New Camera Dilema

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Ruaraidh
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Hi,

New to this forum, but I really wanted peoples advise on what to do. After 10 years I am finally in the market to buy a new camera and upgrade from my D90.

I think given my budget it looks like it the D7500 is the natural choice and I believe will work happily with the DX lenses I own.

But I see the D7500 is already over 2 years old. I know I will see a big improvement going from a D90 to a D7500 but should I be waiting around to see if there is a D7500 successor around the corner or just go for it??

Thoughts?
 
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Just how long are you prepared to wait? There's generally longer between product generations these days as the sales are lower and the manufacturers need longer to recoup their investment. I don't believe there are any credible rumours about a successor to the D7500. Waiting for the next model is just an excuse not to buy the current one.

The D90 was one of my favourite digital cameras but you should see a great difference with the D7500 and, yes, any lens that works with your D90 will work with the D7500.
 
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Thanks for the reply, yes. I was thinking along the same lines.

Anyone got thoughts on going mirrorless? Or stick with D7500?
 
It might help if you tell us your budget, what you like to shoot and what’s your priority in terms of features? Are you happy to buy second hand?

Budget would be a Max of £1000. In terms of shooting I'm just a general hobbyist, but when time allows I do enjoy landscape photography but I also enjoy taking pics of the family (preferably candid).

When it comes to features, owning a D90 (Which has been a great camera for me) its now the limitation of low light that I am finding. It quite quickly requires flash. I am not worried about attaching grips, second memory card slot. I also think I would appreciate a higher focal point count, can't think how many on the D90 off the top of my head but it's not a huge amount.
 
I am a Canon user so my knowledge of Nikon is a bit pants. From what I do know is that some older Nikon lenses won’t AF with new Nikon models. It would be practical to check the compatibility of your existing lenses if you want to keep using them.
 
If your lenses are all excellent and high value then I'd stay DSLR and look for a used D500. Great noise handling, AF, build quality.

OTOH mirrorless can be good if lower weight is helpful. Your budget won't stretch to Sony and eye-AF, or some of the other advantages those cameras bring.
 
Thanks, started looking at the Z50 which I like the look of. I would need the FTZ adapter to use with my current lenses. Looks like my old Nikon AF-S 18-105 & AF-S 70-300 would be ok but my prime AF 50mm would have limited compatibility (No AF) and I have no idea about my Tamron Di II 10-24??

So I either stick DSLR (Most stress free option), go for Z50 with adapter, or start from scratch and spring for Z50 kit with two lenses and sell older gear.

So confused.
 
If you're starting from scratch with FF mirrorless maybe go for a Sony as they seem to be the clear market leaders and have by far the biggest choice of native lenses.

That's quite a jump in price compared to a MFT body and a couple of lenses though.
 
Hi,

New to this forum, but I really wanted peoples advise on what to do. After 10 years I am finally in the market to buy a new camera and upgrade from my D90.

I think given my budget it looks like it the D7500 is the natural choice and I believe will work happily with the DX lenses I own.

But I see the D7500 is already over 2 years old. I know I will see a big improvement going from a D90 to a D7500 but should I be waiting around to see if there is a D7500 successor around the corner or just go for it??

Thoughts?
I don't know if it will help you decide but I remember I was going to buy the d7500 but I opted for the Nikon D7200 instead as it offered better functions for me. Another good camera is the d500 but a bit pricey. I would recommend going full frame if you're in that price range. Nikon D750 is an amazing camera but you would have to get some full frame lenses. In future I would buy lenses that are for full frame cameras because they all work on cropped but cropped lenses don't all work on full frame. This will future proof yourself for upgrading in future and not having to replace everything. I made the mistake of only getting cropped lenses and now I have full frame I have to start again essentially.
 
Budget would be a Max of £1000. In terms of shooting I'm just a general hobbyist, but when time allows I do enjoy landscape photography but I also enjoy taking pics of the family (preferably candid).

When it comes to features, owning a D90 (Which has been a great camera for me) its now the limitation of low light that I am finding. It quite quickly requires flash. I am not worried about attaching grips, second memory card slot. I also think I would appreciate a higher focal point count, can't think how many on the D90 off the top of my head but it's not a huge amount.

