Half vs full frame

oldhippy · Dec 9, 2012

I have and love my D 5100.. But my question is, what camera will be my next best and probably last camera..
I here folks loving the upgrade to the D7000..then the half frame vs full frame discussion..maybe a D700 or D600.
Upgrading is almost a guarentee for me, but I'd like to do this only one more time.. I'm 73 and this learning curve
is a lot . I feel that one more learning experiance, and a lot of camera use is what I want..So do I save and go for full frame or better half frame.
I want to be able to get the best product a camera will put out.. You folks with a D700 or D600, you know the difference this level of camera
gives.. some advice please. J am greatful for any given..Ed

480sparky · Dec 9, 2012

What would a D7000, D700 or D600 do that your D5100 cannot do for you?

Robin_Usagani · Dec 9, 2012

Ed, I would go with D700. The one thing that you would absolutely hate about the D600 is that you only have 1/4000 fastest shutter speed. That may prevent you shooting wide open on a bright day.

pixmedic · Dec 9, 2012

its never the "last" upgrade. in 2-3 years you will be posting the same thread.
if you want to stay with crop frame (and theres nothing wrong with that) wait until early next year and see what the next DX body will be and look in to that. thats what we are waiting for, a D300s upgrade. if you want full frame, you would be happy with either a D600 OR D700, just check the specs on them and see which one has some things you might like to have more. both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Nikon D600 vs D700 - Our Analysis

480sparky · Dec 9, 2012

Robin_Usagani said:
Ed, I would go with D700. The one thing that you would absolutely hate about the D600 is that you only have 1/4000 fastest shutter speed. That may prevent you shooting wide open on a bright day.

That's assuming shooting 'wide open on a sunny day' is needed on a regular basis. Plan B would be use an ND filter.

KmH · Dec 9, 2012

A maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 (D600), to 1/8000 (D700) is only 1 stop.

Lipoly · Dec 9, 2012

I'd say if you really want it to be your last, go w/an FX camera. I just upgraded from my D5000 to a D800 and have no regrets.

Just curious, why would someone go w/the D700 over the D800? I quickly checked prices on Amazon and it seems the D700 is the same price as the D800.

I will say if you even consider a D800 (which you don't appear to be), you really need a fast computer to do post processing since the files are so huge (I shoot in raw). I have a machine I custom built a year ago w/an Intel 2600k + 16GB ram + SSD hard drive and it leaves me wanting more power when doing PP in Lightroom.

oldhippy · Dec 9, 2012

pixmedic said:
its never the "last" upgrade. in 2-3 years you will be posting the same thread.
if you want to stay with crop frame (and theres nothing wrong with that) wait until early next year and see what the next DX body will be and look in to that. thats what we are waiting for, a D300s upgrade. if you want full frame, you would be happy with either a D600 OR D700, just check the specs on them and see which one has some things you might like to have more. both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Nikon D600 vs D700 - Our Analysis

My lingering question is.. what put you guys into full frame..Does it have a dramatic impact on your end results.thanks for your thoughtful replies..Ed

Robin_Usagani · Dec 9, 2012

Sure it is only one stop but that would have been a deal breaker for me. While I do not shoot wide open all the time, I do like shooting my 135L wide open. 1/4000 is too slow for me. This was f/2 at 1/8000. I also love shooting my 35L close to wide open and it is just not possible with 1/4000. ND filter is not an option for me.

Helen B · Dec 9, 2012

If you are comparing performance at wide apertures in bright light, remember that the base ISO of the D600 is 100 while it is 200 for the D700, and the D600 seems to have a little more headroom than the D700, so in practice if you are shooting raw there should be little difference between the D700 at 1/8000 and ISO 200, and the D600 at 1/4000 and ISO 100 for that purpose.

Lipoly · Dec 9, 2012

oldhippy said:
pixmedic said:

its never the "last" upgrade. in 2-3 years you will be posting the same thread.
if you want to stay with crop frame (and theres nothing wrong with that) wait until early next year and see what the next DX body will be and look in to that. thats what we are waiting for, a D300s upgrade. if you want full frame, you would be happy with either a D600 OR D700, just check the specs on them and see which one has some things you might like to have more. both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Nikon D600 vs D700 - Our Analysis

Click to expand...

My lingering question is.. what put you guys into full frame..Does it have a dramatic impact on your end results.thanks for your thoughtful replies..Ed

In most cases I would say it does not make a huge difference. I think it really rarely makes a big difference for well-lit scenes, but the D600 does allow you to occasionally get an acceptable shot when you otherwise couldn't w/the D7000...the D600 is noticeably better in low light. You don't say what type of photos you shoot though. I like to do as much "available light" photos as possible (no flash), so the high ISO performance of the D600 would really tempt me.

FX cameras also allow you to realize the true focal range of a lens, and provides a shallower DOF than a DX camera (this may, or may not be a good thing for you).

oldhippy · Dec 9, 2012

Thank you all for your replies..I will see how the two camera's end up costing.. As an example. I wanted the D300 but was way outsude my budget. I waited two years or so, and the price used, dropped to around 600.00.. I'm sure in a year or two the D600 will price out likewise.. In the mean time I need to learn what I can and make good choices in lens..thanks again... ED

Vautrin · Dec 9, 2012

Lipoly said:
I'd say if you really want it to be your last, go w/an FX camera. I just upgraded from my D5000 to a D800 and have no regrets.

Just curious, why would someone go w/the D700 over the D800? I quickly checked prices on Amazon and it seems the D700 is the same price as the D800.

I will say if you even consider a D800 (which you don't appear to be), you really need a fast computer to do post processing since the files are so huge (I shoot in raw). I have a machine I custom built a year ago w/an Intel 2600k + 16GB ram + SSD hard drive and it leaves me wanting more power when doing PP in Lightroom.

The D700 is an amazing camera and not everyone needs giant 36 MP files. It also has some features if I remember correctly the D800 doesn't have -- I believe on the D800 Nikon got rid of some buttons and did some other thing.

With that said you shouldn't be paying as much as a D800, and I certainly didn't when I bought mine used...

For me it was simply get an amazing camera for 1000 EUR less and spend that money on glass

Lipoly · Dec 9, 2012

The D800 supports video, which may/may not be an issue for some people. I can't see any buttons the D800 got rid of except the dial to select af metering which was replaced by the video dial on the D800 (seems redundant on the D700...doesn't the knob at the top do the same thing?). The D800 also adds the bracketing button on the main dial. But, I can't argue w/the price issue. I like the high resolution b/c I do a some nature photography from a distance and the ability to do a tight crop comes in handy. If I had a gently used D700 available for significantly less I may have went w/that way though.