D750 vs D5100 70 200 2.8 Lens

Hi,

Recently I bought Nikon D750 and Tamron 70 200 and 24 70 2.8 G2 lenses. I also have a old D5100 camera. Rather than changing lenses all the time in D750 if I attach my 70 200 to my D5100 can I still get good quality photos?

Sometimes probably "yes". - I don't know where you are setting the benchmark for your work. DxO haven't tested exactly your gear but the best Tamron 70-200 they tested gets rated 21 PMP on D750 vs 13 PMP on D5200.

Since you have your kit, why not try it out and evaluate it? - You should do so anyhow! - A wide open 70-200/2.8 might benefit from AF micro adjustments. (At least my EOS stuff smells that way.) - Can you DIY these, by docking the lens to your PC, for the D5100? Or at which f-stop don't you need them yet?

At some point light might get too low for the D5100, But that is no reason to not shoot it in better light.

Upon the quality bench mark: I am content when pictures hold up for 4K viewing. APS-C and half decent kit zooms can produce "acceptable" results. According to DxO you should even be able to get "decent" ones. I didn't go entirely FF either, I wanted such a DSLR with stabilized 70-200 for low light or action but for touristy stuff and ordinary color work I am sticking to APS.

If you want to print billboards from headshots you are taking changing lenses should be your better bet.

If that's the G2 of the 70-200 you've got, it's had nothing but glowing reviews since its launch, and should be a big step up from its predecessor. It keeps the latest FL version of the Nikkor 70-200 honest, and between them they're probably optically the best 70-200mm lenses on the market. The G2 24-70 is a little less exotic, being mostly a rebuild of the older 24-70 (which is a perfectly decent lens if not spectacular - I have it), although I believe it notably adds support for Tamron's fine tuning dock.

Jochen is right about focus fine tuning - and to clarify, I don't believe you can tune in-camera on the D5100 (which is a less-demanding target than the D5200, since it's 16MP rather than 24MP). If you get the dock and tune for the D5100, you might be able to compensate for camera variations with the in-camera tuning of the D750. Or just assume you'll be fine at f/4, which you probably will be.

I don't see a reason why you shouldn't get "good quality photos" from putting either of your lenses on the D5100 - with the proviso that there's a crop factor involved, so if you have the 24-70 on the D750 and the 70-200 on the D5100, you'll effectively have a "gap" between the 70mm of the D750 and 105mm-equivalent 70mm of the D5100. That's not a huge gap, although it does fall where some people like to shoot portraits. If you're shooting both side by side, go for this combination - it's better than missing a shot while you change lens. If you've got time to change, I'd pick the better body for your needs.

Bear in mind that the D5100 is only 16MP, so although it has more reach (the pixels are a bit smaller so they resolve more detail), it also captures less detail over all. The D750 likely also retains more per-pixel accuracy. I'd be using the D750 when you didn't actively need as much reach as possible, or when you're not jockeying two cameras.

If you're new to these, I'd also say that, especially on the D5100, make sure you're taking the weight by the lens. It's quite a lot of lens to cantilever off a plastic camera frame - you'll often get away with it, but it won't take much of a knock to snap the mount. If you're supporting the lens (which is more stable anyway) and just letting the camera hang off the back, you shouldn't have a problem. If you use a tripod, use the foot on the lens.

Good luck, enjoy your new toys, and absolutely do your own experiments! (Massive disclaimer, I don't own either of your bodies or either of your lenses, this is all regurgitated internet information.)

Johan

Yes. Your D5100 will take amazing images with the Tamron glass you own. The D5100 has a better sensor than the professional D2x that was Nikon's top camera in use in 2006. Good hunting.

Just remember that on the D5100, you have a 1.5x crop factor, compared to the D750.

So the 70-200 will have the same AoV as a 105-300 on the FX D750.

You gain in long end magnification, but you loose coverage on the short end. This may or may not make a difference in how you use it. For me, loosing coverage on the short end hurt.

But the combo 24-70 + FX equiv 105-300 makes a nice kit.

All previous comments are correct and apropos. Just FYI from a D5100 owner/user: The sensor size, performance, and pixel density between these bodies is quite extreme. My first DSLR was a D5100, which I shot with both DX and FX lenses. It made, and makes, fine photographs. However, stepping up, by turns, to the D7100 and then, most recently, the D810, has demonstrated to me just how much of a difference the upgrade to higher performance and to FX can make. Today I find I swap back and forth between the D810 and D7100, depending on subject and circumstances. I still take out the D5100 when there is higher risk of damage or theft, since it has become my, relatively, "disposable" body with a cheep kit lens mounted. Still, many very good images in my portfolio were captured with the D5100, and it will serve very well as backup and supplement to your D750.

On the idea of using the longer lens on the DX sensor to stretch apparent range: I have found that images requiring a longer lens also tend to be images I end up cropping to obtain the desired framing. For me, these typically are wildlife or similar subjects. While the DX sensor does give an apparent stretch in focal length, it is far less forgiving when a tight crop is needed. Pixel density for the D5100 is 1.55x that of the D750, suggesting more available detail. However, The light-gathering capacity of the FX pixels is far higher. The relative pixel density of my 36 MP D810 and 24 MP D7100 are very similar to that of your two bodies, but I am finding the far higher performance of the D810 sensor and package is pushing me towards that platform, in spite of the supposed higher performance of the D7100 for telephoto use. I suspect the relative performance of the 24 MP sensor in the D750 and the 16 MP sensor in the D5100 will be similar to my experience.