I know my nikon d3100 so well im bored

[purple_jewels]

I'm completely bored with my d3100. Don't get me wrong I love that camera. I got it just about 2 years ago, and we have been almost inseparable since. I've learned the ins and outs of this wonderful camera. I need advice from people who have bought a D7000, and then later upgraded to a D800. Did you wish you had skipped upgrading to the D7000. I'm a amiture do not sell my work. However I do have my work hanging in my home and I am very proud of it. My current situation is I can order the D7000 now or can wait and order the D800 in march. Like I said I am no professional but I do understand photography the equipment and I'm just afraid I'll regret not waiting on the D800.

 

[molested_cow]

I think a thing called "punctuation" may make your life a bit more interesting. Getting a D800 may not help. It will probably make it worse.

 

[jaomul]

It says it everywhere here but if your buying a new camera figure out what's lacking in your to enable an educated decision on your purchase

 

[purple_jewels]

I will go back and edit my post for you. Hope you will reply with some advice then. Bet you will still be nasty. We will see.

 

[binga63]

Ok it doesn't matter to me if you diction is correct or not, d7000 crop sensor vs d800 full frame..... will the lenses you own work ok ... will you need to update them as well?
Have you thought about the d600?... just saying that you are bored is not a reason....creatively hamstrung by my 3100 would have been a better way to start... work out what gear you have that will work to its full potential on a full frame....and then ask the same question again
I was in your shoes and went from a d90 to a d700 and have not regretted it a all
good luck with what ever you decide

 

[Forkie]

Not sure what it means to be bored of a camera unless it is incapable of helping you producing the images you want to produce. Really think about the photos you want to make and then ask yourself why your current camera is preventing you from achieving them.

 

[rambler]

With more expensive models you hope to get more features. What ones do you wish you had on the 3100? For example, the D7000 has 39 focus points and the indicator can move on the diagonal. Mirror lock-up? Can you prefocus and then turn off the shutter/auto focus, so that you can release the shutter without it focusing, so that you do not miss fast action, yet still have it in focus? Is there ISO sensitivity, so minimum shutter speed and maximum ISO can be pre-set? Can you adjust white balance temperatures? How much can you post-edit photos within the camera? In the 7000 the histogram is only available AFTER the image has been taken.

The more expensive cameras are more rugged, probably less plastic. You won't find plastic parts where the lens attaches to the body. Better models should be more water resistant.

There is a learning curve trying to figure out new features or new ways of getting to features you take for granted on your camera. You will probably be saying, "I want my old camera back!" " I know how to find......."

Ask for a comparison of sensors. Take a close look at what features can be accessed or changed right from the outside of the camera body. What is the highest ISO? When does noise show up? What is the highest number aperture, f/22 or f/32?

But, binga63 makes an important point about lenses. Are the ones you have compatible. A good lens is more important than a good camera body.

PS I am not a pro.

I also noticed you have your pictures hanging in your home. When you do get a new camera consider lens focal lengths that you do no already own. You can still use your 3100 to capture shots at a certain focal length that you have only with that camera. For example you might have a good macro lens. A new camera does not automatically mean better pictures. I have seen some wonderful images taken with an iphone.

 

[TamiAz]

I have a Nikon D5100 and I recently bought a decent lens and I was amazed how much better my images came out, so I'm a believer that nice glass makes a huge difference.

 

[molested_cow]

Advice? You have not included any information on "why" and "what". It's sounds more like you just want a new hand bag that's sitting in the window. So get it! There's no reason needed.

You said you are not a professional photographer. So every reason you have to get a camera is not a need. It's a sentiment. My first DSLR is a D700. Do I really need it? Hell no. But I could and want to. However I waited for three years, while doing all the research that I can, before jumping for it and I never had a thought that I may regret the decision. Even for a sentimental decision, you can be rational.

Do you really know your camera? The D7000? D800? to say that you are "bored" with your camera doesn't make sense at all. For me, I only get bored with the way I shoot. When that happens, I try something that I've never done before and all of a sudden, I feel like I am new to this again. Camera isn't really a big factor. Even lens... I can live with just a 50mm.

If you really feel bored with your D3100. My genuine advice is, get a 35mm SLR. 10 years and I still feel like there's so much more to learn.

