New camera!
This is for the other photographers out there who are interested in a comparison between my old camera (Nikon D3100) and my new camera (Nikon D610).
Besides that fact that I am CRAZY EXCITED… here’s a short & sweet explanation of what’s what. (Want a more in-depth explanation? Check out this article: https://photographylife.com/nikon-dx-vs-fx)
Nikon essentially has two buckets of cameras – DX format (cropped sensor) and FX format (full frame sensor). The DX bucket is generally entry-level, and the FX bucket is generally professional-level.
When I got my first camera in 2011, I went with the D3100 – an entry level DSLR that was leaps ahead of the point and shoot model I had previously. I’ve been so happy with this camera, and told myself that if I loved it as much as I thought I would, that I should learn all the pieces and functions and features before I decided to upgrade.
Sure enough, I’ve worked my way through and I really wanted to improve my low-light performance, and get a better quality camera body. The only question was – what should I get for my new camera?
A couple of years ago I rented a D7100 body and was super impressed with the improvements over my D3100. The D7100 is pretty much the best of the DX bucket – so really great, but still a cropped or smaller sensor. I did some more research and looked into the D610 – pretty much the entry level of the FX bucket (because Lord knows I can’t drop $5k on a camera!) – an excellent camera with a full frame sensor. There’s definitely a difference in price, but it wasn’t incredibly prohibitive, and after discussing with a few other photographers, the point came up that “you won’t regret going with a better camera in the future – but you might regret getting a smaller sensor a couple years down the line”. That sounded an awful like some sage advice my Dad always gives me (“Get the best ____ you can afford.”) so I decided after saving and getting our bonuses at work (yay!) to go with the D610.
And boy oh boy, I’m so glad I did.
The SHUTTER sounds incredible. I don’t know if anyone else out there will get me on this, but it’s SOOO true.
I did a quickie comparison last night once my battery was charged. I used the same lens (Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8) with the same settings (shot at 2.8, 75mm) – just changing the camera body. To me, at least the difference is phenomenal, even on the mini preview screen on the back of the camera.
The D610 is CREAMY. SMOOTH. CLEAR. Incredible low light performance.
The D3100 struggled a bit, and was on its highest ISO setting: HI2 (or 12800). You can see the “noise” or pixilation in the images.
I had the D610 up to ISO 3200 here, and the result is smooth, creamy, clear. It’s the same time of night, I didn’t change or alter the room lighting or anything.
*swoon*
I’m in love.
What other questions do you have for me?