Help! What to buy?

I'm going on holiday in September and want to have the best gear I can to maximise my chances of taking great photos. I know this is more down to me than the equipment but camera or lenses (+filters) can't hurt.

At a push I have around £500-£550 to spend. The options I'm considering are as follows:

D7100 body. (£550 new in a few places, or £495 if I buy it today which I almost certainly won't. It might come back down to this but who knows?)
or 1 of these:
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 (£309)
Tokina 12-28mm f/4 (£345)
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 (£349)
Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 (£389)

plus filter/filters:

Looking at Hoya HD circular polarising filter. Either to fit one of the lens above with step down rings, or a 52mm thread to fit on my current lenses with the D7100.
Also considering grad ND filters. Something like the Cokin H250A ND grad kit.

I want to be able to capture the stunning landscapes on this trip, as well as wildlife and general holiday snaps.

So what should I do? Or what would you do? Stick with the D3200 and just add filters to my existing lenses listed in my signiture. Purchase a wide angle lens, doesn't have to be one of the above but those are what I'm leaning towards. Buy a D7100 and some filters and take advantage of this cameras improved performance.

FYI I will buy a D7100 at some point but if its glass first then I'll have to wait much longer. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense but I'm tying myself in knots so could do with some outside help. Thanks.

I personally would buy the D7100, and buy the 11-16 lens later!

You'll get more bang for the buck with the D7100 or D7200...

Me? I'd buy glass first. Bodies come and go. Good glass is a wise investment.

If good reviews support it I would probably opt for the Tokina 12 to 28 which would give better coverage. Sparky called it, good glass is the best investment.

RON said:

If good reviews support it I would probably opt for the Tokina 12 to 28 which would give better coverage. Sparky called it, good glass is the best investment.

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It depends on which body you're putting that lens on. Its a trade off either way.

I would get the 7100 for now and use the existing lenses untill I can afford a nice UWA.
Apart from the 18-55 which by the way is not too shabby, the OP seems to have some nice glass already.

I agree that really good glass is a worthy investment but it seems to me you've GOT some pretty decent glass right now. Going from the D3200 to the D7100 isn't going to turn you into something you're not, but neither is a wide angle lens. Bearing everything in mind I'd say it's time to upgrade the camera body. There are some very real, very practical benefits for you in upgrading to the D7100. Things like the significantly better battery life, the weather sealing, the extra card slot, the higher ISO, the better auto-focus (meaning the additional focus points and cross-type focus points) and so on. Speaking for myself I'd feel perfectly well equipped on any vacation with a good fast prime like your (35mm) and a moderate zoom (like your Tamron 70-200mm); that's a very simple, but very flexible arsenal right there. The rest, really, is up to you. If I were you I'd invest some time hitting a good book on the new body (assuming you go that route) and plan on learning it forwards and backwards *before* you leave for vacation. Then I'd spend an equal amount of time learning about compositional technique because nothing else will elevate your shots from "Oh, yeah... Nice shot. *yawn*" to "WOW!"

The Hoya HD circular polarizers are something I definitely recommend; I rarely shoot outdoors without one. I also prefer filters that actually fit my lenses over step-rings; I find step-rings to be nothing but a PITA in practice.

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+ 1 for Paul and Pete's suggestion,it can always be said glass first but at some stage most of us upgrade the camera.

At the risk of sounding like I'm against the "get good glass" camp (which I'm in) in your particular boat I'd be looking at the D7100. It is a big step from the D3100 you have now . Not that you can't get stunning photo's from the D3100 which you can, it is just so much more camera. The benefits have been well listed above.

As for Ultra Wides - closest I have is a Tamron 20-40 which I enjoy (picked up used a while back). But there is an alternative. Use your best, sharpest lens and take the vista in a series of shots and stitch in panoramic mode. (lots of software, both free and paid let you do this with ease). Sure, panning on a tripod is best but you don't need to. I sometimes shoot left to right at one level, then raise the camera and come back right to left a little higher. You end up creating huge files but they downsize easily. You only need to take two or maybe three shots to simulate most UWA anyway, I tend to get carried away and stitch 5, 6, or 7 images to create a real wide view. I have a PC with three monitors so my background image is 54x11 which begs for wide wide views. But for a simple UWA view 2 will do. Turn your camera to vertical (portrait orientation) and take three, this creates a good UWA view.

Just a work around if your widest lens is not wide enough for the vistas you want.

Caveat - this is sub-optimal with moving subjects e.g. a crowded market or sports event but great for landscapes. Have done people - but big family pose when you tell everyone to stand still and shoot fast. Even then it is tricky. sub-optimal for people or other moving subjects.

Much more of a consensus towards the D7100 option than I'd expected. This is the way I was leaning but kept going around in circles. My wife will probably be happiest with this option too, as she'll get the use of my D3200.

In the meantime I'll be putting practice in and trying to learn better composition. Will also have a go at stitching images together to get that ultra wide look.

Thanks again!!!

Tokina 11-16 is a terrific lens, but if you don't want to carry too much stuff on your holiday trip the more flexible 12-28 might be a better option. I have never used it, though, so cannot tell anything about it. But I can vouch for the 11-16.

Have you considered the new Tokina 11-20 f/2.8?

