Which would you upgrade to for minimum noise in low light weddings

Pingq

New member
Currently own: D7000

Torn to upgrade to:

Option 1: Just a D800 and rent lenses for the few weddings I book

or

Option 2: Get the D600 and use the saved $$$ in the price difference to get a nice glass.


WHAT would you do?

YES money is an issue so I cannot buy glass with the 800 right away and would be stuck with my current zoom(18-105) and a 50 mm 1.8 and a 35mm 1.8. I do rent gear for weddings currently so renting lenses is not a problem as I only book a selected amount of weddings each year for certain reasons, but I am interested to see what others would choose to do :)
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
The D600 is the best low light camera I've ever seen. Stunned at how good it is. I suspect that with the less dense sensor (24MP's vs. 36MP's) it should produce less noise at high ISO than the D800. Though I would expect both to be a good notch above your D7000.

The 18-105mm you currently have is a DX lens. You're not going to benefit from the FX sensors on either of those cameras with it, so you'll want to get a new lens with the new body. This almost dictates the D600 as well. A D600 with the kit 24-85 will serve you well, and you should be able to stick the 50mm 1.8 on top of it and still be right about where you'd be with the D800 body.

So, if low light performance is your primary goal, along with something at your current budget, then go D600.
 

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
You mentioned a few weddings but what else do you shoot? I love the D800 for food and product shoots as well as portrait work, the additional detail does demand more of a computer and storage due to file size but the images are amazing, it is no slouch with high ISO/low light situaltions either.
 

Pingq

New member
@ Jake & Bill... Thank you, I do...prefer portrait and family photography with the occasional birth also. It's what I love most. I try not to overload my calendar with weddings so I can keep the schedule clean for my portrait clients. I am looking at low light performance for 1 reason... there is a popular wedding location here that is like a cave. It is HORRENDOUS lighting with no space me to setup extra lighting.... ( i love a good challenge but the body I have now at high ISO is kind of a bummer when you have to do so much post processing to get the noise out). The stage where the ceremony is held is up high and has two TINY lights I compare to those round shop lights... It's brutal. Other than that location I have had no real trouble with the 7000 in natural lighting though it does leave me wanting more (more of what Im not sure, probably just that desire to upgrade to full frame and expand my investment), BUT I want something that can do it ALL (am I dreaming)... from portrait to dark wedding situations for sure. I want to be sure that I spend these savings right for all these situations. I have a nice setup for editing (that was my big upgrade this last year). I do keep the hard drive on my computer free of sessions that are done (those sessions are moved between multiple backups and off the computer to keep space nice and roomy on the hard drive) so the massive files of the D800 aren't a huge concern to me at this point, though I have heard of the many jaw drops at the rate of transfers from the SD to the computer.
 

Corey @ Faymus Media

Senior Member
The D800 produces images you can only dream of. If you are serious about your work, you need a D800E. I have it, and there is no moire at all. Low light and dynamic range is far greater than any DSLR I have ever used. Only the D4 has better low light in my opinion. Its all about resolution.

D800E will stun you. Worth every penny.
 

Pingq

New member
So I have been seeing some pretty awesome deals on refurbs lately too... how do you guys feel about those. Adorama offers 2 yr warranty upgrade on theirs.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Thinking on this for a day, I suspect that with the right lens you can "live with" the D7000 for a little while. It's a wonderful camera, and with the right glass (something you'll use in your FX days) will give you images to be proud of (i.e. you can earn a living). Perhaps instead of changing bodies you get yourself the right compliment of low light lenses that will give you tack sharp images with a DX camera, and once you've beefed up your wallet you can get one of each? :)

Yeah, I'm the guy with the pitchfork on your shoulder. It used to be on mine, but he told me to tag someone. LOL
 

Corey @ Faymus Media

Senior Member
Buy your camera from crutchfield.com they dont charge tax and because Nikon has a standard price for all vendors its the same as adoramas new price. Then on top of that you get a $175 gift card from them to put towards anything! You can get a battery grip for only $320 with the discount which his 100 dollars less than anywhere else. Best way to do it. Period.
 
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