I purchased a very nice D610 on this site when I recently expanded to full frame, but immediately figured out that it was just not going to work for me. The small form factor was uncomfortable..I was never confident simply holding the camera.

Nikon camera bodies generally follow one of two basic design layouts. The D610 does not match the layout of my D300 and D300s. And since I am often in a situation where I must respond quickly, the difference in the controls from those bodies, which I will not retire yet was just too great. In particular, the arrangement of the Release Mode Dial and associated controls, which I use very frequently, was just too different for me to use reliably. The menu system was OK, but the final result was that I quickly traded it for a D810. Handling and operation of that body mirror that of my others almost exactly. (For the same reasons, I did not choose a D750.)

Any future DX updates will almost certainly be to a D500 when the time comes for all those same reasons, in order to maintain operational consistency.

So yes, there are many considerations when choosing what to buy.

I was taught the same way, but am finding here that today's norm seems to be different. I still follow the path we learned and try to need only minor tuneup. The old way still works, but there are new opportunities available. I don't enjoy spending hours at the monitor, but others do.

As a recent D810 user who has been very happy for years with D200s and D300s, let me just say that apart from the pixel count, which can be a bit of a bother because of the really big file sizes, the D810 is just a dream and pleasure to set up and use. There are many new and useful options in the menus, and everything about it just feels and works and sounds "right" when shooting.
I'm sure that there will be some new things on the 850, but when reading and then trying to make deductions about details not specified, I decided that there was no overpowering reason to wait. Nothing that we "know" about what is coming is of interest to me. Who knows though...I may learn later that I need to have an 850, but in the meantime I'm getting to enjoy a whole host of benefits now.

I have a 300mm f4 AF D that I bought a number of years ago. It does a great job. I'm sure the newer one would work well for you.

I've been gradually exercising and reevaluating all of my D lenses (300 f4, 180 f2.8, 50 f1.4, and 35 f2) since getting my D810. Not done yet, but so far I have been very impressed with the 180 (very sharp and much lighter than my 70-200) and the 50. Focus is slower, since they use the camera AF motor, but for appropriate applications they are turning out to be outstanding. The weight & bulk difference from a similar zoom is significant, and the absence of focusing motor and associated electronics allows them to be much more slender.

Ed--

Is this intervalometer still available?

Water. This is desert country. Have water bottles or canteens and fill them at every opportunity.

There's a lot of discussion about "reach" on this site. While I fully understand the discussion, I also have come to believe that reach can be largely a phantom feature. While I am a believer in composing the shot when shooting (especially now that zoom lenses are the norm), a simple reality is that if I capture a shot at 200mm on my 12 mp DX body, I have a 12 mp image. If I put the same lens on my D810, point it at exactly the same point, and shoot again, I can crop the resulting image to be identical to the first one, but now I have an 18 mp image with all of the dynamic range and other benefits of the full frame sensor. (If I use the camera's DX shooting option, my results are slightly different.) Of course with a different crop sensor camera the results would be different, but up to 18 mp I still have a resolution advantage, and I always have the dynamic range and image character advantage.

I have no plans to get rid of my DX bodies (still have a couple of DX lenses), but will use them primarily for casual shooting or when file size is a constraint or consideration.

I would suggest that you visit a local or nearby camera store. Online and big box stores offer some savings, but they rarely give you the ability to fully explore demos. And while you may be lucky enough to encounter a knowledgeable sales person, you can't count on it. Years ago, my wife selected a Nikon D40x. She still takes excellent photographs with it, and she loves it, because it is compact and easy to handle. If I had bought that as my first camera, I likely would have left the hobby in frustration, because for me, it is too compact and not easy to handle at all.

An earlier poster mentioned that he uses Canon because of superior ergonomics. When I moved to digital photography, I went to my local shop specifically to buy a Canon 20D. I left with a Nikon D200 primarily because of what I felt were ergonomic problems with the Canon when I used it. There was nothing at all wrong with the Canon. It just wouldn't work for me.

There was a time when there were significant differences between camera makes because of different sensor technologies or design philosophies. As has already been stated, this is much less true today. And where there are differences, it is pretty easy to adjust them out, even on entry level models.