Felisek said:

Tokina 11-16 is a terrific lens, but if you don't want to carry too much stuff on your holiday trip the more flexible 12-28 might be a better option. I have never used it, though, so cannot tell anything about it. But I can vouch for the 11-16.

Have you considered the new Tokina 11-20 f/2.8?

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A lot of folk who have the 11-16 seem to really rate it. How do you find its build quality?
I've read less about the 12-28, the flexability is more appealing but I imagine I would use the wide end much more anyway.
I'm not even sure the 11-20 is available in the UK, it didn't come up on a couple of searches I just did.
As the D7100 looks like being my next buy I'll have plenty of time to look into these more. Is it just me or is it less straightforward when it comes to choosing a wide angle than other focal lengths?

Elliot87 said:

A lot of folk who have the 11-16 seem to really rate it. How do you find its build quality?

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Feels like a brick. In a good sense Very solid. I suppose it is partially due to the lack of image stabiliser. All other lenses I own have OS/VR and they always rattle a bit.

Elliot87 said:

I'm not even sure the 11-20 is available in the UK, it didn't come up on a couple of searches I just did.

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I found only this grey import.

Elliot87 said:

As the D7100 looks like being my next buy I'll have plenty of time to look into these more. Is it just me or is it less straightforward when it comes to choosing a wide angle than other focal lengths?

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I don't know about others, but my choice was between the 11-16 and Nikon 10-24. After a lot of reading I decided that the Tokina has better quality and I have a good 17-50 lens to complement it. So, I compromised a little on flexibility, instead of quality. The 11-16 mm range is so narrow that it feels like a prime.

For the lens..Tokina 11-16 seems a good buy

Also you like wildlife..landscapes and wildlife is different ball game
Burst mode and buffer will play an important aspect here..D7100/7200 just make sure you wait and buy the right one

Also learn new techniques..Tripod usage..post processing..locations and experiments with your current setup..look at photos and practise..

If you out grow the camera first then upgrade else a better lens + technique will do the trick


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you have good enough glass for the 7100 , its a great camera i have one and i have the 11-16 so save for that one later its a great lens , im looking at the 105 micro next

what do you think of the 70-300 , i have the 55 but its a little slow on focus , i like to shoot birds in flight , i have got some nice shots with it but will probably go the 70 300 at some point

I'll just point out that if you get the D7100, which has a built-in auto-focus motor (unlike your D3200) you'll be able to get the cheaper of the two Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 versions. There is the AT-X116 Pro DX II version which has a focus motor and the AT-X PRO DX version which does not. As I recall the latter version is about $60 or $70 less expensive.

You would also be able to auto-focus using less expensive Nikon "D" variant lenses.

Just something to think about.
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In my opinion moving to D7100 from D3200 will give you more flexibility while shooting, but I doubt it will improve your images. I have a D3300 with the kit 18-55 VR-II and 35mm F1.8 DX, which is an excellent combination, and barring long shots this works well for most of the situations.

If you are interested in Ultra Wide angle lenses, and less in Birding and Wild Life shooting, moving to a Full Frame will benefit you much more than going for a DX body. Your wides will be practically ultra wides, your ISO will be a couple of steps better, and you will have (as with D7100) metering with all AIS lenses.

You should sell the older 18-55 and get the latest one. The new lens is much better as it is sharper and has excellent VR.

In the long run, an FF body is what is optimum for travel and casual shooting.

egosbar said:

you have good enough glass for the 7100 , its a great camera i have one and i have the 11-16 so save for that one later its a great lens

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That is what I'll do, although whether it will be the 11-16 next or something longer than my 70-300 time will tell.

what do you think of the 70-300 , i have the 55 but its a little slow on focus , i like to shoot birds in flight , i have got some nice shots with it but will probably go the 70 300 at some point

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I don't have much to compare it to other than the 55-200 I had before and it's much better than that. At around 280mm and f/7.1 it gives pretty good results although not razor sharp but that's to be expected I guess. I'm interested to see how it performs on the D7100 and will report back then. In the long run I'm looking to get something longer as I'm very keen on birding. Most likely a 300mm f/4D and 1.4x teleconvertor, or one of thelong Sigma or Tamron zooms.

aroy said:

In my opinion moving to D7100 from D3200 will give you more flexibility while shooting, but I doubt it will improve your images. I have a D3300 with the kit 18-55 VR-II and 35mm F1.8 DX, which is an excellent combination, and barring long shots this works well for most of the situations.

If you are interested in Ultra Wide angle lenses, and less in Birding and Wild Life shooting, moving to a Full Frame will benefit you much more than going for a DX body. Your wides will be practically ultra wides, your ISO will be a couple of steps better, and you will have (as with D7100) metering with all AIS lenses.

You should sell the older 18-55 and get the latest one. The new lens is much better as it is sharper and has excellent VR.

In the long run, an FF body is what is optimum for travel and casual shooting.

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The main way in which I see IQ being improved is when shooting at higher ISO's. I imagine under optimum conditions at ISO 100 with the same lens they won't look all that much different.
Birding and wildlife is my main interest and that's why I'm happy to go with a DX body. In general landscapes are secondary to that, so an FX body isn't on my radar really.

ARGHHH! I just bloody went and ordered a D7100. I feel guilty like I've committed a crime or something. All my life I've been a frugal saver until I took up this hobby, damn NAS!