What is the best companion camera to a D610 for a beginner?

Mister Bumbles

Senior Member
Hello everyone! I'm hopefully going to drop the hammer and get myself a Nikon D610 at the end of this month. I'm really excited. I used to use a REALLY beautiful Nikon F2A Photomic and a set of Nikkor lenses including a 50MM f/1.4 and a 80-200mm f/4. They got stolen and I ended up on a Canon 40D that I used for the past 7 years. The thing is, my better half has FINALLY admitted that he'd like to learn photography from me. So, he won't need anything as powerful as a D610 obviously, but he'd like something that is *similar* in function / menus / accessories so that I can teach him the basics of photography as we're out and about.

We were thinking maybe a D5200 would be decent? What might you guys suggest? And which lenses would best suit a 'pair' of cameras, involving a FF and a DX? I know that some DX lenses still work well on a FF body (and vice/versa) .. but which ones? We kind of want to buy the right bits of equipment so that we can share lenses if need be.

Ideas? Thoughts? Thanks!

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Hello everyone! I'm hopefully going to drop the hammer and get myself a Nikon D610 at the end of this month. I'm really excited. I used to use a REALLY beautiful Nikon F2A Photomic and a set of Nikkor lenses including a 50MM f/1.4 and a 80-200mm f/4. They got stolen and I ended up on a Canon 40D that I used for the past 7 years. The thing is, my better half has FINALLY admitted that he'd like to learn photography from me. So, he won't need anything as powerful as a D610 obviously, but he'd like something that is *similar* in function / menus / accessories so that I can teach him the basics of photography as we're out and about.

We were thinking maybe a D5200 would be decent? What might you guys suggest? And which lenses would best suit a 'pair' of cameras, involving a FF and a DX? I know that some DX lenses still work well on a FF body (and vice/versa) .. but which ones? We kind of want to buy the right bits of equipment so that we can share lenses if need be.

Ideas? Thoughts? Thanks!

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FX lenses will work on a DX body but DX lenses will not work on FX cameras without some problems.
 

hrstrat57

Senior Member
....and were I starting with a pile of dough to build a kit to go with those 2 camera bodies I'd go with the f4 FX trio with a 50 1.4 and a 300 f4 prime.

Done!

otherwise I like the kit I have built.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Well hello again, Mr. Bumbles. :)

As Don mentioned, if you use DX lenses on an FX body, you will encounter a problem. They can be used...don't get me wrong...but either the photos will need to be cropped (or else there will be vignetting), or when used in the DX crop mode, the files will still be smaller. You won't be taking full advantage of the FX body by using DX lenses.

There are other companies besides Nikon that make full frame lenses which aren't nearly as expensive as Nikon FX lenses. Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina have something to offer.

Do you have a price range in mind? That might help to narrow down some choices.

I am not familiar with the D5200 although I've read good things about it. I'm sure others will be able to give you some helpful advice.
 

Mister Bumbles

Senior Member
FX lenses will work on a DX body but DX lenses will not work on FX cameras without some problems.

I had read about the DX Crop mode for the FX bodies and various things about that. I know it's not ideal, but I'd rather not double up on a lot of lenses since he'll mostly be learning. I suppose we could buy him a small collection of older, compatible lenses from the FILM era that would work better with the FF sensor.
 
I had read about the DX Crop mode for the FX bodies and various things about that. I know it's not ideal, but I'd rather not double up on a lot of lenses since he'll mostly be learning. I suppose we could buy him a small collection of older, compatible lenses from the FILM era that would work better with the FF sensor.

Better to buy one good DX lens that will work well for most things like the 18-140. That is a great walk around lens.
 

Mister Bumbles

Senior Member
Well hello again, Mr. Bumbles. :)

As Don mentioned, if you use DX lenses on an FX body, you will encounter a problem. They can be used...don't get me wrong...but either the photos will need to be cropped (or else there will be vignetting), or when used in the DX crop mode, the files will still be smaller. You won't be taking full advantage of the FX body by using DX lenses.

There are other companies besides Nikon that make full frame lenses which aren't nearly as expensive as Nikon FX lenses. Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina have something to offer.