Full frame trump's cropped cameras when it comes to low light, the iso capabilities of the D750 are insane and the camera holds up today against newer ones and the d750 is an old camera. I bought mine second hand and never regretted it
 
I am a Canon user so my knowledge of Nikon is a bit pants. From what I do know is that some older Nikon lenses won’t AF with new Nikon models. It would be practical to check the compatibility of your existing lenses if you want to keep using them.
Good tip. I would say find a camera with a built in focus motor to help with this
 
I don't know if it will help you decide but I remember I was going to buy the d7500 but I opted for the Nikon D7200 instead as it offered better functions for me. Another good camera is the d500 but a bit pricey. I would recommend going full frame if you're in that price range. Nikon D750 is an amazing camera but you would have to get some full frame lenses. In future I would buy lenses that are for full frame cameras because they all work on cropped but cropped lenses don't all work on full frame. This will future proof yourself for upgrading in future and not having to replace everything. I made the mistake of only getting cropped lenses and now I have full frame I have to start again essentially.

Thanks for the feedback. Going full frame is out with my budget but yes will definitely try to be more savvy when it comes to lenses. I think this is why I am swaying more towards the Z50. Yes I could go for D7500 but I will still have my older lenses. If I go for z50 with kit at then I am hopefully future proofing myself somewhat. I am not someone that will be upgrading camera every 2-3 years.
 
Just a note of caution when looking at the D750 or some other DSLR's or even mirrorless cameras... if you like shooting at wide apertures in good light.

One thing I absolutely hate is using ND's to get the shutter speed down in good light. This can be an issue when shooting with wide apertures in good light if the camera has a max shutter speed of 1/4000 or lower. If you're stuck with 1/4000 and trying to shoot at f1.x or sometimes even smaller apertures you may need to fit an ND to get the shutter speed within what your camera can manage, then when you point the camera at something else you may need to take the ND off to keep the shutter speed and/or the ISO reasonable. This on / off ND faff on used to drive me mad and I hate it. I'm much happier with a camera with a max shutter speed of 1/8000 or faster and not having to bother with ND's.

Just a thought.
 
Full frame trump's cropped cameras when it comes to low light, the iso capabilities of the D750 are insane and the camera holds up today against newer ones and the d750 is an old camera. I bought mine second hand and never regretted it

Not sure I fully agree with this...Some of the modern crop sensors can more than hang with the D750 in terms of low light.

You say your budget is £1000, but does that include the trade/sell value of your existing DX lenses or is that your cash on hand? I moved from the D3400 to the Fuji X-T3 and even though they are both crop sensors, the X-T3 blows it away in all aspects.

What do you photograph and what lenses do you currently own? When I chose my X-T3 I thought about how and what I was going to shoot a lot when I made my decision. I was originally going to go for a D750 but the size difference between that and the D3400 was a lot and I couldn't see myself wanting to take it out because of the size and weight.
 
Not sure I fully agree with this...Some of the modern crop sensors can more than hang with the D750 in terms of low light.

You say your budget is £1000, but does that include the trade/sell value of your existing DX lenses or is that your cash on hand? I moved from the D3400 to the Fuji X-T3 and even though they are both crop sensors, the X-T3 blows it away in all aspects.

What do you photograph and what lenses do you currently own? When I chose my X-T3 I thought about how and what I was going to shoot a lot when I made my decision. I was originally going to go for a D750 but the size difference between that and the D3400 was a lot and I couldn't see myself wanting to take it out because of the size and weight.

My budget can go to £1200 which is why I am wondering about z50 kit as those two lenses would seem to cover most bases. And no that budget is not including any resale value of my current gearI don’t expect I would get much for them.

I like landscapes and candids of my family etc.

I guess I have been looking at Nikon out of brand loyalty and original plan was just to upgrade body to go with current lenses.
 
Not sure I fully agree with this...Some of the modern crop sensors can more than hang with the D750 in terms of low light.

You say your budget is £1000, but does that include the trade/sell value of your existing DX lenses or is that your cash on hand? I moved from the D3400 to the Fuji X-T3 and even though they are both crop sensors, the X-T3 blows it away in all aspects.

What do you photograph and what lenses do you currently own? When I chose my X-T3 I thought about how and what I was going to shoot a lot when I made my decision. I was originally going to go for a D750 but the size difference between that and the D3400 was a lot and I couldn't see myself wanting to take it out because of the size and weight.
Which crop cameras can come close to the d750 in low light? Im genuinely interested as the d750 is still widely regarded as one of the best , even now?
 
Which crop cameras can come close to the d750 in low light? Im genuinely interested as the d750 is still widely regarded as one of the best , even now?

Fuji X-T3 is regarded as being as close to full frame performance as you can get on a crop. The X-T4 is also due out soon, but I believe uses the same sensor albeit optimised as the X-T3.
 
I'm currently in the process of upgrading my D7200 to a D500. The D7200 is awesome and im only replacing it as I want something quicker for aviation photography. Ive not pulled the trigger yet as I need to sell my D7200 first. (wink wink!)
 
