Subjective advice...

Hello everyone,

I am composer, and music producer, I work in my own music studio, so photography is my hobby.
About 15 years a go I spent a lot of money to buy "the best" studio monitors, microphones, cables, sound cards, computer, and all other famos outboard just to realize that great results depends of me and my skills, not of my gear.
Then, I sold almost all of my expensive gear, bought only essential stuff, and I am cured now and really happy with my self, and my results.
Now I can pass by any music store and not waste the whole next week searching on the internet what to buy, but now I have that problem with photo equipment.

I have D3100, and I desperately want D7000. I have no real reason, just want better camera. I do not need better resolution, nor faster continuous shooting, maybe just autofocus motor to use it with some cheap primes, also that camera is larger than D3100 so it better suits to my hands, other than that nothing of real importance to me.
Yes, all those great things that comes with D7000 sounds good, and I want them, but do I really need it to make great photos.

I would like your subjective opinion, do I really need something better than D3100 to make great photos, or it is the same as with my music studio gear?
You can see my point of interest...

As you've found with your music, "better" equipment doesn't always translate to better art. You can make great art with basic tools and lousy art with the best tools in the world. It all comes down to what you need.

It's obvious that you can capture what you want to capture with the D3100. The question you need to answer is "what can't I do with the camera I have that I want to do?" You've answered one part of that with the use of other lenses, as these are potential "eyes" into your world. From there, it's probably more about what you want to do with your art once you create it. The sensor in a D7000 or D7100 will give you the opportunity to potentially print larger, or reduce noise in low light. Maybe not something you are thinking about, but something you will take advantage of when you have that tool in your toolbox?

As a musician I've traveled the road of buying and trying everything, equating price and quality with "better", only to settle back into a couple simple tools, some of which I've had for most of my life. Some would look at the present and say it was needless chasing of wind. I don't, and equate the journey with an education bought and paid for. I find myself doing the same thing with photography now. So far I can see the difference in my photographs as I've stepped up from the D7000 to the D600. And as I now get ready to walk outside and take my first shots with a D800 I know that I won't walk out the door this morning a better photographer for owning it, what I find as I use it may inspire me in ways that make me better. It should certainly provide me with a higher quality canvas to paint on. That may not always be desirable, and that's a lesson I'll learn and refine as I go on.

So, I have no specific advice for you, only the prompt to follow the muse as you did with your music. You may take a round trip and end up not far from where you started, but the ride will pay for itself in experience.

The D3100 is a great camera and will serve you well depending on were you want to go with your photography. I had the D3100 for a while and as I learned I found it did not have a few features I wanted, mostly auto-bracketing for HDR shooting. I did not "need" it, but it helped me to do what I enjoy more effectively. The d7000 will not make you a better photographer, but it may help you do things you cannot do with the D3100 (focus motor and auto-bracketing). I found that I jumped back into photography without doing enough reasearch on the latest tools. I would suggest to anyone buying a body now to buy something you will grow into so you will have it for years to come without that vicious cycle of wanting something more.

You wrote photography is a hobby. So you're the one that should decide on your hobby's budget. If you can afford it and want it badly, just get it and let it be done. But I think you should set limits to your wants and balance them with your needs.

A Nikon rep told me that you get the best body you can afford while keeping enough money to invest in lenses. Lenses are the key to great photography. This does not mean you've got to own them all, but you have to learn how to make the best of the ones you have.

Happy shooting and decision making.

Thank you very much.

It is very easy, and nice too, to do what i did with my music equipment, chase nice and expensive gear, enjoy during that ride, loose all that money, then learn from my own mistakes, but there are some things that are slowing me down, and make me think about it harder.

Here people work for $500 whole month, so i am little bit embarrassed buying expensive gear for my hobby, just because my music brings me a lot of money, and just because I can.
I do not want to be a snob, some people are feeding their families with D90 and 18-135, now I want to be smarter than earlier, and to get the best possible results with my D3100, or just to think hard and be honest with my self if I decide to move forward, do I really need it.

I am a hedonist, I love my Alfa Romeo, gadgets and technology, I love to sit in my car and travel across Europe with my wife and baby son, sometimes I think I need to slow it down, but then I remember my father, he was a very calculative, modest man, but on the end he died last September of a brain tumor...

But, that is life...
I can get 250 Euro for my D3100, then I need to pay 750 Euro for the new D7000, or maybe 600 Euro for used one, i just do not think it is 3 times better, but then again, it is the old rule: bag of money for a teaspoon of progress.

Please know that my recommendation is not to blow money figuring it all out. If that's what you got from my post then I either did a poor job communicating or you lost the plot. My recommendation is following your muse, always taking advantage of the lessons you've learned already. If your art tells you that you need something else, and your head and heart tell you that the something you want isn't what you need, then wait for the thing that fits the hole instead of jumping in with both feet. And when you find it, measure the cost not just in terms of what it does to your pocket, but against how it will benefit your creative side.

