Nikon upgrade path from D300.... ?

Hertsman

Hertsman

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Yeah,I know, Mr Gas is at it again LOL....

So....

If you had:
D300
Nikkor 16-85
Nikkor 70-300
Tamron 90mm Macro

...and wanted to upgrade the gear, what would you choose first ?

Im not a specific shooter, so think all round ability.

On my radar are :
D500 - £1400 HDEW new
Used 70-200 2.8 - not sure if I need VR2,so VR1 is approx £1000
Nikkor 1.4 tc
NIkkor 16-80 2.8 ?
Nikkor 24-70 2.8 ?

OR

D750/D800 USED
and above Nikkor FX glass
 
i have a d750 so my view my be slightly biased.

Apart from the lack of reach for some wildlife photography the d750 does everything i need and more.

I also have the 70-200 vr1 and on the d750 i cannot fault it. Mine was a 2nd hand lens and i have it for about 2 1/2 years.

If you have a look through the dedicated threads for each of the bodies you will see if it meets your needs and there is no doubt pictures to try and help you decide
 
Hertsman said:
Pure hobbyist.
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OK, so unless I wanted to buy a new camera just for the hell of it, in which case get the most expensive one you can afford :D, you'd need to look carefully at your images and deduce what you were missing in order to choose a new body or new lenses that might help with that. I say that because the D300 is a very capable camera and for a hobbyist it can normally outperform the person behind it. I went from a D300S to a D700 but only because I wanted full frame instead of DX for the kind of macro and extreme macro photography I do. Pixel-wise the D300S gave me plenty and then some. I guess the only time I might have thought about a body that gave me more pixels was if my main lean was towards landscapes.
 
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there are some good used bodies around

buy the best you can afford and if you plan to go for "better" glass move to FX

The D700 is really nice ........... I have had most of the consumer Nikons - from D90 ...... D300 ....... D7xxx ....... D700 ....... D750 ........ D810

I would go for the D700 or if your budget is higher the D750 which I feel is the best, in all round terms, Nikon DSLR that I have used

The bodies don't count as much as the glass and you will find that, that is were you will see a difference ...... the 70 200mm f2.8VR, OK it's big but the results it produces are a joy

I personally would not use any TC with a zoom ....... based on personally experience ........ they are made for long primes, 300mm and upwards

The D700 will last forever and produces marvellous images, with good glass ........ but as I said, of the latest stuff I really like the D750

HDEW have always given good service and I have never seen a complaint

I'm really not a fan of DX, with DSLR's .... smaller sensor are good ...... but I feel that the DX misses something when in the conventional SLR body
 
i still have my d300 but i upgraded to a d7200 difference is like day and night so i would recommend the d7200
also have my d700 great iq from an old body
 
As an example I would rather have a D700 with glass such as the 70-200 2.8 than the D750 with a 70-300 - much as I love my D750!
 
If you have the money and want FF. D800 would be my choice. Can't go wrong with D750 either. If you want to invest in better glass but want a cheap ish body, You can't go wrong with a used D700, D3 or D3s either. They are older body but still does the job today. I still shoot with my D3 with the glass you mention above.
 
I have the same lenses as the OP apart from the Tamron, and as someone who also does a bit of everything I planned my upgrade of the D300S to the D500 as soon as it was announced. I was within a month or two of moving to Canon and the 7DII, so although it was a long wait, I'm glad I did. The D500 is a great camera that improves on the D300S in every way, which is what I wanted from a new camera. Nikon were not offering me that for many years, and the 7DII was that. I don't want FF as my main camera, as to cover the range I have now would be larger, heavier and more expensive lenses. DX is good enough for me and the things I take pics of, and the D500 is arguably the best overall crop sensor camera there is.

The D500 seems to have made the 70-300mm better wide open than it was on the D300S. The ISO performance is a massive leap, which makes it a priority upgrade ahead of lenses unless a lens is needed for something specific imho. If the camera was newer, then a lens may be a better first choice, but the D300 is even older than the camera I had. ;)

I would have tried to get the 16-80mm, and am still on the lookout for one, but there were no savings to be had by buying the camera and lens together when I was buying. :( If I can see one for about £500 I will try and get it, but at its current price it is massively overpriced for me.

The 70-200mm is an increase in quality, but the size and weight was too much for me when I rented one for a weekend.

