Help... My next step?

[Timppa]

Hi!

In 2018 it is time for me to take the next step.
But for me the decision is hard. Let me sketch my situation!
I currently own a D7100 with roughly 80.000 clicks. So it is about half its life but still great to use, but also not possible to sell for a decent amount of money, so I decided to keep this as my 2nd camera.
My preference in photography is wildlife and landscapes, 2 totally different things.
What are my issues with the D7100? A lot of noise (already above 800) and it cannot handle low light so well for focusing. Also the buffer could be bigger.
What lenses do I use? I have a Tokina 12-24 F/4. It is good at 12mm, but it is horrible above 18mm+.
I have a Nikon 200-500 F/5.6, that I just love, but still am learning to use well (first time with a lens this heavy).
I mostly use the Tamron 16-300, very versatile, and with lightroom I think I can create some nice images (But it really needs lightroom xD).

What are my ideas...
The D7500, it is lighter, faster, better ISO performance, and better focus in low light.
The D500. Perfect for wildlife, accurate and fast.
The D750. My first step to full frame, I really want to start creating more stunning landscape pictures.

If i go for another crop camera...
Then I have 2 crops and I really would feel the need for a better lens on the wider end. I am thinking:
Tamron 10-24 (the new one)
Tokina 11-20 F/2.8
Sigma 18-35 F/1.8
Sigma 17-50 F/2.8

If I go for fullframe:
Nikon 18-35 F/3.5-4.5
Nikon 16-35 F/4
A 24-70 F/2.8 lens
...

I am not seeing the trees trough the forest anymore.

Generally I want 1 new body + 1 new lens that will satisfy my needs for better low light performance + better landscapes (wide angles is a plus, but not a must).
I am not thinking any budget at the moment, but I would like to keep the set 'light', since I already own the heavier 200-500.

Thank you in advance for help and ideas

 

[ac12]

The DX to FX step is a difficult decision.

The current D750 body or D750 + 24-120 kit are at very attractive rebate prices to jump up to FX.
If the current rebate pricing was available when I got my D7200 kit, I would have gotten the D750 kit.

The advantage of a DX body for wildlife, is with long lenses for reach. Your 200-500 will behave like a 300-750 on a DX body. And lens reach can be a major consideration when you can't get close to the wildlife.
And the D7200 is available at under $1,000 on discount/rebate.
For DX my choice of lenses would be:
- 16-80 f/2-4 This is a GP lens when you need more speed.
- 18-140 f/3.5-5.6 This is a great general purpose lens.

 

[Timppa]

I really enjoy my D7100 for wildlife, but it gets noisy very fast. I was thinking to get a 300mm F/4, but Then i lose reach because I will have to sell the 200-500 for it.
So an FX body sounds more interesting, but then I also lose reach. I could of course find a rebate D800e or D810 and crop. But those are so bulky and not so fast either.

I also used a program to check what focal lengths I use the most, this is the result:
on DX body with Tamron 16-300 (That I use 95% of the time) roughly:
50% is between 16-25mm
5% is between 25-35mm
15% is between 35-60mm
10% is between 60-300mm
20% is 300mm
What I miss: more on the wide angle, but switching to my Tokina doesn't happen so often (I really think it is bad between 18-24mm, so I feel is is not usable that much, except for 12mm), mostly I prefer to take multiple pictures on Tamron and put them together.
What I love with the tamron: comfort, barly switch lenses! 'OK' image quality, It does need lightroom tough.
What I hate with the tamron: also image quality, mostly I need multiple images to get a decent sharp one. The speed, it is to slow, and I currently do not own any fast lens.

@ac12
The lens you suggested of 16-80 F/2.8-4 sounds like a really decent choise. Then I can also postpone my choice to go FX and use the D7100 till it dies out.
The downside of the lens is that it is DX only, If I do choose to go FX, I need to sell this one again.

If only there was a FX 14-50mm F/2.8 for example!

I really want to get more speed, more dof, more sharpness. I want that the pictures make me feel excited, no they just do not...

 

[Timppa]

I am also thinking of the following:
thinking of the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D
Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Aspherical Nikon
Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM A Nikon (I know it is DX, but so good, it might keep me at DX for longer)

 

[ac12]

The more expensive DX lenses you get, the harder it will be to make the jump to FX.

 

[Destin]

The more expensive DX lenses you get, the harder it will be to make the jump to FX.

This. Go Fx now because you’re going to want to eventually. The 7500 is a step backwards in some ways, like only having one card slot.

If I were you I’d find a used D800/D800e/D810 for cheap. I got my D810 recently for $1500 on eBay, some people are getting D800 bodies for under $1000 now.. @Braineack, was that you?

Then get a 24-70 2.8 since it would satisfy most of the focal lengths you use.. the Tamron 24-70 G2 has been an incredible performer for me so far.

 

[Braineack]

Mine was $850 with 9,000 clicks.

 

[Derrel]

Mine was $850 with 9,000 clicks.

Braineack and I bought from the same,small brick and mortar store...I bought a used D800 with 38k clicks for $795. I e-mailed Braineack about it, and the store rolled out more used D800's at even better prices within a week and he was able to order one cross-country and got a steal on a barely-used D800!

There are a LOT of used D800 models flooding the used market right now, as the D850 comes on-line and into stores, and as the gotta-have-the-highest-megapixel-Nikon people trade in their D800 to raise cash for the new 45-MP D850. Whenever Nikon comes out with a realllllllly significant upgrade, the used market is flooded with used gear that status-seekers reallllly want to own, and they often sell off their older items; consider a D800 that might be 3 or 4 years old, and has 9,000 clicks on it, ie Braineack's new used D800. Did the first owner even shoot it? I mean, c'mon, 9,000 clicks? I call that, "one summer", or "June thru September". At 9k clicks that new camera smell is still inside the memory card door!

