DX to FX

limeblu

I have been shooting with the D5200 for over a year now and I am starting to feel that I am outgrowing it. I am still very pleased with the camera, great value and gives amazing results. I am just wondering if moving to FX is going to help me to get the shots I want, I was looking at the 810 and I am very picky when it comes to my images, I generally look at my images 3 or 400x magnification to ensure they are what I want. I am loking for low noise, crisp and incredible detail. I shoot landscape and portrait. Let me know what you know, ty

WestEndFoto

What lenses to you use now and what would you consider upgrading too?

What subjects do you shoot?

limeblu

I shoot portrait and landscape mostly, I do enjoy macro also. I have the kit 18-55,55-200 and I have the 50mm1.8G. I stopped buying after that as I was assuming I would move up to FF and did not want to invest into DX . I see that everything is larger when going FX including prices which is not an issue if the results will merit the cost. I am earning from my photography but just starting. I plan on using the next year to build and from here on to be earning more and more from my images. I am still learning and plan to never stop. I improve weekly and it is not only a job/hobby it is a passion, every day in and out I practice my craft.

WestEndFoto

Moving to FX will give you wider shots on the wide end - you currently have 28mm FX equivalent. 20mm may be wide enough for landscapes. I currently have a 20mm prime and a 14-24mm zoom that I use with my D800 and find I rarely need wider than 20mm. If you are shooting portrait, you will have access to a shallower depth of field with FX.

You will also have a greater dynamic range with the D810, which this camera is the undisputed champion of. You will be able to pull detail out of the shadows that is impossible with any other camera.

How important is this too you, because the move is fairly costly? You are already 80% of the way there with your current gear. Do you see yourself as someone who continues to push the envelope or will be happy once a certain "standard" is achieved?

limeblu

TY WestEndFoto . I would definitely keep what I have now as It is my first DSLR and it literally is a part of me, it is by my side 24/7. I am sad to say that I am also the latter of the two you mentioned above. I do not think there is a standard that will satisfy me. Yes I will need to save to make the purchase I so wish I would have been born into wealth! I am type A and have an addictive personality, bad combo. I have been looking at shots on flickr & 500px that have been taken with the 810 and it amazes me when it is done right. I can look at images and pretty much tell you which ones were taken with an 800 series, it is what I think? I need. I enjoy the pursuit of perfection, I pixel peep and I am a tech nut. I think photography is a part of my being.

WestEndFoto

Image quality is more determined by the lens than by the camera. How would you feel in investing in good glass first and an FX camera second? This is a little more relevant at the wide end then the long end, as DX has natural advantage at the long end and FX has a natural advantage at the wide end. Of course FX has a benefit at both, but there are always priorities and limitations to consider.

spraynpray

I strongly recommend that you hire the exact items that you want to buy then shoot it alongside your current camera and lens - IMHO you are about to waste a lot of money - your words: "if the results will merit the cost".

You zoom 18-55 and 55-200 images to 3-400% to assess sharpness? There wouldn't be much sharpness from those lenses at that magnification. If I may be truthful (no offense meant), I would bet that your assessment of feeling you are already outgrowing your first DSLR is more to do with inexperience and a desire to buy expensive gear in the expectation that image quality is proportional to cost (which it isn't).

By all means go out and spend the money that it seems you have to buy the best you can afford, but be prepared for possibly feeling a lot of buyers remorse when the images don't jump forward as you would like. Maybe you should keep your body and start buying better (FX) lenses while you do workshops, read, shoot and learn. After a while at that, you will know what difference buying an expensive FX body to go with those lenses will give you.

A sigma 18-35 f1.8 on your current body would do a great job on your preferred genres by the way.

Good luck and enjoy.

sevencrossing

I was looking at the 810 and I am very picky when it comes to my images,

The D810 perfectly suits your needs. It will certainly give you low noise, and incredible detail.
you can forget "upgrading" for the next 3 to 5 years

Nikon make no fewer than 60 Fx lens; plus you have all the third party choices, including the Sigma Art range and the Carl Zeiss options

But you already own a perfectly good FX standard lens the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G
Which can be used for landscapes and full length portraits
This is where I would start.

I would not buy any more lenses until you master shooting with a standard lens on your D810

Next i would hire the 24 -120 f4 VR and decide if this is crisp enough ( only you can make this assessment)

If you want something sharper you will have to look at primes

I would put the 20mm f 1.8 and the 85mm f 1.8 on the list

Good luck

Msmoto

My suggestion: Start with a D810, Sigma 35 or 50mm f/1.4 ART. Look at sharpness only to see if what you want in focus is actually where it should be.

IMO, if we get too caught up in magnifying images to 400x we may be missing the point. For some interesting work on sharpness of lenses see Michael Erlewine, who really has looked carefully at how sharp stuff is.

http://www.startypes.com/Index.aspx#&panel1-1

heartyfisher

I am not sure the D810 is suitable for you ... many of us here are measurebators to some extent .. but by your own admission you are a bit more Type A than most .. For you I think a set of primes would suit you better. Check out what focal lengths you shoot most at and get the closest prime and play with that for a while. and learn more photography techniques (multi exposure, long exposure, high seed sync, light painting, astro, etc .. ) and post processing techniques ( panoramas, HDR, Brenizer technique, focus stacking, using Gausian Blur for "glowing" ... etc etc etc etc ...) .. I think playing with post processing will be a lot of fun for you as there is a lot of detail in that kind of artistic endeavor.

Hammie

I think you should look at upgrading your lenses first. Start a collection of FX lenses. They will still work on your DX body.

As others have said, figure out your shooting lengths and get primes or start looking at the "Pro" level FX zoom lenses for better quality glass. Search for reviews on the lenses that match your most common shooting lengths. Depending on your PP software, you should be able to search what focal lengths you shoot at most often. Just remember that the focal length in the software is most likely the FX value and no the DX crop factor value.

Your current situation would require a purchase of BOTH body and lenses to get the most out of an FX body. Running the D810 in DX mode seems counterproductive.

Personally, I noticed a difference when I moved from a Quantaray "kit" lens to the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. The biggest difference I noticed when I moved to the FX body, was the ISO difference. Image quality at low ISO levels was less noticeable when I moved from the D300 to the D750.

ggbutcher

@Msmoto:

My suggestion: Start with a D810, Sigma 35 or 50mm f/1.4 ART. Look at sharpness only to see if what you want in focus is actually where it should be.

IMO, if we get too caught up in magnifying images to 400x we may be missing the point. For some interesting work on sharpness of lenses see Michael Erlewine, who really has looked carefully at how sharp stuff is.

http://www.startypes.com/Index.aspx#&panel1-1

Dang, what a site. A lot more there than just lens discussions. For the impatient, here's a link to his photography e-books:

http://spiritgrooves.net/e-Books.aspx#Photography

WestEndFoto

I am not sure I would "hire" a lens. That can get expensive. Try it out in a store and take some sample images.

Msmoto, that is a great site. Thanks.