New Nikons (but no new full frame, yet!) (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

D3100 with 1080p video mode, 85 1.4 and a new FX zoom lens thats 24-120 constant f4 make a splash tonight:

http://nikonrumors.com/2010/08/19/announced-nikon-d3100-and-nikkor-85mm-24-120mm-28-300mm-55-300mm-lenses.aspx

 

If I didnt have the 2.8 zooms that f4 would be an immediate purchase. The 85 1.4 is likely my first new lens after I go full frame. I want a serious low light prime to pair with the light gobbling full frame cam I suspect is coming before the end of the year.

 

Penny saving starts NOW.

 

[Michael_K_Sr]

My co-worker sold me his 18-200 for a song when the replacement came out last year. Maybe I can convince him to dump his current 85 1.4 for the new one.

 

[Sam Posten]

Nice. I'd take the old one but I figure if I'm going to spend that kind of $ might as well get the latest. I loved my 85 1.8 on canon side, but been holding off on primes on the Nikon side as they refresh the line.

 

[Will_B]

Some say the new Nikon uses the same sensor as in the new Sony NEX3 and NEX5, which, if true, will mean that it should have incredible low-light performance, since the Sony NEX3 and NEX5 are the current state of the art for low light.

 

[Sam Posten]

State of the art for APS-C maybe. Not compared to full frame. I'm waiting for the rumored NEX-7 personally, if it can beat a similarly sized Nikon EVIL to market I will pick one up. I'm tempted by the 3100 for video, will see how reviews go.

 

[Will_B]

Well yes, but who in the civilian population can afford full frame? We're in the same boat, Sam, waiting for the NEX7.

 

[Sam Posten]

You misunderstand. I want an EVIL / NEX7 _AND_ a Nikon full frame body.

 

[Will_B]

Ok, save those pennies!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

The D3100 looks like a nice camera but I
am very satisfied with the purchase of my D90.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Sometimes I feel like I'd need to take out a 2nd mortgage in order to afford a full-frame dSLR.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun

Sometimes I feel like I'd need to take out a 2nd mortgage in order to afford a full-frame dSLR.

Same here, especially considering I would also need some new lenses, as my two Canon EF-S lenses will not work on a full frame body. For the cost to upgrade to FF, I could instead add another high quality telephoto lens and still have money left over -- which is what I plan to do next (probably next year).

 

[Sam Posten]

That's why I specifically have avoided buying too many crop lenses. But if you do have crop lenses they will work fine on your crop bodies for as long as you own them. Bodies are NOT investments. They are tools, meant to be used, abused and sometimes lost and broken. Once you get over the hangup of thinking about what you have 'invested' in a specific line you free yourself from being hamstrung by it.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

If I had it to do over knowing where I am with my equipment and desires today, I may have avoided the crop-only lenses, too. However, when I bought those lenses several years ago, a full frame body was a pipe dream, and I have enjoyed many years of use of the high-end crop lenses.

 

The good news is with the increase in lens prices over the years, I could sell my two crop lenses for almost the same price that I paid originally. Even selling them, though, it would still cost me around $2,500 to upgrade to FF with two lenses to cover the same equivalent focal ranges. I just could not see the practicality of keeping the crop-only lenses, either, if I owned a combination of FF and crop bodies. After all, this is only a hobby, not my profession.

 

[Carlo_M]

I have no regrets over buying a crop camera. The reason is simple: can't afford it. At the time when I bought my XSi it was nearly $2K less than the 5D. Even my 7D was about a grand less than the 5D MkII. Like Scott, this is a hobby for me. And the 7D did a lot to close the gap between crop and FF with regards to ISO performance. The 5DMkII still tops it, but with great NR performance from Lr3/CS5 (and from what I've seen 3rd party programs like DeNoise), if you print at anything less than 11x14 you're going to be hard pressed to see a substantive difference between the 7D and the 5D.

 

If this ever becomes a money-making venture for me, I'll surely have no problem buying the 5D replacement in the years to come.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

There are various factors to consider wrt APS crop vs FF. Don't just assume you'll get a tremendous improvement in PQ in your final results by upgrading to FF -- that may really depend on what you plan to do w/ it.

 

Remember, going to FF means shallower DoF (than APS crop). For the same shot, you'd need to choose a smaller aperture to maintain the same DoF, which means you'll probably need go to a higher ISO unless you're shooting something essentially motion-free using a tripod (or similar) or using strobes to freeze the subject (like in studio work). Also, you'd probably end up choosing a smaller aperture in some cases to avoid corner/edge light falloff/vignetting/softness -- well, maybe the corner/edge softness issue might not be that significant if you're sticking w/ lower pixel-density FF, but if you start approaching the pixel densities of current APS crop bodies, then it will be (unless you're shooting stuff that don't need uniform PQ away from the center).

 

And you'd also be trading the longer effective "reach" of the APS crop unless you maintain pixel density in moving up to FF (and then crop accordingly for those shots that need it).

 

Really, you might as well consider FF to be a different format than APS crop although it's much closer than moving up to medium format or down to tiny compacts.

 

_Man_

 

[Patrick Sun]

Well, I hedged my bet straddling the APS-C/FF worlds by picking up a Canon EF 70-200mm L F/4 IS USM lens this past week. Got a chance to shoot with it yesterday afternoon, and it's a well-made, well-functioning telephoto lens. No complaints yet, but will see how it fares in lighting for convention panels in a couple of weekends. However, I did have to re-arrange my camera bag since it's much longer than my previous telephoto lens. I think I'm headed for a 7D next year though, and once that happens, I'll have 2 dSLRs with 2 sets of lenses, but there's no way I could have known I'd be upgrading so soon when I dove into the dSLR pool last year. Tee-hee.

 

[Sam Posten]

With most of my work I WANT shallower DOF than what I'm capable of. Especially sports with noisy background clutter.

 

For macro stuff tho of course I want all the DOF and working space I can find in order to close in on 1:1...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

 

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun , nor would I want to travel with something that big). Unlike Sam, I am not usually looking for a very shallow DoF, as I shoot a lot of landscapes. A full frame would be nice for the added quality when I enlarge some of the landscapes, but I have been getting satisfactory results with my 40D with enlargements as big as 30x20 as long as the ISO is kept low.

 

A 7D may be in my future for the improved high ISO performance, though, as it would help keep a faster shutter speed with those dawn and dusk wildlife shots, since I'll never be able to afford a fast, long telephoto -- I'll be limited to f/5.6 or f/6.3 with a 400mm - 500mm lens.

 

Different tools for different needs.

 

[Carlo_M]

Patrick, I too am interested in that lens. I'd love the 2.8 IS USM II but don't have $2500 lying around.

 

I'm looking for a telephoto zoom (currently have the cheap 55-250 f/4-5.6) which will allow me to take sharp handheld at the long end of the zoom. I'd like to hear your opinion on it as you get experience with it.

 

Despite not being in the market for FF, moving forward I'm also going to hedge my bets and buy EF only when possible. If they make a compelling EF-S lens I'll have to consider it (like my 17-55 f/2.8) but otherwise it's EF only so that when the inevitable switch to FF happens for me (years and years down the line) I won't have to go through the hassle of reselling a ton of gear.

 

[Sam Posten]

I rented the 70-200F4IS once and loved it. Also a big thumbs up for Canon's 85mm 1.8 but it's a little long for indoor 'event' style shooting on a crop body in my experience.