Landscape - D700 vs D300 (or Pentax K-5!)

[shnitz]

A landscape photographer friend had his D70 break on him, and he's in the market for a new camera. He called me and asked what his new camera should be, and I'm thinking myself in circles deciding on which camera to recommend. He doesn't have a large investment in lenses, the only keeper piece of equipment for him is his SB800 flash. He liked his 18-70, since he was never shooting at apertures larger than f/6.3, and he was happy with the images from his D70. He's at a point where he grabs his digital camera for the convenience over film, so he wants to be able to frame his shot without carrying a full set of lenses.

Considering what I've seen from the 5DII and the D700, I would easily recommend him one of these (he'd probably stay with Nikon). But, the D300 is enough of an increased image quality over his D70 that I'm sure he would like it. To throw another wrench into the mix, another friend of his is recommending the Pentax K-5. From my medium-format experience with them, I have no trouble endorsing that recommendation.

The pros I see with full-frame are the aspect ratio and dynamic range. But, the crop sensors are smaller, easier to carry, and have greater depth of field due to the smaller sensor, which helps combat diffraction. If 90% of the pictures are going to be at the lowest ISO, stopped down on a tripod, with the mirror locked up, what camera would you recommend to him?

[danchez]

does he have financial constraints?!? What about the D90? Just sounds like the D700 or D300 would be overkill for his needs.

[Redneck]

Since the D700 is a full frame body (and the D300 isn't), it will give him a wider field which could be important in landscape photography.

[jeffkohn]

Originally Posted by Redneck

Since the D700 is a full frame body (and the D300 isn't), it will give him a wider field which could be important in landscape photography.

That's not really a reason to choose full-frame anymore IMHO (maybe 5-6 years ago); there are plenty of wideangle options for DX cameras.

I would take a look at the D7000, seems to be an excellent sensor (more advanced than the D300s), and the body is somewhere between the D90 and D300s in features and ruggedness. Good bang for the buck in an advanced DX camera.

Personally I think the D700 is getting a bit long in the tooth and needs updating. Sure it has good high-ISO performance, but outside of that I can't see much to recommend it over other less-expensive options.

[shnitz]

Actually, I would amend the D300 to a D7000 instead. I didn't realize that they finally added metering to AI-S lenses, and more on-body controls. I just assumed Nikon was updating the D90 a bit, but wow, this camera's great! IT HAS ARROWS FOR MANUAL FOCUS. I haven't seen this on a Nikon since my Nikon 2020, their first autofocus body from the 80's! I've been thinking to myself for YEARS that they need to add this.

It looks like Pentax and Olympus/Panasonic finally lit a fire under Nikon's butts, getting them to add some serious features to the smaller bodies. Man, right when I was pipe dreaming about switching to Pentax or Panasonic, haha. If Nikon only made a meter that was compatible with focusing screens, it would be the perfect camera for me, but Live View is good enough for checking focus, so it isn't a huge issue.

OK, end rant, back on topic.

It seems that the Pentax and D7000 use the same sensor, so it's really up to which system he would be more comfortable with. Both are good, I'll just tell him to choose one and not look back.

[rfortson]

Originally Posted by shnitz

It seems that the Pentax and D7000 use the same sensor, so it's really up to which system he would be more comfortable with. Both are good, I'll just tell him to choose one and not look back.

The big difference would be the shake reduction built into the Pentax body versus VR in the Nikon lenses. I'll let others debate pros and cons of each, but that's a big difference.

Of course, if it's only really used for landscapes, then stabilization will come from a tripod.

[mdparthum]

I think it also depends on what type of lenses he already has; whether they are compatible with the DX sensor. I might be wrong on that though. And I think it all boils down to personal preference and budget. Having 2 D300's, I would vote for the D300 since I have had excellent results with landscapes from that paricular camera. Just my opinion.

[rfortson]

Originally Posted by mdparthum

I think it also depends on what type of lenses he already has; whether they are compatible with the DX sensor. I might be wrong on that though. And I think it all boils down to personal preference and budget. Having 2 D300's, I would vote for the D300 since I have had excellent results with landscapes from that paricular camera. Just my opinion.

Agree 100%. I'm a Pentax shooter, but if the person in question has Nikon lenses, I'd be hard pressed to recommend he switch. I was assuming (that makes an ass out of u and umption ) the person was coming in new to the game.

Doh - even a little reading on my part and I'd have seen the person is replacing a D70. Unless they just want to start a new system, I can't really say he should switch brands. Just go with the D7000 and have fun!