What new serious camera setup should I get?

[frogman81]

Hi all, I got pretty big into photography back in 2012, realised doing weddings was no fun, and pretty much dropped it completely until recently. At one point I had a D3, and Nikon’s trifecta of 2.8 pro glass (14-24, 24-70, and 70-200). I’ve also owned a D3100, D300S, and D7000. I sold it all at one point or another. Now I have a fast-moving kid and it’s a struggle to capture nice pics of him with just an iPhone. My wife has one of those Olympus OM-D things, and it’s ok, but I don’t like the ergonomics of it much.

I feel that I’ve passed through the looking glass of owning pro-level gear and can’t go back. The speed and accuracy of the D3 was incredible. Should I just get another one used? Any comparable performance from something modern and comparably priced to a used D3? Considering the 7D mk ii...

 

[Lemonbaby]

I was massively annoyed by the weight of my full frame kit at one point and switched to M43. Never looked back, there's so many great lenses available these days. From ergonomics point of view, I'd check the Panasonic G9 - it's a brilliant piece of gear...

 

[frogman81]

To further clarify, I’d like to limit the budget for the body at 1500 CAD/1100 USD which is what the 7D Mk ii can be had for. For lenses I expect to keep a 35 mm (50 mm for full frame) prime on it 98% of the time and get a nice ultra wide and call it a day.

 

[frogman81]

I was massively annoyed by the weight of my full frame kit at one point and switched to M43. Never looked back, there's so many great lenses available these days. From ergonomics point of view, I'd check the Panasonic G9 - it's a brilliant piece of gear...

I’ll check out the specs on the G9. I actually liked the weight/heft of a full frame. I like the specs on the Sony A7, but I don’t expect to like the feel as much. Will have to get to the camera store and touch and feel all these mirrorless products to see for myself.

 

[odibrom]

I'd look at the Canon EOS6D, it has full frame, which the 7D doesn't...

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I was looking to shed weight and potentially shift systems from my Nikon D3 kit and 10 or so lenses. I was sold on Fuji until I couldn't find a decent deal that wasn't going to require a lot of cash on my end. In the end, I stuck with my D3 and a 3 prime kit (24, 50, 105 macro). I still have my 80-200 with a dead AF motor, but I won't carry it around in my case.

It's hard to find a suitable camera to replace the D3 - everything I've tried to date, from Fuji to Phase One (except the D5), seemed like a compromise.

 

[frogman81]

I was looking to shed weight and potentially shift systems from my Nikon D3 kit and 10 or so lenses. I was sold on Fuji until I couldn't find a decent deal that wasn't going to require a lot of cash on my end. In the end, I stuck with my D3 and a 3 prime kit (24, 50, 105 macro). I still have my 80-200 with a dead AF motor, but I won't carry it around in my case.

It's hard to find a suitable camera to replace the D3 - everything I've tried to date, from Fuji to Phase One (except the D5), seemed like a compromise.

So you understand the predicament! I wish I hadn’t sold my gear. I think I’ll hit the camera store today to see how everything feels. Some great deals available locally on used D7100s with grip, but I’m not sure it’ll be fast enough for me at 6 FPS. I like the DX format because the lenses are great and a fraction of the cost/size/weight of full frame lenses, plus you get a lot more zoom out of the long lenses. Apparently the D500 is basically a D5 in DX format. It rips at 10 FPS and should have the same processing and intelligence of the D5. Going to check it out myself.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I do, if I were shooting full-time as a business I'd have a D5 in a heartbeat; however, now that I just shoot the occasional model-required project and my own personal projects, I cannot justify the cost.

 

[frogman81]

Well I bought the D500 The local store had a pretty awesome Boxing Day deal on a used one with only 2000 shutter clicks. I tired the store demo and it felt a lot like my old D3.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I'd say that's a good choice - what lenses are you pairing it with?

 

[frogman81]

I'd say that's a good choice - what lenses are you pairing it with?

I got a 35 mm 1.8 DX prime to go on it for now and for most general purpose shooting. I’m planning to get the 10-20 mm DX ultrawide as well and call it a day for awhile. If I get the itch to do wildlife I’ll probably grab a 70-300 DX lens with VR eventually. I didn’t even know it has WiFi, but (though a little finicky) that’s a pretty cool feature. I must admit though, I’m still comparing it to a D3S system right now. Honestly I think there are pros and cons to both. I kinda like that a DX setup gives you an effective 450 mm reach so easily.