Do you have a price range in mind? That might help to narrow down some choices.

I am not familiar with the D5200 although I've read good things about it. I'm sure others will be able to give you some helpful advice.

Well hello again Hark! :D

Price-wise, I'm going to have around $2200 to start for *my* setup. So that will get me the D610 body, the 50mm 1.8 G, and things like a bag, memory card, spare battery, and possibly a flash or WiFi adapter.

He's got enough money to get whatever, but he doesn't want to spend a ton since he's just starting. He's looking at a budget for his 'newbie set' of around 600-900ish. He *almost* jumped on the Pentax K-3 the other day because a K-3 is now down to $940 for the K-3 / Grip / DA 50mm 1.8. It's his choice, obviously, but if he goes that route I could still teach him photography basics, but we just wouldn't be sharing lenses, and I wouldn't know the Pentax system *at all* in terms of how they are setup / software / menus. So he'd be on his own in terms of learning his camera setup.

I worked at the community college for a while helping with the photography class, and working in the darkroom assisting professors and students with film / negative development, so I have great patience (which I'm going to need)!

laugh.gif
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
If you want to be wise and money is a bit tight, I'd go for two DX cameras and better lenses. Getting a 610 to pair with DX lens is not something I would recommend. You could buy a 5300 and a 7100 and get 2 very good lenses and you'd have better IQ and possibilities than a 610 using half of it's sensor.
 

Mister Bumbles

Senior Member
If you want to be wise and money is a bit tight, I'd go for two DX cameras and better lenses. Getting a 610 to pair with DX lens is not something I would recommend. You could buy a 5300 and a 7100 and get 2 very good lenses and you'd have better IQ and possibilities than a 610 using half of it's sensor.

Well, the *plan* is generally that I'd always use a FF compatible lens on my 610, and only ever use the DX lens if James happens to snag my FX lens to tinker around with. *chuckle*.

Although, I suppose that I could get the 50mm 1.8 G for mine, and the 50mm 1.8 D for his and then he'd be less likely to take my nice lens, and the D is so inexpensive there isn't any reason to NOT get it for him on his budget.

Personally I'm wanting to get a FF because I've wanted one for years for their various capabilities that APC-C sensors can't do, and I'll be using this camera for at least the next 7 years, so I want to invest wisely... ONCE. Same way I did with my 40D.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Another option would be for him to get a D700 with a 28-300 and you get the D610 with a 24-120 and get only one 50 1.8. This way you'd be both shooting something flexible and it would cover a lot of ground.
 

Mister Bumbles

Senior Member
I suppose another option would be to get him a new (grey market) D600, or a used official D600 that is still under warranty. At least then we're both on the same button / menu system / sensor.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
I have paired a D600 and a D7100. then stick with FX lenses. D600/610 gives me outstanding low light capability and high ISO lack of noise. The D7100 gives me extra reach due to the inherent crop factor of a crop sensor for shooting sports or anything I need reach. Additionally, the two cameras are laid out virtually the same which makes it easy to jump between the two. For me, this is the perfect pairing of bodies.
 

Manna69247

Senior Member
D7100 Remember that the older D lenses will only work on the D7xxx range not the smaller range unless you focus manual. I use D lenses, which is still outstanding, very successfully on my D7000 and will hopefully pair mine with a D750 in the near future. I have a 17-55 f2.8 DX lense and wish it was a 24-70 f2.8 then I would have been able to use it on both.for now I'll use the 17-55 on my D7000 and my 80-200 f2.8D and 50 f1.8D on both but would change the 17-55 for the new Tamron 24-70 f2.8 in future. Good luck.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Here's a question that should be answered before any recommending happens. What is it that you like/want to shoot, and what is it that he likes/wants to shoot? Wildlife? Sports? Macro? Stars/Night Sky? Portraits? Street?

Without that I'm just telling you what bodies I consider good that are within your price range.

