D810 - advice pls

Teabag_Terry2 · 28 Jun 2016 at 20:32

Hi guys,

I am currently using a D3300, with 18-55 vr lens, a f1.8 35mm prime and 70-300 tamron vr. NEVER used the kit lens.

A couple of things. I use the prime lens 99% of the time, and am getting tired of going through menus to adjust settings. Plus I always wondered about taking the plunge into full frame.

I'm looking at getting just a D810 with a 50mm FX prime lens only. After trading in my gear it be £2000 on top.

Any thoughts on this? Is full frame really worth the extra weight and cash or should I stick with what I've got? Mostly I short portraits, days out and the odd bit of architechture.

Steve M · 28 Jun 2016 at 20:45

What settings are you going through the menus to adjust?

Teabag_Terry2 · 28 Jun 2016 at 20:49

Mostly autofocus setings, and image size/quality.

Spleen Sauce · 28 Jun 2016 at 22:10

Unless you really need the resolution (and you'd know if you did) then I'm not sure if the D810 would be overkill.

Not sure why you'd be continually adjusting image size and quality in the menus, can you explain your logic behind that?

Which autofocus settings are you changing? I've not used a D3300 but if you're changing between af-s and af-c a lot look into configuring your camera for back button focusing, that'll give you the benefits of both.

Laputacake · 28 Jun 2016 at 22:20

Teabag_Terry2 said:
Mostly autofocus setings, and image size/quality.

Going from a D3300 to D810 may be a bit too much of a jump. Maybe look into a D7100 which will eliminate your menu annoyance though it's not as nice as the D300 or D500 or if you do want full frame the D600 or a d610 is a cheaper option.

Teabag_Terry2 · 28 Jun 2016 at 22:34

Not sure about full frame. I bought my first DSLR in 2007, a canon, and it just seems like about time I got a proper one instead of a cropped sensor. I may be printing out some large prints to hang around my house, and for friends too, but if this justifies the big outlay I'm not sure. Might just stick with my D3300 until I break it or until it just annoys me too much to use.

Too much of a jump? In my mind if I am changing body I want the biggest jump possible - don't want to go to all the hassle and expense and end up with something thats 95% the same as what I had before.

An Exception · 28 Jun 2016 at 22:36

I would ditch Nikon and go with an XT-2 (when it releases) + 23mm 1.4 & 56mm 1.2 or just the 35mm 1.4
Much more compact, so probably would use it more.
I love FF, but I think it only makes sense if you use F1.4 glass with it. If you use F1.8 primes, then you get the same/similar look with APSC Fuji using F1.4.

Regarding the D810. It's not too much of a jump at all. If you want to stay with Nikon it's better to go with the best you can afford than work your way through multiple bodies losing money every time you sell to upgrade. The best thing with FF from a usability point of view, is the nice big viewfinder. Had a go with the D7100 and it seemed pretty small having got used to my D810's, and shooting with it wasn't as enjoyable.
The XT-2's viewfinder however is even bigger than the D810's, so that mitigates that issue.

Laputacake · 28 Jun 2016 at 22:40

Teabag_Terry2 said:
Not sure about full frame. I bought my first DSLR in 2007, a canon, and it just seems like about time I got a proper one instead of a cropped sensor. I may be printing out some large prints to hang around my house, and for friends too, but if this justifies the big outlay I'm not sure. Might just stick with my D3300 until I break it or until it just annoys me too much to use.

Too much of a jump? In my mind if I am changing body I want the biggest jump possible - don't want to go to all the hassle and expense and end up with something thats 95% the same as what I had before.

The D3300 is 24mp so i'd say keep it if you're unsure. Build up more lens that are full frame get a 50mm all that. However, if you want more lens choice then you may have to get a D7100 or better to use lenses without a focus motor.

Teabag_Terry2 · 28 Jun 2016 at 23:20

I've got all the lenses I need for now. Ideally I would like a super wide and/or fisheye just for fun but that's not necessary. I am willing to ditch all my gear including lenses if the the 810 and FF cameras are that much better, although I suspect IQ may not be hugely improved over the D3300, which is so highly rated even though it's an entry level model.

If I dropped £2000 and didn't get a real boost in performance and/or ease of use, then I would be a very unhappy camper. And I suspect that may actually be the case.

It seems like the D3300 is so powerful even a switch to FF might not give you the huge boost in IQ you were expecting. Better low light performance, better ISO noise, better AF and better battery life yes, but these are not issues for me right now. Everything seems fine, but I am just wondering what if.......?

Maybe it's just the upgrade bug, and I should flick it away and spend my hard earned on something more useful. Like a new Yamaha MT-10! =)

Laputacake · 28 Jun 2016 at 23:42

Teabag_Terry2 said:
Maybe it's just the upgrade bug, and I should flick it away and spend my hard earned on something more useful. Like a new Yamaha MT-10! =)

We all get that GAS sometimes. Gets the best of us.

Petelock · 29 Jun 2016 at 08:59

Don't forget about a D750 if you're considering full frame. I went from a D3300 to a D750 and found it a great step up. Way more control to improve my compositions.

The menus provide a lot more options and a lot more assignable buttons. The D7100 will likely also have that functionality though.

And you should be able to pick one up and either save £1000 or invest in a high quality prime lens (Sigma 50mm 1.4 art) or really decent zoom (thinking of 24-70mm 2.8 - although the last iteration of that new may just bump things over £2000)

peter · 29 Jun 2016 at 17:27

Moving to D810

I went from a d300 to an 800 no regrets I use a d810 at work and while it is a better camera the images are the same and at the end of the day that is what a camera is for. As at hte time a d800 second hand was £1000 less than a new 810 I spent the money saved on a 16-35 and a 200-500.

Teabag_Terry2 · 30 Jun 2016 at 16:56

Handled a d610 in a high street store today and it seemed amazing, only £1050 body only too. Why is the D810 a grand more?

D.P. · 30 Jun 2016 at 16:58

Teabag_Terry2 said:
Handled a d610 in a high street store today and it seemed amazing, only £1050 body only too. Why is the D810 a grand more?

Better sensor, better auto-focus, better metering, better weather sealed body, better ergonomics, better viewfinder, more professional features, bigger buffer.

The D8010 is semi-professional. The D610 is consumer level.

Teabag_Terry2 · 30 Jun 2016 at 18:15

So as someone who uses photography as a hobby, and does it just for fun - there's not much point in an 810 over a 610? I will be making some large prints of local places for my house, but thats it.

610 is full frame, feels great in my hands and seems to tick all the boxes. Any reason why anyone would wanna spend the extra grand on the 810? I could do a lot with a grand Sterling!

All opinions appreciated!

D.P. · 30 Jun 2016 at 19:14

Depends what shoot really. The higher pixel density of the D810 is very useful for wildlife and sports. The high resolution is useful for making big landscape prints with lots of detail, at also allows you to somewhat relaxed with framing and crop down more in post, this is useful for things like birds in flight or other action where it can be hard to frame precisely.
The D810 sensor has cleaner and deeper shadows so you can really pull up more details or control highlights, but you would be fairly aggressive post processing to notice a big difference with the D610.

Probably the biggest difference would be the autofocus which is faster, more accurate and larger coverage.

Don;t forget the D750 fits between the D610 and D8010. You can also get a D800 second hand for bargain prices. Then again a D600 is very similar to a D610 so if you see that second hand cheap it could be worth a punt.