Camera upgrade- Nikon d7100 or d600?

[Egon]

Unfortunately, the nearest camera store to me is about two hours away. I have considered this.



If price really wasn't a factor, I wouldn't be thinking about mid range cameras like these two! The cost of a d600 and a d7100 is so close that they are natural cameras to compare.



Indeed. The decision was a slam dunk for the d600 until I realized how awesome the d7100 was for a DX camera -it matches or in some areas even exceeds the ability of the d600- at essentially the same cost. As far as I can tell, there's no real advantage to stepping up to the d600 when comparing directly to the d7100, especially when you factor in the cost of buying new FX lenses, as I only have one FX lens already.

However, the d600 seems like a great way to jump ship and move up to 35mm, preparing me for long term improvements. There's pros and cons to each, but I'm still leaning toward then d600.

So a guy like me without any lenses, go for the d600?
Good write up. Very interesting.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Chicxulub]

So a guy like me without any lenses, go for the d600?
Good write up. Very interesting.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

If you're brand new to photography, I'd recommend starting on something a lot cheaper than a d600. If you want 35mm and all the benefits that come with it, you can get a used or refurbed model for a lot cheaper than a new d600 to learn on. If you've got the cash there's nothing wrong with springing for the new one right off the bat, but $1800 is an awful big investment for something you're just trying out!

The first DSLR my wife and I sprung for was the d5100 when it was still a new model. We paid $1000 for the camera plus another $1800 in lenses and lighting. Tertiary stuff for a full frame camera would be even worse if you buy all new stuff.

Basically the way it works is that Nikon has two formats: FX, which is 'full frame' with a 35mm sensor and DX which is 'crop frame' with a 27mm sensor. Most of Nikon's lenses are FX format. However, FX format lenses will work perfectly on a DX camera, though with a narrower field of vision. The DX lenses have optics that are optimized to fill the sensor of a DX camera, which means that it'll cut the corners off of your images if you shoot the DX lens on an FX camera.

My issue is that I hadn't considered all of this when I bought our camera three years ago and proceeded to collect a bunch of DX stuff. Now I'm wanting to move up to FX, but I can't decide if it's worth it to spend the extra money to upgrade. There are things that DX will do better, such as reach, than an FX but that's not really what I'm after.

One thing about cameras is if you buy name brand lenses, like Nikkor for Nikon and whatever Cannon calls their lenses, you'll always be able to get most of your money back for the lenses if you sell them. As of now, I'm simply thinking that I'm gonna sell the DX lenses and upgrade to the 35mm, because I could always upgrade again after that. If I get the d7100, I'm pretty much pegged for quality for a DX and I'd have to upgrade to 35mm anyway, putting me in the same boat that I'm in now.

If I were you, knowing what I know and loving photography like I do, I would save up and spring for the d600 off the bat. For lenses, I would get the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 super zoom, the 50mm f/1.8 and a Nikkor macro lens. I'm not in a position to buy just yet, but I'm leaning toward the 105mm f/2.8 for photographing my fish. I can take much better than average pics with my 50mm than most can, but the macro would make things much easier I think. For other accessories, I'd have a remote boot cable for my speedlight. I'd get an SB400 for a speedlight. Its really basic in what it can do, but at this point in my skill set I don't really need anything more. They're great for daily use anyway as they're not heavy and work better than the pop up. All of this is actually what my plan is if I upgrade.

Sorry to ramble on so. Hope that helps at least a little.

 

[Egon]

This is great info thanks!

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using MonsterAquariaNetwork App