What should I do? Help please

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BirderOzzie

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Oscar Dewhurst
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I am planning on upgrading my Nikon D60 to either a D300 or a D700 soon, and was planning on doing it at Xmas as I might get some birthday + Xmas money which would give me wnough funds. However, we have just booked a holiday to South Africa where we will be on safari for 4 days. At the mo, I only have one memory card which is an SD 2Gb card which gives me 500 fine Jpegs on my D60, but if I stick with my D60, I will need more pics than that! I don't really wan't to splash out on a load more memory cards as when I upgrade at Xmas, they will be useless and I'll have to sell them as the D300 or D700 take CF cards. Should I upgrade to D700 or D300, and when do you think I should do it. The higher frame rate would help as well. Another issue I have is that the D700 is full frame, whereas the D300 is not. I mainly shoot wildlife and sport, so do you think the full frame would be better or worse. I have heard rumours that there is to be a Nikon D400 ths Xmas, but is the D700 being replaced as well?

Thanks

Oscar :)
 
Nikon D700. Do it :p Especially as you're going on holiday! It would be a fantastic chance to really test it out. I have no experience with the D700 but from what I've heard, it's an amazing camera :)
 
Can't help on the camera front, but, you could invest in a portable hard disk, which can read the images off your card. Hopefully, you could get one which would support whichever card your next camera would have as well.
Then your issue would be whether you would take more than 500 pictures per outing, without the ability to move to the disk.
 
Wildlife needs as much reach as you can find and the cropped D300 sensor might work out better for you. No getting away from the D700 being a great camera as well, but what is your longest lens? Everyone will tell you glass before body.
 
Do you mena like the things Epsom make. They can be really expensive. I think I might just go Nikon D700 if I have the money. Otherwise, D300. I hope full frame won't make it harder. :D
 
I'm not changing lenses yet-for definite. I am going to wait until I can afford a prime. At the mo I have the Bigma.
 
If the issue is purely how many pics you can store while away, you can get 4gb class 6 SD cards for only a few quid (maybe not ones that are recommended by nikon) but I never had any issues. If you can afford to go full frame and buy the required lenses, an SD card here or there wouldn't break your bank.

That said a D300 is a stunning camera and the D700 is too, so if your using SD cards as an excuse to upgrade, get the best you can afford
 
With respect BirderOzzie, I think you should hold fire until you have got a good grasp of the differences, what you want, what you need to do it, what you can afford. The D700 is not just a bigger/better D300, they are quite different in use and application, particularly in what they do with different lenses. The D700 is not better at everything, particularly if you want reach for birding, and if you are to get the most out of the D700, it will be much more expensive on the lens front.

You are going the right way about it with this thread though. HTH :)
 
I have to agree with everything Hoppy said there. There are advantages to the D700 and to the D300, but it very much depends on your anticipated useage whether you turn that advantage into a handicap by making the wrong choice.It could be a very costly mistake or you might have to live with the consequences of the wrong choice.

It all sounds a bit rushed and ill-informed which isn't the best way to go about something this important. ;)
 
Thanks for the advice. Is there a large risk of buying second hand cameras fomr members here on TP. I've never done this before, but have heard other's stories of bad things happening and I wouldn't qwant to have the same happen to me. :)

The reason it is maybe a bit rushed is that I want to get it early soI ahve a chance to learn anout the camera and know what it's capable of!

I think I will probs end up going for the D300 because of the crop factor which will help for wildlife.

Now to find the money!! :naughty:

Oscar
 
As much as the D700 is awesome, I think the D300 is the wiser choice for enthusiasts. Atleast budget wise, does the D700 not need different lenses as its full frame?
 
BirderOzzie said:
Thanks for the advice. Is there a large risk of buying second hand cameras fomr members here on TP. I've never done this before, but have heard other's stories of bad things happening and I wouldn't qwant to have the same happen to me. :)

The reason it is maybe a bit rushed is that I want to get it early soI ahve a chance to learn anout the camera and know what it's capable of!

I think I will probs end up going for the D300 because of the crop factor which will help for wildlife.

Now to find the money!! :naughty:

Oscar
Click to expand...

There is always a risk buying used stuff from strangers. So it is always buyer beware.

However, my impression of this forum, the way it is run and the calibre of the membership, must make it one of the safest internet places you'll find.

The Classified section here has a lot of traffic, there is a lot of good trade going on, and I am amongst thousands of happy buyers and sellers. Many sellers also have trading feedback on previous deals.

If it was me, the deal looked right and proper, and I had no reason to doubt the seller, I would go ahead. There are some good savings to be made. But that is me. You need to make your own judgement.
 
I have the D3 and the D300. I shoot aircraft mainly so it has similar requirements to what you require.
Unless you are in a position to spend a fair bit of money on glass then I would say get the D300. Its perfect for what you want. (Maybe even a D90. Although I don't have any experience with that).
To be honest, the D700 will be a bit of an overkill for you without investing in glass. Pop down to a shop, take the bigma and try out both with your card. Then go home and check out the difference.
I think you would be better off getting a secondhand D300 and spend the rest on a better lens.
The gear for sale on here is usually in excellent condition because you're buying from enthusiasts who tend to look after their kit.

Kev.
 
yoshi said:
If the issue is purely how many pics you can store while away, you can get 4gb class 6 SD cards for only a few quid (maybe not ones that are recommended by nikon) but I never had any issues. If you can afford to go full frame and buy the required lenses, an SD card here or there wouldn't break your bank.
Click to expand...

:agree:

Morrisson's and Adsa were both doing 4GB Sandisk class 2's for £7.00
 
A D60 to a D700 is a HUGE jump even a D300 is a huge jump, ive just upgraded to a D200 myself and although yes i can use it without any problems i know for a fact im not pushing it to its potential and im still learning the ropes of it, if your really set on one or the other id go for a S/H d300 and some nice glass, if money is no object, d700 and a 17-55 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 VR and an UWA?
 
Frenzied Dwarf said:
A D60 to a D700 is a HUGE jump even a D300 is a huge jump, ive just upgraded to a D200 myself and although yes i can use it without any problems i know for a fact im not pushing it to its potential and im still learning the ropes of it, if your really set on one or the other id go for a S/H d300 and some nice glass, if money is no object, d700 and a 17-55 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 VR and an UWA?
Click to expand...

I don't see why even a beginner should be fine with a D700. It has full AE, AF and AWB just like any other DSLR. It would only be a waste if you never got to use some of the other functions, but I bet not even the most hardened pro uses all of them.

17-55 2.8 is for crop cameras BTW, not full frame.
 
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