Jorgen Udvang
Subscriber Member
I have too much gear, and as I had an unexpected and very unwelcome expense a few weeks ago, I decided to get rid of some of it. My original plan was to sell the D700 and some lenses that I don't use much. However, when selling things that aren't current these days, one has to sell a lot, even if all or most of it were the greatest gadgets on earth just a few years ago. So I turned the tables and asked myself what would bring in the most money and still have the least impact on my photography. The answer was simple:
The Nikkor 200-500mm is almost new, it's amazingly sharp, has little or no CA or other distortions and is a popular lens which is easy to sell. The VR is amazing as well. I've taken some 5,000 photos with it during the 2 months that I've owned it. However, it's also a very "sterile" lens, with little depth and boring colours. It's a lens that really needs Photoshop for the images to come alive. Add to that the plastic build quality (it feels like a 70-300 on steroids), and it's not something that I would take to race events or other places where I bump into things and people. It served its purpose at the Singapore Airshow. The next airshow down there is in 2018. I can buy a new one then.
The D810 is in my view the best DSLR ever made, which makes it an easy sell. My guess is that at least within a year, possibly before Photokina, there will be a D820 in a body with all the features of the D500 and then some, and obviously with an even better sensor. When that happens, the price will fall. So, I'm selling it now. It's already at the shop.
The D700 has little commercial value now, but is still a great camera, so that's the Nikon body I'm keeping (in addition to some old DX bodies that I use for sports photography). I'll mostly use it with the Zeiss 21mm, the Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AiS, the Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 AiS and the 180mm AF.
Will I miss the D810? If anything, I'll miss the image quality at ISO 64, but I can live with that. Most people won't notice, and I'm back to challenging myself, with no room for cropping and more concentration before each click. I like that, and I'm very happy to have a "lighter" kit.
Obviously, being a gearhead way beyond saving, I can't go into a camera shop with getting something back. By coincidence, the shop that is selling my gear had a lightly used E-M1 for sale for less than $500. I say "had", since they now don't have it anymore. So, I'm back to two systems again. This makes perfect sense, doesn't it? :ROTFL:
The Nikkor 200-500mm is almost new, it's amazingly sharp, has little or no CA or other distortions and is a popular lens which is easy to sell. The VR is amazing as well. I've taken some 5,000 photos with it during the 2 months that I've owned it. However, it's also a very "sterile" lens, with little depth and boring colours. It's a lens that really needs Photoshop for the images to come alive. Add to that the plastic build quality (it feels like a 70-300 on steroids), and it's not something that I would take to race events or other places where I bump into things and people. It served its purpose at the Singapore Airshow. The next airshow down there is in 2018. I can buy a new one then.
The D810 is in my view the best DSLR ever made, which makes it an easy sell. My guess is that at least within a year, possibly before Photokina, there will be a D820 in a body with all the features of the D500 and then some, and obviously with an even better sensor. When that happens, the price will fall. So, I'm selling it now. It's already at the shop.
The D700 has little commercial value now, but is still a great camera, so that's the Nikon body I'm keeping (in addition to some old DX bodies that I use for sports photography). I'll mostly use it with the Zeiss 21mm, the Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AiS, the Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 AiS and the 180mm AF.
Will I miss the D810? If anything, I'll miss the image quality at ISO 64, but I can live with that. Most people won't notice, and I'm back to challenging myself, with no room for cropping and more concentration before each click. I like that, and I'm very happy to have a "lighter" kit.
Obviously, being a gearhead way beyond saving, I can't go into a camera shop with getting something back. By coincidence, the shop that is selling my gear had a lightly used E-M1 for sale for less than $500. I say "had", since they now don't have it anymore. So, I'm back to two systems again. This makes perfect sense, doesn't it? :ROTFL: