I have a dilemma......

[Kev Pugh]

D7100 or D600...?

The Dilemma being that I think I need to be looking to upgrade very soon, so the question is do I stick with DX and go for the D7100 or go FX with the D600?

Now bearing in mind that although my kit bag is limited, my wallet is equally limited and I don't want to find that I've restricted myself by sticking with DX whilst at the same time find that I am limited to the lens that I would get if I went with the D600. (Buying additional lenses would probably not be an option at this stage).

I would prefer not to have to upgrade if I was honest but I feel I need to as I'm being asked to do a little more lately. Type of stuff I'm being asked to do is generally anything from people to product and externals and interiors. But not enough where I could say I would be doing it every day or even every week.

So...

Would it be a good option to stick with DX and if things improve with more work perhaps then leap into Full Frame and if it doesn't improve then I wouldn't have forked out the extra with the possible extra outlay for lens options, but still have a better piece of kit.

Thanks in advance

Kev

 

[Pete Askew]

My inclination would always be to migrate to FX but I can see the issue if you only have DX lenses. Mounting them on the D600 would force it into a crop mode but I guess the resolution you'd be left with would be significantly better than the D200 but a lot less than the D7100: although that is probably not a major issue. You could of course get some S/H manual lenses and the D600 will give you more options for wider angles. What lenses do you have?

 

[David Mitchell]

There are also some good DX specific lenses out there like my Nikon 35mm F1.8G which I find to be an amazingly sharp lens, I guess it depends on what you want to shoot. If its more about fun shooting you could even look at some CSC like the Sony NEX which I am really enjoying shooting due to all the different lenses you can use.

 

[Brian Moore]

I've been considering this question for a while, too, Kev,...from the Canon point of view. I have a 7D, which is a cropped sensor. I was leaning toward the 7D originally because I could get more reach out of the lenses and I thought I'd be doing some sports shots. But the sports thing hasn't panned out (although the crop factor/lens reach has certainly come in handy for dance events) and I'm thinking a full frame camera would be nice to have since I am trying to learn a thing or two about architectural photography. But, the issue of lenses applies to me too. I think at some point down the road I will simply "bite the bullet" and go full-frame. But it will hurt!

 

[Hamish Gill]

Kev, dont forget that the d600 has a very adequate pixel count (10mp) even in dx mode so your older lenes wont become redundant ... moving from a d200 when shooting dx mode your only dropping from 12mp to 10mp ... but you gain the benefits of full frame the rest of the time!

 

[Dave Young]

I jumped into Full frame a year or so back with a second hand Canon 5D Mark 1 and bought a couple of prime lenses (a 28mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4 and a 100mm f2). I have to say going from a 40D DX to the 5D was an enlightening period.

Full Frame is a wonderful thing, even doing it that way on a budget!

If you can manage it and blag a couple of good quality second hand lenses I'd go for FF everytime. If budget is an issue have you considered a good quality second hand D700, that's still an awesome bit of kit isn't it?

 

[Hamish Gill]

I jumped into Full frame a year or so back with a second hand Canon 5D Mark 1 and bought a couple of prime lenses (a 28mm 1.8, 50mm 1.4 and a 100mm f2). I have to say going from a 40D DX to the 5D was an enlightening period.

Full Frame is a wonderful thing, even doing it that way on a budget!

If you can manage it and blag a couple of good quality second hand lenses I'd go for FF everytime. If budget is an issue have you considered a good quality second hand D700, that's still an awesome bit of kit isn't it?

agree, agree, yes!!!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Or buy my XE-1

 

[Dan Cattermole]

Get both Kev...... Dilemma solved!

 

[Kev Pugh]

Thanks Guys, I am in between coming in and going back out, (have visitors from Hamburg) so will pick this up tomorrow, but in the mean time Dan you are being very naughty, if I could do that I would not be pulling what hair I have left Out, Damn DD [banghead]

 

[Dave Moss]

I would likely go for a second hand D700 and lenses for what its worth

 

[Dan Cattermole]

Ooooh I say! I am very naughty Kev!

 

[Milan Vjestica]

Kev, FF every time for me. You can get some very good older lenses that still have AF too. I have a 28-85 and 28-105 that work well on FF digital. D600 or D700; You know it makes sense!

 

[Dan Cattermole]

That's you told Kev!

 

[Dave Moss]

Now I'm thinking the same looking at it though and the prices of a s/h D700 I'm reckoning a D600 for £300 more (its controls are also closer to what I'm use to as well) is the better choice ok it still does depend what he insurance company offer me although if the claim company are right should be ok if not a d7000 lol

 

[Kev Pugh]

Well my nuggets didn't reach the fix but am more than happy

 

[Darren Turner]

i had same issues KK when i got my D7100 cost was not really an issue in my case, i was thinking of getting the D800 and a few lens, now i have never used full frames so cant personally compare, i plumbed for the d7100 but i defo don't regret my decision its an awesome piece of kit i kind of also love travelling light

 

[Dave Moss]

Thanks Kev and Darren so I might be just as well going for D7000/D7100 with some extra new glassware then