Upgrading my camera or lens.

[sdspinelli2]

I have owned my d3100 for about 2 years now and I am definitely ready to upgrade to something better. My question is should I upgrade my camera body or should I invest in some good glass. What bodies would you recommend for around $1,000 and is there any good glass in the 200 to 400 range that would be good for aviation photography in $1,000 price range?

[wunaladreamin]

Word to the wise...a great body with **** glass will produce **** pictures. Upgrade the glass first.

[MarkLawrence]

I saw Kenny post here - and - I thought - ohhh - Kenny is going to offer his D200 for a good price - I mean I never see spotting shots anymore :) :) :) Just kidding bud...

As Kenny says - glass is supreme - and - don't always look at the OEM glass - give the others like Tamron and Sigma a chance - I have only Tamron and Sigma glass and am very happy!!!

[wunaladreamin]

Lol Mark! I may not be out spotting like I used to but I'm always dreaming of it. Life seems to always take over plus its not the same without the old crew (no offense to the new guys of course, but the old crew I was part of are some of my best friends).

Read the reviews on glass. You'll be happier in the end.

[gonzalu]

I'll be the Devil's advocate... while Kenny and Mark are right, there are moments when better gear matters just as much if not more.

While I was very happy with my D2Xs + 200-400mm f/4, I was not having great luck with the Blues or T'birds high speed crossing shots. So I wanted the D3 to get me up to 11 fps. It made a world of difference, not to mention a huge bump in image quality. Combine that with a 100 shot deep JPEG buffer and 35 shot RAW buffer, and I could shoot pas after pass at an airshow and not worry about ever missing a shot.

That being said, unless you need a lot more fps or a deeper buffer, the D3100 is a SUPREME camera. Remember the sensor is the same as in the D5100 and D7000 (I think they all shared the same sensor. Definitely the 5100 and 3100 did)

Now, back to glass. Are you OK with the glass you have now? If you have a 70-300mm you may want to invest in a 80-400mm or a 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII (I know, lots of dough) but lenses, good lenses, keep their value for a long time. I was recently offered $6000 for my 200-400mm f/4 VRI which is amazing. THe reason was that the VRII model new is fetching $8,000 if you can find one. Ouch...

[sdspinelli2]

Thanks for your help guys! I'll definitely be sticking with my 3100 for now.

[sdspinelli2]

Im looking at the Sigma 70-200 2.8 and the 120-400 4.5-5.6 have you ever used any one of them? Can I use a teleconverter on the 70-200?

I saw Kenny post here - and - I thought - ohhh - Kenny is going to offer his D200 for a good price - I mean I never see spotting shots anymore :) :) :) Just kidding bud...

As Kenny says - glass is supreme - and - don't always look at the OEM glass - give the others like Tamron and Sigma a chance - I have only Tamron and Sigma glass and am very happy!!!

[MarkLawrence]

I have the Tamron 70-200mm F/2.8 and the Sigma 17-70mm F/2.8 - VERY happy with both of those lenses - I can't comment on the teleconverter usage - I don't have one - yet....

[captmjk16]

From what I've heard, the sharpness/IQ drops more on the Sigma 120-400 than it does on the 150-500 or 50-500 (with the Bigma being the best of the bunch).

You can use a TC on either of those lenses, but you have to make sure your body can autofocus down to the aperture you'll have. The Sigma 2.8 will focus even with a 2x TC attached. I'm not certain about 120-400 on the D3100 as far as autofocusing with a TC attached.

DPReview, DXOMark and similar sites have been rather valuable in my big glass search so far, if you haven't already checked them out, I'd strongly suggest it. Of course, talking to people who have them is almost always a better way to get information, but it's a good place to start.

[sdspinelli2]

From what I've heard, the sharpness/IQ drops more on the Sigma 120-400 than it does on the 150-500 or 50-500 (with the Bigma being the best of the bunch).

You can use a TC on either of those lenses, but you have to make sure your body can autofocus down to the aperture you'll have. The Sigma 2.8 will focus even with a 2x TC attached. I'm not certain about 120-400 on the D3100 as far as autofocusing with a TC attached.

DPReview, DXOMark and similar sites have been rather valuable in my big glass search so far, if you haven't already checked them out, I'd strongly suggest it. Of course, talking to people who have them is almost always a better way to get information, but it's a good place to start.

Thanks for your help! i think I am sold on the 2.8!

[captmjk16]

I'm sold on a 2.8 now, but the issue for me is going to be Sigma or Tamron at this point. That said, neither of them are ideal for airshow use, I've got a 75-300 4-5.6 now and it's lacking in reach for airshows. I'm hoping to have a 50-500 by the time next season rolls around.