Nikon Advice

[supertramp]

Hi All

I am seriously considering in coming into the digital age, at present I own a Nikon F75 film camera with a couple of lenses. i.e. a AF 70-300mm and a 28-100. I was looking at the new D80, a little out of my price range, or as it is now discontinued and can be found at good prices on the internet a D70s.

Would I noticed much difference between the two but more importantly would my old lenses work with either of the above cameras.

Your advice/opinions would be most appreciated.


Thanks

[pressld2]

Hi Supertramp, wlcome to WAB.

Yes your old lenses will work with a digital camera. I used Nikon film cameras (FM and FM2) before buying a D70 a couple of years ago. My old lenses are all completely manual but I can still use them - I just have to revert to manual focus and the camera's exposure metering doesn't work either so I have to make a guess at correct exposure and then adjust using the histogram. Yours, being AF lenses, should work perfectly okay. If you're still concerned at all contact Nikon technical support through their website at Nikon UK - Home. They're very helpful.

If it were me I would aim for the D80 but mainly because of the higher pixel count. If you're thinking of trying to sell your images you really need a minimum of 3000 pixels on the longest side. The D70s, like my D70, will give you this but with no breathing space so you'll have to get the composition right in the camera. The D80 will go comfortably over and give you the option of some cropping.

They're both excellent cameras and whichever one you chose you won't be disappointed.

Dave P.

[peterjclarke]

I've had great results from using older lenses with a D200. Wide angle zoom lenses (non digital grade) are not so good with digital but the 28-100 may be fine. Nikon would be able to tell you. I would certainly go for the D80 over the D70. The D80 has quite a few useful features from the D200 that the D70 does not have.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by pressld2

If it were me I would aim for the D80 but mainly because of the higher pixel count. If you're thinking of trying to sell your images you really need a minimum of 3000 pixels on the longest side.

that isnt strictly true - numerous pros use the D2H which only has a 4MP sensor, it also depends on what market you are aiming for.

I'm a canon user so i cant advise on the individual cameras but I wouldnt choose to pay more soley for an 8MP sensor rather than a 6MP one if they are otherwise comparable, the general advice is to buy the cheapest decent body you can but to invest as much as possible in good lenses

[Gandalf]

Originally Posted by supertramp

Hi All

I am seriously considering in coming into the digital age, at present I own a Nikon F75 film camera with a couple of lenses. i.e. a AF 70-300mm and a 28-100. I was looking at the new D80, a little out of my price range, or as it is now discontinued and can be found at good prices on the internet a D70s.

Would I noticed much difference between the two but more importantly would my old lenses work with either of the above cameras.

Your advice/opinions would be most appreciated.


Thanks

Supertramp
To get the best Nikon advice from both pro and amateur users is to visit: -
Nikonians :: The Nikon User Community
Free to register and there is a dedicated forum for each digital body - wealth of information.

Cheers

[supertramp]

Thank you all for your advice/opinions. Found them really useful, especially the Nikon site posted by Gandalf. I have now discovered that the lenses I already have will work fine with the D80 so I think I will purchase just the D80 body.

I'll let you know the final outcome and how I'm getting on with my purchase.

Many thanks once again.

Dave

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by eeyore

that isnt strictly true - numerous pros use the D2H which only has a 4MP sensor, it also depends on what market you are aiming for.

I'm a canon user so i cant advise on the individual cameras but I wouldnt choose to pay more soley for an 8MP sensor rather than a 6MP one if they are otherwise comparable, the general advice is to buy the cheapest decent body you can but to invest as much as possible in good lenses

Yes there are some markets where the resolution is not so critical and there are some professionals working in those markets using 4MP cameras. But wildlife and landscape are not among them. Reputable stock photo sites (by which I mean the ones that pay in pounds rather than pennies) will insist on 3000 pixels minimum on the longest side.

I do agree with you that pixel count is not the only thing to be considered when chosing a camera but for me, and specifically for wildlife and landscape photography, the D80's 10MP is far enough above the D70's 6MP to make it worth the extra money on that count alone. When it was first launched I was worried that packing 67% more pixels into the same size sensor would lead to increased noise but having seen the results that people are getting with their D80s I'm no longer concerned.

Dave P.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Yes there are some markets where the resolution is not so critical and there are some professionals working in those markets using 4MP cameras. But wildlife and landscape are not among them. Reputable stock photo sites (by which I mean the ones that pay in pounds rather than pennies) will insist on 3000 pixels minimum on the longest side.

even in these fields some do and some dont - no lesser personage than Andy Rouse has sold photos many taken with a 1D Mk1 - 4MP , and in fact even with a D30 - 3MP , applications such as genuine fractals can, in skilled hands, interpolate an image from these sensors to a level that is acceptable to most customers

Anyway if you are aiming to sell a lot of wildlife shots on a full or semi pro basis I would suggest that neither the D80 or the 70s are most suitable - In this feild most pros use either the canon 1DSmkII (16 MP) or for nikon the D2X (12MP) as well as high pixel counts these camera are also much more highly specfied in other ways - but they are also very expensive.

for pro/semi pro landscape a full frame sensor is a must (canon 1DS or 5D, nikon - do nikon make a full frame DSLR ?) but many landscape pros are stll shooting film 6x4 6x6 6x17 cm or large format 5x4, 10x8, and occasionally 12 x 8.

BTW this isnt just idle speculation - as a semi pro I make a four figure income from freelance wildlife, sport , and gig work - using cameras with 4, 6 and 8 MP sensors and have never had a client reject a shot based purely on its resolution.

[Gandalf]

Originally Posted by supertramp

Thank you all for your advice/opinions. Found them really useful, especially the Nikon site posted by Gandalf. I have now discovered that the lenses I already have will work fine with the D80 so I think I will purchase just the D80 body.

I'll let you know the final outcome and how I'm getting on with my purchase.

Many thanks once again.

Dave

You're very welcome supertramp Trust you will enjoy your purchase. You know you are now infected with NAS and there is no known cure!

Cheers,

[Olly]

Originally Posted by supertramp

Thank you all for your advice/opinions. Found them really useful, especially the Nikon site posted by Gandalf. I have now discovered that the lenses I already have will work fine with the D80 so I think I will purchase just the D80 body.

I'll let you know the final outcome and how I'm getting on with my purchase.

Many thanks once again.

Dave

Let us know how you get on Dave, I'm in a similar position so would be interested to see the results.

Olly