Additional Camera Body - D810?

[mncorrado]

I have a bit of a puzzle to work through.  I currently shoot with a D7100 which works fine for me.  I also have a decent collection of AI/AIS lenses from my film days many years ago.  I am at an age where I might be down to my last camera body purchase.  More so from the standpoint of it being able to do all of the things I have an interest in plus coupled with my limited dollars.

Other than some point and shoots... I only have used two camera bodies.  A Nikon FE that I loved and still have and now the D7100.  Perhaps I crave a full frame camera for all of the wrong reasons but yet I do.  At times the shallower depth of field would be extremely nice for me.  In addition, it would be nice to have a deeper ISO range coupled with more megapixels in general compared to my D7100 and finally perhaps a better viewfinder.

For me the D850 end all camera is completely out of reach financially.  The D810 seems to be in a sweet spot for me at the moment.  I can stretch a bit and likely get one with less than 5K snaps on the shutter here locally.  I might not be able to financially make it happen sometime in the future.  Life happens.  Also of course the longer I wait the more likely there will be less 810's with lower shutter counts or less beat up generally.  I have looked at the D610 and of course the D750.  When I got the D7100 new I stretched a bit from say a 3000/5000 series camera.  In hindsight I am glad I did.

I have no plans to dump the D7100 as I like it and it would be a nice camera for my daughters to learn on if they so choose to sometime soon.  Though I have my doubts.

What I struggle with is this...  should I make the leap sooner rather than later on a D810 while I can vs. wait for the prices of D850's to fall on the used market?  I suspect my dollars will have more power with a D810 at the moment vs. waiting for a D850 into the future.  I also have looked at the D500 and while a huge upgrade from my D7100 is not full frame.

Perhaps I am looking at all of this from an upside down perspective.  I don't know.  Any nudges one direction or another will help me.  My intuition suggests I should just get the D810 locally with less than 5K snaps and call it good equipment wise related to camera bodies.  While perhaps not ideal... my collection of generally well respected older Nikon glass can get me started with the D810 for the moment.  The other glass options into the future I can figure out as I go or as needed.  Much of the shooting I do does not require auto focus... as in sports.  If so I would just continue to use my D7100 for that type of thing for the near future.

Finally the price for the D810 locally is $1300.

Thanks!
Jeff

[Birna Rørslett]

D810 is a lot of camera and if you feel the price is right, don't procrastinate on a good deal.

[mncorrado]

Thanks!  It really is a lot of camera.  Does it do everything perfect... of course not.  Though for me from a technical perspective it would give me very large toolbox to work from.  The price seems right for at the moment.  I will go check it out tomorrow and see how it feels and looks. 

[cmcollar]

I plan to watch responses as they are somewhat related to the question I posed just a few days ago.  Good luck with your decision!

[beryllium10]

Jeff, that's a very good price for a lightly used D810.  I stretched a few years ago to buy one (refurbished, which brought the price down, though not to that level).  I'd love to upgrade to a D850 for the focusing system, which sounds as though it's a significant step up from the D810.  However, used prices are still way up around $3000 and I'll be surprised if they come down anywhere close to your $1300 D810 opportunity for many, many years.  Anyway, I can affirm that the D810 is a really capable camera.  There's nothing it does badly.   
Cheers, and good luck whichever way you go - John

[Bill De Jager]

I'm fortunate enough to have several cameras.  The D810 is reserved for for slow photography on a tripod, usually with manual focus lenses, focusing in magnified live view, and standard techniques to minimize vibration.  I'm trying to use all the resolution the camera has.  I've been very pleased with this camera, and any shortcoming in my results have been due entirely to the user.

However, it's a large camera and I prefer something smaller for walk-around photography.  I also prefer the Df for manual-focus lenses when I'm not using a tripod.

The first camera I bought was an FE, and like you I loved that camera for a long time.

[Peter Connan]

I wonder if it would be possible for you to hire a D500 and a D810 and trie them side-by-side for a weekend?

Both are great cameras, but to me the D500 is a better choice for action, although primarily because of the faster AF system, which may not apply to you.

[mncorrado]

So I headed across town to look at a couple of D810's.  One of the bodies had 30K naps on it.  The other body only had 3,200 plus it included the MB-12.  It was priced at $1400.

There is a small glitch or not even sure what to call it.  It seemed to have a Type E focus screen in the camera body.  I want the default of normal screen in the camera.  So not sure what to do about that.

Otherwise I was wowed with the larger viewfinder image compared to my d7100.  Super impressive.  While bigger than my D7100 it felt fine even in my small hands.

If I go forward with the purchase any suggestion what I should do about the focus screen not being the one I want?  I was going to suggest to them they just swap out the screen with the other body they have there.

I am pretty close to making the leap but need some additional feedback one way or another!
Jeff

[Frank Fremerey]

1400€ including the grip seems a pretty fair deal given the low shutter count. For the same price you can get a D500 with grip and low shutter count which I would prefer. Check it out in the same shop with the same lens. Great view finder.

[mncorrado]

Yes... I will go back either way and also check out the D500.

[Birna Rørslett]

The 'E' screen can be quite useful for precise framing and composing a picture. I would have kept it.

[mncorrado]

It still is in there...  is it expensive or difficult to get the original screen for the camera plus installed?

[Seapy]

Installation of a focus screen is a flick of a clip and it's out, although they can be a little fiddly to install if you aren't used to doing it.

[Frank Fremerey]

It still is in there...  is it expensive or difficult to get the original screen for the camera plus installed?

it is easy to change focussing screens. I did just change the D850 screen, I did change the D70 screen and the D70s screen, I should have changed the D600 screen too but was too lazy, lost some shots to misfocusding manually  that way. No need to change the D500 screen. The D500 features a F6 screen like the D7200 but the view finder is much brighter and larger and better. In fact, after changing the D850 screen to a F6 derivate I sometimes mistake the D500 for the D850, both being quite similar ergonomically too.

[Øivind Tøien]

...The D500 features a F6 screen like the D7200 ...

Where do you have that information from with respect to the D7200 and F6 derived screen? I thought the D7100 and D7200 had exactly the same viewfinder and screen. The one that came with the D7100 was way to transparent to provide good manual focusing compared to the KatzEye screen I eventually got for it. I am also curious about the D7500 screen.

BTW I always see D500 mentioned here, while it seems that a D7500 in many respects could be a good alternative and a lot less cost (refurbished bodies widely available and getting down towards $800) and less weight/size , provided that one does not need to use non-chipped manual focus lenses. Personally I am still on the fence with regards to upgrading D7100 though...