Are DSLRs now a poor buy?

condyk

condyk

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I have bought, sold and used many brands and models of cameras and lenses over the last 15+ years. With all the big brands shifting significantly to mirrorless, it feels like the days of big, butch DSLRs are over. Or am I imagining it? I had to sell my Fuji body to pay the rent, tho I still have my Voigtlander lenses. There are definitely lots of nicely priced DSLRs around. I am trying to decide whether my best investment is a nice full-frame, like a Canon 5D II or III, a 6D, maybe a Nikon 600, 610, 750, 800. Priced from around £180-350 for decent-looking ones with OK shutter use. Cheaper than things like the Olympus Pen, Sony RX100s and Canon Powersot Gs, and am pretty sure capable of better results. So should I gamble on several more years of DSLR life, look at some of the more pricey mirrorless from Canon or Nikon, try to find a cheap Fuji body (impossible it seems!) or go for a quality, small compact? Say with £400 to spend, what would you do to enhance your shooting enjoyment and not throw money down the drain?
 
If you want to use Voigtlander lenses a FF mirrorless could be a good option. With mirrorless you get the advantages of peaking and the magnified view which help MF a lot. If using Voigtlanders is a priority you could go for a FF mirrorless so that your lenses retain their original field of view.

I've just googled and there are several Sony A7 range cameras for sale under £400. I'm still using my A7 and I use manual lenses a lot. FF would be my choice to retain the original FoV.

Good luck choosing.
 
I would go used 750 I think. Awesome camera, and while I do like the weight of the fuji, I also miss the handling and weight of the Nikon.
 
Modern cameras cannot be called 'investments', but money pits. Some depreciate more than others unless you have a rare Leica or something of that ilk,.

I'd spend as little as possible to fit your Voigtlander lenses and squirrel the rest aside just in case you need to pay your rent. The less you spend the less you lose...
 
I believe that camera bodies are transient things.....the relentless march of technology and all that....whilst good glass will stand the test of time rather better.

Having said that, the rise of mirrorless is hitting the value of some extremely fine DSLR's - as noted above, they have the ability to take excellent pictures and will continue to do so for many, many years.
 
Good DSLR's will always take great images regardless of the march of technology. The glass on the front is what truly matters. Of your choices I'd be happy to use the likes of the Nikon D750 or Canon 5D Mk2 or Mk3 as I know they would give excellent results.
 
welshwizard645 said:
Modern cameras cannot be called 'investments', but money pits. Some depreciate more than others unless you have a rare Leica or something of that ilk,.

I'd spend as little as possible to fit your Voigtlander lenses and squirrel the rest aside just in case you need to pay your rent. The less you spend the less you lose...
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Yeah, I have enjoyed the tiny Voigtlanders. I have the 18mm and 27mm, which together make a great travel/street combo. Super nice to use with focus peaking on the Fuji and a small travel package, which matters to me. Would need to go for a small Fuji body, but they're hard to find at fair prices due to the spin off from the X100v line shortages and others. On investment ... I get it, but I suspect I've about broken even over the years with some good buy and sell. It's a reason I am a tad queasy about DSLR resale values.
 
Hadge said:
Good DSLR's will always take great images regardless of the march of technology. The glass on the front is what truly matters. Of your choices I'd be happy to use the likes of the Nikon D750 or Canon 5D Mk2 or Mk3 as I know they would give excellent results.
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This is the way I'm going. I have some excellent shots from the compact Sony and Lumix cameras in the past, but a good FF body and lenses easily out quality them technically.
 
woof woof said:
If you want to use Voigtlander lenses a FF mirrorless could be a good option. With mirrorless you get the advantages of peaking and the magnified view which help MF a lot. If using Voigtlanders is a priority you could go for a FF mirrorless so that your lenses retain their original field of view.

I've just googled and there are several Sony A7 range cameras for sale under £400. I'm still using my A7 and I use manual lenses a lot. FF would be my choice to retain the original FoV.

