Man!, that D700 looks very tempting...

[giorgio]

Hi 'all

Just wanted to share here he!,
I've been reading days and days about cameras and lenses and checking photos, etc...
That D700 seems exactly what I need, I'm not very interested in prints nor in video, but more of good low light performance, and the D700 seems to have the best cost/benefit relation about that.

now, I'm not a Photog, I have a WebDesign business, I purchased the D80 18-135mm on Feb 2009, my first SLR, I'm a newbie and haven't yet done any real session, just a street walk once at Downtown to practice and get the hang of the D80, well, mor of a SLR in general as I haven't used one before.

Most of the times I grab my D80 here at the office is at dark hours, and it just begs to increase the ISO in order to have a handeheld shutter speed..., then I see what the Rockstar Photogs do with their e-sessions(engagement?) and wedding and casual and such, and wow!.., I want to be able to do that but this "camerita" eh.. well..., you know, first little non-oficial impressions are that I need a tripod or flash.

Then ofcourse, in order to see "what" do I have in regards to a Camera and its whole Low-Lighting potential, I have to do my homework first, like to considere that...
- In the Street walk I did with the 18-135mm during the day it performed very well for my taste, except when I entered to a church.
- I still have yet to shoot in real conditions like a wedding, events, church, etc. NOT me as the official Photog ofcourse.
- Try it with a fast lense like the 50mm 1.4.
- Check what noise reduction resources, tricks and techniques are available, just this could mean as if the camera itself had more ISO performance without the need of more dollar$.
- Im not a proffesional photog nor have the plan to be at the moment
- I may not even have the time to do sessions and such as I would want

and etc. to summ it up..., TO TEST the D80 to its full capabilities in order to see if I got what I need.., instead of just spending another 2500usd....

BUT oh it looks very tempting after reading all that stuff.. like "Why I didn't upgrade before?!!", "Just what I was looking for!" and etc. etc. I just may need my head to cool down.

One thing is that the first thing I should do is at least get that 50mm 1.4 to make my D80 more low-light capable, after all, if I upgrade to a Full Frame, it will be kept(the lense)

Sorry, he he, just wanted to share the dilemmas I'm going through.

:thumbup:

 

[AlexColeman]

It depends, the 1.4 is good for low light, however the aperture is counterbalanced with narrower DOF, which is not always desirable.
Also, realize the upgrade requires new FX lenses. I had the same quandry with regards to D90/ upgrade to 3S, in the end, I upgraded my lenses, eeked out more performance until I ran into a wall. Then, I found I was ready to upgrade. Hope it helps.

 

[Derrel]

YES, the D700 offers a lot of temptation, but keep in mind--Nikon is expected to announce a new camera, or cameras, within days; Nikon expert THom Hogan has written that February 2 or 9, both Tuesdays, are likely days for Nikon to announce a "new" camera body, and it is widely expected to be an 18- to 20-megapixel camera body...but nobody is for sure. Indicators from Japan insiders seem to suggest that the new camera is in actual production; some people say the camera is being built NOW at the Sendai plant

Rob Galbraith DPI: A look inside Nikon's Sendai digital SLR factory

which means it might be a pro-type body, such as, maybe a D700s or D700x. The Winter Olympics are coming up in February,and it's likely that the camera will be announced before that,and then the camera "seeded" to lucky Nikon shooters like Robert Hanashiro, the founder of the famous sportsshooter.com web site. So, as tempting as a new D700 might be, you really need to wait a few more days. if you need the equivalent of the 18-135's focal length range for street shooting, the recently discontinued Nikkor 24-85 AF-S G lens would be an easy,very affordable solution, which would give you pretty much equivalent total,overall range, with the added benefit of being substantially wider-angle at the 24mm end, while being only a slight bit shorter in focal length at the long, 85mm end. The absolute "best" way to buy a new Nikon is to buy a brand-new model when it first hits the street, and to enjoy using it for the typical four-year development cycle that Nikon has been using in its "pro-type" camera bodies. Buying in at mid-cycle, you can get an updated body (witness the various h H and s updates Nikon has done with the D1, D2, and D3 series) that has a few updated features, like the D3s with the better high ISO performance; some people think the next new Nikon body will be a D700x, or high-MP D700 updated model. Others think it will be a D700s, with better high-ISO features, like the D3s has. Other people think there will be a full-frame Nikon built around the D90-sized body, to counter Canon's 5D MArk II--ie a high-MP count sensor with a modest-capability body that does not have the top-level AF of the $4500-$499 cameras, and which can compete head-to-head with the EOS 5D, which is now $2499 with a high capacity CF carda and LowePro camera bag thrown in...

