Upgrade Help ..

glaw89

glaw89

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Gemma
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I have a D90 and D3100 as back-up which desperately need upgrading. My plan was to go for a D700 and use the D90 as a short term back-up until I had enough for another D700.

That was until I read this post http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=478044.

I have had a look at spec .. and the D7000/7100 look pretty good but feel if I don't upgrade to FX I'm cheating the clients that book me as it is a consumer level. I know they don't book based on camera but I just don't know what to do!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
You are joking I assume?

If you read through both the recent pro/ full frame threads you'll see that not one single pro was of the opinion that ff is important. I suppose it's easier if you recognise the names involved, but clicking the links in the signatures will give you clues.

I'll try to be diplomatic, photographers take pictures, cameras are just tools and if you can't work out how unimportant they are, you should consider a different career.

There are many aspects of camera design which will help you as a photographer, the iq advantage you'll get from ff is relatively small. If the money makes sense, go for it. I know it wouldn't for me. It'd cost me about 3 years profits to go ff which is the epitome of a waste of money.
 
That's true. However some people can often perform better if the tools they're using are the ones they want. While they might not need these more expensive tools, the extra confidence gained from using them may be a real benefit to their work.
 
changing two Dx's to FX could prove expensive on lenses as well.
 
stu.artd said:
That's true. However some people can often perform better if the tools they're using are the ones they want. While they might not need these more expensive tools, the extra confidence gained from using them may be a real benefit to their work.
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This exactly. I know I don't necessarily need to go FF but most of the photographers I associate with are and if I turn up to a collaboration shoot with a consumer model camera I feel like i'm still a newbie. It is wholly down to confidence I think. :bang:
 
glaw89 said:
This exactly. I know I don't necessarily need to go FF but most of the photographers I associate with are and if I turn up to a collaboration shoot with a consumer model camera I feel like i'm still a newbie. It is wholly down to confidence I think. :bang:
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But there's a difference between 'consumer grade' and FF.

For instance the d600 or 6d are consumer grade FF cameras, whereas the 7d and d7100 are much better built but crop.
 
redddraggon said:
Aren't the D7100 and D600 pretty much the same body?
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I don't know I have to look up Nikon stuff:shrug:

The d600 was heavily compared to the 6d so I made an assumption:shrug:

My point re crop cameras not necessarily being 'consumer grade' stands though :).
 
glaw89 said:
ahh mind boggling .. i just don't know what to do. maybe i'll hang it out and find a D700 at a reasonable price.
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I am considering selling my D700, to go to a D800 but I have a lot of love for it and am struggling to let it go. :D
 
My suggestion is to ignore market segmentations as presented by manufacturers or any stereotypes about gear that a pro has to own. Look strictly for features and image quality you and your clients want.

Two examples to make the decision not easy for you:

I am not a pro, but if I were doing paid assignments I would definitely want a camera with dual memory cards slots. Card failures don't happen every day, but they do happen and I can only imagine how embarassing it could be to have to tell clients that the images from weding ceremony are lost due to technical reasons. Unfortunatelly, the D700 has a single slot only while some consumer cameras like D7000, D7100, D600 have two.

Another point to consider is the shutter sound and overall look of your gear. Pro-level cameras with full metal alloy bodies have often much louder shutter sound than consumer cameras. They tend to be much bigger as well. It is possible that using a smaller, quieter consumer camera with a smaller lens could be less intimidating to people you shoot. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a talented person with discreet gear, lets say D600 and 85/1.8 and Fuji X100s as backup body would be able to take better (more story telling) pictures that a pro covering the stage with his dual D4, set of SB-910 flashes, army of lighting gear, and 70-200/2.8.

Again, the D700 is quite big body and has very metallic and noisy shutter sound and no Quiet mode that newer camera have. At the same time consumer bodies like D7100/D600 have very soft shutter and mirror sound both with and without Q mode. Two consumer cameras are also much easier to carry. They are ligher as well so that their straps don't make your dress ugly in five minutes (yes, I've shoot a friends wedding with my D700/D300 combo).

I am sure that the D700 is a great camera and there are many wedding photographers who succesfully use it. However, not everything is black and white and there are many things to consider.
 
That is a very valid point Mirek. I guess a D7100 with good glass should perform as good as a D700 and I HATE loud shutters so a quiet shutter sounds good to me.
 
Hi, DX is easily up to Wedding Work, In your situation I wouldn't bother with upgrading to FF. Although I have not tried one the 7100 is easily capable of producing the results you want and I would imagine they'd be every bit as good as the D700, after all it's getting a little bit long in the tooth now and technology has moved on quite a bit since it was first made.

A camera to a pro is just another tool and if it feels right for you and can do the job in question then use it, whatever anyone else thinks should not even be in the equation.

I ask you! If a carpenter or plumber or any other trades person came to your home to do a job would you check to see what brand/model of tools they were using ? I think not. Providing they can do the job to your satisfaction then that's all that matters.

If your still a little concerned about what other people might think then cover up the brand/model (you know just like the togs do on TV) and very few people if any would know the difference. That's what I do and I use a D800 but these weren't purchased especially for Wedding Work they were needed for use in our studio and have virtually taken over from using medium format.

Only my opinion of course for what it's worth. Hope it helps.
 
You might as well remove the silent shutter option from the D7100, mine certainly doesn't make a difference in that mode to be honest! Dual SD cards is pretty awesome though, it was a great selling point for me.
 
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Tizer said:
You might as well remove the silent shutter option from the D7100, mine certainly doesn't make a difference in that mode to be honest! .
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Many people mention this. Actually the problem is that they don't understand how that feature works. If you just enable Q mode and take a picture as usual, the sound is indeed not much quieter than in the standard mode. First of all it is the mirror up/down that makes most of the noise - not the shutter. The trick is that in Q mode the mirror stays down until the shutter-release button is released. Therefore the photographer can choose when the camera releases the mirror and that eliminates half of the noise. You can take the picture, leave the area and depress it without being noticed. You can take the picture, hide the camera under your coat and release it, etc...

It is not the same as the silent mode on the D4, but it is handy when you know how to use it.

Anyway, even the standard shutter/mirror sound is much softer on D7100/D600 than on the D700.
 
Oh aye, understand that, the only real benefit to it i can see would be street photography when you have to get up close, snap and walk away without getting set upon :D ... then release. Perfect. Otherwise....would you use it much? Doubtful :) Even at a wedding when you want to be as quiet as a mouse, its still not great when you want to keep snapping away :)
 
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glaw89 said:
Ooh has anyone heard of ProCameraShop before? They have it for £833 and 3% discount if paying via BT .. takes it down to £808!
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I believe they are they are gray importers. Basically, you get the lower price but no Nikon support, no extras like cashbacks - not sure if there is one for D7100 - and no extra year of Nikon warranty). You have to solve all potential issues with them and the warranty is non-transferrable as far as I know.

It should be fine, but I resouce my gear through official dealers unless the difference is huge.
 
Exactly the same as procamerashop. I know people that have bought from without any problems at all though.
It wouldn't stop me from buying, the only downside, if it can be called that, is that the warranty is covered by them, the retailer and not Nikon.
 
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