What camera/lens gear do you have?

[edbermac]

Last edited Tue Apr 10, 2018, 09:16 PM - Edit history (1)

I’ve had a Nikon D70s for over 10 years. Looking to buy full frames like D610 or D750, also checking out mirrorless cameras. Just want to see what folks here use.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I like to keep it simple, without too much stuff to carry around.

So, I have two cameras: My Nikon D3200 with a 16--300 mm lens by Tamron. It's a great combo! I got my eclipse photos with this duo.

I also have my iPhone 6 plus. It's very much like the old point and shoot cameras. It's very portable and easy to use. I upload the photos the same way I do with my Nikon and then do any processing in my computer.

How does your Nikon D70 differ from my D3200? I've often wondered. Thanks!

[edbermac]

4. D70s is 6 MP, 3200 is 24 MP.

ISO 200-1600 vs ISO 100-6400
D70s has no video.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Thanks for the info!

[Adsos Letter]

2. I used a Nikon D7100 with either Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 or Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8.

I just upgraded to full frame with a Nikon D810, with 24-70mm VR lens. Still trying to figure it out.

I think I recall that the D750 does very well in low light (I checked it out before I bought the D810).

I'm not the one to be giving anyone advice, just answering your question.

[GP6971]

3. I'm just starting out

so I bought a Canon package...an EOS Rebel T6 with 2 lenses. A EFS 18-55 and a 75-300. I bought it when I realized my iPhone7 was really inadequate when we were in Hawaii last year.

[3Hotdogs]

6. I have a D800 with the kit lens and Nikon 15- 500.

The D800 has 24 buttons, knobs and such. I know how to use about 10 of those.

I still like the camera.

[jmowreader]

7. Nikon and Mamiya

Everything I have is film gear...

Nikon: F4S and N8008S bodies, 28-70 and 80-200 lenses
Mamiya: RB-67 Pro-S body, 65mm (wide-angle) and 127mm (normal) lenses, CdS metering prism finder

[csziggy]

8. I still have my Nikon D70 I bought years and years ago.

But I haven't used it in quite a while. The last couple of years I have been using FujiFilm FinePix cameras - S4500 and now the S9900W. While they are really just fancy point & shoot cameras they have great lenses and handle just like a DSLR. The shots my husband and I took in February at the Circle B Bar Reserve south of Lakeland, FLorida were taken with those two cameras:

Next year we're taking a long trip to the UK and I am thinking about what I want to get as an upgrade. I am seriously considering a Nikon D500 with a Nikkor 200-500mm lens. Since many of our photos are of birds, I'm heavily influenced by some of the images I have seen taken with that combo of birds that are amazing. I'm just not sure if I can handle the weight of that combo for long hikes!

[DrDan]

9. Nikon D500

D5200 backup and a J-1 mirrorless

[Act_of_Reparation]

10. Sony A7

Lesnes: Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.8 and a collection of 70's and 80's vintage manual-focus lenses. My favorites so far are a Minolta MD 50mm and a Tokina 90mm AT-X Macro.

[Major Nikon]

11. Some advice regarding gear

I'm not sure what you intend to use your camera gear for, but here's a few things worth considering.

Full frame camera gear is certainly nice, but the down side to it is a larger weight and size penalty. The difference doesn't seem like much at first, but when you are lugging the stuff around all day and trying to decide how many lenses go in the bag, these differences start to matter. I certainly love my Nikon DSLRs(all of them are crop sensors), but there's many times when I wish I had something smaller and lighter that provided more quality than a cell phone. This is why I love crop sensor cameras. It would be nice to have full frame, but the few occasions when I'd really want the bonus of a larger frame doesn't justify the penalty I'd have to pay for it. Ideally I'd have a full frame and a crop sensor as I have several full frame lenses, but I also have a medium format camera so it would be even harder to justify.

The next thing to think about is whether or not you have any lenses left over from your D70 that you might want to keep. If you do and they are crop sensor lenses, this might also weigh in your decision. The reason I always stick with Nikon is because my lenses always work on newer generation cameras and most of my investment is in lenses. I still have a 30+ year old lens that works great on modern bodies and I use it quite often and I'm kicking myself to this day for getting rid of some of the lenses I used to have. Camera bodies are something I change out much more frequently, but I look at lenses as a long term investment.

When someone wants to make a significant investment in gear that uses interchangeable lenses, my advice is this. Consider what you want to do with the camera first. Do you want to take vacation photos, nature photography, portraits, event photography, close up, or whatever. Make a list, prioritize what you want to do the most and then start looking at lenses that will fulfill that role or roles best regardless of manufacturer. How many people go wrong is they decide they want a certain lens, and then try to figure out what they are going to do with it after they get it. Many times they find the lens they got doesn't fill their roles very well and they buy more lenses that do. Most serious amateurs I think will be served best by at least 3 lenses which are a wide, normal, and mid range zoom. The latter is likely to be the most expensive and can be put off, especially if nature photography is low on your list. If you only buy one lens to start, go with a mid range zoom and get the best one you can afford in terms of price and weight as this is the lens which will probably live on your camera most of the time. Resist the urge to buy a "do everything" lens that covers super wide to long telephoto.

If you are looking at making a significant investment in lenses either in the short or long term, consider the availability of lenses on the used market. Into this equation you may want to consider other things, such as accessories which may be somewhat specialized. Only after you've thought about these things should you then consider what camera body you want, and the decision should be much easier.

[Act_of_Reparation]

12. This, with one minor consideration

Regarding the size/weight of full-frame cameras, this is more or less negligible in mirrorless cameras. My full-frame a7 weighs a hell of a lot less than the cropped D7100 I use for work.

But there are still plenty of sensible reasons to avoid switching to mirrorless, chief amongst which is your significant investment in Nikon glass. Maybe one of these days Nikon will get serious about mirrorless bodies. If the A7RIII and A9 don't scare them into it, I don't know what will.

[Major Nikon]

13. It's really more about the weight of the lenses

All things being equal, the bigger the format, the heavier the lens. As lenses become faster and longer the problem multiplies.

[The_jackalope]

14. D750 and too many lenses.

The lens I use most is a Tamron 24-70 G2.

[edbermac]

15. Just got my D750!

24-120mm lens with a bundle kit and a 85mm f/1.8 as backup.

[Adsos Letter]

16. Congrats!

And have fun with it. Be sure to post some photos for us.

[edbermac]

17. It may take a while.

The manual was 500 pages!