Brand of Full-Frame camera

[jkirkegaard]

Hi Everyone,

I need some advice about what brand of camera to invest in.

I currently own a Nikon D800 and the nikkor 14-24mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses. This fantastic camera and these great lenses should make happy, however my type of photography, my gear combo has not proven be the ideal match.

My type of photography is weddings, portraits and products, but mostly Real Estate photography.

The Nikon D800 provides me with amazing image quality (the best since shooting Hasselblad slides)

However the AF speed (not the fastest in the world) and the Nikon menu system really sucks (sorry), not making it easy to simply store and restore settings as fast as other brands. In addition, the screen has a greenish tint which Nikon itself says is no problem, but claims to be their best screen ever. Having the screen fixed is possible though, however, it will not be free of charge. This is very frustrating considering the price of this camera.
I’ve been thinking about switching to a different brand of camera, either a Canon eos 5DMKIII or a Sony A99.
The Canon is a good offering, bringing fast AF, good ISO performance and a proven track record to the table.

However, the Sony A99 seems to be bringing many innovative photographic solutions to nikon and canon’s faults.
The EVF is a real help (seeing exactly what you get). The button layout (lots of external buttons) seems to be the best in the FF-category. The swivel-screen is awesome (especially for Real estate photography). This is a feature, which will be able to save me back from being sour after a single day of Real estate photography.

The Sony A99 should be the best solution for me. However, the fact that I’ve already “committed” myself to Nikon and that I’m having a hard time convincing myself that Sony is good investment, have troubled me (driving me girlfriend insane talking about it).
Sony is great because they dare to break the “traditional formula” of FF-design, being innovative is awesome!
Nikon is the best at IQ, which is in a way is the essence in photography, however, being an old player in the market they have not really proven as versatile as they could.
Canon is currently the favorite brand of professional photographers, most likely due to their ability to listen to their consumer’s requests, resulting in a good all-round camera.
Is Sony such a poor investment? Should I just go the Canon-route? Or should take the plunge to Sony losing my investment in camera-gear?

 

[rexbobcat]

I'm not sure Sony would be the best fit for real estate photography.

The system doesn't have any quality tilt-shift lenses to my knowledge.

I'm not saying that you need or use tilt-shift lenses, but it is nice to know that they're there when you need them in case you want to get rid of corner stoning on buildings due to the characteristics of wide angle lenses.

If you don't intend on using tilt shift lenses then the brand you use is pretty moot considering that you will be able to get basically the same results with any full frame camera.

(Also; where did you hear/read that Canon listens to its customers? Almost every iteration for the past 4 years from Canon has been underwhelming or behind the curve. Lol)

 

[Trever1t]

Is AF speed such a big concern in real estate photography? I've not heard that the D800 was slow, contrary I've heard the new AF system is top-notch but I personally haven't used one yet. 36MP might be way more than you need, perhaps a D3s woud do you better if you can handle the larger body? That way you have great high-iso, and less resolution not requiring the care needed to get good images as the D800 DEMANDS. You'd be able to keep all your glass which is very nice

 

[runnah]

I guess I am having a hard time seeing what the problem is here.

What settings are you trying to save?
When are you have af issues?
The LCD is showing green?

I hate to say it but it sounds like you are not familiar enough with the gear you have and are blaming it rather than yourself.

 

[jkirkegaard]

Hi,

Well, AF speed in real estate photography is not a concern - here I keep everything in the manual. In real estate photography it's the swivel-screen I could very much use. AF Speed is important in weeding and portrait-photography.

 

[runnah]

Hi,

Well, AF speed in real estate photography is not a concern - here I keep everything in the manual. In real estate photography it's the swivel-screen I could very much use. AF Speed is important in weeding and portrait-photography.

Are you using the servo assisted focusing? Also af speed important in portraits? I would disagree. Are you using the single af focus point or all of them?

 

[jkirkegaard]

Hi runnah,

The settings I'm wanting to save is specific setting for specific types of photography. Easy to store and store on "Custom" and "User"-settings on lower nikons and most canon cameras (and sony)

I'm having issues when doing real estate photography (being in aquarte positions hurts my back), and having to google my way through nikon hatefull menu (I'm sorry, I love Nikon, My first camera was a Nikon FM2)

 

[jkirkegaard]

using single point, toogle it with the joystick

 

[runnah]

Hi runnah,

The settings I'm wanting to save is specific setting for specific types of photography. Easy to store and store on "Custom" and "User"-settings on lower nikons and most canon cameras (and sony)

I'm having issues when doing real estate photography (being in aquarte positions hurts my back), and having to google my way through nikon hatefull menu (I'm sorry, I love Nikon, My first camera was a Nikon FM2)

When you say custom settings, what do you mean specifically?

I guess my disconnect is the one of the great things about pro-level cameras like the 800 is that all the adjustable settings are a button or dial away. Also I am not sure what settings would be repeatable in different houses.

Again no offense just trying to understand so I can help.

 

[Trever1t]

Tbe green hue on the rear screen would piss me off and yes, Nikon has a fix now but you have to send in your camera and pay for shipping plus $75 from what I hear. I wouldn't use a D800 for Wedding or Event work, it's file size would be such a downer but for portraiture I doubt you'll find a camera that offers as much...again,you need to do things differently with that much resolution.

A good friend of mine, a glamour photog uses his D800 sparingly, prefers the D700 mostly due to the handling issues he has with his D800. I'd love a D800 for studio, tripod set and wow. I shoot some real estate, hotels and remodels. My D700 does just fine.

 

[runnah]

I wouldn't use a D800 for Wedding or Event work

Can you elaborate?

 

[Trever1t]

I wouldn't use a D800 for Wedding or Event work

Can you elaborate?

Read the whole thing...I did.

I wouldn't use a D800 for Wedding or Event work, it's file size would be such a downer but for portraiture I doubt you'll find a camera that offers as much...again,you need to do things differently with that much resolution.

A good friend of mine, a glamour photog uses his D800 sparingly, prefers the D700 mostly due to the handling issues he has with his D800. I'd love a D800 for studio, tripod set and wow. I shoot some real estate, hotels and remodels. My D700 does just fine.

 

[runnah]

Read the whole thing...I did.

Now now, I did can you explain why the file size limits you.

 

[jkirkegaard]

I'm using Single-servo AF (S) and Continuous-servo AF (C).

Runnah: I appreciate your input very much. However, other than being a big tech-geek I’m also a professional photographer, having been so for many year. I do not think, “Not being familiar with my gear” is the issue. The camera is awesome; however, for my type of photography I just have a few wishes.

I have no problem seeking advice from fellow photographers

 

[Trever1t]

Read the whole thing...I did.

Now now, I did can you explain why the file size limits you.

36MP fimages are card hogs, processor hogs. Awesome camera for studio, landscape work. Great for detail shots. Not to catch action, in my opinion.