kristen_mcgrath Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Right now I shoot weddings with a D70s and my basic lens (18-70) and (70-300). I'm thinking of upgrading to the new D80. But I'm torn because I really like this lens 28-70 (F 2.8). Which is a lot of money. I just don't know which will enhance my photos more. Upgrading to the higher pixel camera or keep shooting with the D70s and buy the lens. Need some opinions please! Kristen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicaglow Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I've only shot weddings with 4x5", but unless your clients are ordering prints much larger than 8x10", you won't see a lot of difference between the two cameras. I would think a faster lens that allows more selective focus might be a good solution for weddings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 The fact of the matter is that both the camera and lens are important, but the more important factor is the photographer, which is a separate topic. The upgrade from a D70s to a D80 is a relatively small one. We already have several threads on that topic. If you were buying a new camera, I would definitely opt for a D80, but I don't see the point to upgrade from a D70s to D80. A true upgrade would be to a D200 or better, which I suppose you need to wait because of cost. For wedding work on a DSLR, I prefer the 17-55mm/f2.8 DX over the 28-70mm/2.8, but either one would be a good fit for wedding work. The 28-70 would be great for portraits but 28mm is not quite wide enough for a lot of situations. Do you have a backup camera? If not, it is a matter of time that you'll need another DSLR in additional to the D70s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffyjohnson Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Kristen, Both are important.. for now my suggestion is BUY THE LENS... trust me it will enhance your photos. Even though D80 is an excellent camera, I don't think it is a great leap from your D70s. So buy the lens now and keep close watch on camera developments by Nikon. Cheers Taffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey_kempster Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 LENS LENS LENS You will get much better results with a 28-70 than a new D80. Build up your lens collection first and then worry about the camera. One year from the now the D80 will have lost $400-$500 in value, but hte 28-70 will be worth almost the same amount. Now with that said I have the 17-55 f2.8 and prefer it to a 28-70. It is really important if you have large wedding parties and not much space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourboncowboy Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Yep. Get the glass. Upgrades in cameras occur every year, but good glass will always be good glass. And the 28-70 2.8 is exceptional glass - particularly for weddings. I just bought this lens this year, and am only upset because i didn't buy it sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klix Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Get the 28-70mm if you still shoot film; the 17-55 if you're all digital. BTW, the D80 takes SD cards, not the CF cards that you use with your D70s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manitas Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Get the lens. No question about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_in_PA Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Glass, more important for sure. If you shoot weddings and have only one body... You NEED to get a backup, or a better body and make the current body your backup. Shooting weddings with only one body? No good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristen_mcgrath Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 Thanks for all your input. Actually I have 4 cameras...I shoot with my husband. We have 2 D70s and 2 D70's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photo5 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Kristen, The D70s is an excellent camera, keep using it. I would go for the lens, just as everyone else has said. The 28-70 will become a 42-105mm, which may be a little limited on the wide angle side, but great on the telephoto side. Keep that lens on one body, and an 18-70mm on the other for wide angle. I shot weddings for a few years as a second shooter working for a pro, and I always used a Tamron 28-105mm f2.8 zoom which covered everything I needed and always resulted in fantastic photos. That being said, if I were you and I was shooting weddings, I would prefer the D200 over the D70/80 bodies for the viewfinder mainly, and the rugged build. Composing is so important when you're shooting a wedding, and the viewfinder in the D70s does slow me down a little compared to a larger brighter one. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron l Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 LENS. Period. I've suffered through using my 18-70 but it was inadequate. The 28-70 2.8 or the 17-55 2.8. You're going to want some compression for portraits so the 70 range is very nice. I have the 85 1.4 for portraits but for versatile portraits, the 28-70 2.8 will be my next paycheck buster. The 70-300 is fairly pointless since most places for weddings are way too dark. You're going to need to kick it up with lighting and such, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot1 Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I first thought was to agree on upgrading the lens. But after some consideration of my own experience, I have to side the the camera upgrade. I enjoyed my d70, but I must say that the enjoyment level and overall quality of my images took a giant leap forward when I upgraded to the d200 using the same lenses I had with my d70. It is not the additional pixels that make the difference becuase there is really very little difference from 6 to 10mp unless you do extreme enlargements. Exposure are consistantly more accurate. Colors are truer. White balance is always on the money. Another great advantage is the larger viewfinder. It is worth upgrading for the improved viewfinder alone (in my opinion)! The d80 will give you images equal to the d200 and is a very affordable upgrade. If you don't have a backup camera, and you should just in case, the d70 is perfect for that. There are many stores that have liberal return policies. If you can, buy one and try it out, doing side-by-side tests with the d70. You can then decide for yourself what is best for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_beauvais Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Shun started on the right path.... Shooting weddings.... If either one of your lenses fail, you can shoot SOME photos with the other. If your camera body fails, all you can count on getting is SUED. In my opinion, you are living very dangerously if you don't have a back-up body. A second body is not a "nice to have" if you are taking money to preserve a couple's most important day of their lives. Once you cover this basic, then get better lenses. Good luck, Kristen! Dan in Kitty Hawk DanBeauvais.com -or- OuterBanksImages.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_ Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 As noted above. The camera body _ 25 percent. The lens used _ 25 percent. The 'how to use' the light available _ 25 percent. The photographer's skill _ all the above percents, plus 25 percent. Some folks can shoot anything with a Leica, and some can get fine results with a Nikon N8008s. The 'one' lens or camera body does not exist for everything to be creative above and beyond the last image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jams Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 To comment on Dave Lees comment... THe D80's viewfinder is the same as the D200 If i were you I would get the D80 2 Bodies one for 70-300 and the other for 18-70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger_s Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 I've had a D70 for just under 2 years, and have had my D80 for a week. I'll second Elliot Bernstein's comments. In theory, I agree when people say it is not the camera that determines the photographs. For film cameras, I would have agreed. For instance, when I had my FE2, I had no need to get an F3, and I would say that getting an F3 would not have improved my photographs. But in the case of DSLR, the earlier models simply had poor characteristics, in particular the viewfinder. I'm entralled by the D80. I'm sure the D200 is nicer, but I can't justify the cost. Since you're a professional photographer, you owe it to yourself to actually test out the D80/D200, rather than the relying on theoretical debate here. Nothing will beat that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot1 Posted October 6, 2006 Share Posted October 6, 2006 Roger, The d80 is every bit as good as the d200, just lighter and a few less features, mostly advanced stuff that you might not even care about. I pre-ordered a d80 when it first was announced and received it a few days after its release. I was very impressed with it. I did side-by-side test shots with both cameras and the results were virtually identical, although the d80 seems to sharpen a little more than the d200 (standard settings). If I were to buy a camera today, I would buy the d80 over the d200. Although I use some of the advanced features of the d200, I would prefer to save $600 and live without... and still get exceptional picture quality. Happy shooting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two23 Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Cameras come and go. Good lenses and tripods you keep. Go for the lens! A cheap camera with an expensive lens will almost always give you better results than an expensive camera with a cheap lens. Kent in SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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