Some advice on moving to full frame (D7/800?)

jdong217

TPF Noob!
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
150
Reaction score
9
Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
I'm thinking of making the jump, what with the D700 dropping down to $2200 now. As of late, I almost exclusively have been shooting wide angle on my D7000. I haven't even touched my 35/1.8 and most certainly not the 85/1.4g (which is fantastic btw).

I pretty much use the Tokina 11-16 half the time and the Nikon 24/1.4g the other half of the time. I suppose if I wasn't so lazy I could find a use for my 35 and nifty fifty when I'm with friends. Anyway, here's my dilemma: funds are kind of low right now. I could sell my D7000 + 85mm/1.4g for a pretty decent price I think. At the very least, it would put me very close to the price of the D700. But then this leaves me with a D700 and only the 24mm.

The problem is that this isn't really wide enough for my needs. I'm eyeing the 14-24 or 16-35 right now, but again, funds would be a problem. I could continue to use the Tokina but does that decrease the image quality? or is it only that a full frame sensor will give the same quality as a DX sensor if I put it in the DX mode?
 
If you shoot the d700 in dx mode, you will only get 5.1mp images; however they will be quite high quality images--much better then other 6mp dslrs.

You could consider a 20mm f2.8 af-d prime lens, this would be similar to 13.5mm on DX which might be wide enough for you.
 
Last edited:
As Djacobox said, shooting dx lens on fx body mean you're shooting with HARD CORE :) sensor but at lower resolution.
What's really cool though is that if you're using some of the 3rd party lenses, the camera doesn't read it as a Dx lens and gives you a very nice vignette :) When you switch to Dx mode, you're ok w/o vignette. This is the reason, actually, why I very much enjoy using Tokina 10-17 Fisheye. It isn't the sharpest lens in the bunch, however the vignetting is very nice, at least for my jobs, and adds a flavor the final image.
On D700, dx mode is 5.1mp - good enough to print out 16x24 (didn't try going bigger so can't tell you). On d800, some days its 15mp (you do the math :) )

Good Luck
 
Thanks guys. Will look into those lenses.

I will call B&H and Adorama tomorrow but I'm also curious what kind of price I could get for selling the D7000 and 85/1.4g. They were both purchased when I was abroad in Hong Kong
 
I can almost guarantee that you can make more $ on ebay or craigslist then selling it into the store.
 
Hmmm.... my only advice is to have A LOT more money than you are willing to spend. FX lens aren't cheap, unless you are willing to go for older, used lens, which is what I do.

IMO if your budget is low, you shouldn't even be thinking about it. Enjoy what you have now and save up!
 
I can almost guarantee that you can make more $ on ebay or craigslist then selling it into the store.

I agree with IgsEMT. If you sell it to Adorama or B&H, figure on 65% of what you could get by selling it yourself, and that's being generous.
 
The 24mm f/1.4G is phenomenal on FF. A completely different lens. That and the 50mm f/1.4G are the two lenses I use the most when i'm shooting Film or the D700.
 
I suggest getting some full frame lenses, or just save up some money and buy them all in the future. Buying a body now without the lens you want is a waste of money. Body prices drop dramatically. If you really need a full frame camera, get the Nikon D800, at least you can have enough megapixels, compared to Nikon D700.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top