You're coming from a 40D, which is even more cropped than the Nikon DX cameras, so you're used to the format. Buying good glass for 2 DX cameras that cover a wide scope of interests - like landscapes to birds in flight - is much easier and less expensive for two DX's than it is for one DX and one FX camera. And there are some seriously good DX cameras out there.

DX glass can and will work on a FX camera, but be warned, it's not an electronic viewfinder and frankly it gets tedious and frustrating with a constant vignette on the focusing screen, let alone trying to compose an image in only 44% of your field of view. I know, I tried to make it work for a while. And the D610 will give you 10MP's in DX mode - that's less than 2/3 what you get with a good point and shoot that costs you 15% of what you paid for the D610.

Knowing one of you is serious and one is just starting, and nothing else, I'd heartily recommend the D7100 and either a D5300 or D3300. You can save some money buying used glass (I bought a second 18-105mm for about $100 recently) but if you want to go new then the D5300 w/ 18-140mm can be had for about a grand, which takes care of your better half. For your $2200, a refurb D7100 (what I bought) will run you around $800 or less if you look around, leaving $1400 for glass. My recommendation would be to invest in a good zoom lens that speaks to your greatest interest - a longer zoom for wildlife, a wide angle zoom for landscapes. $500 for a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 leaves you another $700 in glass money, so how about a pair of primes (35mm & 50mm f1.8's) for about $400, and then buy another used 18-to-1-something so that you both have something versatile on your camera for walking around?

FX bodies take great photos, but you don't need FX sensors to shoot amazing pictures. If you're looking for a kit to share then you can get much more bang for your buck sticking with the DX range. It's frankly the more flexible format (said this FX shooter), and certainly affords you the ability to expand your equipment roster more readily since the glass is much less money. And if you want, you can invest in FX glass first because it works just fine and holds its value, and then have a set of lenses you can use should you ever decide to make the jump.

But again, that's me knowing nothing other than 2 people want 2 cameras.
 

J-see

Senior Member
Since I upgraded to the D750 I'm using FX and DX at the moment and there are advantages to having both formats but disadvantages too.

Most of my lenses work on both but there's always a price to pay for each format. While I benefit of the smaller format when doing macro or close-ups, the smaller sensor requires more light, limiting what I can shoot and when I can. The FX enables me to shoot whenever I desire but I need to crop a lot requiring the shots to be pretty darn sharp and clean. The DX allows me to take slow shutter shots handheld while the FX requires mirror lockup to do the same. There's no way shooting bursts with the FX at a too slow shutter without shake caused by the shutter slam.

For the middle and short range it matters less which lens I use and many are good for both formats. I bought most of mine with a possible upgrade in mind. I have a DX wide that works on the FX but looking through the viewfinder makes me feel drunk. I also can't use it at the same length as the DX and either have to crop or seriously adjust the shots afterwards.

What I end up doing is using the D3300 less and less. It's mainly my landscape cam because the wide performs well on it and it's easy to drag along.

If you have two formats one is going to be like that second battery we drag along; in case of emergency.
 
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sonicbuffalo_RIP

Senior Member
I'd recommend taking a look at getting one mirrorless camera, or a 4/3's as RickM has. I bought a Sony FF since we're planning a trip to Germany and other parts of Europe next year if expenses allow it. I had FF everything and sold it all to downsize. FF lenses (I had the best) are very heavy and bulky, but take beautiful shots. I wanted something more mobile. I recently bought a D7100 (which I had before, and the're the Primal Beast. I had a D610 too, and it took beautiful shots. I'm just saying that somewhere in there I would consider buying a mirrorless. It's the way of the future. DSLR's are going out to pasture.
 
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hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
If you do go full-frame, a 24-70mm zoom (or 24-120mm zoom) would be considered a normal zoom range. Sigma makes a 24-70mm f/2.8 which is good and is an FX lens, but I believe the newer Tamron is sharper plus has VR. I know cost is a factor, but even a used Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 would work well. I started out with a D90 (a DX camera) and coupled it with the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8. It works well on DX but isn't as wide on a DX camera as it is on an FX body. That's the problem you will run into. With getting both DX and FX bodies, you will be compromising because one lens will give different views when comparing images from those bodies.
 
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