 

[Rick58]

Bored? I still don't understand comments like this.
Trying Shooting with a 4x5 Graphic. Anti-boredom controls consist of: Aperture, Shutter speed and focus, and the camera can still out perform me.
You should challenge yourself as a photographer, not the camera

 

[fjrabon]

Learning everything your camera can do is not a bad thing. You're a good photographer wen your camera bores you. When your camera is just an extension of your creative mind. When your actual camera is something you no longer have to think about.

That being said, perhaps you just like playing with technology. That's what it sounds like. You enjoy the actual process of learning a piece of equipment for its own sake. Theres nothing wrong with that. If that's the case, and here's something radical, totally change. Get a Canon. Or a Pentax. Things will be very different. Or a lytro.

But do realize that your boredom has nothing to do with photography, because being bored with your camera is a good thing photographically. It allows you to stop thinking about your tool and start thinking about what you're using your tool to create.

Think about a painter. How long do you think it took Leonardo Da Vinci to get bored of a horsehair brush, canvas and simple paint? He was one of the most intelligent men in world history using some of the simplest tools imaginable. You think the idea of boredom with his tools even creeped into his mind?

 

[TheLost]

People on this board can get *testy* now and then.. but i think everybody has good intentions. Let me sum up what most are saying:

1) 'Photography' is the art of taking a picture.
2) 'Gadget ADHD' is the addiction to gadgets and wanting/yearning to upgrade to the next best thing.

Both are fun... however, You don't need the best/newest thing to improve on #1. They are two separate hobbies!

So you need to ask yourself "Do i want to improve my photography?" or "Do i need a new toy?"

Improve your photography: What about your current camera has stopped you from improving? Maybe a new book would help? Maybe some new lenses? Most people upgrade bodies when all they really need is better glass. Need better AF? Bigger Buffer? More Controls? Bracketing? Better ISO? (those are the reasons to upgrade your body)

Want the next gizmo: Just buy the D800 and be done with it. Lots (and Lots!) of people own the D800 and don't need it (or know how to use it fully). But its a fun toy and there is nothing wrong with that!

Hope that helps cut through some of the comments above

 

[cgipson1]

Warning.... if you buy a D800, get ready to sell every lens you currently have, and buy the best lenses that Nikon makes (at least if you really want the image quality that the D800 is capable of). Like the Nikon 70-200 VRII 2.8 to start with... or at least the 24-70 2.8.

Do your images reflect your facility with the D3100? Please post your best... and let us help you decide!

Just knowing your body well, does not mean you know composition, proper exposure, lighting and modification of lighting, Flash, posing, and a number of other important things.

 

[KmH]

The D7000 and D800 are more complex cameras than the D3100.

Upgrade if the D3100 can't do what you want to do. Upgrade if cost is not a factor, and you just want a different camera.

As mentioned, upgrading to an FX camera would mean also upgrading from DX to FX lenses, unless you already own FX lenses.

Some pro shooters find the D800 overkill, except for specific types of photography, like high quality portraiture or fashion.

 

[purple_jewels]

Wow great advise. Let me start by saying I do believe the D800 is way too much camera for me right now. I guess bored was a very baud way of trying to describe why I wanted to upgrade. I want more fps for capturing my girls sporting events my D3100 gets it done I just want more. I want to shoot more low light. I was thinking of a project at our fort worth botanical gardens this spring... Like "fort worth gardens after dark" type think. I've shoot low light just want more. I got into photography to help with stress and my bi-polar disorder. It's my hobby. I love it. That said I may also love the next best thing too. So some of what cow said could be true too. However, I do believe I have out grown my d3100. TheLost your spot on too I am a gadget ADHD. That's not to say I don't spend hours online and buried in books trying to learn how and what makes pictures better, and of course that's only half your creativity has to come into play as well. You can take the perfect picture I see it all the time in focus exposure right on and well nothing happens when I look at it no creativity was there when it was shot and you can see it. Fjrabon I appreciate your post thank you. Now y'all got me thinking I should just get soon new glass been eyeing 85mm f1.4 and just keep snapping on my d3100 hmm decisions decisions. Oh I'm on my iPhone can I post pics from it?? If so I will. Just need to know how. I'm a newbie here.