Upgrading from D200 - Used D300 or Used 5d?

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Cheng

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Currently got a D200, but find buying lenses for it is a pain - the last 2 I bought suffered from slight misfocussing, and the one I tried in the shop today was front focussing a few mm too - which made me think that I would really benefit from a D300 and its AF fine tuning.

Assuming I sold my D200, I'd be probably shelling out £800 ish for a used D300. But I've seen 5d Mk I's going for not much more, and the thought of going full frame crossed my mind! To be honest I don't have a great amount of kit, which I wouldn't mind selling - after all, buying new kit is exciting and part of the fun! I currently have - 18-200 VR, Sigma 10-20, 50mm 1.4 and 1.8, 70-300 G + SB600+800 Flashes ...so about £1k of lenses and £350 worth of flashes.

I love the idea of full frame goodness for a relatively small price - great for high isos, landscapes/architecture/wide angles and portraits....but then again this is old technology, as old as the D200 I'd be replacing! And I'm unsure if it has AF fine tune (which would bring me back to square one, I guess). But I'm open to suggestions. I do realise that FF lenses cost more, but if bought used, they would also retain their values as much as DX lenses, so I wouldn't be too fussed about the increase in cost, as long as I didn't lose money on resale.

What would people choose then, if they had £800 for the body and 1.4k of accessories?

Ideally would like to stick to used kit, as they keep their value a lot more :)
 
What lenses are you buying that are "misfocussing"? It seems a bit odd to come across three in a row.

If you're experiencing the problem on a regular basis it suggests more that the AF in your D200 might need a wee tweak, which is a relatively straightforward thing to do and requires nothing more advanced than an allen key :)
 
It comes down to what you shoot most. The 5D is a great camera and would suit landscape and studio work very well but the D300 will out perform it by a mile with regard to speed which makes it an ideal camera for sports and action shooting. Do you use a lot of wide angle lenses or more of the zoom/telephoto type ?

If you don't need the FF sensor then I'd highly recommend the D300, its an awesome camera.

Mark
 
Flash In The Pan said:
What lenses are you buying that are "misfocussing"? It seems a bit odd to come across three in a row.

If you're experiencing the problem on a regular basis it suggests more that the AF in your D200 might need a wee tweak, which is a relatively straightforward thing to do and requires nothing more advanced than an allen key :)
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First was a Sigma 24-70 EX MACRO- terribly soft - this could have just been a terrible copy though.

Second was a 35-70 F2.8 - it front focussed quite a bit with my D200, Fixation reckoned the only fix was to get a D300 as this lens couldn't be adjusted.

Third in the shop was an Sigma 18-50 2.8 - damn sharp but front focus was 6mm infront.

I've done the focus test with a 'reference' 50mm 1.4 and at 1.4 its about 1-2mm front focussed at most, and generally more than acceptable at 2.

So yes the body is contributing slightly to the focussing, which is why I think I need to upgrade a body really as I think variation in lenses can only be helped with focus adjustments in body.

Which brings me round to having about £800 on a body - would anyone think the 5D would be a better idea than the D300?
 
markjayne said:
It comes down to what you shoot most. The 5D is a great camera and would suit landscape and studio work very well but the D300 will out perform it by a mile with regard to speed which makes it an ideal camera for sports and action shooting. Do you use a lot of wide angle lenses or more of the zoom/telephoto type ?

If you don't need the FF sensor then I'd highly recommend the D300, its an awesome camera.

Mark
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Most of the shots I've had taken were with my 10-20 Sigma or pretty wide in general, portraits with my 50mm, so haven't taken much with the telephoto side of things!

I don't 'need' full frame but at this price point it is an option that I think I should consider- just worried that the 5d mk i is now aging?!
 
Cheng said:
I don't 'need' full frame but at this price point it is an option that I think I should consider- just worried that the 5d mk i is now aging?!
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The 5D sensor still produces knockout results. It's just the body wrapped around it which is getting on a bit when compared with the current selection of full frame bodies.

If you can get along with handling Canon bodies and don't mind having a smaller featureset then the 5D is still a fantastic full frame camera which is excellent for landscapes and portraiture.

I went from a Canon 40D to 5D and loved the full frame sensor, but missed some of the features of the 40D. So, I jumped ship to Nikon and got a D700 with a D200 as a backup.

Personally, full frame is where I prefer to be. So, if I were you I'd probably go for a 5D and use the remaining money on a 580ex II, an ST-E2, 17-40L, 50mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.8 and maybe a third party 24-70mm f/2.8. All used, of course.

That said, if you don't mind sticking with crop then choosing the D300 and sticking with Nikon would be so much easier plus you'd benefit from the newer technology.

Have you actually spent any time with a 5D?
 
Flash In The Pan said:
If you're experiencing the problem on a regular basis it suggests more that the AF in your D200 might need a wee tweak, which is a relatively straightforward thing to do and requires nothing more advanced than an allen key :)
Click to expand...

Could you provide a link/more info? I've only stumbled across D70 modification, a detailed account on the D200 would be much appreciated.
 
+1 for the D300. Only reason I moved up was for better High ISO performance, although the D300 will still hold it's own to 1600 or so.
 
Try putting some 'proper' lenses on it first - if the Sigma's don't focus properly on your D200, what's to say they'll work any better on the EOS...?
 
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