Camera upgrade strategy

I am a bit confused as to the best way to go about my upgrade path.

Ultimately I think I want to end up with a D600.
Do I really need a D600 ? Probably not.
Do I want a D600 ? Yes.

I see my options as, stick with my D3100 until I have enough money to go straight to a D600.

Or, a stepping stone or two along the way. I have been checking out 2nd hand prices for a while now.
I was tempted to buy a D90, but then thought for another $100 I can go to a D300.
But after reading a bit about the different cameras, I am now thinking I might be better to go to a 2nd hand D7000 for another $150 on top of what a D300 is going for.
The reason for this is I think I would find the transition from D3100 to D7000 to D600 a bit smoother. From what I can gather they all lean towards menu based controls, more so than the D300.

Another thought is maybe if I get a D7000, I would be happy to stay with it for a good while.

Then there are the lens's to consider, I have a Nikon 70-300VR on the way, I will probably get a Nikon 50G/1.8 soon.
And when I sell my D3100 and kit lenses, I will look for a mid range FX zoom.

Can anyone see any holes in my thinking, or have any thoughts on the matter.

I started with a D80 then upgraded to a D700 a little over four years ago. It was a bit expensive but it was worth it. It was one of the best advices that I had at the time. I only wish that I followed other peoples advice when it comes to lenses since I ended up with what "they" also advised in the long run. I didn't wanted to spend a lot on lenses but in the end, I ended up spending more since I had to buy and sell the lenses that I decided to buy and wasted time and money doing it.

Depending on how serious you want to get with photography, getting the higher end camera equipment will minimize the constant upgrade or buying and selling of equipment. It's either do it right the first time or do it right the second time.

Lesson's learned for me: Buy the best camera that you are willing to spend. In your case, the D600 is a good start.

With regards to lenses, for prime lenses, start with the Nikon 28mm f1.8G and 85mm f1.8G.

The kit lens (Nikon 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 VRII) is a good lens to start with. Can't go wrong with the f2.8 zooms.

If I was thinking D600 I would probably go to the D600 instead of to a D7000....

Why? Anything else you buy means you would loose money...By going this way you can spend your savings on lens

If you put it off for some time they may have sorted the dust problem with the D600...

Ironwood said:

The reason for this is I think I would find the transition from D3100 to D7000 to D600 a bit smoother. From what I can gather they all lean towards menu based controls, more so than the D300.

Can anyone see any holes in my thinking, or have any thoughts on the matter.

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I had the D3100 and D5100 prior to the D600. The D600 is much less menu based which you will find is a huge advantage. It's not really that hard of a transition from menu to controls.

From my own experience, once you get the Fx thought in your head, you will not be happy until you have it. As far as lenses, as suggested, start out with some good primes, excellent quality vs. price. I'm extremely happy with the 3 in my signature, they give me such great results that I have sold all of my other lenses. Get what will keep you happy for years to come, upgrading several times can be expensive.

After shooting primes for a while, I no longer subscribe to the theory that expensive glass on a less expensive body is better. Since high quality primes are realatively cheap (and offer equal or better IQ than the expensive 2.8 zooms), buy the best body you can and work your way up the glass chain.

The advice given above is solid.

IF the 600 is what you really want..... get it. I subscribe to the Buy Once, Cry Once theory of shopping.

my choice number 1 would be a used D700 if you cannot afford a new D600. Don't get me wrong, I own a D7000 and D800, so, I do like your reasoning.

I don't agree 100% that you would loose much money on a D7000, if you got it used. I see the ebay price is around 750-850 dollars. See a kit with a 18-105, and 70-300 for 950 wow. I would say that if you bought a used one for say 800 dollars, could use for a year or so,, and sell for 700 dollars which is not a huge loss. during the time you continue to save for the D600.

bottom line, there are lots of camera paths,, like D300 -> D600 -> D800 -> D1000 (winks).

If you want a D600, get it. Whenever you buy a camera and sell it, you take a loss.

You only have one life to live (at least I *think* we only have one) so you might as well do everything the best and biggest you can. Something tells me you'll suffer few, if any, deathbed regrets for grabbing the D600 over the other cameras.

Well, I am a little overwhelmed by the number of responses, thanks Guys. Lots of sound advice there to mull over.

I wont reply to each individual post , but just a broad reply to all.

I think if I was to buy a 2nd hand D7000 ( the prices I have been seeing are $650-$750 for a good body) I dont think I would be loosing too much when I sold it on after 12 months. By then hopefully I could buy a D600 confident that the dust issue has been resolved.

I have ruled out a D700, as they are going for $1600-$1700, I have seen 3 x 2nd hand D600;s this last week all going for around $1800 in Australia ( could also get a new grey-market one for about the same ) I havent started testing the local shops for new prices yet, but I see their advertised prices are around $2400, I think I could get them down a bit from there.

Lens's are another matter. The argument for primes is definetely a good one, I can see myself having a couple of primes.
But I think I am probably a bit lazy when it comes to changing lenses, and I think I will end up also with a good quality mid-range zoom for a walk around lens, which would stay on the camera 75 percent of the time.

Maybe by the time I assemble a few lenses, the D600 will be sorted anyway, surely Nikon knows there is an issue and are working to remedy it.

If you are seriously thinking D7000, Buy new from these people "$790"

These people are not official Nikon but do have 12 months warranty that you wouldn't get second hand...Plus you can buy an extended warranty if you wish..

Anyway good luck with your decision...I bought my camera from them 5 1/2 years ago..

Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera Body | cheapest sale prices in Australia | buy online from DD Photographics

Thats a good price, thanks for that link Pedro.
I see they have the D600 for $1939 as well.

ah,, yup,, lens, I run a 24-85 on my D7000, I started with the 18-55 but it squeeks and seems to be hunting more and more focusing, the 24-85 just has better build quality.

Here is some advice, take it if you like, with the D7000, you can buy really really cheap old glass, and well, a really cool one believe it or not is a 28-70 3.5,, which you can pick up for 80 dollars, actually quite sharp, extremely small, and such a bargain. Not a super broad range, but enough to work in most situations.

Then for really funky, get a old manual glass 20 3.5,, ultra small, sharp, and well covers your wide angle when needed, both work just fine on a D600 later.

Sometimes the older glass are bargains.

Ironwood said:

Thats a good price, thanks for that link Pedro.
I see they have the D600 for $1939 as well.

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Yes they are reasonable compared to Nikon outlets....

Well, I have had a good think about it all, I think I will resist the stepping stones, and forge on with my saving 'til I have enough for the D600.

I have been watching the old lenses on Ebay for a while now, will possibly pick up something like STMV has suggested to see me through until I can afford a 24-120 f4. Though that plan could change at any time.