larryepage Loc: North Texas area

After pretty much exhausting the interesting subjects in my undersized back yard, I've been using my time in confinement to review some of my technical approaches and photographic techniques as well as some of my more "strategic" choices, like which lenses should reside on which cameras by default, now that I am fortunate enough to have more than just a single camera to work with. The more I look at this, the more really good and defensible options appear, So while I could tell you which way I am leaning, I'm not at a final solution yet. What follows is not presented here as any sort of trolling post. Thoughtful, intelligent responses will be appreciated, but I'm not yet trying to change anyone's mind...just turning thoughts over in my own mind, which admittedly can sometimes be dangerous.

Anyway...the upshot of this is that I've had multiple cameras and multiple lenses out, and have been playing with various combinations and noting the advantages and disadvantages of each. I'm working with two full frame and two crop frame bodies, and a range of lenses, only two of which are DX versions, since I stopped buying them some time ago.

A couple of days ago, I was in a hurry to use my D500 for a specific assignment, so I very quickly swapped the 18-200mm zoom that was on it with the 24-120mm zoom that was on my D810. (For the reader, this means that the 18-200mm DX lens was now on the D810.) When I finished, for some reason, I just returned the D500 and 24-120 to their resting spot, leaving all lenses installed as they were.

Fast forward to today. I grabbed the D810 to carry into the back yard with my coffee mug, just in case there was something there worth capturing. Of course, it was supposed to be equipped with the 24-120, but now had the 18-200. To be honest, the level of opportunity didn't seem to merit getting up and swapping everything back to be as it should be, so I just sat down with what I had. The big question to be solved was how to set everything up, since there were at least three workable options. (I do not have my full frame bodies set to automatically crop when a DX lens is installed.) The first was just to just leave everything as it was. This would provide an image covering essentially all of the frame at the 18mm end, and some vignetting at longer focal lengths. Images could be easily fixed by cropping later. The second was to set to a 24x24mm square format, which would be fully covered by the lens at all focal lengths. The last was to set for a DX crop. This is my least favorite choice, because it is the least imaginative and makes the most minimal use of the sensor. But it's what I did this time, for no particularly important reason.

As it turned out, there really was nothing of interest meriting an image. But it was pretty nice being out with my D810 and that really lightweight lens. And the experience did plant a thought in my head. (I already stated above that this can sometimes be a dangerous thing...)

If I were in a position of moving from DX to FX, and if I knew that I would be able to have only one camera going forward, I would intentionally retain my same camera manufacturer so that I could retain the option to use my old DX lenses. And I would not sell all of those lenses. I'd keep at least one of them, probably the one that most capably fulfills a "general usage" function (and that I'd used the most). I'd use it while saving to buy a really good FX lens and while learning to use my new camera. And I'd keep it for those occasions that I wanted to do "casual" photography...where I wanted to be able to capture images, but where I was not going to be able to salivate over the "perfect" image. And where I wanted to control the weight that I was carrying or to not expose my best lenses to damage or theft. And for those occasions where I wanted to capture images that were probably at least as good as those that I'd been capturing all along (and probably somewhat or quite a bit better).

Now I fully expect that a herd of purists will come forward and say that this is the dumbest waste of who knows what that they have ever heard about. And that's OK, I guess. But I am planning to explore this option further for myself, and until I find a rational argument against, I'm going to include it among any suggested options for those who are thinking of migrating

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The surest way to corrupt a novice is to explain the importance of full-frame sensors.

Paul J. Svetlik Loc: Colorado

As long as you are happy Larry, we will be happy, too.
Thank you for your lengthy meditations.
Cheers!

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

You are welcome. I acknowledged up front that providing me with time to think was dangerous. More so when I have time to experiment around it...

Quixdraw Loc: x

Actually, don't believe it should be either / or. DX is a great companion to FX. When I went FX I gave my DX camera and lenses to my Daughter. Since I have always worked with two cameras I got a second FX. On down the road, I got a D7200 to get extra reach from FX lenses. Now can't imagine being without it. The one negative is that the basic DX kit lenses are not great. Some of the more specialized ones are pretty good, but FX lenses on DX camera, are good to excellent. at least for my purposes.

BebuLamar

This is backward. You would get vignetting at the 18mm end not the long end.

User ID

Seems hardly worth the trouble .....

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I went out and rechecked my 18-200 zoom, removing the lens hood and filter from the lens. In actuality the unattenuated coverage for this lens appears to be pretty consistent from one end of the zoom range to the other. At first glance, it looks wider at the long end, but close examination that this is an illusion caused by the extremely blurry rendition of the coverage boundary at telephoto focal lengths. This boundary is much more clearly defined at the wide end, making it appear that the image area is smaller. I have found that the performance of DX lenses on full frame cameras is extremely variable. Generally, higher grade lenses, like the 17-55mm f2.8 zoom have smaller image circles, which is a little bit surprising to me.

In any case, the details are pretty much immaterial to this discussion. The point is that the lens(es) provide very serviceable results when used on the full frame camera and do not need to be immediately discarded in favor of full frame lenses. Any photographer can purchase a full frame camera, continue to use DX lenses with good results, and add new ful frame lenses at leisure. I am aware that some manufacturers block this option, but for those that allowit, resuts can be completely serviceable. That was the point of my post.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Maybe so, unless the photographer is trying to accomplish the transition on a limited budget.

repleo Loc: Boston

I'm no purist and I don't think it a waste of anything. I started with a crop and got some nice crop lenses for it. I have added a FF body and some nice FF lenses. I like using both and have no hesitation in switching lenses and bodies around. My choices on any particular day are a balance between weight and expectations.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

I use both FF and crop Nikon cameras. I have FF and crop (DX) lenses. Both sets of lenses will attach to both bodies, and the coverage of each lens is shown in the viewfinder. I don't have time(or the inclination) to panic over matters like what was intended for each combination.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Nothing wrong with anything you've written. I did the same thing myself when transitioning from a D300 to a D700 years ago. I only have one DX lens left - an 18-70 Nikkor that is crazy sharp and happens to be very good with IR (no hotspot) which is why I keep it around.

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

Larry, I have exactly the same bodies, and mull the same issues. However, in my mind the ultimate migration goal will be mirrorless when/if the AF issues are improved. In essence, this is the same question, but at least ideally a mirrorless FF body will solve some of the weight issues.

But let’s back up a bit. As a birder, I can’t imagine not using two bodies when circumstances permit. One body on a tripod with gimbal: one HH. Now the question becomes which body to put where, with which lens? Lately, i have the D810 with a 500mm lens on a tripod and the D500 HH with a 300mm PF and TC 14III, with some fantastic results from each.

More study and musing are needed. Thanks for your thoughts.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

We are all different and each one of us has a particular way of using lenses. I only use one DX lens with my FX body and that lens is the Nikon 12-24 f4 AF-S. I can use that lens without vignettes between 16-24 mm.
In my case I prefer to use FX lenses with my FX body.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've always said that it's too bad they even made crop sensors. If they weren't trying to save money, they would have made digital cameras with 35mm-size sensors, and life would be so much simpler. When I bought my D90, I didn't know it had a crop sensor. I didn't know there was such a thing.