Good luck choosing.
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I'll look at Sony options. TBH, though, if I were going Sony mirrorless, I'd be better off finding a cheap Fuji that supports focus peaking. I used the XS-10, which is about the cheapest one that does it, and just sold it! My Voigtlanders are both Fuji X mount.
 
I have lots of very good Nikon glass - I keep thinking about the Z8/Z9 .......... but when I use my D850/D750 I just feel that's really all I need and they never fail to amaze me and they are better cameras than I am a photographer .......... I always felt that about the D700 I had

I'm sure that the D700 is all the camera I ever needed coupled with the amazing Nikon "F" AF lenses and some of their non AF earlier lens.
 
condyk said:
I'll look at Sony options. TBH, though, if I were going Sony mirrorless, I'd be better off finding a cheap Fuji that supports focus peaking. I used the XS-10, which is about the cheapest one that does it, and just sold it! My Voigtlanders are both Fuji X mount.
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I didn't realise the Voigtlanders are APS-C and Fuji mount, in that case surely Fuji is the best option.
 
BillN_33 said:
I have lots of very good Nikon glass - I keep thinking about the Z8/Z9 .......... but when I use my D850/D750 I just feel that's really all I need and they never fail to amaze me and they are better cameras than I am a photographer .......... I always felt that about the D700 I had

I'm sure that the D700 is all the camera I ever needed coupled with the amazing Nikon "F" AF lenses and some of their non AF earlier lens.
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TBH, the D700 is my favourite camera body ever. I bought one new pre-release for £1900 —a crazy amount. I had three of them! They render contrast and colour superbly. I could get one for £200-250 now, but of course, the D610 and D800 are pretty much two to three times the megapixels for around an extra £150-200. You do notice that. What do you think are the best cheap primes for FF Nikon? I'm looking at around 24mm, 35mm and maybe 50mm. I'm not much of a Zoom guy.
 
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woof woof said:
I didn't realise the Voigtlanders are APS-C and Fuji mount, in that case surely Fuji is the best option.
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Correct, but the decent bodies are out of my price range for now.
 
condyk said:
Correct, but the decent bodies are out of my price range for now.
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Could always sell the lenses and start again with one camera and lens until finances allow more or put the lenses in a drawer and go for cheap and cheerful until you can get back into Fuji.

There's a Panasonic G1 in the classifieds for £25, a bit sticky though but it might clean up. I'd be happy with that and a Panasonic 14mm f2.5 at £80 to £100 or buy a cheap film era lens and adapter. The G1 was one of my favourite cameras. Just a thought :D
 
woof woof said:
Could always sell the lenses and start again with one camera and lens until finances allow more or put the lenses in a drawer and go for cheap and cheerful until you can get back into Fuji.

There's a Panasonic G1 in the classifieds for £25, a bit sticky though but it might clean up. I'd be happy with that and a Panasonic 14mm f2.5 at £80 to £100 or buy a cheap film era lens and adapter. The G1 was one of my favourite cameras. Just a thought :D
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Yup, this was my exact logic when I sold the Fuji, i.e. get a Sony or Lumix to tide me over. I'll have a look at the G1. I do only need a decent fast prime TBH.
 
I am still in love with my x-e1 with either the 27/2.8 or the 18/2.
The camera and one of those lenses was about £500-550 can’t quite remember exactly.
Most of the around town recent pictures on my Flickr are on these combinations.

@condyk ps

It’s the perfect sized holiday camera. You can also stick the 50-230 on it and get good results.