 

[giorgio]

YES, the D700 offers a lot of temptation, but keep in mind--Nikon is expected to announce a new camera, or cameras, within days; Nikon expert THom Hogan has written that February 2 or 9, both Tuesdays, are likely days for Nikon to announce a "new" camera body, and it is widely expected to be an 18- to 20-megapixel camera body...but nobody is for sure. Indicators from Japan insiders seem to suggest that the new camera is in actual production; some people say the camera is being built NOW at the Sendai plant

Rob Galbraith DPI: A look inside Nikon's Sendai digital SLR factory

which means it might be a pro-type body, such as, maybe a D700s or D700x. The Winter Olympics are coming up in February,and it's likely that the camera will be announced before that,and then the camera "seeded" to lucky Nikon shooters like Robert Hanashiro, the founder of the famous sportsshooter.com web site. So, as tempting as a new D700 might be, you really need to wait a few more days. if you need the equivalent of the 18-135's focal length range for street shooting, the recently discontinued Nikkor 24-85 AF-S G lens would be an easy,very affordable solution, which would give you pretty much equivalent total,overall range, with the added benefit of being substantially wider-angle at the 24mm end, while being only a slight bit shorter in focal length at the long, 85mm end. The absolute "best" way to buy a new Nikon is to buy a brand-new model when it first hits the street, and to enjoy using it for the typical four-year development cycle that Nikon has been using in its "pro-type" camera bodies. Buying in at mid-cycle, you can get an updated body (witness the various h H and s updates Nikon has done with the D1, D2, and D3 series) that has a few updated features, like the D3s with the better high ISO performance; some people think the next new Nikon body will be a D700x, or high-MP D700 updated model. Others think it will be a D700s, with better high-ISO features, like the D3s has. Other people think there will be a full-frame Nikon built around the D90-sized body, to counter Canon's 5D MArk II--ie a high-MP count sensor with a modest-capability body that does not have the top-level AF of the $4500-$499 cameras, and which can compete head-to-head with the EOS 5D, which is now $2499 with a high capacity CF carda and LowePro camera bag thrown in...

Perfect!, so I'll wait.
I don't know the photo industry so I didn't knew or considere these cycles or the manufacturers's way of working.

I'll wait but maybe not necessarely to get the new one(it all depend$), but also because the previous ones could get more affordable


Thanks

:thumbup:

 

[giorgio]

It depends, the 1.4 is good for low light, however the aperture is counterbalanced with narrower DOF, which is not always desirable.
Also, realize the upgrade requires new FX lenses. I had the same quandry with regards to D90/ upgrade to 3S, in the end, I upgraded my lenses, eeked out more performance until I ran into a wall. Then, I found I was ready to upgrade. Hope it helps.

Yes, I have considered the DOF will basically discard those apertures, but I guess is going to be sharper than the same 1.8 lense's apertures.

oh well, I'll check on the web what weddings, street, engagement, etc. photos had been taken by a D80, just to have an idea.

 

[DScience]

D700s is mine !!!

 

[djacobox372]

A refurb d700 cost quite a bit less then 2500... and you can get an ais 1.4 lens used for less then $100, or a 1.2 for $350.... a match made in heaven.

 

[giorgio]

A refurb d700 cost quite a bit less then 2500... and you can get an ais 1.4 lens used for less then $100, or a 1.2 for $350.... a match made in heaven.

Ofcourse, I have a d700 refurb on my whichlists of several stores.
Also, some 1.4, 1.8 , 50mm and 35mm, etc. to decide later on which to get.

Not sure about the Ais's.., are those manual right? hmm.., not sure about having manual lenses, altough for some price they do look atractive.


Actually I 'm gonna just order the 1.4 considering I'm not going to buy yet the d700, and use it with my D80 which I only have the 18-135 to use with, the 1.4 is going to be like fresh air I guess.

Is just that I would like also to add a SoftBox once and for all to my lighting equipment.

 

[djacobox372]

It depends, the 1.4 is good for low light, however the aperture is counterbalanced with narrower DOF, which is not always desirable.
Also, realize the upgrade requires new FX lenses. I had the same quandry with regards to D90/ upgrade to 3S, in the end, I upgraded my lenses, eeked out more performance until I ran into a wall. Then, I found I was ready to upgrade. Hope it helps.

