Need Help Buying New Nikon Gear

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joaco2208

New member
Hi, I'm new to this forum, so I wanted to do some introduction of myself. I'm a hobbyist photographer who really likes to shoot. My favorite style is wildlife and nature photography, but I don't have like a general type of photography I do because I like all aspects of shooting what surrounds us.

I now have a quite old Canon Rebel Xsi, an excellent 70-200mm f/4L which I love, and some other lenses such as a 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM, a 28-90mm and the kit lens, the 18-55mm IS that came with my camera.

I want to buy a Nikon Camera, so I'm selling all my equipment. My Budget is Around 600 dollars or less for the camera and kit lens, and I want to buy a 70-200mm f/2.8, maybe Tamron's Non-VC version since it's affordable and extremely good, leaving auto focus aside.

My question is the following: Should I get a brand New D3200 with the 18-55 VR for around 500 bucks or should I buy a used Nikon D7000 on ebay with the 18-105 for around 600 dollars (with less than 10,000 shutter count). Which is a better camera? Is it worth buying a used D7000?

Does the D3200 work well with the Tamron 70-200mm 2.8 Macro?, I mean because it doesn't have a focusing motor inside the camera, something the D7000 has.

Is it a real advantage having the 39 pocus points the D7000 has over 11 in the d3200?

Should I get a 70-200mm f/2.8 from tamron or get the Sigma, or a Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8?

Can you please recommend a lens similar to the 18-105 with good image quality, sigma, tamron or any other brand.

Thank you very much! :)
 
H

hrstrat57

Senior Member
Marcel said:
I think you will miss your great lenses too much. Why the switch?
Click to expand...

The Canon 70-200 F4L IS is killer lens. Unless going upscale Nikon (where the AF is superior) I sure would look at staying Canon especially with the deals that will be coming on the current version crop sensor Canon 7D which handles real nice....or the FF Canon 6D if the OP can stretch the budget a bit. No pop up flash on the 6D is a bit of an issue if the OP wants to shoot some family shots indoors and not invest in a flash gun.....certainly a factor if budget is tight. I test drove all of Canon's offerings from the 7D to the 5D as well before moving to Nikon.....

I bailed on Sony A mount and sold off my kit of superior glass primarily for the high end Nikon handling, controls, layout and especially AF.
 
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hrstrat57

Senior Member
Re Nikon I will point out the obvious the higher end Nikon cameras open up the door to consider fantastic bits of older Nikkor AF glass due to the internal focusing motor...fabulous bargains to be found, my 35-70 f2.8 AF D is a solid example just a fantastic lens that could not be used on a prosumer or budget Nikon. Has moved into the first place go to slot in my limited kit.....so lucky to be able to enjoy it. The Nikkor DX kit glass I have is very good but just not in the same league.
 
B

Bill16

Senior Member
Welcome to Nikonites! I hope you'll love whichever Nikon model you end up getting. :D

I've never owned either of the models your trying to decide between, so I can't really say which would be best for the needs you listed.
 
J

joaco2208

New member
Well, I've never liked Canon cameras. I've been in love with L lenses since I first tried one, but the general Canon experience doesn't engage me. I have great Image quality because of the optics but the camera doesn't help, I don't like Canon's white balance, Images lack nice colurs, every picture I take with a canon looks as it was taken in a cloudy afternoon. Only a few of them really drive me crazy, so I don't find pleasing this, since only about 30 of 1500 pictures I take are REALLY nice to my eye, there's something that I don't like about the whole thing.

I ended up realizing that I like the images that Nikon cameras take, but I like canon Lenses. I think I will buy a good nikon camera, with a lot of features that my oldie Xsi doesn't have and a 70-200mm that can match the quality of my f/4L Canon.

My first choice was the D3200 because it packs a lot of innovative stuff in a small body and at a really contained price. The thing is that I wan't "Pro stuff", so D3200 could give a lot but some pro features aren't included in this entry-level Nikon. My 2nd Option is buying a used D7000 with a better lens for some more money, which is an option a like a lot. What I like about buying the D3200 is that It's Brand New

Regarding Lenses, I can deal with only 2 lenses. Right now I only use my 70-200mm and the 18-55mm IS, although I sometimes desire those 300mm of the 100-300mm and the 90mm of the 28-90mm. Being things I can stack up, I narrowed my choice to a 70-200mm f/2.8 and a small lens, such as the 18-55mm or 18-105 which would be awesome.