The 24-70mm is aimed at FF cameras and wouldn't be a good choice for DX imho.

The TC is only of really good use with f2.8 - f4 lenses.

The OP just has to decide between FF or DX, and see what direction from there. Nothing wrong with having the GAS, but make sure it is the right path to go down and recognise the consequences of the choice. :)
 
Just as a quick heads up... Panamoz are cheaper still on the d500, so another £62 saved for something else :)
I went d300 to d800 to d7100 to d500. Have/had nikon 24-70 & 70-200, 70-300 too.
Personally I found the full frame great for portraits, and the pixel count great for landscapes but it stopped there. I just found it all toooo serious to enjoy as a hobby. I dont throw my gear round or mistreat it, and i respect that i have £2.5k dangling round my neck of course, but with the d500 and cropped it feels more fun again. Just my 2p :)
 
idigitize said:
Just as a quick heads up... Panamoz are cheaper still on the d500, so another £62 saved for something else :)
I went d300 to d800 to d7100 to d500. Have/had nikon 24-70 & 70-200, 70-300 too.
Personally I found the full frame great for portraits, and the pixel count great for landscapes but it stopped there. I just found it all toooo serious to enjoy as a hobby. I dont throw my gear round or mistreat it, and i respect that i have £2.5k dangling round my neck of course, but with the d500 and cropped it feels more fun again. Just my 2p :)
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I got my D500 from Panamoz as soon as they had stock after it came out and saved about £100. I was hoping for saving more, but that was the cost of being an early adopter. :( :rolleyes: It was all I had at the time anyway, it was get it then or wait a month. That saving was about how much I paid for the fastest XQD and SD cards in preparation for getting the camera. ;) :)

Not that I think you need to get the fastest cards btw, but I thought I may as well get the best at the time. With 2 x 32Gb cards in the camera, and few spare smaller medium speed SD cards, I shouldn't ever have any problems. :D
 
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Keep you existing glass :) and go for D7100 D7200 or go for it and buy a D500!
The will all offer more detail and quality:)
If you do go FX bodies need better glass cost more and weight is usually increased.
 
I have decided my path after the good advice given above,and will be buying a D500 from HDEW after xmas. Hopefully nearer the £1200 mark in the January sales....

@redhed17 - HDEW have the 16-80 2.8 for £565 currently. The standard 16-85 should make a couple of hundred on the bay, so not too bad a hop up. Thats my plan post body spend anyway.

FWIW - WR to a good zoom - I know the 70-300 is a tad soft at the long end, so its encouraging to hear it may be better on the D500, I do wonder if the 80-400 AFS might be a better bet - big money though.
 
I hope they come down that much cos the o/h wants one.
Have fun with it, only had mine 10 days but loving it so far.
 
Hertsman said:
I have decided my path after the good advice given above,and will be buying a D500 from HDEW after xmas. Hopefully nearer the £1200 mark in the January sales....

@redhed17 - HDEW have the 16-80 2.8 for £565 currently. The standard 16-85 should make a couple of hundred on the bay, so not too bad a hop up. Thats my plan post body spend anyway.

FWIW - WR to a good zoom - I know the 70-300 is a tad soft at the long end, so its encouraging to hear it may be better on the D500, I do wonder if the 80-400 AFS might be a better bet - big money though.
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If you are moving from a D300 to a D500 ....... will you have to upgrade your computer for processing the bigger files at a reasonable speed?
 
BillN_33 said:
If you are moving from a D300 to a D500 ....... will you have to upgrade your computer for processing the bigger files at a reasonable speed?
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No, that side of things is fine. Ive already rented a D500 and PP'd the files here, so no issues there thankfully.
 
Hertsman said:
I have decided my path after the good advice given above,and will be buying a D500 from HDEW after xmas. Hopefully nearer the £1200 mark in the January sales....

@redhed17 - HDEW have the 16-80 2.8 for £565 currently. The standard 16-85 should make a couple of hundred on the bay, so not too bad a hop up. Thats my plan post body spend anyway.

FWIW - WR to a good zoom - I know the 70-300 is a tad soft at the long end, so its encouraging to hear it may be better on the D500, I do wonder if the 80-400 AFS might be a better bet - big money though.
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Thanks. :) I've seen a couple on the 'bay' for £549, and there was an even cheaper one on Amazon but the store has suspiciously disappeared in the last hour or so. :eek: :thinking: :LOL:
 
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