Upgrade for d90 in March 2015

Schnitzel

Thanks SEVENCROSSING; you are right. I think I need to just have a good think now you have all kindly given advice. I will have a think and make sure I come back and let you know the outcome.

sevencrossing

Also my 17-70 isn't particularly sharp

You are really going to have to decide are you going to replace this with an FX or Dx lens
an Fx lens may not be wide enough on a D7100

Photobug

Lower upfront cost is D7100 + lens. You should be happy with that combination for some time. I have a suspicion that the more the OP reads here he is getting NAS. Could be wrong too. LoL

You really need to take the 70-200mm with you on this trip. It's a great lens and worth the weight.

Ironheart

Get the D7000 now. They can be had for a song, and won't be losing any more of their value. The step up from D90 will be spectacular, and in 6 months, after the dust has settled on the D7200 you can do a trade-in, probably get what you paid for the D7000, and be astonished again! The controls are pretty much in the same spot as your D90, so it will be a short learning curve. Just going against the common wisdom here. Also DX will be around for the next 20-30 years, as Nikon has sold two orders of magnitude (maybe 3!) more DX than FX, so no worries there bud.

sevencrossing

Also DX will be around for the next 20-30 years,.

maybe
one thing for sure, you will be able to buy quality S/H, F mount lenses, suitable for both Dx and FX , in 30 years time

WestEndFoto

Get the D7000 now. They can be had for a song, and won't be losing any more of their value. The step up from D90 will be spectacular, and in 6 months, after the dust has settled on the D7200 you can do a trade-in, probably get what you paid for the D7000, and be astonished again! The controls are pretty much in the same spot as your D90, so it will be a short learning curve. Just going against the common wisdom here. Also DX will be around for the next 20-30 years, as Nikon has sold two orders of magnitude (maybe 3!) more DX than FX, so no worries there bud.

I think that is an excellent idea.

Schnitzel

Hey everyone, many thanks for your help the past few days it has been really helpful - it created a lot of things to consider and questioned my needs, in a positive way. Your thoughts were genuinely appreciated.

Having compared the specs of the D750 and the D7100, I decided to rule out the D750 as it was just so expensive for such similar specs.

What did I go for?
I found a refurbished D7100 today online with a reputable camera shop and went for it - it will address the shortfalls I was experiencing with my current camera and give me the upgrade I needed. It cost less than a 1/3 of what I would have paid for the D750 and although I researched into the D7000 as suggested, the D7100 was priced only a few hundred more than a second hand D7000.

I would like to thank you all for making me genuinely question what I needed. It was a hard decision/consideration but your questioning/suggestions made sure my upgrade improved what I felt my D90 was lacking, as apposed to going off on NAS and total overkill on my purchase!

Thanks all.

JonMcGuffin

My advice is frankly going to be pretty similar to all the others here. It's honestly pretty much a no brainer given the good information you've provided.

D7200
Great price, awesome bang for the buck. Will give you 1-2 stop improvement in low light, higher MP count and better IQ all around. It's essentially a D90 revised three times over. You get to easily use all your current lenses. It's got state of the art AF, and I think definitely the D7200 over the D7100 for the buffer alone but since you hold a camera for 3-5 years, the extra features here will easily justify the few extra $$. I wouldn't be concerned at all about being an early adopter personally. Pre-order and get one this month.

D750
One stop better ISO (roughly) over D7200 and this is going to be your most beneficial reason to go with this body. But you're talking nearly twice the price and now you'll need to rethink lenses. Long term might be a better investment but be careful not to get sucked into the whole FX is better than DX thing. You get that solid stop of ISO performance for sure and also a little better shallow DOF but shallow DOF isn't always better. A few features such as 1/8000th and 1/250th flash sync are superior on D7200.

Honestly, you can't make a mistake with either. I'd avoid the D700, D800/D810 or even D610 angle. These are your two choices based on what you've given.

I don't need to tell you that camera bodies don't take pictures, photographers do and as you know, great photographers made great pictures with D90's and D300's just like crappy photographers take crap photos with D4s' and D810's today.

Good luck and enjoy the upgrade, you deserve it and have fun!

Jon

JonMcGuffin

Doh, advice just a little too late but D7100 is awesome too! Enjoy!

WestEndFoto

JonMcGuffin, personally I think the dynamic range is a bigger benefit than the ISO performance, but I think that reflects my shooting style. I like recovering dark areas and tend not to shoot at high ISOs in low light - more likely to use a tripod.

I think you have summarized it well.

Schnitzel, have fun with your D7100. One of my best friends shoots one so I have had the pleasure of figuring it out and then showing him how to use it. It is a great camera.

sevencrossing

@ Schnitzel enjoy your D7100
the improvement over the D90 should blow your soaks off
let us know what lenses you get for it

Msmoto

Refurb D7100..... wise decision! Allows freeing up the $$$ for good glass.

heartyfisher

D7100 good choice!

Schnitzel

just wanted to drop a quick note. Extremely happy with my purchase, I have had a good play with it now and am really pleased with the upgrade over the D90. With the money saved over buying the D750, I purchased a Nikon 28-300 for my travels, which with my sigma 10-20 should give me all the angle I need. A super zoom i know, but it is beautifully sharp and saves me changing lenses over a large amount whilst away.

heartyfisher

28-300 ? can you swap it for the 18-300 ? for dx the 18-300 is better and its sharper.

NSXTypeR

Maybe he wants FX compatibility in the future?

Pistnbroke

D610 ??
24mm is not wide on FX 15mm is
7200 3x the buffer of the 7100 for your birding