Yes, I have considered the DOF will basically discard those apertures, but I guess is going to be sharper than the same 1.8 lense's apertures.

oh well, I'll check on the web what weddings, street, engagement, etc. photos had been taken by a D80, just to have an idea.

Not true, many claim that the 1.8 is the sharpest lens nikon makes. I've tried them all (1.8, 1.4, and 1.2) and they're all the same at f1.8 and above as far as I can tell.

 

[giorgio]

It depends, the 1.4 is good for low light, however the aperture is counterbalanced with narrower DOF, which is not always desirable.
Also, realize the upgrade requires new FX lenses. I had the same quandry with regards to D90/ upgrade to 3S, in the end, I upgraded my lenses, eeked out more performance until I ran into a wall. Then, I found I was ready to upgrade. Hope it helps.

Yes, I have considered the DOF will basically discard those apertures, but I guess is going to be sharper than the same 1.8 lense's apertures.

oh well, I'll check on the web what weddings, street, engagement, etc. photos had been taken by a D80, just to have an idea.

Not true, many claim that the 1.8 is the sharpest lens nikon makes. I've tried them all (1.8, 1.4, and 1.2) and they're all the same at f1.8 and above as far as I can tell.

Fair enough, as I haven't used any of those, I just search on the web for lens tests and such, for example this one...
Nikon nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.4 vs AF-D 50mm f/1.8

Which then again ofcourse could be mistaken for whatever simplest variable.

 

[DScience]

It depends, the 1.4 is good for low light, however the aperture is counterbalanced with narrower DOF, which is not always desirable.
Also, realize the upgrade requires new FX lenses. I had the same quandry with regards to D90/ upgrade to 3S, in the end, I upgraded my lenses, eeked out more performance until I ran into a wall. Then, I found I was ready to upgrade. Hope it helps.

Yes, I have considered the DOF will basically discard those apertures, but I guess is going to be sharper than the same 1.8 lense's apertures.

oh well, I'll check on the web what weddings, street, engagement, etc. photos had been taken by a D80, just to have an idea.

Not true, many claim that the 1.8 is the sharpest lens nikon makes. I've tried them all (1.8, 1.4, and 1.2) and they're all the same at f1.8 and above as far as I can tell.

Some people claim the south won the war.

I too have tried all three, and between the 1.4 and 1.8, there's NO comparison. The 1.4 wins hands down for many reasons, although it is sharper at 1.8.

 

[djacobox372]

Yes, I have considered the DOF will basically discard those apertures, but I guess is going to be sharper than the same 1.8 lense's apertures.

oh well, I'll check on the web what weddings, street, engagement, etc. photos had been taken by a D80, just to have an idea.

Not true, many claim that the 1.8 is the sharpest lens nikon makes. I've tried them all (1.8, 1.4, and 1.2) and they're all the same at f1.8 and above as far as I can tell.

Some people claim the south won the war.

I too have tried all three, and between the 1.4 and 1.8, there's NO comparison. The 1.4 wins hands down for many reasons, although it is sharper at 1.8.

"NO comparison," "Hands down,""the south won the war," LOL, exaggerate much?

In my experience the differences people claim to see in sharpness are often the results of missing focus. I tend to "feel" that my f1.2 ais lens is sharper at f1.8+ then the 1.4 or 1.8, but I wouldn't bet $$ that I could tell the difference if somebody challenged me to a photo lineup.

 

[molested_cow]

It's not always about sharpness. Some of my shots turn out to be soft in a very nice way, like, really mooooody. It depends on what you are trying to achieve. There's no free lunch. F1.2 can give you the ability to shoot at really low light, but there's always a trade off. I wouldn't think of it as a disadvantage. You just got to learn to make the best out of everything.


I don't think a manual lens is a bad choice especially for short lens like 35 or 50mm. Hell I shot with a 70-300mm on a practically manual focus body for 6 years. Technology makes humans way too complacent.

The problem with digital SLRs is that they just keep coming out with new models! How is that a problem? Well, I was really trying to save up for a D700... then if a new model is going to be released, that can mean I got to save more, and by the time I save enough, there will be a newer one out, then.... the cycle never ends.

Back in the days, it will take several years between each new pro-camera launches.