I'm struggling to decide on a camera, sensor size, mirrorless or SLR...Think you can help? ;)

TimmyD11 · Aug 17, 2017

Alright so I am not fully settled. The answer to the following question will help me decide.

Are there any APS-C DSLR's that you enthusiasts / pros would rather have than the entry level full frame offerings by Canon or Nikon? I'm concerned with IMAGE QUALITY ONLY. I don't care if it has a less advanced focus system or only has one memory card slot or doesn't go beyond 1/4000 of a second shutter speed or anything else.

Braineack · Aug 17, 2017

IMHO, if you are concerned with IQ only, then you'd buy the D610 and have one of the best sensors on the market today despite being released in 2012.

astroNikon · Aug 17, 2017

TimmyD11 said:
Alright so I am not fully settled. The answer to the following question will help me decide.

Are there any APS-C DSLR's that you enthusiasts / pros would rather have than the entry level full frame offerings by Canon or Nikon? I'm concerned with IMAGE QUALITY ONLY. I don't care if it has a less advanced focus system or only has one memory card slot or doesn't go beyond 1/4000 of a second shutter speed or anything else.

So you have a really small budget .. that's what I'm reading.

The Nikon D3400 DX does really good images. But has striped down features from the D5600 DX, which has striped down features from the D7200 DX but all roughly have the same sensor though may not have the same electronics and processing, and everything else.

Just go out and buy the cheapest 20-24mp DX sensor DSLR out there .. I think that's the answer you want ?

Oh, with the D3400 just don't try to add a corded remote release ... they stripped that OEM capability out of it.

or just see Braineack's reply above.

TimmyD11 · Aug 17, 2017

No I don't have a small budget. I have placed my budget in the D610 range: $1500 for camera body, but for $1500 I can either get my foot in the full frame door OR get the best or one of the best APS-C DSLR's by Canon or Nikon.

astroNikon · Aug 17, 2017

TimmyD11 said:
No I don't have a small budget. I have placed my budget in the D610 range: $1500 for camera body, but for $1500 I can either get my foot in the full frame door OR get the best or one of the best APS-C DSLR's by Canon or Nikon.

You are contradicting yourself.

TimmyD11 said:
Are there any APS-C DSLR's that you enthusiasts / pros would rather have than the entry level full frame offerings by Canon or Nikon? I'm concerned with IMAGE QUALITY ONLY. I don't care if it has a less advanced focus system or only has one memory card slot or doesn't go beyond 1/4000 of a second shutter speed or anything else.

Good Luck.

btw, technically the "entry level FF" is not entry level. It has *way* more features than the entry level DX models. It has many features of the upper end DX line, just that it's low end on the FX arena.

TimmyD11 · Aug 17, 2017

Didn't contradict myself. I noticed that cheapest full frame and most expensive APS-C DSLR's are about the same price, so I wanted to know if it was unanimous to go one way or the other.

Gary A. · Aug 17, 2017

and the saga continues ...

TimmyD11 · Aug 17, 2017

True Gary but what is better: entry level full frame DSLR or highest end APS-C DSLR, and why?

Especially when considering newer APS-C vs older full frame cameras.

Designer · Aug 17, 2017

TimmyD11 said:
No I don't have a small budget. I have placed my budget in the D610 range: $1500 for camera body, but for $1500 I can either get my foot in the full frame door OR get the best or one of the best APS-C DSLR's by Canon or Nikon.

I'm unaware of what deals you are talking about.

Please post a link to some offerings of APS-C cameras that cost $1,500.

(Body only, as that is what I though we were talking about.)

As I posted a couple of years ago, (see above) the Nikon D7100 is $700 new. The D7200 is about $1,000 new.

Designer · Aug 17, 2017

TimmyD11 said:
..entry level full frame DSLR ..

There's another new one on me.

What "full frame" is called "entry level"?

I admit that I haven't been spending nearly as much time shopping as you have, so maybe a couple of links can shed some light.

Braineack · Aug 17, 2017

TimmyD11 said:
No I don't have a small budget. I have placed my budget in the D610 range: $1500 for camera body, but for $1500 I can either get my foot in the full frame door OR get the best or one of the best APS-C DSLR's by Canon or Nikon.

This would depend more on what I shoot. But the "entry level" FF be it 6D or D610, is going to image better than the 7D or D7200 respectively.

TimmyD11 · Aug 17, 2017

Can someone explain to me the higher dxomark score for the APS-C D7200 compared to the full frame 6D?

Gary A. · Aug 17, 2017

Depends on what you shoot ... and the size of your final print ...

What I shoot, which is general photography, a little bit of this and a little bit of that, (sports, theatre, Street, family, flowers), 99% of which is in available light ... sensor size does not make a difference.

In the beginning of dSLR photography, the IQ of FF versus APS-C at 8x10 was truly significant. APS-C at ISO 1600 was barely acceptable, (a bit worse actually than shooting Tri-X pushed to 1600). When I upgraded from a 20D to a 5D ... the difference was like night and day in low light. Ultimately I move on to 1Ds which had the IQ and build quality I desied and needed, (I'm hard on my cameras.)

For fun I tried out MFT. The smaller sensor delivered very digital-ish looking images to my eye, but non-photographers didn't see a difference. The Olympus IBIS is wonderful and went a long way in compensating for low light IQ of small sensors.

Now I shoot with Fuji. The mirrorless APS-C is a nice compromise between the small footprint of MFT and the IQ of FF. The Fuji image, to my eye, looks film-esque with the Oly and Panasonic MFT images looking digital and the Canon files looking somewhere in between. But these visual differences are subtle and to the average viewer, insignificant. I shoot Fuji because the high quality build of their equipment and equally important, Fuji lenses are all exceptional.

Being a former professional, I tend to buy pro level equipment and I have little to no experience with lesser grade cameras. As a former pro, I think my desires and expectations of my photography are/maybe different than the expectations from most non-professional photographers.

There is no perfect general use camera. There is no perfect general use sensor format. I personally feel that, for what I shoot and how I shoot, the difference in IQ between FF and APS-C is insignificant. Until recently, Nikon hadn't a high level APS-C camera and most/all of their APS-C lenses are inferior to their FF lenses. If you go Nikon APS-C, I think you should give serious thought of all FF lenses.

For new photographers, the grass is always greener ... especially a desire for FF. Having shot FF, I recognize that FF has no magic. FF will not make you a better photographer, but it may make some photographs better.

If you have resigned or thinking of resigning to expensive FF lenses ... then you might as well go FF. Cameras, unlike lenses, are somewhat disposable. After a few years, usually cameras will have improved enough to warrant an upgrade ... but a good lens is forever (or pretty damn close to forever).