Posted: 6/30/2011 12:54:02 AM EDT
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I started photography way back when, Nikon F, F2A were my first cameras, then to a FM, F3, had a bunch of Nikkor lenses, 20 to 300, sold everything a few years ago, was not using it. My wife has a D80 and it shoots great.
I would like to get back into photography, cant stand the thought of the pop up flash on her camera, I am a purist.... What is the best body to get started with that will give me the durability of my old F2 and F3 and also the 24 x 36 format, or is that an issue at all. Also her lens, 18-135 DX works good, but compared to my old Nikkor stuff, feels like a toy (comparing a Glock to a 1911 feel). Is there two different Nikkor lines of lenses? Any help will be great. The camera will be used for non-sports outdoors. I had two great lenses with the old stuff, the 55mm Micro and the 105, 2.5. I am sure I will not find any new lenses that will meet this quality, or am I wrong. Thanks, 77 |
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Quoted: I started photography way back when, Nikon F, F2A were my first cameras, then to a FM, F3, had a bunch of Nikkor lenses, 20 to 300, sold everything a few years ago, was not using it. My wife has a D80 and it shoots great. I would like to get back into photography, cant stand the thought of the pop up flash on her camera, I am a purist.... What is the best body to get started with that will give me the durability of my old F2 and F3 and also the 24 x 36 format, or is that an issue at all. Also her lens, 18-135 DX works good, but compared to my old Nikkor stuff, feels like a toy (comparing a Glock to a 1911 feel). Is there two different Nikkor lines of lenses? Any help will be great. The camera will be used for non-sports outdoors. I had two great lenses with the old stuff, the 55mm Micro and the 105, 2.5. I am sure I will not find any new lenses that will meet this quality, or am I wrong. Thanks, 77 Well, that's going to limit you to a flagship body. Used D2, D2X, D2Xs, D3, used or new D3S, D3X. D700 is smaller and less expensive than current flagship, and does have a pop-up flash, but still in the "pro" camp. The 24x36 sensor format is FX - D700, D3, D3S and D3X. All of the other Nikon bodies are DX. New FX releases are anticipated later this year and next year. There are endless debates about the pros and cons of DX or FX format, Both are capable. Both have features that are a bit better that the other. You mention "non-sports outdoors" - landscapes? Or wildlife? Landscapes can go with either, a lot of wildlife shooters go with DX due to the apparent focal length gain over FX and sensor pixel density. Durability? The prosumer and pro cameras are built sturdier with magnesium alloy frames, weather sealing, etc... and have a more substantial feel than the consumer bodies. But they are a box with a computer, sensor and electronics - they "outdate" fast as technology improves, and we don't know yet how many years (decades) they will last. IMHO regarding "outdating", for us hobbyists I think we have reached a point where you can find a camera and not make an upgrade purchase for many years. As a pro, updating would be driven more by work demands. Best thing would be for you to research the models for features you want, then go to a store and handle them to see how they feel - to you (or see if a friend can let you handle theirs). Even the consumer bodies are capable of producing imagery above the capability of the user, so how the camera feels and handles, what features you want/ need will come into play. Viewfinders are better on the pro bodies, if that matters to you. The pro bodies will function with the current AF-S lenses and most older Ai/ Ai-S, AF and AF-D lenses. (I use the Ai-S 105 f/2.5 on my D700, along with 5 other Ai-S lenses.) Some of the DX bodies will work with those lenses, to varying degrees. The rest of the DX bodies need the new AF-S lenses for autofocus, and might mount an Ai-S lenses but will not meter. (I'm not current on which DX body mounts which lenses.) Some of the older lenses are still gems, others aren't great on digital. Build quality is not comparable in my opinion - something about a nicely machined chunk of metal and glass with a nice feel to the focus ring - but maybe that's just me.  Having said that, some of the newer lenses are stellar. The advances in optical designs, materials and new super-coatings makes for some very nice glass. I have some of the better lenses and they can produce brilliant images.Current lenses - all lenses are designed to work on the full frame (FX) cameras except those marked "DX" (those are designed for the APS-C crop sensor). Generally, "kit" lenses have a more lightweight feel to them due to lighter materials to help cut cost for entry level camera kits, but some of the kit lenses are considered very good "bang-for-the-buck" lenses - much better image quality than expected based on price. There are lenses built to more "pro" standards (internal focus, internal zoom, non-rotating front lens element, some weather sealing, etc...) but they are expensive. Go here and there is a good breakdown of the current and past Nikon DSLRs, with full reviews if you should find anything interesting. Also the tacked thread in this forum is a good resource guide. Just a hobbyist myself, so IMHO and YMMV. Hope this helps. |
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In short your answers are in the above post.
Just to add, camera bodies now days are not the foundation to a 'system' they once were.  They're more of a 'disposable' element in the system. On the low end a camera has about a 18month to 2year 'new on the shelf' life. The upper end/current pro bodies will have a longer new on the shelf life of 2 to 5years.
