kevin_lindeque Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Hello all I have a nikon d70 with 18 - 70 kit lens and a 70 - 300 g kit lens, now that i am getting into it a bit more (assisting a pro more regularly, he is letting me loose on my own soon!)i would like to invest in a second body and better glass. I dont have a huge budget ?1500 ($3000us) i could buy a d200 for ?800 ($1600) and spend the rest on glass or would you say i should buy another d70 and use a greater proportion on lenses. I would like the nikkor 70 - 200 but that blows nearly my entire budget please advise, as my head is in a spin, i have trawled this forum for so long that i just cant see my way clear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindeque Posted April 17, 2007 Author Share Posted April 17, 2007 sorry meant to post a link to some images that i have taken with my existing kit. http://www.yesterdayslife.com/photofront/kevinlindeque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Unless you need faster glass, the 18/70 is a fine lens. I put some leica lenses on my D 200 and compared with the 18/70. The Nikon is a bit lower in contrast, has a bit less shadow detail, and is softer in the corners. The corners don`t matter in wedding work. PS can fix the other stuff. I AM TALKING REALLY SMALL DIFFERENCES. You need more MP to do large prints. D200 is 10. Native RAW is 8x12 at 300 ppi. You need some back up lenses though. What happens if the motor freezes. I fail to see what good long teles are for wedding stuff. My wedding was done with a Rollie 2 1/4 and a Mutar or two. I know lots for wedding photogs who carry a Leica 35/50/90. Buy some decent lighting, D200, 18/55 kit lens and go with that for now. In that order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen dohring Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 The D200 is around $1300.00 and a great camera, your d70 being a nice backup. You need 2.8 lenses or better. Get a 50mm 1.8 for $90.00 and the 17-55DX for about $1200.00. Also get an SB-800 and you should be under your budget or stay at budget and get an SB-600 and use the Nikon CLS system in both the D200 and D70. The 70-200mmVR is nice but not used often for the price and your situation. An 80-200 2.8 will work fine for 1/4 of the price used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_sokal___dallas__tx Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Personally, while I think the kit lens is a great piece of glass for the money, it's way too slow for wedding work and I use 17-55 for the majority of my shots. It's a stout piece of glass and the fixed f2.8 aperture is really useful for low light wedding situations. Frankly I think the D70 is a great little camera and the megapixel thing is way over-blown (even though I now shoot with a D200 and D2X). Most of your printed images will be in an album and probably no bigger than 8 by 10. I've enlarged D-70 images to 20 by 30 and they're fine. So in my opinion, go for the glass. And yes the 70-200 is a fantastic lens. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zofia Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I'd strongly recommend a faster lens over a new body, (for now), if you had to make that choice. A D200 (~$1400), a 17-55 2.8 (~$1200), and an SB800 (~$315) wouldn't put you over budget, and they will change your shooting drastically when used right. ;) The 70-200 (~1600) plus the D200 (~$1400) would suit your needs too. As far as shooting weddings go, many of my photographer friends find that they don't use their 70-200 very often. It's pretty heavy. I love it for engagement portraits. The 85 1.8 (~ $400) is also great portrait lens. In my bag I've got the following, if it helps... D200 D70s 17-55 2.8 50 1.8 85 1.8 70-200 2.8 SB 800 SB 600 My next purchase will be to upgrade the D70s to another D200, and upgrade the SB600 to another SB800. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve george Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 My advice (and what I did) (feel free to ignore it though!): - the d70 is fine for now - get top quality fast glass. I found compromising was a false economy for the photography I like to do. Fast, top quality glass doesn't "age" as quickly as a digital SLR. I imagine I'll still be using my 85mm f1.2 long after my current camera body has stopped working - get a backup film camera that takes the same lenses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenco Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 The glass is the most important thing you can buy. Good glass will make or break an image. You can work with a basic camera body if you need to, but glass is crucial. Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcolfer Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I agree with the glass people. It doesn't matter how good the camera is if the galss isn't fast enough to get the picture in focus and well exposed, and how often are you making really enormous prints that would be and indicator for an upgraded body? And how often are you making pictures in poor light, and wishing you had just a little more speed. Do some more gigs make some more cash, and by then the ___(fill in dream body here) will be cheap enough to purchase... or there will be something way more expensive and way cooler out to drool over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conraderb Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 kevin- buy the best glass you can afford. glass stays with you a long time. bodies change all the time... buy a second or backup body. after a while, you will make some $$ and have the $$ to get that D200 if you really want it... conrad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_ellis Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I was kind of in your shoes a few weeks ago. I had a D70 and wanted to get either a lens or a body and I debated for months. I went for the 70-200 2.8 to handle church weddings better (most of my stuff is outside on the beach, so a 2.8 wasn't usually "needed"). Sure enough, the day the lens shipped, I had issues with the camera not reading memory cards and NEEDED a replacement right away. I ordered the D200 immediately. The lens is fantastic! The D200 has great features over the D70, but resolution isn't the primary one. Others have stated above that the it is fine for most enlargements. I did a 30"x40" from the D70 as a test and it looked great. If it weren't for the camera problem I wouldn't have gotten the D200. My advice, go with the better glass. That will make the bigger difference in image quality, especially in low light. Feeling the need for more 2.8 glass, I ordered a 35-70 2.8 yesterday for $500 from B and H. It's not as wide as I would really like, but about 1/3 the price of the newer, wider lens. I re-read your question though and I have a question. The 17-200 is about $1600 and the D200 is about $1300. You could get both and still be inside your budget. Or you could get the lens and a backup body, but try to get one that uses the same cards. Good luck, Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_sandala Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 If you are just assisting now, I would hold on to your money and save more. Say for that D2Xs you have been eyeing. If you live in a major city, most likely you can rent the pro glass and that way you can test to see which lens you will need the most when you are on your own. If you are a second shooter, you get to experiment more & not feel the pressure of getting every shot. Save your money!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 85/1.4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffcauble Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 I agree with everyone who is telling you to get the best lenses you can. In the last 8 years of doing photography (5 years of weddings) I have changed camera bodies 4 times but I'm still shooting the same glass. As well, the difference between fast versus slow glass will be much more noticeable than the difference in D70 versus D200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary van schaick Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 Kevin, I'm with the glass people. A D40 with good glass is better the a D2X with slow glass. My primary lens for the critical portrait type photos are the 17-55 F2.8, 80-200 F2.8, 85F1.4 and 50 F1.4. I also use the 18-200 VR for the reception/dancing/fun photojournalistic photos where I need to go from wide angle to close up very quickly. Hopes this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebecker Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Glass everytime. The 70-200 mm is a stellar lens but I find myself using the 28-70mm f2.8 much more frequently for this sort of work. Regards, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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