I want to get primarily a great 70-200mm f/2.8 that is as good as my Canon lens. I thing that the Tamron might be just as good as far as quality goes, but its AF is definitely not world-class as USM in the Canon, which is precise as a Swiss watch. I don't want to spend much more than 800 dollars in the 70-200mm, so it might also be a used 80-200mm Nikon, or a Sigma OS. Can you tell me which is better?

What camera should I get? Is it worth the difference between a d7000 and a d3200?

* My 70-200mm is not the IS version
Thanks!
 
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Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
joaco2208 said:
Well, I've never liked Canon cameras. I've been in love with L lenses since I first tried one, but the general Canon experience doesn't engage me. I have great Image quality because of the optics but the camera doesn't help, I don't like Canon's white balance, Images lack nice colurs, every picture I take with a canon looks as it was taken in a cloudy afternoon. Only a few of them really drive me crazy, so I don't find pleasing this, since only about 30 of 1500 pictures I take are REALLY nice to my eye, there's something that I don't like about the whole thing.

I ended up realizing that I like the images that Nikon cameras take, but I like canon Lenses. I think I will buy a good nikon camera, with a lot of features that my oldie Xsi doesn't have and a 70-200mm that can match the quality of my f/4L Canon.

My first choice was the D3200 because it packs a lot of innovative stuff in a small body and at a really contained price. The thing is that I wan't "Pro stuff", so D3200 could give a lot but some pro features aren't included in this entry-level Nikon. My 2nd Option is buying a used D7000 with a better lens for some more money, which is an option a like a lot. What I like about buying the D3200 is that It's Brand New

Regarding Lenses, I can deal with only 2 lenses. Right now I only use my 70-200mm and the 18-55mm IS, although I sometimes desire those 300mm of the 100-300mm and the 90mm of the 28-90mm. Being things I can stack up, I narrowed my choice to a 70-200mm f/2.8 and a small lens, such as the 18-55mm or 18-105 which would be awesome.

I want to get primarily a great 70-200mm f/2.8 that is as good as my Canon lens. I thing that the Tamron might be just as good as far as quality goes, but its AF is definitely not world-class as USM in the Canon, which is precise as a Swiss watch. I don't want to spend much more than 800 dollars in the 70-200mm, so it might also be a used 80-200mm Nikon, or a Sigma OS. Can you tell me which is better?

What camera should I get? Is it worth the difference between a d7000 and a d3200?

* My 70-200mm is not the IS version
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Go for the D7000. You will be disappointed with the 3200's lack of direct controls (less menu driven).
 
J

joaco2208

New member
And what about the Lenses? Is the Tamron 70-200mm 2.8 good enough to keep up the pace? Or should I get something else?

Is the Tamron 70-200mm f 2.8 Non VC better than the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8?
 
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G

gqtuazon

Gear Head
joaco2208 said:
Should I get a 70-200mm f/2.8 from tamron or get the Sigma, or a Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8?

Can you please recommend a lens similar to the 18-105 with good image quality, sigma, tamron or any other brand.

Thank you very much! :)
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum.

For now, I would do some research first to check out the specs and price range to make sure that they fit your budget. It is difficult to recommend something that is beyond your budget. Once you narrowed down the list of lenses and camera body, then update you question here.

Here are the Nikon's webpages which includes their prices to get you started.

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/dslr-cameras/D-SLR.page#Enthusiast

Digital Camera & DSLR Lenses | All NIKKOR Lenses for Digital SLR Cameras| Nikon
 
A

aroy

Senior Member
Regarding colours from Canon, this is the first time I am hearing this, as most Canon shooters get their colour bang on. May be before changing camp, you should try shooting RAW and post processing the images in the Canon Software. If you are still bent on changing camp, then read on.

Do what I did. Get the D3300 with its kit lense. The body is much better than the D3200 and the body+lense combination is excellent as well as being lighter with longer battery life. Nikon low end bodies have very few buttons and controls (that is what I like), but you may not. Older CPU lenses which require an in-body motor will not AF, but will meter. Even older non CPU lense will neither AF nor meter, so you will have to do both in manual mode. If you are willing for this then the D3300 is the best buy today.

Once you get used to the Nikon, you can start acquiring lenses. I already had a 50mm F1.8 and 16-85, so I got the 35mm F1.8. The 35mm is an excellent lense which will complement the kit zoom for low light situations.

Barring a few professional zoom, most of the zooms that reach 300mm are quite bad at long end. At that range the 300mm F4 prime is the best VFM. The latest 70-200 VR-II is excellent but costs a lot.
 
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