Getting back into photography ... used to be f4/velvia guy

[richard_driscoll]

Re the "burden" of digital processing: Way back yonder in film days, there was little or no post-processing because there was no way to post process (or too much effort to do it in the wet dark room). The most one could do was cropping by covering part of the image on the slide. Now, just because there are software available to "improve" the image, it does not mean that one needs to use it. Using a tripod, one can compose carefully. The image can be amazing right out of the box - just like the old days. Now most people post-process because they believe they can make the image better. They would have done the same thing in film if that was possible.

I was about to make the same point.

If you shoot RAW+jpeg you finish up with an out-of-camera picture you may well like and another with which you can play about for hours on end. The choice is yours.

I recently bought a nearly new D7200 and an open box 10-20 Nikon zoom. In terms of bang-per-buck this combination must be pretty nearly unbeatable.

Some say that for landscape you need a full-frame camera with zillions of pixels but I don't believe it - a 24MP DX camera like the D7200 is just fine. About all you'd gain in practice is a bigger viewfinder.

My advice would be to buy a used D7200. If you decide you don't like it or want something else you can always sell and lose little money. If you do this you'll probably be in a better position to decide what you really do want.

By the way, if you buy the cheap Nikon 10-20mm zoom you'll probably be horrified by the plastic construction especially if you are used to the old Nikon MF lenses. Just don't worry about it - the results are what count and if you are an amateur like me you probably don't need ultra-durable equipment.

 

I just remembered. If you use old AI or AIS lenses on a D7200 you can focus using the electronic rangefinder, moving the focus point around the frame. These lenses work on aperture priority and manual. Also the lateral chromatic aberrations are corrected by the camera automatically if you shot JPEG. If you shoot RAW then Nikon's free Capture NX-D can correct for them (as can loads of other application programs). Having said that the modern zooms are so good that there may well be little point in using the older lenses. Stopped down to f/8-11 or so which you probably would for landscape, even the plastic 18-55mm kit zooms are good.

Edited December 30, 2019 by richard_driscoll