Should Lens Dictate Body?

[elderly]

I already have a mint Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8 - 4 D lens on my F100
(it's the only modernish lens & camera I have in my very large, old and
heavily used Nikon film camera system).

I want to buy a DSLR. Should I stick to a Nikon mount system
just because of this one lens.
A D200 (using this analogue lens) will now cost me only £1049.
Would about the same total spend on a different make
camera and digital lens be a better/worse idea.

My days of lugging lots of heavy equipment around wherever
I go are long gone; I just want 1 body and 1 or 2 lenses.

[poah]

no it should not.

[-DeaDLocK-]

No it shouldn't, but I guess the question is whether Nikon is worth sticking with. Or whether the only other viable alternative on the market are differentiated enough from Nikon so that making a decision between either is difficult?

I'd say both manufacturers are pretty much homogeneous for non-pro folks like us, so in your case it would be better to stick with Nikon.

[imperialism2024]

-DeaDLocK- said:

I'd say both manufacturers are pretty much homogeneous for non-pro folks like us, so in your case it would be better to stick with Nikon.

And it would be different if you had several lenses, as then you would want to stick with that brand. But with only one lens... It's up in the air, really.

If you're in the market for a D200, I hear it's a very good body. But remember that 1) 24mm will turn into 36mm equivalent on the digital body and you'll lose wide angle (best to get the Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 kit lens) and 2) anything less than a D200 (except a D70) is slowly deteriorating into the "fancy P&S" category.

[GetCarter]

I'd consider the whole system a dead loss and start again. You may get a few quid for the lens and a few pennies for the bodies.

When I moved from the F5 to the D1 in 2000 I had four lenses - (which is why I stayed with Nikon)- but 2 years later they had all gone in favour of lenses more suited to digital.

Sorry to be the bearer, but at lest you are liberated to choose what you want.

...and funnily enough I'd still choose Nikon, even though I'm sure the current Canon bodies have the edge... It's a see saw thing.

Once you are on Digital, you'll get the two lenses you want and your 24-85 will probably not be one of them.

Steve

Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 10th August 14:54

[tonyvid]

I had a few Minolta lenses and bought a 7D for that reason - there was no way I could afford to replace everything at once especially my 400mm F4 APO. I had/have a film 7 before and the 2 cameras are like twins so I could carry on shooting without having to think where everything was so that was a factor as well. We won't go into what happened to KM since then though

[elderly]

-DeaDLocK- said:

I'd say both manufacturers are pretty much homogeneous for non-pro folks like us, so in your case it would be better to stick with Nikon.

If that's the case, then the 'best' camera would be the Sony Alpha as it also has built
in Image Stabilization and Sensor Dust Removal.
I'm a great believer in lack of camera shake and a clean, well shaded front element
for good image quality (with my film cameras).

BTW, you say ".... both manufacturers ...." but I only mentioned Nikon in my original post

[tonyvid]

elderly said:

-DeaDLocK- said:

I'd say both manufacturers are pretty much homogeneous for non-pro folks like us, so in your case it would be better to stick with Nikon.

If that's the case, then the 'best' camera would be the Sony Alpha as it also has built
in Image Stabilization and Sensor Dust Removal.
I'm a great believer in lack of camera shake and a clean, well shaded front element
for good image quality (with my film cameras).

BTW, you say ".... both manufacturers ...." but I only mentioned Nikon in my original post

Another reason I went for my 7D - the Sony Alpha is the son of the 7/5D and the inbuilt stabilisation is a great feature, every lens is now effectivly a few stops faster and it really works. The only disadvantage of this system over a VR lens is you can't see the effect through the view finder but hey-ho, I'd rather have it on all my lenses than just one expensive one!