Go for it now, it will still be good in 10 years time. I still have my D300 and S5pro and they are 13/12 yr old technology and still produce great results today
 
Fuji X-T3 is regarded as being as close to full frame performance as you can get on a crop. The X-T4 is also due out soon, but I believe uses the same sensor albeit optimised as the X-T3.

The Fuji's arguably cook their files and/or push the envelope of what ISO's are more than some others. If that is indeed the case they're at the same point as other comparable APS-C cameras (which perhaps use the same sensor) when measured against the larger FF format. Googling should get you to sources confirming this.
 
Just playing devil’s advocate here, but you could get a D750 and lens in good condition second hand under budget. MPB have a good D750 for £709 and a good 24-120 f/4 for £369. They’ll come with 12 month warranty’s. Depending on which 70-300 model you have, as long as it isn’t the DX one that will work too, as will your 50mm. If age of cameras is something that bothers you though, the D750 was released in 2014, but has only just been replaced.

That said, if you just wanted a straight swap of camera, the D7500 will be superb. While it got released a couple of years ago don’t let that put you off, if anything it should make it more desirable as it’ll have lost its just-released price tag! I haven’t used one, but the spec’s certainly look impressive. Yes it’s lost it’s second memory card slot but to a lot of people that’s not a problem, I have 2 in my D750 and since stopping shooting professionally I hardly ever have a second card in.

One thing is for certain though, if you wanted to save a little money on any camera I would consider second hand from a reputable dealer :)
 
Just playing devil’s advocate here, but you could get a D750 and lens in good condition second hand under budget. MPB have a good D750 for £709 and a good 24-120 f/4 for £369. They’ll come with 12 month warranty’s. Depending on which 70-300 model you have, as long as it isn’t the DX one that will work too, as will your 50mm. If age of cameras is something that bothers you though, the D750 was released in 2014, but has only just been replaced.

That said, if you just wanted a straight swap of camera, the D7500 will be superb. While it got released a couple of years ago don’t let that put you off, if anything it should make it more desirable as it’ll have lost its just-released price tag! I haven’t used one, but the spec’s certainly look impressive. Yes it’s lost it’s second memory card slot but to a lot of people that’s not a problem, I have 2 in my D750 and since stopping shooting professionally I hardly ever have a second card in.

One thing is for certain though, if you wanted to save a little money on any camera I would consider second hand from a reputable dealer :)

thanks for that reply. Yeah the 7500 does indeed look a good camera and I would notice a big difference especially in low light from using my D90. My 300mm lens is a DX unfortunately. So for me moving to FF would require a big investment in new glass. Whatever camera I get I hope is going to last me a long time. But if the industry is moving to mirrorless I just wonder if I would be future proofing myself to some extent by going down that route and building a collection of z mount lenses?
 
Which crop cameras can come close to the d750 in low light? Im genuinely interested as the d750 is still widely regarded as one of the best , even now?
I had the D750 and now have the X-T3. The D750 had much better noise handling at high ISOs than the X-T3 but was also physically bigger.
All reviews I've seen so far have said that the X-T3 (although very good at high ISOs) is not quite as good as it's predesor the X-T2. Where it is better (over the T2) is focussing and low ISO performance. The only way it beats the D750 is for size and weight. There is far more lens choice for Nikon than fuji too but the Fuji XF lenses are sublime.
 
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Budget would be a Max of £1000. In terms of shooting I'm just a general hobbyist, but when time allows I do enjoy landscape photography but I also enjoy taking pics of the family (preferably candid).

When it comes to features, owning a D90 (Which has been a great camera for me) its now the limitation of low light that I am finding. It quite quickly requires flash. I am not worried about attaching grips, second memory card slot. I also think I would appreciate a higher focal point count, can't think how many on the D90 off the top of my head but it's not a huge amount.

I have a Nikon D90 and like yourself found myself getting frustrated with low light performance. I just got the Z50 with 2 kit lenses in December for £1000 from cameraworld. The camera so far is vastly superior to my D90 and images even at 16000 iso show minimal noise.
I bought the ftz adapter on the grey market as Uk prices were more that double.
I’d say go for this you won’t be disappointed. It’s lighter in the hand, and superb image quality.
 
