Praise for DX on FX

Pistnbroke

Quote ....

IQ is better than any available FX superzoom.

28-300 FX VR ?? any comments looking to buy one ....

As for the D7000 we went from that to the D7100 and not a big improvemet with the sigtma 18-200we were using
seemed a waste of money but we had 3rd party problems with the sigma/7100 combo and changed to Nikon 18-140 ( real cheap grey market) and BOOM it was a different world..my wife crops the 7100 very heavy on occasions maybe to 6 mp and the pics are still quite acceptabe to our wedding clients...

heartyfisher

Quote ....

IQ is better than any available FX superzoom.

28-300 FX VR ?? any comments looking to buy one ....

As for the D7000 we went from that to the D7100 and not a big improvemet with the sigtma 18-200we were using
seemed a waste of money but we had 3rd party problems with the sigma/7100 combo and changed to Nikon 18-140 ( real cheap grey market) and BOOM it was a different world..my wife crops the 7100 very heavy on occasions maybe to 6 mp and the pics are still quite acceptabe to our wedding clients...

Yeah the 18-140 is quite remarkable.
The 28-300 on a D800/D610 is almost as good as the 18-140 on the D7100. I have considered upgrading to a 28-300 but why should I? for worse IQ and heavier weight? (Costing 50% more) the only advantage is you get to see the whole Frame in the viewfinder instead of the DX Circle. (and you use the "full potential" of the sensors MP ;-) ) but seeing the whole Frame may be worth the slight hit in IQ for some. Maybe consider the new Tamron 28-300(not tested on DXO yet. in fact no tests anywhere at the moment).. probably the best option for you is the 24-120 F4.0 VR. But its probably 3-4 times the price! I recently just missed out on a great price for a 24-120F4. yes that is my 18-140 upgrade path. I am in no hurry, 18-140 does its job very well (and has better range) and I have the really amazing 70-200 F4 which is hogging the D610's mount(and D7000's and V1's mount too !).

http://www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Nikon-Nikkor-18-140mm-f3.5-5.6-ED-VR-lens-review-Accessible-portable-and-high-performance/Nikkor-18-140mm-f3.5-5.6-ED-VR-lens-performance

Pistnbroke

Not buying any 3rd party lenses after the problems Sigma lenses gave me and certainly not Tamron

spraynpray

I found myself hijacking the D810 post so this from there:

The specs say the AF is the same between the D7000, Df , D600 and D610. but I have seen reviews that say the D610 AF is better than the DF and D600. I have the both the D7000 and D610 and the D610 AF is clearly better. I don't have the D7100 or D800 to compare so I dont know how they perform relative to each other although the D7100 and D800 should perform better I have the impression from reviewers that the D610 and D7100 are very similar overall. the D7100 should have better Low light AF performance but in good light the D610 may be better.

You are right about the cost of the camera body .. I guess I felt that the colours and DR and High ISO was what I wanted to explore next in my photography journey.. however as I mention in the other thread. there is no need to upgrade the majority of your DX glass.

Regarding the AF - 39 is ok if they cover the majority of the finder but on the D610 they are a little bunch in the middle which irks me. My D7100's 51 points are spread much more usefully and cover the finder almost entirely in crop mode.

I'm glad you didn't put up your post about DX lenses on FX bodies before Christmas, I had a hard enough time choosing as it was!

heartyfisher

the focus sensors being so close to the center does not bother me much.. I dont use all of them anyway I usualy just use the 9 in the middle..

I only got my D610 a couple of months ago.. :-)

spraynpray

For me it saves focus and recompose with shallow Dof's causing missed focus. That's all really to be honest
.

KnockKnock

Oooh, hair brained idea: has anyone tried one of the 18-55 DX lenses on a full frame camera? Probably ain't "bad" on DX Crop. )

Purdyd

I have been wanting to discuss this for a while ... just read that @MSMOTO now uses a D800E as a D300S replacement. I guess its bec we still have not got a D300S replacement and people have moved on to get that functionality. I myself have gone with a D610.

However, there are a whole bunch of advantages of using DX glass on FX cameras.

Not to restate the obvious but some dx zooms work fine on fx, at least over part of the range, like my sigma 50-150 f2.8

Or if you are using the d800 you might get away with 1.2 crop or the 5:4 crop with a dx lens

With a d800 there is the advantage of shooing higher fps in the crop modes and in dx mode you get a couple of bonuses

1) the widest distribution of focus points
2) a bump in the effective flash sync speed

I know some don't like the smaller dx view in the viewfinder but I find the wider view helpful in framing tighter during action shots

So for me the d800 has replaced my d300 for almost everything, but I still use the trusty d300 for 8 fps

NSXTypeR

I guess with higher megapixel current generation FX cameras, shooting DX lenses on FX is feasible in a pinch, but I don't think it's ideal. It's like getting a sports car and putting low rolling resistance tires on it to save gas. You buy FX for a reason, and you also bought a sports car for a reason.

I guess you could shoot a D800 on DX crop, but then I also wonder, how come you didn't get a D7000 in the first place? It's less than 1/3 the price.

haroldp

I guess with higher megapixel current generation FX cameras, shooting DX lenses on FX is feasible in a pinch, but I don't think it's ideal. It's like getting a sports car and putting low rolling resistance tires on it to save gas. You buy FX for a reason, and you also bought a sports car for a reason.

I guess you could shoot a D800 on DX crop, but then I also wonder, how come you didn't get a D7000 in the first place? It's less than 1/3 the price.

I shoot DX on a D800e under 2 conditions. I have the front function button programmed to switch frame modes.

1 - wildlife where I am at longest lens extension (400/2.8 tc20-eII extender), and know that I will crop at least o DX frame anyway. I then get higher frame rate, less storage, and more buffer. If it gets closer and I can fill an FX frame then I do.

