Nikon upgrade
Jan 5, 2020 10:13:19 #
Suggestions, please. I am a hobbyist photographer with no plans of ever charging for my work. I have beautiful grandchildren and love dressing them up and photographing them. I have a d7100 and 5 Nikon mount lenses that will fit full frame. I also have a Sony a 6000 with 4 lenses. I shoot with natural light and am getting so much noise with both cameras, I feel it is affecting the quality of the photos and editing capabilities. I don't want to invest a huge amount of money ($1000's) but feel it's time for an upgrade. I'm considering the d750 or the d810 and would consider the used market. In my case, what would you recommend? Would you be comfortable buying from ebay? What should I look out for other than seller's history? Thanks in advance! 
Jan 5, 2020 10:19:52 #
I own a Nikon D810 and I find it to be an excellent portrait and landscape camera. For the past two years I have used it for macro photography and I shoot a session or few nearly every day. I have approximately 240,000 shutter clicks on it and it still performs like new which speaks volumes for its quality of build.
Jan 5, 2020 10:24:21 #
gmccaleb1 wrote:
Suggestions, please. I am a hobbyist photographer... (show quote)
Take a look at Nikon's Z6. It handles low light beautifully, from what I have seen and read.
Jan 5, 2020 10:33:44 #
gmccaleb1 wrote:
Suggestions, please. I am a hobbyist photographer... (show quote)
I also have the Nikon D810 that I no longer use and would be willing to sell. It comes with a very low shutter count of 2550, a 28-200 Tamron lens, a battery grip, and battery charger, and the strap. Cards are not included. It is ready to go. I am thinking of selling it for $900. If you are interested contact me on my email: gpogany@ymail.com.
Jan 5, 2020 10:35:11 #
Jan 5, 2020 10:39:55 #
What Nikon lenses do you have? What Iso produces the noise you find unacceptable? You may need a faster lens (wider aperture) to reduce noise. That being said a used d810 should be a plus for you.
Jan 5, 2020 10:53:20 #
You shouldn't be saddled with excessive noise outdoors in good light. Something might be going on with your technique. Try to stay as close to the native ISO as you can.
How are you post processing, which editor? Most editors have noise reduction sliders that should handle it, and they are cheap compared to a new camera.
How are you post processing, which editor? Most editors have noise reduction sliders that should handle it, and they are cheap compared to a new camera.
Jan 5, 2020 11:06:08 #
The D750 is an excellent low noise camera. There are many good deals to be had on one. Check B&H and Adorama.
Jan 5, 2020 11:22:00 #
david vt
Loc: Vermont
Before giving up on your current equipment, can you please elaborate on that lens/settings you are using for these what sound like “casual portraits” that you believe are too noisy, and specifically where you find the borderline is on ISO between what you consider noisy and what is acceptable. What are the lighting conditions? Are you cropping extensively?
I have the D7200 version of that camera and find it pretty good in low light as long as I keep iso reasonable and don’t crop too much. The larger sensor of a FF may well help, but it could be some tweaks or suggestions to technique/settings might close the gap sufficiently
Would also suggest you post a few shots (with download on) to see what some of our more advanced members think and suggest.
I have the D7200 version of that camera and find it pretty good in low light as long as I keep iso reasonable and don’t crop too much. The larger sensor of a FF may well help, but it could be some tweaks or suggestions to technique/settings might close the gap sufficiently
Would also suggest you post a few shots (with download on) to see what some of our more advanced members think and suggest.
Jan 5, 2020 13:41:46 #
Thank you for all your prompt comments! David, I don't really have to upgrade. I'm sure I could live and adjust to the noise, I just felt it might be something to take my photos to the next level. I use a Tameron 24-70 mm 2.8 and a Nikkor 85mm 1.8 when I'm doing portraits. I have a 150-600mm, a 50mm, and a wide angle lens. I also use the Sony a6000 with a 50mm 1.8. The Sony does a very nice job and I even won a First Place and Best In Show at a show in FL. I shoot indoors with natural window light for the most part. I'll include some examples. As soon as I figure out how to! lol
Jan 5, 2020 13:57:21 #
This was way under exposed but I was on IS0 800 and afraid to go higher. This of course is the edited version with the Luminance slider in LR at 65. There's not much time for setup or practice with these kids. I have to try to think fast and sometimes that's not nearly enough. Maybe I should rent a camera and see if there's enough difference in what I'm doing to warrent and upgrade. I would like to get into more fine art photography and have so much to learn. I felt that starting with the best grade of photo would be my first step.
Jan 5, 2020 13:59:01 #
Jan 5, 2020 14:04:15 #
gmccaleb1 wrote:
Suggestions, please. I am a hobbyist photographer... (show quote)
You get noise when you push the iso and underexpose due to low light. I suggest you consider investing in a strobe light for low light scenes. That should cure the noise problem.
Jan 5, 2020 17:34:13 #
The Nikon D750 is $1196 brand new right now. I bought one new not long ago for $1296. It's a great low light camera. It's no doubt marked down right now because it's almost certain the D780 will be announced at the CES show this week.
You mentioned that you like to do natural light photography. I've bought an excellent book on natural light photography titled: "Portraiture Unplugged" by Carl Caylor. You can do a look inside on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Portraiture-Unplugged-Natural-Light-Photography-ebook/dp/B00PSSBIJ6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=portraiture+unplugged&qid=1578263501&sr=8-1
You mentioned that you like to do natural light photography. I've bought an excellent book on natural light photography titled: "Portraiture Unplugged" by Carl Caylor. You can do a look inside on Amazon at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/Portraiture-Unplugged-Natural-Light-Photography-ebook/dp/B00PSSBIJ6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=portraiture+unplugged&qid=1578263501&sr=8-1
Jan 5, 2020 18:37:34 #
david vt
Loc: Vermont
gmccaleb1 wrote:
This was way under exposed but I was on IS0 800 an... (show quote)
Hi. When you post, check off the download button so folks can access the photo. Also, what settings are you using? Have you tried to push the iso higher to fix the under-exposure so not so much noise created in post? Are you fairly wide open (to the limit of the DoF you need)? You mention the lenses, but are they VR?
While I know you say hard to capture kids as they move fast, you could do a bit of experimenting with different settings sans kids to see how far you can push before the noise bothers you
I like the book suggestion by CO as well. One of the more technically proficient contributors. Not trying to talk you out of new gear if that is the solution, but I think you might experiment a bit first. I like my D7200 even in low light, but agree that the larger pixels of a FF would help in your situation.
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