Having moved to mirrorless Nikon in the past year, i think you‘ll be surprised at the ease and flexibility these newer cameras offer & importantly the Nikon’s menu structure and button layout are very user friendly!
If you go for the Z50 and you’re missing a 50mm prime, you could still pick up a used f-mount for just over £120 using it with an FTZ adapter (which you’d need for your other lenses)
 
I did try Sony’s mirrorless and didn’t adapt to the menus - so if you’re thinking of switching, it might be worth testing the other brand before selling off your old kit to fund a new brand you may end up disliking

Having moved to mirrorless Nikon in the past year, i think you‘ll be surprised at the ease and flexibility these newer cameras offer & importantly the Nikon’s menu structure and button layout are very user friendly!
If you go for the Z50 and you’re missing a 50mm prime, you could still pick up a used f-mount for just over £120 using it with an FTZ adapter (which you’d need for your other lenses)
 
I have a Nikon D90 and like yourself found myself getting frustrated with low light performance. I just got the Z50 with 2 kit lenses in December for £1000 from cameraworld. The camera so far is vastly superior to my D90 and images even at 16000 iso show minimal noise.
I bought the ftz adapter on the grey market as Uk prices were more that double.
I’d say go for this you won’t be disappointed. It’s lighter in the hand, and superb image quality.

Thank you for that reply, yes I definitely think this is the way I am leaning at the moment.

currently the cheapest I see the 2 lens kit is on park cameras for £1129 (currently out of stock) and I see they offer trade ins as well, so tempted to see what I would get for my old kit towards the z50?
 
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did a quick google search and (if you’re comfortable with grey imports) you could get the same set for £899 & have some change for the ftz adapter ( company called e-infin)
 
did a quick google search and (if you’re comfortable with grey imports) you could get the same set for £899 & have some change for the ftz adapter ( company called e-infin)

Thanks for checking into that Keithz. I was looking into the Panamoz site before but not sure how I felt about grey imports. Think I was going with the old adage if something seems too good to be true...

However rightly or wrongly I had a change of heart and after being fairly convinced I was going to get the Z50, I have decided to stick with my current gear and get the D7500 and then maybe bit by bit look to upgrade my lenses. And who knows if the movement is to Z mount lenses then the price may fall on the F mount side? Possibly it’s sticking with the older tech but I’m not at a level where I need cutting edge tech :) also this camera will hopefully last me another 10 years so I will worry about it then! :)
 
Re: D7500 nothing wrong with that decision - a strong offering and should give you a number of years worth of happiness.

As for Panamoz, I bought some kit from them, smooth transaction and great after sales services - in case you get a dud or need to call on a warranty (i’ve tested that element and they were good at shipping a replacement)


Thanks for checking into that Keithz. I was looking into the Panamoz site before but not sure how I felt about grey imports. Think I was going with the old adage if something seems too good to be true...

However rightly or wrongly I had a change of heart and after being fairly convinced I was going to get the Z50, I have decided to stick with my current gear and get the D7500 and then maybe bit by bit look to upgrade my lenses. And who knows if the movement is to Z mount lenses then the price may fall on the F mount side? Possibly it’s sticking with the older tech but I’m not at a level where I need cutting edge tech :) also this camera will hopefully last me another 10 years so I will worry about it then! :)
 
Einfinity just got the D500 back in stock today. Be quick, its £899 compared to £1500 high street prices. I've just pulled the trigger. I bought my D7200 from them and had no issues.
 
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Re: D7500 nothing wrong with that decision - a strong offering and should give you a number of years worth of happiness.

As for Panamoz, I bought some kit from them, smooth transaction and great after sales services - in case you get a dud or need to call on a warranty (i’ve tested that element and they were good at shipping a replacement)

Ok good to know thank you. I will certainly check them out when I get round to looking at lenses. Was just more hesitant when it came to buying a body.
 
The Fuji's arguably cook their files and/or push the envelope of what ISO's are more than some others. If that is indeed the case they're at the same point as other comparable APS-C cameras (which perhaps use the same sensor) when measured against the larger FF format. Googling should get you to sources confirming this.

"Another “Fuji Myth”: Fuji is cheating when it comes to ISO. In short: ISO is a more or less arbitrary concept*. Companies like Canon and Nikon use the REI standard while companies like Fujifilm (and I think also Olympus) are using the SOS standard. I hear that in the industry, the SOS standard is considered more “objective”.

A good reviewer is, of course, aware of these different standards and will take them into account when comparing cameras. So for example, in Admiring Light‘s noise comparison, they compared the Sony a7II with the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and adjusted the camera settings to bring the REI and SOS standard at the same level.

The results? At ISO 25600, Admiring Light could see only a slight difference between the Sony a7II and the Fujifilm X-Pro2 (less than half a stop in favor of Sony)"


PetaPixel have done an article on this. They simply use a different ISO standard compared to Nikon, Canon etc. Olympus also use the same SOS standard as Fuji.
 
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