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Body recommendations?


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7 replies to this topic

#1
Marcus Rowland

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I got a D90 a couple of years back and it suits me in a lot of ways, but I could really do with AI / AI-S compatibility, which I should have thought of when I bought it. I just got a nice Vivitar Series 1 100-500 which really does need metering to avoid a lot of wasted shots, and my 8mm Yongnuo is also AI-S. I was thinking about getting both lenses chipped, but I can live without focus confirm, I'm reasonably good at doing it by eye, so I decided that a saner option would probably be a body with support for older lenses.

 

What I need, basically, is the same resolution as D90 (I really have no real use for anything higher), liveview (useful for photomicro etc.), and support for AI/AI-s, early motor-in-body AF, and AF-s.

 

What I don't need is higher resolution or video capability.

 

It looks like something like a D300 would suit my needs - any other suggestions?



#2
Merco_61

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You would be better off with a D300s. The signal processor is updated so it has a better S/N ratio than the D300 by nearly a full stop. It also has dual memory card slots, one CF and one SD. The D300 is CF only

Another option is the D7000. The resolution is a bit higher but it is slightly smaller and has less mass than the D300 as it is the same size as the D90.



#3
mikew

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I liked the sensor on the D300  but found the D7000 a far more useful tool, from a wildlife perspective the buffer was too small for me.



#4
Marcus Rowland

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I think that the D300s and D7000 are both more expensive than I can really justify - both about £100 more than the D300 second hand - even assuming I get a good price for the D90. But many thanks for the suggestions, it's always possible something will turn up. I'm not in a huge hurry.



#5
Marcus Rowland

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Well - looks like I got lucky, hopefully. Just bought a D7000 on line with 18-55 for £200. Fingers firmly crossed that it arrives intact and working properly, but the seller is a company I've bought from before and I know they're OK about returns.

 

If all goes well I'll be selling on my D90 in a couple of weeks.



#6
Marcus Rowland

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Delivered by courier today, which is pretty good service, and working well. One snag - the 18-55 turns out to be an AF-P one, and is not supported by D7000! I'm assuming it's OK, but I have no way to test it, it won't even focus manually on anything as old as either of my bodies. Fortunately I have another 18-55 which I very rarely use, so it's no big deal. I've asked the vendor for either a replacement lens or a partial refund, we'll see what happens.



#7
Nikon Shooter

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I converted my operations to digital when the D3X came on
the market. Then the D3S followed. I went directly from the
F4S to these… I did not go through a progression but straight
to the single digits so I do not know any of the previous models.



#8
Marcus Rowland

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Nikon are actually pretty good about compatibility, or were until AF-P came along, but if you're looking at a lens it's always a good idea to check compatibility. I usually use this page:

 

https://www.kenrockw...bility-lens.htm

 

I disagree with a lot of what Ken Rockwell says about cameras etc., but this page is factual and I've never found any serious errors.