At another time in my life I would have simply bought a D800 when I wanted it and then wondered why I did if and when I discovered that I didn't really need it. When I pulled the trigger this week it was only after a long, and somewhat public deliberation (much of my reasoning can be found elsewhere on this site) that factored in both the cost of purchase, and also the long term benefit as a tool. Whether the decision was ultimately wise will be determined down the road, with lessons learned, both good and bad.

Only you can decide what best fits you. All I am saying is that if you only measure a tool's value in terms of added features per extra dollar then you may never move away from what you have. And there's nothing wrong with that, if you find that your toolkit is missing something that you need, it's cost must be measured not in the moment but against the lifetime benefit. A teaspoon of progress can yield a decade of inspiration if it's the right teaspoon.

I know this for sure...go hold a D7000 in your hands then hold a D3100 in your hands...and call me in the morning when you get over your sickness...

@BackdorrHippie

I understand you very well. And I agree with you.

@Eye-level

My problem was created because of that.

The additional dials/controls without having to scroll menues and look at the screen makes a big difference while shooting, but I'm not trying to sway you

One can not go wrong with ANY current Nikon camera, and well frankly, any used model for the last 8 years, the digital cameras are just that great.

It all comes down to budget, and you really can't make a mistake, don't like it,, well sell it.

If you want to take minimum risk, buy used, try,, sell at almost the same price if you don't like.

Seriously, I have never had a Nikon DSLR that I did not like.

favorite camera: 300/700/800 for just about the perfect ergonomanics, features, build, image quality,,

I consider the D7000 the best value/dollar

5200 most convenient, best value for size camera

D600 - perfect enthuist camera

D800e/800 the camera to well love. the BRAVO camera of Nikon

D3/4 -> well if you want bulk/tank like quality/and deeper buffers - sure

3200 -> best image/dollar -> holy cow,, that is amazing, dip the toe into the world of DSLRs


but, any NIKON DSLR from the last 8 years,, take great pictures depending upon the skill of the shooter.

Couldn't help but think of a guitar named Trigger.


Strummed hard and put away wet more than a few times.

The key question is can you achieve something greater or can your vision be enhanced by using the D7000 over the D3100. Clearly you are an accomplished photographer and have a clear vision. The D7000 is naturally better in a few ways over the D3100 (fps, resolution, weather sealing, toughness, screen resolution, etc.), yet if you have what you need artistically with the D3100, there is no reason to switch. However, if you encounter technical limitations to your efforts (ie: speed of focusing), then an upgrade would be practical. If you want more resolution and greater dynamic range in your photos, then the D7000 would serve you well in that regard. If your moments that you capture are that important....then isn't it worth it? Those moments only come once in your life. And you don't need to tell anyone what you spent on it.

Most of us are of the age where we started out being pulled in a red wagon until we moved up to a bicycle with training wheels until the wheels fell off when we mastered two wheels.

My personal journey started with a SLR until my first point and shoot digital that I quickly grew out of.

The key is when you master one level then it is time to move up to the next.

The guitar pictured is Willie Nelson's. He developed his talent at that level and was content to remain with what he was comfortable with. Newer fancier guitars probably would not make him a better performer. He found his comfort level and mastered it.

Okay, time for some "devils advocate" advice. I say go out and buy that new camera you're lusting for. If you've got the money and it's not taking food from your baby's mouth, then go buy it today and I'll tell you why. Having a new camera will reinvigorate your photography and will make you feel better about your art. I'm not saying you'll instantly take better photos but the newly found enthusiasm will spark up your creativity and move your photography up to the next level. And once your creative juices start flowing you never know where the adventure will take you.

Think of it like a car. Even though a brand new shiny car will get you from point A to point B the same as an old beat up car, you'll enjoy the ride so much more. And since life is short, why not squeeze every drop of enjoyment out of it while you still can?

I share the same dilemma. I know that my D3100 would serve me well for quite a while however I have the itch to upgrade. I figure if I buy much more glass then pretty soon there will be too much for one camera. What's a guy to do? I know it takes more than tools to make a craft of any kind complete but better tools don't hurt. They give you the incentive to do a better job. I have a month before I jump to something else. Until then, silly me, I am waiting for another lens for my glass family.

Dave

It is decided, I just need to sell my D3100.
When my wife heard about my dilema, she said: "Whaaat? You are thinking about stupid money? Buy it tomorrow. No, buy it now!"
She is very supportive...
Even more than she should be...

Thank you for your comments, it was very helpful.
I will let you know my impressions as soon as i get D7000.

My new D7000 has arrived.
I like it.

I need more time to see the differences, but for now I like the feel in my hands, and build quality.
Autofocus is not faster than D3100, but maybe is too early to talk about that.

I will write more soon...