Looking to upgrade to a better Nikon

[Vespa]

I am a photography student and I currently use a D5000. I am finally ready to upgrade to something more professional. I was wondering what people thought would be the best investment for a long term camera? Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Restomage]

Depends how much money you want to spend.

 

[Ken Rockwell Fan]

A D3 or a D700. Either of these pro bodies should serve you well for a few years. The real investment is going to be lenses. To go with the a D3 or D700, I'd get the 17-35mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 and of course you will need a trusty 50mm f/1.4 or 1.8 lens for low light shots.

 

[Patrice]

A D3 or a D700. Either of these pro bodies should serve you well for a few years. The real investment is going to be lenses. To go with the a D3 or D700, I'd get the 17-35mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 and of course you will need a trusty 50mm f/1.4 or 1.8 lens for low light shots.

I agree with most of this but for a bit less money I would suggest dropping the 24-70. The spread between 35 and 70 is in 90% of the time adequately served by the 50mm prime. The 70-200 can de replaced by an equally good 80-200 if funds are low.

 

[angelachristen]

If you think the camera will get banged up and in the wet, the D300(s) is the better choice. Otherwise, the D7000 seems great...

 

[dirtfan21]

D300 refurbished or used you can find good deals on these. This is also about $2000.00 less than a d3. Then buy some good glass 35mm, 50mm, 70-200 vr, Tamron 28-75. This is what I would do and shop around for refurbished or used lens. The lens are okay to buy used if you see before you buy. Good Luck shopping

 

[3bayjunkie]

I would defiantly go with the Nikon D700 =)

 

[djacobox372]

Since your a photography student, I'd suggest a full-frame kit which really narrows your choices.

D700 and d3 are the only nikon options, the cheapest being around $2k for a used d700. Canon has more selection in full-frame, and cheaper options.

Keep in mind that lenses are a more long term investment then cameras

 

[Fender5388]

im also a photo student, and my d90 serves my needs great, but i shoot alot of film also... which is way cheaper to have "professional" equipment.

i wish i had the money to drop on a d700 tho haha

 

[MommyOf4Boys]

The body is really less important than the glass you put on it. I am partial to the D300s, because I like the dual memory card slots (can have an SD and a CF card) and the Live view mode, but other than that I would invest your money in the lenses first.

 

[3bayjunkie]

a really cool option on nikons website Digital SLR Cameras | Nikon Digital Cameras | D-SLR Camera if you still can't decide, is the compare function. click compare under one or more cameras and then at the bottom of the screen a box will appear click on that. this will show you side by side comparison of what you are getting and you can base your choice off of what is most important to you =) I am getting a D700 after this deployment.

 

[KmH]

As mentioned the investment should focus on lenses, rather than a camera body but "to upgrade to something more professional" I would recommend moving out of the entry-level lineup.

That means you would choose from:
APS-C size (crop body) image sensor
Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
or the
Nikon D300s 12MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
or the full frame
Nikon D700 12.1MP FX-Format CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only)
or the
Nikon D3 12.1MP FX Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
or the
Nikon D3S 12.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and 24fps 720p HD Video Capability (Body Only)
or the
Nikon D3X 24.5MP FX CMOS Digital SLR with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only)

 

[djacobox372]

im also a photo student, and my d90 serves my needs great, but i shoot alot of film also... which is way cheaper to have "professional" equipment.

i wish i had the money to drop on a d700 tho haha

The reason I suggest full frame is lens choice; a photo student is likely to want a full-frame kit sooner or later, might as well start there instead of investing a lot if $$ in dx glass, or using expensive full frame glass on a camera that only takes advantage of part of it.

That said, I would also recommend setting some $$ aside for a nice 6x7 medium format film setup--$500 can get you a pretty nice mamiya 6x7 and some lenses.

 

[KmH]

One doesn't have to have an FX body to use FX glass.

FX glass works really well on DX camera bodies.

 

[clevereddie]

I too had the D7000, and upgraded to the D7000, its amazing! get that or if you have a lower price range get the d90.