zumarose

I'm slowly educating myself through experience and resources such as this one. I've been shooting for about 5 years.

I started with a Nikon d3100 and moved to a d5200. I've got all the lenses I need to keep me covered (which doesn't mean that I don't covet more stuff) but I realized after I bought the d5200 that I should have made a more significant move to a full frame rather than a more advanced crop sensor camera.

Although I'm a hobbyist I am challenging myself to shoot for others and to stretch myself. I'm the "official" photographer for my Zen Center and I shoot all their ceremonies and they feature my photos on their site, I volunteer to shoot local businesses and give them the photos so they get something and I get the experience.

My end game is to still enjoy photography as an art form but to get good enough that I can make a couple of bucks shooting here and there when I retire (about 5 years away) so that I can enjoy a better quality of cat food.

So I figured I might as well start working with full frame now and get really used to it. Is my thinking flawed? If not, what would be a good quality but not too crazy expensive full frame Nikon camera that I could keep and use for a long time? I only need the body. I also have reservations about the additional weight a full frame would bring to my camera bag. So I don't want to go super heavy.

Will the lenses I currently use with my d5200 work? I have the Nikon 18-200 mm zoom, the Nikon 1.8 35 mm prime, the Tamron 90 mm, and the Tokina 11-16 mm.

Please don't suggest I should get a Canon.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I've given up keeping track of which Nikon cameras are DX and which are FX. I have used an FX from the start, purchasing a D700 and then a D800e.

If your lenses are made for a DX format, they will work on the FX body, but you'll not be using all of the FX sensor. To effectively match your lenses to your new FX body, they should be FX lenses. Regardless, they will work.
--Bob

zumarose

Thanks. Good Point. No point in getting a better camera if I can't take full advantage of it. I can offload my dx lenses next time Keh comes into town.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Your D5200 is a Dx format camera, and your lenses are Dx as well. You can certainly use them on an Fx body like a D810, but you will not get full frame performance. In your viewfinder, you will see a screened out region where you image size would be with a Fx lens and a clear portion where your Dx lens will image. You just have to get used to keeping your subject in the Dx "box" to avoid clipping, etc.

What I would suggest is a D7200 body for the latest sensor and electronics for the Dx world. Not the D7500, as it has only 1 memory card slot. You're going to drop close to $3000 on a D810, and then there's the expense of the lenses.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

If you want to consolidate, I recommend looking at this lens.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/729950-USA/Nikon_2191_AF_S_NIKKOR_28_300mm_f_3_5_5_6G.html?sts=pi

I've been using that lens on both my D700 and 800e for about 3 years now. The only other lens I carry on a regular basis is a Nikkor 20mm f/2.8. Just for those rare times the 28mm isn't wide enough. That's been a rarity. So, if you can swing it, that 28~300 with an FX body is a great combination.

Additionally, you might think about getting a factory refurb, as I did with my D800e. It was a fraction of the cost of a new camera and its features are sufficient to work for years to come.
--Bob

zumarose

Thanks. I"m very comfortable buying refurb and have even bought previously owned from B & H with no problems. As long as I'm buying from a trusted source I can return anything if not as represented. I do love my Tamron 90 mm though and it would be hard to give it up.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I suggest the Nikon Df.

zumarose

The DF is definitely droolworthy. Very tempted by it. Thanks for the heads up.

SonyBug

Honestly, I would focus on the business plan for how you want to sell photos. The opportunity to sell any type gets slimmer every day due to the proliferation of phone cams, more people with better quality cameras taking their own, and the lack of resellers to distribute your art. The business plan should dictate the gear.

Just my opinion.

BebuLamar

Don't drool over it! If you like it, buy it. If you don't have enough money, save until you have enough.

Since I don't make a living with photography and I assume that you don't either and because of that I only buy what I really want or not buying. I don't need a camera to live.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

If you go FX, You will need FX lenses---the first to acquire for the Zen center would be the 24-70mm 2.8.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

No need, it's a full-frame macro.
It will give you a wider field of view than what you have been getting on your DX camera.

pasiuk57 Loc: Apple Valley, Minnesota

I'm a big fan of my D750 but the best bet is FX lenses like everyone above stated.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

You don't have to give it up as that is already a FF lens.
Also, I would recommend the D750 as a good body choice.

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

All current Nikon full frame bodies will accept "legacy" lenses, that is the manual focus AI-s and the auto focus AF-D. That's how to get great IQ at a reasonable cost. I am not a fan of the D750 since the max shutter is only 1/4000s.