Hello all,
I currently use a D300s for the majority of my landscape work with a D7000 as my backup and whenever I am not on a tripod. Size is important, as I am usually hiking, so I want to stay relatively light. My lenses consist of a mixture of DX lenses and older (but smaller) FX lenses. Having rented the Trinity of FX lenses I came to the conclusion that as wonderful as they are, they are just too big for what I enjoy. I will remain with DX for the near and midterm future.

Given my current scenario, would there be any advantages to replacing the D300s with a D800 and using it mainly in DX mode?

I am not infected with NAS, and am not a pixel peeper, but am merely considering newer technologies for future planning.

Thank you in advance for any insights.

POC

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You are probably better off waiting for the D400. It makes no real sense to pay three grand on a camera to only use a fraction of its sensor. Also, it will not be much different in DX pixel density than the D7000 you own. It is also slower frames per second than your D300s. Just my opinion.

Shoot nature with respect and don't trample it or startle its inhabitants.

Have you tried the D7000 on the tripod for low ISO landscape? The noise and DR large major strong points of that camera. The read noise is so low that none of the currently available Nikon's are better. You already have a great DX camera for your style of shooting and would gain slightly in resolution using the D7000 for DX than using the D800 in 1.5 crop mode.
If paired with the lenses that can take advantage of the 36mpx, and shooting full frame, the D800 and D800e will give some real advantages for landscape. If you want to upgrade and shoot full frame, that is a good enough reason to go for the D800. If your main goal is use your current lenses in crop mode, it is not such a good deal, not when you already have the D7000. The D800 in crop mode would be a step up, however, over your D300s
Stan
St Petersburg Russia

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Thank you both for the responses.
I agree that the D7000 is a great camera, but I do miss some of the manual functions that I find in the other cameras. Also, I like to bracket more than three stops.

Thanks again.

POC

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I'm in much the same position as you, D7K & D300s for primarily landscape shooting. When hiking and trying to go light, I carry the D7K. When shooting closer to my car, I more typically work the D7K with a wide-angle and D300s with a telephoto to avoid switching lenses.

I have pre-ordered a D800e and as appealing as it is to have a light body and battery compatibility with the D7K, I'll miss the speed of the D300s too much for bird shooting, so I plan to sell the D7K on arrival of the D800, which should also fetch more money used.

To your question - should you buy the D800 for primarily DX shooting? I'd say that's an easy no. It's a waste of money; $3000 for something which is not really an upgrade to your current kit.

If you mean to shoot the D800 FX when weight is not an option, and use it as DX in order to lighten your lens setup for hiking, maybe that's reasonable, but it does mean maintaining 2 different lens kits. Also, I believe you'll find the D800 viewfinder quite claustrophobic in DX mode compared to a viewfinder specifically designed for DX. Maybe a magnifying eyepiece could help that.

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
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