Which camera is for me...D750 or D810.....?

[JMcDonald]

Hey guys! I need some help....I'm fairly new to photography on the professional level.. I've been around it my whole life. My dad was an avid photographer so I know how to take a decent picture...... I've been doing Aerial Photography and am now going to expand to full on photography.

My wife owns a wedding company so she kinda lured me in...ha...I am definitely set on a Nikon and have been playing with the D810 and D750. Which lenses to start with...?

I'm going to mostly do Portraits, Photo Shoots, Weddings, and definitely landscape/cityscape.

I do love to record videos as well, so making short films is a plus. Doesn't need to be 4K because 1080 is just a good.

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[goodguy]

I am doing wedding photography and use mainly my Nikon D750 for that.
I will recommend you to go for the D750 for few reasons.
AF on it is a little better in low light for locking focus
Its cheaper
Less MP which means easier processing
Better in low light situation
Has the swivel screen which I find helpful for high or low shots which happened a lot in events, this screen is also helpful for video.
Overall the D810 is more of a studio and landscape camera while the D750 is more of a wedding and general use camera.
For event photography or video I think the D750 is better suited.

 

[Cody'sCaptures]

Although with the looming announcement of the d820 you might find a steal of a deal on eBay on the D810

 

[Derrel]

D750 for the file size.

 

[astroNikon]

I do love to record videos as well, so making short films is a plus. Doesn't need to be 4K because 1080 is just a good.

Good thing because neither the D750 nor D810 have 4k video.

I love my D750, though I prefer the button layout on the D810. Both would be great but as mentioned the D750 has some advantage in low light such as many wedding venues. 70-200/2.8 and 24-70/2.8 are the standard professional lenses.

For Aerial photography / landscapes though I'd probably recommend the D810.

so ... get both
it's not my money, and you never mentioned a budget.

 

[JMcDonald]

Lol...yea I wish I could get both!! I appreciate the help guys. I'll probably end up going with the 750...when is the 820 suppose to drop?

 

[JTPhotography]

The AA filter is the deal breaker for me.

 

[Black_Square]

Just a word of warning with the D810. I recently upgraded to this system along with a 85mm 1.4g lens. My previous camera was a D300. I consider myself pretty handy with a camera and enjoy the technical aspects of photography. However despite this, I find the D810 a challenge to use. Don't get me wrong, I love the challenge and I absolutely love the camera, but to my mind this camera is designed for a tripod, either for landscape or studio work. I mainly shoot street portraits (without a tripod) and I am yet to nail a pin sharp image at the D810's lowest ISO with a shallow depth of field.

 

[greybeard]

I think either camera would do find. The D750's flip out screen and low light focusing ability would make it more appealing to me. I don't think the D810's 36MP vs 24MP would really make that much of if any difference in IQ for this type of work. Also, the huge file size of the D810's would slow down Post Processing speed.

 

[Solarflare]

I could have sworn I already answered this thread ?

Or one like it, recently, anway. Well, both cameras are excellent generalists that can do anything. They also excell at certain things:

D810:
+ A bit more resolution (36 instead of 24 Megapixel, no AA filter)
+ Base ISO 64 for maximum image quality (vs Base ISO 100), slightly better dynamic range and color depth
+ Very silent shutter (the D750 has a very pleasant shutter sound, though)
+ 1/8000 sec shutterspeed (over 1/4000 sec on the D750), 1/250 sec flash snyc (over 1/200 sec)
+ AF covers more of the image area (its the same chip though and the D750 has an advanced version)
+ Some more buttons for faster operation (the D750 has enough though)

D750:
+ More lightweight, cheaper
+ Better high ISO performance
+ Slightly better AF (can still handle f/9 lenses, performs better in extreme situations)
+ Flipscreen
+ Dedicated Mode dial, green mode for newbies, two user defined modes
+ Better video (less moire issues thanks to the weak AA filter)

In your case I would suggest the D750 over the D810 because you have Weddings in your list of demands and thus need all the high ISO juice you can get. Otherwise the D810 would be the pick of choice for image quality with landscape and portraits.



Lenses, well, that depends upon your budget and priorities. In order of importance, these what I would pick on "infinite" budget:

Weddings: This is the hardest genre of photography there is. Basically you need all photographic knowledge of all other genres for this. And theres no second chances, everything has to work first time. You have to carefully plan the shots ahead, you have to interview the couple, especially the bride, what photographs they want, you have to talk with the priest about what kind of photography he will allow (such as no flash etc). And you might want an assistant who basically gets the same gear again. And no matter how good you are, people might still not be happy with the results. And theres always the guy among the people present who got the one lucky shot you missed.

Well everybody does these differently. But if I have to suggest a general setup, I would go with: Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 VC or AF-S 24-70mm f2.8 (the old one, not the new one with VR), either Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 VC "G2" (the brand new one) or the classic AF 80-200mm f2.8 (that one needs a monopod though to stabilize slow shutter speeds, since it doesnt have image stabilization yet; its not as sharp and its slow focus, but it has a very pleasant rednering with good Bokeh etc), Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro (for all the small details like the rings, but its also a very good portrait lens), AF 16mm f2.8 Fisheye (for overview images to show everone on the place. Mind you, a Fisheye needs a different way of looking for subjects. Also get a monopod and a cable release so you can put the camera high above the scene for the Fisheye and/or your wideangle lenses).

I would strongly suggest TWO bodies so you can have a wide angle and a telephoto ready at all times, also that you have a backup if theres a problem. Also you need hardcore flash units - I would suggest getting three SB800 from the used market as the cheapest no compromise option - and a power pack so you can keep shooting without delays. But beware :while with a powerpack you can keep shooting, your flash is still in danger to overheat nevertheless. Thus you might be careful for that and switch flash units if the current one gets too hot !


Portraiture: Personally for portraits I have (and would get again) the AF 105mm f2 DC. As Zack Arias stated, one of the three "magic" lenses he knows about. The AF 105mm f2 DC especially also excells at pleasant background (aka creamy Bokeh) and great microcontrast (aka Zeiss Pop). Its not the most extremely sharp lens (but IMHO plenty sharp enough for portraiture). It also has a Bokeh amplifier (thats what the "DC" stands for) that can also be put into extreme for a soft focus effect (but I dont think that ones is too pleasing; real soft focus lenses do that much better).


Landscape: Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 VC. You also might want a telephoto zoom of your choice, because landscape isnt only wide angle.


Photoshoot: If you have a small studio, you might want a normal zoom, like the AF-S 24-70mm f2.8.



Oh, and the Microcontrast discussion:

Thom Hogan thinks it doesnt exist: What is Micro Contrast? | DSLRBodies | Thom Hogan

Other people think otherwise: A Canon/Zeiss experiment