 is worth it alone.
If you don't really need full frame D7100 and maybe the 85mm f1.8G would be very nice upgrades without breaking the bank.
 
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