which camera?

clarah

I have the Nikon d5000, 50mm f 1.4 G, 35mm f1.8, Tamron 28-75mm f 2.8, Tamron 90mm Macro f.2.8, and my kit lenses. I am shooting my first wedding in August and feel I should maybe upgrade my camera- I am thinking the d300 because I found a used one for about 900. Dream camera is the d700- and my lenses would be useable with a FF cam. Thoughts on the d300? With my budget, is the d300 a good option?

Naftoli

d300 is a bit old, u may even be downgrading in image quality as far as iso from the d5000

Naftoli

do u have strobes, the d5000 does ok till iso 800 and even to 1600 if needed, how cheap can the d300 possibly be? if u want a cheap high quality camera id try the d3200

clarah

I'm deciding between a d90-$900, d7000-$1100, and d300- $900.... I'm leaning toward waiting to get the d700 and just renting another camera for the wedding... I'm not sure.. thoughts?

dgv

I would highly recommend renting a really nice Nikon cam for the wedding..something that can go high in ISO (D3, D3s.. i'm a canon shooter so dont really know the model #'s). You definitely want something that is high quality and will perform under low light. If you find yourself shooting a number of weddings then it would make sense to invest in a new camera.

Naftoli

i say d300 is out, now a only a $200 difference btwn the d90 and d7000 i think its definitely worth the extra $$ for the d7000.
now if u want to go with the d700 u may have to buy a whole new set of full frame lenses, depending on if ur current glass is compatible

Stephen

If you are doing something as critical as a wedding, but don't have money for a camera with good low-light, I would rent some of the equipment. You really don't want your equipment to fail on you during the job.

The D300 was a fine camera, but its ISO maxes out at about ISO800. I have pushed it to ISO1600, but I don't know if I want to use ISO1600 at a wedding.

ALM_327

Take the plunge and go with the D700....I think the high ISO performance will be worth the cost for a wedding and they have gotten cheaper since the D800 came out. If you plan on shooting another wedding it won't be cost effective to rent every time. I am actually shooting my first wedding in June and have 2 others booked. I plan on buying a 2nd D700 for them so I don't have to switch lenses much. If I decided to not shoot any other weddings I will sell the 2nd body with less depreciation than it would cost to rent one for the weddings.

dezant

i think u should go to D7000, D7000 is great camera but D700 far better interms of low light and some other performances, i just bought one for myself cuz i cant help it LOL!!
and then u can rent nice lens for ur D700. im sure u wont regret it

good luck

clarah

Thanks! I decided on the d7k because I prob won't do anymore weddings after this one.