looking for new body. d7000 vs d300s

now i am not one to buy third party for anything but ive been reading a lot about this Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, better than Nikons comparable 12-24mm f4 and for the price difference.....

any thoughts on this?

 

That is a nice lens I have been thinking about picking it up it's great for the price. I prefer Nikkor glass but I don't shoot that wide all the time so it would work for me.

 

i love the super wide angle lenses a lot.

the only thing i have yet to see is if the 7000 has built in auto focus. im sure it does because the 90 has it but i want to make sure. because the lens doesnt have AF

 

remember i didn't say you're a rookie! haha...i was just stating a general fact in photography AND for those reading the thread in interest. i've seen your pics and you've taken some great shots. i'm just saying talent > equipment. NOT that equipment doesn't matter, but talent matters more. it's like with girls, personality > looks (i would dump a hot PITA -- FAST.) It's not like looks don't matter...but personality matters more. (tangent - not that a great personality will make up for a beastly woman)

that being said, after shooting with pro level gear, I can't see myself going back. now while i could capture some of the shots i've taken with my pro gear on my entry level, higher end equipment has provided me with much more options and versatility when shooting (which is what i assume you're looking for with more FPS, low light capabilities...etc.) in the end, if you feel like your gear is holding back your capabilities as a photographer, then by all means...upgrade.

 

haha no i know you didnt say i was a rookie. it was viet.

i agree with 100% man. i know its the photographer that makes the shot, not the camera.

BUT a member here let me use his d200 for a week, and let me tell you, it was tough going back to my d60.

for multiple reasons. the biggest one was the versatility. instead of scrolling through the menus on the d60, everything had a button/knob/wheel on the body of the camera.

it made a world of difference to change the shutter speed and the aperture with just a turn of a wheel. also changing the image quality with the press of a button, or iso, or fps, or wb, or anything for that matter.

i could give a rats ass whether or not a member here thinks im ready for an upgrade or not.

I (and im sure he) would take a d7000 over my (or his) camera any day.


anyways this thread wasnt meant to decide wether or not im worthy enough to upgrade to a newer body.

 

It does have mechanical AF.
From dpreview.com - D7000 Preview - page 5- Body and Design:
"... mechanical AF drive coupling, which means that unlike lower-end Nikon DSLRs, the D7000 can achieve AF with 'screw drive' AF-D and AF lenses that don't have their own in-built motors (not just AF-S and AF-I)."

 

I heard it also makes you breakfast

 

nice! thanks man!!

 

Out of curiosity, what lenses do you have now and what do you shoot?

I'm not sure if you've already made a decision, but those are critical factors in making a decision on what new equipment to buy.

 

oh man lets see:
50mm 1.4, 18-55 (which i use the most because i like how wide it is.), 70-300, 60mm f2.8 and a 55-200 (all nikkor) i also have some random sigma lenses i never use. (they are actually my cousins, he left em at my house one day)

i use the 50mm, 60mm, and the 18-55 the most.

i MOSTLY (as of recently) shoot cars. Mostly still subjects. but i also shoot surfing and thats when my "action" shooting comes in.

My decision wont be final until i can actually try the d7000 when it comes out. but as of now im leaning towards a d7000 and a ultra wide lens.

 

Seems like you got a good kit. Looks like a body upgrade is definitely worthwhile.

As far as that ultra wide, the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 gets rave reviews on the Canon side (which is what I shoot). So it should be just as good on the Nikon. The Tokina 11-16 is often on backorder, which means it's in pretty high demand.

Personally, I'm down to only two lenses (35mm f/1.4L and 70-200 f/2.8L IS II) with two bodies (7D and 5D Mark II). I plan on getting a third lens, but right now, the two lenses satisfy my needs right now (70-200 on the 5D for portraits and the 35 for general purpose on either body). The Canon 24-105 f/4L IS is on the top of my list, but now I'm also considering the 135 f/2L (for video) and 100 f/2.8L IS Macro (for macro, obviously).

 

thanks man i sure think so.

and that sounds like a fun set up! yeah i am really liking the Tokina lens a lot. if not i will rock a Nikkor 10-24mm f3.5 or just step my game up and do my first professional glass and get the 12-24mm f4. i just dont like that is an f4 and the tokina is a 2.8

 

If you absolutely need to upgrade then my vote is d300 (none s) and MB-D10

 

why

i emailed nikon asking the same question this is what i got:

 

I personally prefer a battery grip as I often shoot portrait. Also with the mbd10(or a specific battery I can't remember) the d300 can shoot 8 fps and a ton of actuations on the 2 batteries. I think the video feature is silly on an slr. It's a feature for point and shoots imo.

 

i disagree...i shoot lots of weddings, and more and more videographers are moving to shooting with DSLRs. Take a look at my friend's wedding vid, shot entirely with 5DMk.ii's (my SLR)

Skip to 0:37
http://vimeo.com/12322642

 

I agree it has it's upsides like being to use all the great lenses to shoot video with. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me. It's like you can't decide what you want to do. I don't know, it's probably all in my mind.

 

My best friend is a professional photographer in Phoenix, and is starting to do video shoots with his Canon 5d Mrk 2. He also mentioned that a couple of tv shows were shot with dslr's as well

 

Whoever shot that video did a decent job, but they really could have just used a consumer grade Canon HD camera for that same look.

It looks like they had the aperture stopped down a lot (DoF was very wide). The whole point of dSLR HD video is that you can get thin DoF for creamy bokeh in video. Perhaps the videographers didn't use neutral density filters like a Singhray Vari-ND.

That said, I haven't dabbled in video with my 7D and 5D Mark II since I can't spend the money on the equipment I want (Red Rock Micro rig, Zacuto Z-finder, follow focus). I still need to get a new lens and some more strobes.

 

No why a d300? They're making a battery pack for the 7000