Which would be best for close up work

J

J-see

Senior Member
I personally wouldn't want to trade in my FX for DX even when solely birding. I was tempted for a bit by the D7200 since it was there in the shop window smiling at me.

The reality is that where I live, an FX allows me to shoot throughout the year while a DX is limited during at least four, five months of that year. For me it is more reach vs more shooting. During good light it doesn't matter but when light gets low, the FX always has at least a two stop advantage on the DX which translates in being able to shoot earlier, later, faster or more closed down depending the type of shooting done.

Of course there's no law that says you can't have both.
 
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W

wornish

Senior Member
I accept the point @J-see makes in post#21 ref light levels but for Birding I think DX beats FX every time. (Unless your shooting in an aviary, or you have a pet parrot :rolleyes: ).

Just look at the shots the members post on here the DX shots contain more detail and give you more reach. To get the same reach and detail with FX glass costs a fortune, not to mention the weight involved. The 150-600mm lenses from Tamron and Sigma seem to be the sweet spot they give you an effective 900mm on DX, the 800mm Nikon FX costs zillions and weighs tons.

If I had the cash I would have both FX and DX.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
That's also why I ordered the D810. It closes half the gap between FX and DX for birding and macro while I still have the low light performance of the FX.

There's no denying DX has a serious advantage in birding and macro because of the crop. FX can catch up a bit because the lenses tend to perform better but you can't get the same detail and quality out of a crop less than half the megapixels. Where DX has 24Mpix for a full shot, my crop only has about 10Mpix if I want the same sized shot.
 
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Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
I think better for close-ups would be the 7100 with the Sigma 150 macro. I've seen pictures done with this combination and was totally flabbergasted. I've always been teached to invest in glass FIRST.
 
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J

J-see

Senior Member
DxO tested the D5500. While it is no D7200 it might give you an idea how that one performs compared to your D7100.

It's maybe interesting to check that first before making the DX/FX decision.

Nikon D5500 sensor review: Low noise and class-leading dynamic range - DxOMark

There's some improvement in the D5500 sensor at low light. I don't know if the D7200 has the same sensor. It's still a bit lower than FX performance.


The SNR ratio of the D5500 remains good up to about 800/1000 ISO while the same for the D610 is pretty close to 3200.
 
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M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Marcel said:
I think better for close-ups would be the 7100 with the Sigma 150 macro. I've seen pictures done with this combination and was totally flabbergasted. I've always been reached to invest in glass FIRST.
Click to expand...
@Marcel

Taking this on board just checking the Sigma 150 macro comment is not a typo,it is a lens i like but have never done anything about it because i have the sigma 105.
 
M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
J-see said:
DxO tested the D5500. While it is no D7200 it might give you an idea how that one performs compared to your D7100.

It's maybe interesting to check that first before making the DX/FX decision.

Nikon D5500 sensor review: Low noise and class-leading dynamic range - DxOMark

There's some improvement in the D5500 sensor at low light. I don't know if the D7200 has the same sensor. It's still a bit lower than FX performance.


The SNR ratio of the D5500 remains good up to about 800/1000 ISO while the same for the D610 is pretty close to 3200.
Click to expand...

Thats something i would like to know
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
mikew said:
Thats something i would like to know
Click to expand...

I compared the D5500 against the D5300 and it seems to be the same sensor. There might be some changes to the conversion or amplification but all in all they're too identical in behavior. Even the D3300 behavior matches it for the most part.

According to DxO the D7200 likely has that same sensor so the actual ISO improvement can be expected to be similar.

Nikon D5500 versus Nikon D3300 versus Nikon D5300 - Side by side camera comparison - DxOMark

If you check the measurements, you notice the similarities.
 
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Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
mikew said:
Thanks i already have the sigma 105 macro,so its another body to use it on ime after,ime quiet happy never taking the tamron of the D7100,only a quick on and off to keep the contacts right :D
Click to expand...
Then if you're happy with the 7100, you could get a 610 or 750 or a 810 but for macro purposes, what you'll gain in high iso you'll loose in crop since the Dx will fill the frame while keeping you a bit farther from the bugs or critters. For macro, I do think that a quiet shutter is a great thing, so don't hesitate to use the quiet mode.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
One thing I forgot to mention is that if I was shopping around for a body for macro, I'd certainly select one with a flip out LCD. This would be more than welcome for close to the ground situations.
 
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