HELP- What camera should I buy???

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HELP- What camera should I buy???

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Stacyrhall13

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Joined: Jan '11
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I have a D40X and need to upgrade,

I'm in school right now for photography and I'm about to graduate and start taking jobs. my debate right now might make some of you mad...

I want a full frame camera because I feel that I want to buy the best for what i can afford. BUT...I really want video. so I'm trying to decide if I should buy the D700 or the Canon 5D markII (I know this is a Nikon forum) but I'm partial to nikon too so I'm with you. I want to wait for a D700 replacement, but I need to get a camera so I can get comfortable with such an upgrade to have the confidence to shoot a wedding job in september 2011. HELP ME!!

I feel that the D7000 is awesome but sold out everywhere and I want a full frame, who agrees?

I'm going to buy a good lens to go with whatever camera I buy, so I'm starting fresh...

Posted 2 years ago #
bjrichus

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As others will say/have said... it's all about the glass.

Ask yourself what lenses you are going to need for what work you are likely to get.

Expect to pay lots of money if you are going to shoot sports (or rent the lenses perhaps) as those long and fast lenses don't cost peanuts...

The body comes next down the list of needs.

Posted 2 years ago #
PB PM

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If you are going to be shooting weddings professionally, don't cheap out and get a DX body. Why not get the D700 and whatever lens(es) you need. You can always sell it and upgrade when the replacement comes out.

Posted 2 years ago #
Stacyrhall13

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I will probably want a Zoom 70-200 2.8 and later down the road get a 35mm.

Posted 2 years ago #
adamz

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if You want FX and the best of video than get canon, if You are more towards pictures get Nikon, which model... I would go for FX&DX combo, let's say d700 & D7000, as back up camera is a good option to have.

Posted 2 years ago #
sevencrossing

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IF you really want video and cant afford a D3s

get a second hand D90 with a 18-200 and a couple of SB900s

Then, ether keep them as a back up or sell them when the D800 comes out
everyone one else will disagree with me, but get the 24 -120 f4 with the D800
every one will tell you need f2.8 but f4 is fine with a bit of fill in flash

also include Lightroom 3 in your shopping list

but do you really need video? if not get the D700 today
Good luck

Posted 2 years ago #
kyoshinikon

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Get a D90 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 and a 50mm 1.8 and 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 (cuz it is a cheap wide angle) It's more than enough to do weddings and studio work but not a bank breaker so you can upgrade to a D700 replacement and have a lens to go with it. The 70-200mm is the overall most important lens (and piece of gear you will own if you get one) for many portrait and most wedding, sports, and street shooters and works well on both Dx and Fx. If you can handle slow AF the 80-200mm f2.8 is much economical and fantastic in every other way...

Posted 2 years ago #
casperwb

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bjrichus said:
As others will say/have said... it's all about the glass.

Ask yourself what lenses you are going to need for what work you are likely to get.

Expect to pay lots of money if you are going to shoot sports (or rent the lenses perhaps) as those long and fast lenses don't cost peanuts...

The body comes next down the list of needs.

Could not be better said, the lens is the most important thing, this year Nikon will be on top and Canon will buy their camera equipment to ensure that the next one they bring out will push the envelope so they will be a little better and then Nikon will push the envolepe..........and we win with equipment that gets better all the time.

Think about what you will want to achive down the road with your photography and what lenses you will need.

As for the camera body, a lot of the people in the know on this forum are betting that this year Nikon is going to upgrade the D700 and D300. Maybe. If you think this will happen, and you need a camera right now, It might be a good idea to grab a used D90s, do a few jobs, save some money and get the D700 upgrade. You can then keep the D90s as your backup.

You already have a D40x so hopefully you have some Nikon lenses already, the D7000 is awesome and you can get very large prints with this resolution, good low light performance.

However, I do not have a FX camera so I am biased.