I just stick mine in P mode under expose a bit, sometimes I film sim bracket. Then pretty much let the camera do the work

www.flickr.com

Leaky5

Explore Leaky5’s 3,143 photos on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com
 
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On another very similar topic I said my piece but I am using more film these days than my 2 Nikon digital as good as they are. The two digital's are a D90 and a D300s with the same lenses there is nothing to choose between them. The largest print I can make because of my printer size. is A3. Likewise in my darkroom the largest print I can make is A3 which is about the same size.
My film cameras are a Nikon F6 and an F2a using the same lenses (AFD) which both cameras use quite happily. They are 'big' cameras and that is what I like. These small bodied cameras are too small for big hands, even my D90 is a bit small. So, as long as colour and b&w films are available that is what I will use.

Using the F6 is like handling a smooth sweet running, very quiet, Swiss watch, but the F2a is as smooth, but has a quite noisy ( but accurate) shutter.
 
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Rodinal said:
On another very similar topic I said my piece but I am using more film these days than my 2 Nikon digital as good as they are. The two digital's are a D90 and a D300s with the same lenses there is nothing to choose between them. The largest print I can make because of my printer size. is A3. Likewise in my darkroom the largest print I can make is A3 which is about the same size.
My film cameras are a Nikon F6 and an F2a using the same lenses (AFD) which both cameras use quite happily. They are 'big' cameras and that is what I like. These small bodied cameras are too small for big hands, even my D90 is a bit small. So, as long as colour and b&w films are available that is what I will use.
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Had the D300, D300s and D90 and all were used with big safari lenses successfully, despite their smaller size and weight. The D300s were especially great.
 
leaky5 said:
I am still in love with my x-e1 with either the 27/2.8 or the 18/2.
The camera and one of those lenses was about £500-550 can’t quite remember exactly.
Most of the around town recent pictures on my Flickr are on these combinations.

@condyk ps

It’s the perfect sized holiday camera. You can also stick the 50-230 on it and get good results.

I just stick mine in P mode under expose a bit, sometimes I film sim bracket. Then pretty much let the camera do the work

www.flickr.com

Leaky5

Explore Leaky5’s 3,143 photos on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com
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Even the little X-E bodies are starting at £350 or so. TBH, a lot of Fuji's are now more preicey used than they were new.
 
With your current Voigtlander lenses I would guess Fuji is the obvious answer. If you love the lenses that much it's probably worth holding out for a body you could afford.

What is your go to focal lengths?

Something like a 5D2 and 50/1.8 wouldn't be too bad a buy imo
 
LeeRatters said:
With your current Voigtlander lenses I would guess Fuji is the obvious answer. If you love the lenses that much it's probably worth holding out for a body you could afford.

What is your go to focal lengths?

Something like a 5D2 and 50/1.8 wouldn't be too bad a buy imo
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Good advice TBF. My Voigtlanders are 18mm and 27mm. Generally, over the years, with different gear I have made most use around 20-25mm range. I got used to the 27mm tho no problems. Was thinking a 35mm on a Nikon D800 is about optimal for me bang for my £ and build quality wise. Or the 5D 2 or 3 with the 35mm or 50mm. I had the original 5D and liked the IQ a lot.
 
condyk said:
Even the little X-E bodies are starting at £350 or so. TBH, a lot of Fuji's are now more preicey used than they were new.
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WEX currently have 2 xe1’s £311 & &336.
12 month warranty and 45 return period to see if you like it.
If mine ever packs up I will be on the look out for another one
 
condyk said:
What do you think are the best cheap primes for FF Nikon? I'm looking at around 24mm, 35mm and maybe 50mm. I'm not much of a Zoom guy.
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The old 50/1.8 AF(D). Relatively slow AF compared to the later AF-S versions (it's screw driven) but when I was tempted to PX mine in against an f/1.4 one, I was advised by both places I took it to stick with it unless I needed the extra 1/2 stop or so of speed or DoF.
 
