Upgrading from my D300 to D7100 or D800

[bakravitz]

I currently own two Nikon D300 bodies with a 3 of DX lenses (10 mm fish eye, 80-400mm zoom, 18-200 mm . I would like to upgrade. I have considered both the D800 and D7100. Any thoughts. I understand the difference between the FX and DX lens.
.. Oh and I don't have any kids in college so lens is possible

[Dave Humphries]

I currently own two Nikon D300 bodies with a variety of DX lenses. I would like to upgrade. I have considered both the D800 and D7100. Any thoughts.

Hi bakravitz,

One is DX and one is FX (as I'm sure you know), do you have the disposable income to replace many DX lenses?
(in addition to the significant difference in body price anyway)

What do you shoot?
If distant wildlife using telephoto lenses, losing the 1.5x c/f effect on focal length by moving to FX would be a backward step.
If not, it may not matter, or even be an advantage (approx. 1 stop thinner DoF at any given aperture)

If "bakravitz" is not your first name, could you do me a favour please?
Could you Edit your Profile and put your first name in the Real Name field and where you are (roughly) in the Location field? - thanks.

Welcome to the CiC forums from ...

[bakravitz]

updated information

[Dave Humphries]

updated information

Great, thanks Bernie,

Shall we talk cameras

I shall almost certainly be getting a D7100 myself soonish, but what's right for me isn't necessarily so for you.

You may find it useful to do what I did; compare features to what you have now (with the D300) and the D7100 and D800.
Here's the post to give you the idea.

Cheers,

[Mark von Kanel]

Hi, Dave has raise all the salient points, and sombody that shoots a d300 will know the differences between full and crop sensor. Personally id stay where you were for a while, Give the D7100 time to drop in price. Hire or try some ones D800 and see how you get on. I seriously think that Nikons next body will be a 24mp crop sensor D300 replacement and might be more to your requirements.

[shreds]

Do consider the cost of upgrading your lenses to FX if you go down the D800 route. Ok you can use the DXs but I don't think that after a while you will want to, given the loss of part of the image in DX. And as Dave says it depends on what you shoot anyway.

When I went FX, three new Pro lenses cost way more than the camera body, so you must factor this into your equation, even if you spread it over a period of time.

(PS for me it was definitely worth it, but you will need to make your own decision)

As usual, I would suggest hiring one for a couple of weeks to let you see the differences for yourself.

[pnodrog]

Hi and welcome - I am pondering a similar question D200 to what? The D800 does produce 15.4 Megapixel in DX mode which is still more than the 12 of the D300. All my lenses are FX as they are a carry over from a a F90x film camera. The only new lens I purchased was the Nikkor 28-300mm which will be fine on a D800. My reservation is the file size in the FX mode. The D600 is not an option as I need a flash shutter sync of at least 1/250sec (interior/exterior lighting mix in real estate shots).

If I only had DX lenses as you indicate the D7100 would probably be my choice but it will depend on what you tend to photograph and of course your budget.

[shreds]

The D200 was obviously the predecessor to the D300, so I suppose the views posted above apply much the same.

I borrowed a friend's D800e a few months back and I was blown away with the result, and I have a D3! Hopefully the D4s will be my next step.

[bakravitzD300]

Thank you all so much for your input. Having 2 D300 bodies I did consider keeping one and a lens or two. I will follow your suggestion about trying both out).

[bakravitzD300]

Ive done the spec comparison between the D300, D7100 and the D800. It seems like there isn't much of a difference between the D300 and the D7100 other than movie option (I have no use for ) and the D7100 uses CF memory over CF.

After the feed back from all of the forum Ill do a wait and see. .. Ill keep reading and watching....

[Manfred M]

Ive done the spec comparison between the D300, D7100 and the D800. It seems like there isn't much of a difference between the D300 and the D7100 other than movie option (I have no use for ) and the D7100 uses CF memory over CF.

After the feed back from all of the forum Ill do a wait and see. .. Ill keep reading and watching....

I think you must be reading a different spec sheet than I am.

The sensor and image processor technology is much better than in the D300; dynamic range and high ISO noise performance are much better. Your D300 has similar performance to my D90 (I believe they share the same sensor and image processor). I also shoot the D800 and I can get high ISO shots that are a lot cleaner than the D90 did anywhere past ISO D800. The D7100 has the newest generation sensor and the same image processor as the D800.

By the way, if you are shooting the Nikkor 80-400mm lens, it is an FX lens, while the other two you list are indeed DX lenses.

[HenkB]

I have just upgraded from D300 (and D90) to a D600. That's just where my thought processes brought me. Yours will differ, as they should.

At the time I was making the decision, I was fulfilling a long term intention to move to FX. If I were more committed to DX, I would have either chosen to wait for the D7100 or whatever DX pro body follows the D300. Even having one D300, I had a very hard time rejecting the D700 which would have been a perfect fit in view of the overwhelming similarities between the two bodies. But the choice you propose (D7100, D800) suggests you are thinking about upgrading as much for considerations of resolution as anything else. That was certainly my case and ultimately why I turned my back on the D700. Simply put, there are times you can't get any closer and that's when being able to put more pixels on the subject is critical.

That left the D600 and D800 (and D800e) for me to choose between. I chose largely on price and my shooting style. Price not only of the camera itself but the fear that the D800 files would have provoked an earlier computer upgrade, as well. I can report, however, that going from 12Mp files (D300, D90) to 24 Mp files (D600) has resulted in a small but perceptible slowing of workflow for my "Early 2009" iMac.

Your comment that the specs of the cameras you are considering do not differ markedly from your D300's also suggests you expect to be able to control the light in your shooting with a concentration in either studio or outdoors rather than available light interiors. If this is indeed the case, then the D300 will continue to be very useful and, if the resolution is not too coarse for your style, you can profitably wait for the camera whose specs really do command you to buy it. We live in a time where, if you can fill the frame with your subject and shoot at or close to base ISO, any reasonably recent camera can take technically superb images.

[bakravitzD300]

Just pulled the trigger and ordered the D800 and the MB-D14 now im selling at least one of my D300 bodies. I have two. Anyone interested?

[NorthernFocus]

I hope your last post has a typo. MB-D14 fits the D600. The MB-D12 fits the 800. That asside, I think you will be happy with the D800. I'm a long time D300 shooter and had a D7000 for a while. There was no doubt that it had a superior sensor but lacked the ergonomics and pro features of the D300. I now have a D800 with grip and it's like shooting a D300 on steroids. Really a great camera. When you're not doing serious work but still want to shoot NEF you can turn it down to DX. If you attach a DX lens it will automatically switch to DX mode. If you need the speed you can use the AA batteries in the grip and you're at 6fps in DX mode just like with your D300 but with 16MP and better image quality. It is really a versatile camera. I'm liking it more every time I take it out.

[HenkB]

Just pulled the trigger and ordered the D800 and the MB-D14 now im selling at least one of my D300 bodies. I have two. Anyone interested?

Congratulations on the D800. As to the D300 (to quote Monty Python), I already got one, you know.

[bakravitz]

Monty pytheon... a true favorite and my favorite line is ... nods as good as a wink to a blind bat.... thanks for all the input it has been very useful.