The D800 has the better, pro-level Multi-CAM 3500 autofocus module, the one that has the 51-point AF system. It has the round, threaded eyepiece (Nikon's silent signal of a pro- or serious-shooter camera model), superb ergonomics, and an astoundingly good sensor. Tremendous image cropping capability! it has the full pro-type Nikon body and panel and control buttons and layout. It's a formerly $3,695 Nikon.

I dunno...an FX sized sensor Nikon makes so,so,sooooo many lenses work the way they were designed to work! A 24mm is a wide-angle, a 50mm f/1.8 is a normal lens, a 70-200mm is actually USABLE and HANDY indoors at a wedding or a basketball game, not wayyyyyy too danged long, like it is on a DX-Nikon body. The 24,28mm,35mm,50mm,and 85mm primes benefit, tremendously, from being fitted onto an FX camera; both the 50mm and the 85mm models (two of each, of the new G-series are available) are simply superb on an FX format camera, being useful indoors in living rooms, dining rooms, and so on, whereas on DX, the 50 and 85 are much less-useful, due to the need to be,literally, 35 feet away with the 85 in order to shoot a full-length standing portrait.

The majority of Nikon's lenses from 1987 to 2017 will be exactly what they should be on an FX-format Nikon. If you want a high-performance camera, get a used D800; if you want a medium-performance camera, get a D750, or for less money, a D610 which I rate as a "dad and mom" camera.

Just my opinions. I shot DX from 2001 to 2012, and have shot FX from 2006-2017...I prefer the FX format for most situations.

Whatever you buy, get a used body!

 

[Braineack]

The amount of detail it can capture is staggering, makes a great landscape camera.

 

[Destin]

The amount of detail it can capture is staggering, makes a great landscape camera.

Makes me not want to use my D500 anymore. The D500 flies just don’t compare to the 36mp high resolution files.

 

[Timppa]

Wow, huge imput, thank you all!
I was thinking about the D800, but I don't feel it is the right camera for me, I do not have the need at all for so may MP, the frame rate is very low (4) and it is heavier.
Ofcourse I could just use my D7100 for my wildlife and then use the D800 for the landscapes...
(and btw guys, I am in Finland, So everything is more expensive then in the USA (unless someone is travelling to here soon and can bring me something good XD)

I might have a chance to get a D500 cheap.
I think the following will happen, if I get that D500 cheap, I will go for it, and it will be my wildlife set for a very very long time.
Then I combine the D7100 with a very decent DX lens for landscapes.
...this brings the risk that I might never go FF, and it bothers me xD.

I would love to sell the D7100, but nobody wants to buy with 80.000 clicks, well not for any worthy money.

I am just thinking out loud, no decisions have been made, keep you guys posted!

 

[Destin]

Wow, huge imput, thank you all!
I was thinking about the D800, but I don't feel it is the right camera for me, I do not have the need at all for so may MP, the frame rate is very low (4) and it is heavier.
Ofcourse I could just use my D7100 for my wildlife and then use the D800 for the landscapes...
(and btw guys, I am in Finland, So everything is more expensive then in the USA (unless someone is travelling to here soon and can bring me something good XD)

I might have a chance to get a D500 cheap.
I think the following will happen, if I get that D500 cheap, I will go for it, and it will be my wildlife set for a very very long time.
Then I combine the D7100 with a very decent DX lens for landscapes.
...this brings the risk that I might never go FF, and it bothers me xD.

I would love to sell the D7100, but nobody wants to buy with 80.000 clicks, well not for any worthy money.

I am just thinking out loud, no decisions have been made, keep you guys posted!

Fair enough. I agree the frame rate is a little slow for wildlife.

But don’t ever discount the usefulness of having that many megapixels. You never know what you’ll be using photos for in the future, and it allows you to crop in more as needed.

The detail the D8xx series cameras capture is astounding. Blew me away.

 

[Timppa]

I can believe indeed that the D800 series is mind blowing, but for me, at this point, it just seems like an overkill. I also like the fact that the D750 has a tilting screen and 2fps faster.
Almost made my decision.... thinking D750 + Nikon 18-35 F3.5-4.5 + perhaps a 50mm 1.8.

 

[Braineack]

if you need the FPS, look at the D810 instead -- it's actually faster than the D750.

Food:

I don't see how the D800 is "overkill" compared to the D750. If you ignore the MP count, the d800 is pretty basic in comparison (no tilting screen, no wifi, no highlight metering, etc.).

The sensor performance is pretty much identical, but you simply gain all the extra resolution for your landscapes/cropping.

The d810 actually introduced some cool features in the software (like the "people" AF mode of the pro-bodies or highlight metering).

with all the money saved, you can pick up a better lens than the 50mm 1.8.

 

[Timppa]

I kind of really like the extra options of the D750, for me it seems as a better choice above the D800/D800e.
I really don't have the money for the D810 ^^, not even used. (because need lens too).

Also I am starting to suddenly have issues with my computer a lot, it is 8y old and lightroom works so slow now.... I will probably have to spend money on a new computer as well.
I am really appreciating all the help and effort. But with my computer issues currently and my forever doubt, I might need to postpone my upgrades.
Anyway, this thread is added to my favs and I'll definitely will use it later again .
If I make my decision, you guys will be the first to know ^^