It is good that you are seeking advice here. But now go and look in person. You are not likely to go too far wrong. As you get into the discipline and learn more, you can make adjustments along the way, if necessary.

Welcome to the forum. We lived in Seattle in the 90s and still come to visit. We have friends who live in a condo near Pier 70. You are in a rich area for photography. Two of our favorites are the Hiram Chittendon locks and the Chihuly glass museum near the base of the Space Needle, but our entire list is very long.

Look forward to seeing some images.

Thank you for sharing this experience with us. I went back through my notes, and as long as I have been helping folks with computer problems, going all the way back to the mid-nineties when USB ports were just beginning to grow in installation and use, this is the first case I've dealt with in which a port just stopped working. Broken connectors, yes, but not functional failures. While that may not match the experience of others, it is what I have seen. I'm definitely going to have to revise my percentages and adjust my trouble shooting sequence. Thanks again for sharing.

Glad it works. Easy fixes count the same as others. Now you'll need to verify that it is a port or connector problem so that you can avoid future frustration.

If the system reports that the format failed, there is a 99.9997% probability that either the card is bad or that it is not, for whatever reason, compatible with your computer. Try a second, identical card. If it works, the first card is bad. If not, then there is a compatibility problem.

lynvinc--

I have been using the 17-55 f/2.8 DX for a long time. I find it to be an excellent lens that compares very favorably with current lenses. It is all metal and quite heavy, but it seems also to be well-regarded by others. The big advantage that it offers over the lens you are using is two additional f/stops at 55 mm. That can be very significant, and can really make a difference in autofocus if you are shooting in low light.

Another option would be one of the 24-70 mm f/2.8 lenses. They are the equivalent for full frame. Mine seems to be slightly sharper than the 17-55, and you end up using only the sharper, less distorted middle part of the lens circle. But you give up quite a bit at the wide end when shooting on a DX body. If you shoot a lot of wide angle, you might not consider that a fair tradeoff, although I find it nice to be able to go to 70 instead of just 55.

I agree that if you want to do macro shooting, none of these lenses is sufficient. Their minimum focus distance is just too long.

The best explanation of jpeg loss that I've heard was offered by our regional Canon technical manager in a presentation to a bunch of railroad photographers several years ago. He compared compression to folding a piece of paper. The more times you fold it (the more you compress the file), the more impact there is on the readability of whatever is on the sheet of paper. The more times you unfold the paper to work with whatever is on it and then refold the sheet of paper, the more impact there is on the readability of whatever is on the sheet of paper.

According to him, opening, changing, and resaving a file is like unfolding, "editing," and refolding the sheet of paper. He said that compression is fine if you save a file once and only open it to look at it without changing and resaving it. And repeatedly opening and looking at a sheet of paper that is only folded once takes a long time to create significant damage, while a sheet of paper that has been folded multiple of times (highly compressed begins to show damage (reduced readability) almost immediately.

And by the way...the point of his presentation was not to sell us on saving and editing in native file format. He was selling the desirability of shooting with an interchangeable lens camera. RAW vs. JPG never came up in his presentation. I can guess that it probably will come up here.

I recently went through a big cleanout here at home. It all happened before I found this site. Ended up working with three local businesses (used photo equipment dealer and two camera stores) and was very surprised at the wide range of prices, and the total reluctance of some to take all but the most recent equipment. The stores were not interested at all in any equipment for which parts were not available from the manufacturer, since they offer a warranty on what they sell and must be able to perform repairs, if necessary. The used equipment dealer sells as-is, and is happy to take older equipment. He also pays the least, because what he buys may sit a long time before he is able to sell it.

Of the two camera stores, one tends to sell used equipment at a significantly lower price than the other. But guess what...that store offered only about 60% of what the other did for the same item offered in trade. And it was the store that I do the most business with.

The way to get the most for your sale is almost always to do the work and find the final purchaser yourself. If you sell to a dealer or reseller, they are going to have to do that work, and since that's show they make their living, they are going to take a cut of the final sale price...at least 40 or 50%, more for hard-to-sell items.

Good luck on your sale.