Posted 2 years ago #
heartyfisher

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I dont know much about canons though the 5D2 is a nice camera for weddings. but for weddings the best camera at the moment is the D3x! Best DR in the nikon lineup. But I guess thats probably too expensive. If you are shooting in September, thats plenty of time! All Nikon cameras are much the same. You wont need more than a week to get comfortable. What lenses do you have?

FX is best for Wedding Photos(due to DOF) but DX is not bad either. One of the best Wedding cameras was DX, the FujiS5 Pro. even now it still has the BEST DR of all cameras. and the skin tones that come out of that camera will thrill your eyes ! although discontinued, second hand it is still holding its price well!

If you are really desperate to get a camera now with video get the D7000. or wait a few weeks and see if the D5500 is better suited for video. If you are shooting video and photos at a wedding you will need at least 2-4 cameras anyway.

DX for weddings is not a big disadvantage. Just get good glass like a 85 1.4. you need 2 cameras for such events anyway. I would suggest that 2 x D7000 (each with a prime, say 24 1.4 and 85 1.4) is better than one FX camera for weddings. in fact that combo would hold up well against any combo at any price! Heh! if you cant take good pictures with that set-up you shouldn't be in the business! :-)

I would be getting 1 D7000 asap then wait for the D400 when it comes available. probably in late august. I would also get a D700 as well just for the DOF. as others have mentioned the lens is the key, get a 85 1.4 or 1.8.

Posted 2 years ago #
Pierre

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I never really did weddings (beside friends) but 70-200mm do not seem to be the right general lens, especially for tight rooms and street shots. I think the 24mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4, D7000 and D700 would be a better set. If you need wide: 24mm on D700, if you need reach: 85mm on D7000, if you need portrait: 85mm on D700 or 24mm on D7000. You get both FF and video, perhaps even cheaper than a D700 replacement.

As a bonus, you stay with Nikon and get bodies that can focus.

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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Nikon vs. Canon:

I think Nikon has the better lens selection; while all of Canon's equivalent lenses tend to be slightly less expensive. The Nikon D7000 is the only Nikon body with both full-manual exposure control over ISO, shutter speed, and aperture in D-Movie mode, and which records in the AVCHD format, which employs a modern, efficient, MPEG-4 based compression algorithm (also referred to as a, "CODEC," which stands for "compression/decompression").

If you need both 1080p24 video and stills in a full-frame body NOW, then the Canon 5D is your only choice.

If only considering Nikon, I would only recommend the D7000 for video right now. The D90's video is very substandard, and suffers from three major video artifacts: "stairstepping," color aliasing (color banding), and 60Hz roll bars. Additionally, the D90 offers zero control over ISO and shutter speed in D-Movie mode, making producing professional video results difficult at best. While the D3s' video is very good, it uses an older compression algorithm, which I wouldn't recommend.

Nikon video-capable bodies:

NIkon D90/D5000: DX-format; 720p24; motion-JPG CODEC; no manual control in D-Movie mode; video artifacting.
Nikon D300s: DX-format; 720p24; motion-JPEG CODEC; (manual control unknown).
Nikon D7000: DX-format; 1080p24; AVCHD CODEC; manual control in D-Movie mode.
Nikon D3100: DX-format; 1080p24; AVCHD CODEC; no manual control in D-Movie mode.
Nikon D3s: FX-format; 720p24; motion-JPEG CODEC; manual control in D-Movie mode.

Don't buy slow zooms (lenses with high, maximum numerical apertures, e.g., f/3.5, f/5.6). Their large light-quantity requirements make them impractical for many professional applications. Buy either fast zooms (f/2.8), or fast fixed lenses (f/1.4-f/2.8).

Posted 2 years ago #
TaoTeJared

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@Stacyrhall13 -

You said you are in school and I'm not clear other than one wedding what else you are going to do with it.

What is your budget?
Are you going to shoot weddings professionally?
Shoot other things professionally?
Need video beyond the wedding?

I ask since many of the things everyone and what additional items to suggest will push you north of $5,000 with Nikon and much more on Canon. A D40x doesn't indicate to me that you already have much equipment.

Need more information.

Posted 2 years ago #