condyk said:
Good advice TBF. My Voigtlanders are 18mm and 27mm. Generally, over the years, with different gear I have made most use around 20-25mm range. I got used to the 27mm tho no problems. Was thinking a 35mm on a Nikon D800 is about optimal for me bang for my £ and build quality wise. Or the 5D 2 or 3 with the 35mm or 50mm. I had the original 5D and liked the IQ a lot.
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I used to shoot with the 5D2, 28/1.8 & 50/1.4 & 135L up until about 10 years ago!! I think there was a 35mm f/2 maybe....?? I could be wrong though - I know I sold the 28mm & 50mm for not much even back then.
 
condyk said:
TBH, the D700 is my favourite camera body ever. I bought one new pre-release for £1900 —a crazy amount. I had three of them! They render contrast and colour superbly. I could get one for £200-250 now, but of course, the D610 and D800 are pretty much two to three times the megapixels for around an extra £150-200. You do notice that. What do you think are the best cheap primes for FF Nikon? I'm looking at around 24mm, 35mm and maybe 50mm. I'm not much of a Zoom guy.
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Ex-D610 owner here. Buy the D750, not the D610 which struggles to focus in low light to the point where AF assist is better than AF.

For Nikon, the AF-G primes are OK, although the AF-D are better value if you don't mind screw-thread AF. If you can afford it and don't mind the weight, the Sigma ART series lenses seem to be better than F-mount Nikon lenses.
 
Nod said:
The old 50/1.8 AF(D). Relatively slow AF compared to the later AF-S versions (it's screw driven) but when I was tempted to PX mine in against an f/1.4 one, I was advised by both places I took it to stick with it unless I needed the extra 1/2 stop or so of speed or DoF.
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Thanks, and good timing. Am just researching the 50mm options. Seems the AFS is the one to go for tho the D is also excellent and half the price. Will ponder. It looks like I'm going for the Nikon D800 with one or other 50mm 1.4.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Ex-D610 owner here. Buy the D750, not the D610 which struggles to focus in low light to the point where AF assist is better than AF.

For Nikon, the AF-G primes are OK, although the AF-D are better value if you don't mind screw-thread AF. If you can afford it and don't mind the weight, the Sigma ART series lenses seem to be better than F-mount Nikon lenses.
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Cheers ... I have an offer on a D610 but no response so far. Can get a D800 with 6 month warrenty for similar price so will likely go that route. I hired a 50mm ART when I went on one of my trips. Super nice but also a bit on the chunky side for my travel preferences. IQ reminded me of my Zeiss lens days when I had more free cash to splash!
 
condyk said:
Seems the AFS is the one to go for tho the D is also excellent
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I had both, and didn't think the later lens worth the extra, though compared to Sony mirrorless they're both almost free. The 'best' lens I had for my D610 was the manual focus Samyang 85 f1.4 - I found Nikon non-pro AF lenses of 10 years ago a step-down in quality from Minolta equivalents of 30 years before. The pro zooms are good though.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I had both, and didn't think the later lens worth the extra, though compared to Sony mirrorless they're both almost free. The 'best' lens I had for my D610 was the manual focus Samyang 85 f1.4 - I found Nikon non-pro AF lenses of 10 years ago a step-down in quality from Minolta equivalents of 30 years before. The pro zooms are good though.
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OK, that's decided. After much looking around, I've gone for the cheaper 50mm with the D800. It's crazy that this quality of combo was just £364 when old but decent compacts are going for more. For example, a 20mp Sony I thought to bid on just went for £20 more. I suppose the ability to fit in a pocket is worth something!
 
Pocketability was always expensive.
 
I don't know a lot about cameras, but the ones I have will do me, all I need to do is learn to take proper pics.
The fly fishing world is the same, better rod more expensive rod, but its the fisher who actually males the difference.
Latest and greatest, been there and done that.
 
Oldbones said:
I don't know a lot about cameras, but the ones I have will do me, all I need to do is learn to take proper pics.
The fly fishing world is the same, better rod more expensive rod, but its the fisher who actually males the difference.
Latest and greatest, been there and done that.
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This, as with similar comments above, is stating the obvious and misses the point ....
 
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