2- Snapshots that are basically 'I was here' and of no artistic interest - 'welcome to montana etc' road signs, party tables and other event 'stuff', 'tourist' shots ' I was here' ' etc where 16 mpx is more than enough.

The D800 with a function switch is preferable to carrying two cameras.

With 17-55/ 2.8 it is an excellent event camera.

I also really dislike the control system on Nikon's prosumer bodies and would rather use a D300 (which still gives excellent results under good conditions) than A d7000 / 7100. The switched D800 is a much better DX camera than a D300 / s .

A shot that I missed while fooling with the menu's has very poor IQ.

.... H

haroldp

actually tc20-eIII pardon my typo

DaveyJ

I personally have looked very hard at FX versus DX. Having used good DX lenses on D7100 (the best of the DX Nikons to me) and D800 and D800E with FX lens considered great on FX....I came to the conclusion I am waiting for the D7200 and have written twice to Nikon USA about that conclusion. I have been told I am not alone. Even some of the longer DX glass 500mm and the like are BIG. I have been impressed with my temporary use of the Sigma 150-500mm on my D7100.

heartyfisher

I personally have looked very hard at FX versus DX. Having used good DX lenses on D7100 (the best of the DX Nikons to me) and D800 and D800E with FX lens considered great on FX....I came to the conclusion I am waiting for the D7200 and have written twice to Nikon USA about that conclusion. I have been told I am not alone. Even some of the longer DX glass 500mm and the like are BIG. I have been impressed with my temporary use of the Sigma 150-500mm on my D7100.

Sorry please clarify ? How is the the D7200 the result of your tests ?

sevencrossing

I am think of getting a H4D-200MS trying it with a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G II AF-S Dx

haroldp

I am think of getting a H4D-200MS trying it with a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G II AF-S Dx

You will need a deep insert retro-mount adapter, or an IUD.

haroldp

I originally bought the D800 with the full intention of shooting cropped photos and taking advantage of the extra frame per second. When I actually started using the camera, I found that I preferred having the extra room for cropping and reframing instead of the extra frame. Anyone considering the D800 to specifically shoot in crop mode should maybe experiment shooting the various modes and find what they like in given circumstances instead of a priori deciding that one mode is for them. If you're like me, you prefer the maximum latitude possible in post so I'm basically at the point where I just have forgotten that DX mode even exists.

Anyone considering the D800 for the purpose of shooting in crop mode should probably get a D7100 or it's successor.

I probably use crop mode more than any D800 shooter I know and have good reasons. Crop mode is certainly less than 10% of my D800 shots.

Rgards ... H

heartyfisher

Went to the zoo a couple of days ago. The 18-140 on D610 was used for this shot. .. he was also one of the visitors sitting in the open air cafe:-)

spraynpray

They look good hearty but your method of posting pix prevents us from looking closely to see how good those images really are. IME most images look good at that size and any image can look great if you shrink it enough - even mine! :P

heartyfisher

https://www.flickr.com/photos/104392783@N07/14683374766/ is this what you mean? you are of course right.. These where "snaps" .. could have been sharper/better if i stopped down a bit :-) .. I was keen to put on my 70-200 F4 ;-)

Msmoto

Well, I have just examined some of the images from a recent shoot with my "new" used D800E. Shot in DX mode, I am amazed even though the size is only 3000 pixels, there is something about the image quality which I think is not present in my D4 shots.

Here is one:


and larger…. examine the various lines on the sailboat….. but please excuse the spot on the sensor… have not cleaned it yet…..LOL
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/14442955219/sizes/o/

Nikon D800E, 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8 VR II Nikkor at 70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec, ISO 125. I think i am beginning to love this camera….

sevencrossing

Nikon D800E, 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8 VR II Nikkor at 70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec, ISO 125. I think i am beginning to love this camera….

I am trying to see the advantage of this, over shooting at 107mm on FX

Purdyd

I guess you could shoot a D800 on DX crop, but then I also wonder, how come you didn't get a D7000 in the first place? It's less than 1/3 the price.

Because unfortunately, the d7000 will not give you the same dof, dynamic range, or high ISO performance

Also there are ergonomic features on the 'pro' bodies that you might enjoy

haroldp

And you cannot switch a d7000/7100 to FX when appropriate.

The D800/e/810 gives me 36mp FX, and 16mp DX in one body.

I shoot most (80-90%) of my D800 images in FX mode but there are circumstances where DX crop in the camera makes more sense such as:
- Wildlife when my longest lens combo (400/2.8 w 2X extender) still results in a partial frame because of subject size and distance. If I know I am going to crop anyway, cropping in the camera gives me smaller files higher frame rate and faster workflow (36mp files try to eat my computer).

- Documentation subjects that are not photographically interesting where 16mp is more than enough, such as tourist ('welcome to chicken alaska' etc.) and some event photography.

One benefit of a D800 of any type is it's flexibility, I have the function button on mine set to quick adjust crop mode for that reason.

And, as many others, I prefer the control structure on the 'pro' bodies.


.... H

Msmoto

@sevencrossing

File size…..

And, as I purchased the used D800E instead of the D400 or D9300 or whatever the D300s replacement is, I wanted a DX body.

Having said that, I am shooting full frame for awhile to see how this goes as well. I like to find out what works best for me.

proudgeek

- Documentation subjects that are not photographically interesting where 16mp is more than enough, such as tourist ('welcome to chicken alaska' etc.) and some event photography.
.... H

I understand why you'd shoot in DX mode in the first use case (I sometimes do as well for the faster frame rate) but for this one, why not just down sample (i.e. shoot in Fine instead of RAW)?