There is a new Nikon camera body, for those interesed in the high end. They say the camera will start shipping 17 July.

http://nikonrumors.com/

was thinking of buying a used D700, have a D300 now. I don't use it as much as i used to. Only D lens I have is the 55-200

I like my D700, and you would share the same battery/charger with the D300 if your idea is to keep both. Used D700s seem to be increasing in value, some as high as $1,400 for the body only. If you do buy one try to find a low shutter actuation count. However, it is old technology when compared to a Df or D610 or a D810, not counting a D4S, and might even cost more than a recent D600 or D610.

Wink, are you thinking of getting the D810?

My brother in law was a very successful wedding/portrait/commercial photographer for many years. He bought the D800 as a "semi-retirement" gift to himself and thinks the world of it. He did have to add more computer processing power to handle the big files.

I bought a D300 in late 2007 (or early 2008 maybe?) and it has been a real workhorse, just a great camera. Still use it today, actually my wife uses it more than I do since she got interested in birding. With the new 80-400 Nikon lens it produces outstanding image quality.

Good advice about checking shutter actuation count on a used camera body. This may be old news but it if you use a Mac it is easy to check shutter count on many Nikons. This link describes how:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/39750720

It works with the D300. Doesn't show shutter count with my Canons but there is an inexpensive app which does work with many Canon models.

Dave,

I'm always thinking about buying a new camera. What usually happens is I think about a newly released camera for months and then a new camera comes out. Then I think about that one for months, comparing it with how much the one it replaced costs on the used market, since I used to think it was the best. A lot of thinking going on. My solution for "Nikon Acquisition Syndrome" (also known as NAS) is to buy better lenses. That makes my existing camera better and if I ever buy a better camera I'll already have the right lenses for it.

Believe it or not one of my favorite Nikon lenses is the old 35-70 2.8. Weighs a bit, but the color and sharpness are very good.

quote:

Originally posted by richj:
Believe it or not one of my favorite Nikon lenses is the old 35-70 2.8. Weighs a bit, but the color and sharpness are very good.

I have one of those and like it a lot too.

When I bought my D600 it came with the 24-85 AF-S. Those silent wave lenses are so nice that I may just shelve my 80-200 F2.8D in favor of one of them if I do get a second body.

OK, I broke down and bought a Nikon D810. With only two days of experience with it I can honestly say two things: 1) it is the best DSLR I have ever owned and, 2) it is the best DSLR ever made. I've only taken a few pics and I'm still getting used to the size of the files, which are monstrous. As with all new camera releases, the software hasn't yet caught up. Capture NX2 may never support it and DxO won't have support until the end of August at best. I'm relegated to the new Nikon NX-D software if I want to convert a NEF file but I find it cumbersome (compared to what I'm used to), so I guess I'll just have to wait.

This is a departure for me, I usually wait until a camera is discontinued before buying it.

I may have to start taking pictures more seriously.

Speaking of buying discontinued, with the new Nikon D810 on the market, used D800 and D800E cameras are now a bargain. I'm hearing $1,800 as the current market price. This is a very good deal, just get one in good shape with a relatively low shutter count.

Wink, congratulations on the new camera. It should be one of the really good ones. I mentioned my BIL loves his D800, and from everything I've read the 810 adds some significant improvements.

When to upgrade models is tricky. You can buy early in a new model's production life and get to use it's technology longer, or buy just as it is being replaced and save considerable money. I've done both and am still not sure which is the best approach.

I got a Nikon D300 and later on a Canon 7D about a year or so into their production run and both have been great cameras. The 7D is just being discontinued now, prices are a bargain on new ones if they can still be found.

I suspect the D810 is going to be one of the superstar models with a long production run. It'll take some fairly innovative/revolutionary technology to significantly improve it. So I think you were wise to get aboard early, which means more years of acquiring topnotch images - which I hope you'll be sharing with us!

Canon has been teasing us with rumors of a replacement 7D for a long time, it should be out soon, supposedly with innovative technology. If it can match or come close to the 12 images/second speed of the 1DX I'd find it hard to resist.

Nikon is recalling a bunch of the D810s and mine is on the list. There is a problem, which only affects about 1 in a 1,000 photographers, when taking exposures of 30 seconds or longer and not using the Noise Reduction for Long Exposure setting which can cause infinitely small white spots to occur. It's pretty hard to re-create the problem on a camera, and it's not like the brakes failing when your kids are in the car, but it is a recall none the less.

DxO now supports the Nikon D810. When my body gets back from Nikon I can start to rock-n-roll.