NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SALES POST, just some idle pondering. If I decide to sell here or elsewhere, it will be handled through the appropriate channels.
Sitting here, looking around, I find myself with some increasing amounts of what I could call redundant F mount gear that is just not being used.
For a while, my go-to camera and lens combo was the D810 and 24-70mm f/2.8G. Even in 2023 and these pieces nearing 10 years old, this is still a very capable combo(albeit heavy, but there's not much getting around heavy f/2.8 zooms) and there's no real reason I coudn't still be using these.
Last summer/fall I went on a bit of an upgrade binge and first bought a D850(a long-time want) and the 24-70 f/2.8E VR(one I debated about for a while but don't regret pulling the trigger).
Potentially on the chopping block are the D810 and 24-70 f/2.8G.
In theory, the D800 would be the better one to sell. It's older, less polished than the D810, and louder. At the end of the day, though, ultimate performance is similar(in fact I've been using it a lot lately for P52 photos and other sales photos). It's splitting hairs, and even though it gives up a little in sharpness over the D810, it's actually cleaner at like-for-like ISOs and I see no significant difference at high ISO(other than the D800 having a lower max, but the sensor is mostly ISO-less so that's not a huge deal and neither is a great low light camera anyway). I also have some sentimental attachment to the D800, as it was a really significantly leap/outlay into digital for me(my first experience using a high end modern body, not older and/or lower end cameras). I bought my D800 as a "high mileage" body(~150K) and and some issues early on lead to some "deep" repairs and me opting to replace the shutter since we were already there. They reset the shutter count and it's showing less than 5K actuations. Still, though, it's a 150K body and looks it, although it still has a lot of life I think. I just feel it would be dishonest to sell based on shutter count alone, as to me that's analogous to replacing a car engine but ignoring the other ~200K miles of wear on the rest of the car.
The D810 would be the one to sell. Even though it's a "nicer" camera to use than the D800 with its more comfortable grip, cleaner images at base ISO(which is lower than the D800-ISO 64 vs. ISO 100), and slightly sharper thanks to the lack of an AA filter, and did I mention MUCH quieter than the loud and rattly D800, I don't know that it's enough to justify keeping both when I have one that's clearly better than the other two(the D850). Having the D800 and D810 made sense pre-D850. Mine's still nice and relatively low mileage-a little over 17K.
Next up of course is the 24-70 f/2.8G. I can make a case for keeping it-it's fully functional on the F6(and F5 and F100). It's also smaller and lighter than the E version, although both are big and heavy enough that I don't know if it's worth the bother. I have a 24-120mm f/2.8G VR that's decent-ish for when I want something smaller and lighter. At the same time, I appreciate VR on the E version(more than I thought I would when I bought it) and even using it back to the F4 isn't a terrible experience as I still get AF and am just limited to shooting wide open. For that matter I could throw it on a Nikon F and just remember it's wide open only. There again, on the F6, it's f/2.8 only but VR is fully functional and nice. That's kind of moot anyway as the 35-70mm f/2.8 is honestly a better match for most of my film cameras(and fully functional in all modes on all the AF film cameras, plus will meter on older MF cameras). At the end of the day, though, often on film I find myself grabbing fast primes instead, and the ability to use modern zooms is mostly just bag decluttering if I want to stick a DSLR and the F6 in the same bag.
So, what do you all think? I really think I should, and possibly re-invest toward something more useful...
Sitting here, looking around, I find myself with some increasing amounts of what I could call redundant F mount gear that is just not being used.
For a while, my go-to camera and lens combo was the D810 and 24-70mm f/2.8G. Even in 2023 and these pieces nearing 10 years old, this is still a very capable combo(albeit heavy, but there's not much getting around heavy f/2.8 zooms) and there's no real reason I coudn't still be using these.
Last summer/fall I went on a bit of an upgrade binge and first bought a D850(a long-time want) and the 24-70 f/2.8E VR(one I debated about for a while but don't regret pulling the trigger).
Potentially on the chopping block are the D810 and 24-70 f/2.8G.
In theory, the D800 would be the better one to sell. It's older, less polished than the D810, and louder. At the end of the day, though, ultimate performance is similar(in fact I've been using it a lot lately for P52 photos and other sales photos). It's splitting hairs, and even though it gives up a little in sharpness over the D810, it's actually cleaner at like-for-like ISOs and I see no significant difference at high ISO(other than the D800 having a lower max, but the sensor is mostly ISO-less so that's not a huge deal and neither is a great low light camera anyway). I also have some sentimental attachment to the D800, as it was a really significantly leap/outlay into digital for me(my first experience using a high end modern body, not older and/or lower end cameras). I bought my D800 as a "high mileage" body(~150K) and and some issues early on lead to some "deep" repairs and me opting to replace the shutter since we were already there. They reset the shutter count and it's showing less than 5K actuations. Still, though, it's a 150K body and looks it, although it still has a lot of life I think. I just feel it would be dishonest to sell based on shutter count alone, as to me that's analogous to replacing a car engine but ignoring the other ~200K miles of wear on the rest of the car.
The D810 would be the one to sell. Even though it's a "nicer" camera to use than the D800 with its more comfortable grip, cleaner images at base ISO(which is lower than the D800-ISO 64 vs. ISO 100), and slightly sharper thanks to the lack of an AA filter, and did I mention MUCH quieter than the loud and rattly D800, I don't know that it's enough to justify keeping both when I have one that's clearly better than the other two(the D850). Having the D800 and D810 made sense pre-D850. Mine's still nice and relatively low mileage-a little over 17K.
Next up of course is the 24-70 f/2.8G. I can make a case for keeping it-it's fully functional on the F6(and F5 and F100). It's also smaller and lighter than the E version, although both are big and heavy enough that I don't know if it's worth the bother. I have a 24-120mm f/2.8G VR that's decent-ish for when I want something smaller and lighter. At the same time, I appreciate VR on the E version(more than I thought I would when I bought it) and even using it back to the F4 isn't a terrible experience as I still get AF and am just limited to shooting wide open. For that matter I could throw it on a Nikon F and just remember it's wide open only. There again, on the F6, it's f/2.8 only but VR is fully functional and nice. That's kind of moot anyway as the 35-70mm f/2.8 is honestly a better match for most of my film cameras(and fully functional in all modes on all the AF film cameras, plus will meter on older MF cameras). At the end of the day, though, often on film I find myself grabbing fast primes instead, and the ability to use modern zooms is mostly just bag decluttering if I want to stick a DSLR and the F6 in the same bag.
So, what do you all think? I really think I should, and possibly re-invest toward something more useful...