Also FWIW the current pro bodies will work w/ the older F mount lenses like you used before. 7mm |
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Quoted:
........ cant stand the thought of the pop up flash on her camera, I am a purist.... You and me, both. I hate that damn pop-up flash. I used a D2x for several years, and loved it. A true professional camera. But, above ISO 400, the amount of noise in the pictures was awful. So, a few months ago, I decided to sell it, and move to full frame. I decided to "downsize", and bought a D700. It is a nice camera, and the high ISO capabilities are great. The smaller size was welcome when I took it on vacation, last month. It is a well made camera, but it doesn't quite have the solid feel of the D2/D3 series. And, it does have that pop-up flash, which is totally useless with many of the modern lenses (the length of the lens blocks the flash, and creates a shadow in the lower part of the picture). Plus, on a couple of occasions, I have opened my camera bag, to find that the button for the flash has somehow been pressed, and the flash popped up in the camera bag. Seems like it is only a matter of time, until it gets broken off. I'm very temped to tape it shut with some gaffers tape. Don't get me wrong....the D700 is a very well made camera, and many, many professionals use them. So far, I really like the image quality, and overall, I give it a very positive recommendation. I just wish they had omitted that damn pop-up flash. |
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Quoted: ... Any help will be great. The camera will be used for non-sports outdoors. I had two great lenses with the old stuff, the 55mm Micro and the 105, 2.5. I am sure I will not find any new lenses that will meet this quality, or am I wrong. Thanks, 77 The 50mm AF is excellent. The new zooms are pretty decent if you are willing to spend $1000. I have both the lenses you mentioned there (you can find either for less than $100) and use them all the time on my D40. They're still superb. I just turn the flash off. I've used it a handful of times for fill, but otherwise, I mount a speedlight. |
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For you Nikon guys 'hating' on the pop up flash...you do know you can use that 'pop-up' to act a s a commander in Nikon's wireless remote systems? And it can be set so all it does trip the remotes speedlites w/o contributing to the exposure. Canon, who started the wireless TTL trick back in the film days is just now doing this cool trick.
So that little pop up flash does have a legitimate use. 7mm |
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Quoted:
For you Nikon guys 'hating' on the pop up flash...you do know you can use that 'pop-up' to act a s a commander in Nikon's wireless remote systems? Oh, of course I know it. 
But I use a SU-800, along with two SB-800's and a SB-600 for that task. I think the SU-800 is much easier to program, than the pop up flash. |
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Quoted: For you Nikon guys 'hating' on the pop up flash...you do know you can use that 'pop-up' to act a s a commander in Nikon's wireless remote systems? And it can be set so all it does trip the remotes speedlites w/o contributing to the exposure. Canon, who started the wireless TTL trick back in the film days is just now doing this cool trick. So that little pop up flash does have a legitimate use. 7mm Yep - aware of that. It's a nice feature. So no "hating" here... but with the the way I normally shoot, I don't use it. I'd personally rather the space be used for a bigger, brighter, very high-eyepoint viewfinder with a better focusing screen... and add a flash/ commander as needed, should I need it. |
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BTW, I'm not trying to be too negative about the pop-up flash, but I just can't find a good use for it. I know some people like it, and I'm glad it works for them. The few times I tried to use it, however, I got that annoying shadow in the bottom part of the picture. So I have to agree with JAFFE, that a 100% viewfinder would be my personal preference.
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Talking about 'that shadow' from the lens while using the pop up flash...It actually kinda worked in a weird way one time. While photographing a car w/ some weird ambient lighting, the shadow fell on the car while the pop up flash lit the surrounding area. So in the exposure the car in the pop up's shadow was a purple green and the walls & ceiling were correct. It was weird but the final image was kept by both the wind tunnel's owners & the race car team using the wind tunnel. I was just there doing a demo & had my CF card erased/formatted & shot over so no image for me.
7mm |
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Quoted:
Here is a good use for the pop up flash: On my D700 I can use the built in flash as a commander for the rest of my flashes. Edit: just saw someone else mentioned it already. Of course you could just get a wireless remote set up and not have to worry about it = P |
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Nothing wrong with having a pop-up flash. On the higher level nikon bodies the flash only pops up if you want it. Unlike all you more serious photogs,sometimes I dont walk around with my full kit including shoemount flashes. Sometimes while I'm walking around taking pics I find a scene where just a touch of fill flash would make the pic much nicer. Being able to pop up the little flash, pull it down a stop or so, and get my shot, is awfully nice.
At any rate. The OP can pick up a nice d300-d700 etc and will love the amazing enhancements over film. I heartily concur that the build 'feel' of kit lens these days is garbage but Nikons pro glass feels and IS very solid. It doesn't have the same feel when using manual focus but candidly you'll use autofocus 98% of the time. The sweet thing about the pro grade nikon bodies is how easy it is to assume full control. One dial for aperture, one for shutter speed, a 4-way switch to chose your focus/meter point ( if you want) etc. Learning ALL the features is a daunting but insanely rewarding thing to do. Jump on in, the waters fine. ! |