Replacement recommendations for Nikon D90

RajP

A friend has asked me to recommend her a new DSLR for her other half as she wants to buy it as a present. He has a Nikon D90 and a 18-200 lens. They are going on a Safari in August. I am inclined to tell her to get the D750 and either a Nikon 24-70 or Nikon 18-300 lens. The problem is, is this the correct combo? I think he is not a lens junkie like me so may not want a whole collection of lenses. Also, once he gets the new DSLR, he may not want to keep the D90/lens combo. So, a PX may be a better option.

Is the body/lens I have listed good option? I know D750 is an awesome body, but does that lens suit it??

snerkler

The D750 is indeed a fantastic body, and a great all rounder. However depending on the type of shooting then a crop body (DX body) might be better to give more reach. Also I would question buying a high end body and then sticking a sub par all in one zoom lens on. Incidentally the 18-300mm is a DX lens so isn't the right lens for the D750 which is an FX body.

Obviously budget will dictate the best combo. I've not been on safari so don't know exactly how much reach is required, and I've heard from the other threads on here that the animals can get quite close, and also some of the best shots are wider taking the landscape in as well giving the animals context rather than close up 'portrait' style. However, 24-70mm on a FF body isn't a lot of reach at all. So whilst the D750 and 24-70mm f2.8 is a fantastic combo it probably isn't ideal for safari.

If he's not wanting to change lenses and wants an all in one lens then maybe a D7200 with the 18-300mm (27-450mm eq) is a better option? The 18-300mm isn't a stellar lens, but is OK. You can't expect stellar performance from an all in one.

If you want an all in one on FX then you need to look at something like the 28-300mm, but obviously you lose the equivalence of 150mm at the long end.

RajP

Apologies.. I was meant to have put in the 28-300 and not 18-300... And you are right about the D750 and 24-70 combo.. I have not used much else on my D800, the 24-70 is pretty much glued on, even though I have the 50f1.4 and 70-200f2.8..

snerkler

In that case 28-300 on a D7200 may not be wide enough, being 42mm eq. at the wide end. You'd certainly not get the best out of the D750 using this lens, but the D750 is a joy to use, has a really good AF system and for me is ergonomically Nikon's best camera. AF spread obviously isn't as good as a crop body.

You've not mentioned budget so I'll throw in the D500 which is a pro level crop body with a new all singing all dancing 151 point AF system, and AF spread right to the edge of the frame. Early tests show very good noise handling, being slightly better than the D7200 which is already excellent for a crop body. Of course it's DX so you'll run into issues at the wide end of the 28-300 as mentioned above. If I had a spare £1700 lying around I'd deffo buy a D500 as a wildlife body, as much for the AF spread (which can be limiting on FF) as the extra reach.

RajP

I have been given the benefit of not having to worry about the budget... Hence D750 and 24-70 was an option I considered.. D500 is an excellent model but being soo new and in the same price range as the D750, I would have chosen the benefit of the Full frame.. Had it been 6 months later, I am sure the price differential will kick in and it will be a little bit more realistic price..

snerkler

D750 it is then

RajP

And I am also inclined to say 24-70!!!! They go as a good package.. What do you use mostly?

snerkler

70-200 and 150-600, oh and the 18-35mm. I've recently bought the 24-120mm f4 but only had a couple of outings with it. Been impressed so far. Went back and forth for ages between thus and the 24-70mm but finally decided the extra reach would be more useful than the f2.8. YMMV.

RajP

Now that is a great idea.. 24-120.... thanks..

stearman65

After 8 years of lugging around DSLR's & their associated parafanalia, I went bridge. First was a Canon which after 48hours use wasn't what I wanted. Then I bought the Panasonic FZ150 & after 5000 plus still & video images, which I was getting a 90% success rate, decided to go up a stage & bought the Panasonic FZ1000, which has 4K video & a 1" sensor. I've had it about 2 months now & the only problem is the wide angle image can't grab as much as the FZ150, probably due to the sensor size.
Stearman65.