By Gene Wilburn
For someone who cut their photographic teeth shooting with 35mm film cameras and lenses, full-frame digital cameras feel like a homecoming.
It’s not just the impressive image quality that comes from a full-frame sensor—it’s the instincts for the focal lengths you grew up with. A 24mm lens is 24mm with no crop factor. Not 38mm equivalent as with APS-C sensors, nor 48mm equivalent as with M43 sensors. 24mm, the real thing. The same for 50mm, or 85mm, etc. It’s a familiar world with a long and deep history that echoes back from the days of the earliest Leicas.
For someone on a restrained budget, however, full-frame can be a stretch financially. The latest cameras are dazzling things, most often mirrorless, frequently with image stabilization built into the camera body, and superb features, including tilt and swivel LCD panels for convenience when composing shots. Yet if you’re willing to move away from the leading edge of digital photography, you’ll discover that there are interesting deals to be found at the trailing edge.
The Trailing Edge
Think of the camera market as a kind of comet moving through time. The latest and greatest products form the bright head of the comet, its leading edge. The comet is then followed by a long tail, the trailing edge of discontinued models from the most recently discontinued to older models, stretching all the way back to film gear from the last century.
All along the way are deals to be had, for cameras don’t stop working because they’re discontinued. There are full-frame cameras from a relatively short while ago that were great cameras at the time but are now discontinued. Used ones in good shape have lots of service left in them, and they sell far below the price of the latest models.
Take my own case. I wanted to get back into full frame after having once owned a Nikon D610 DSLR, an intermediate-level body. I sold it when I was downsizing but soon had seller’s regret. So I scoured eBay and found another D610 advertised as being in “mint” condition. You have to be careful buying a camera unseen, but if you check the seller’s feedback you get some idea of how reliable they are.
I ordered my used D610 body from a camera seller in Japan. It meant a bit more spent on shipping and duties, but when the camera arrived it was immaculate. Cost: $675 USD. For $200-400 more I could have purchased a fine D800 body, but as an amateur photographer, I didn’t need all its features.
I knew I wanted a macro lens for it and for years I’ve been a distant admirer of the legendary Tamron Di 90mm macro lens. I found a “mint” one in Nikon mount from another Japanese vendor, for $200 USD.
I already had a 50mm f/1.8 Nikon lens so I had the middle ground covered. What I needed was a wide angle. From my experience with my iPhone (28mm equivalent) I knew I wanted something a little wider, so I located a good-condition Nikon 24mm AF-D lens for $150 USD.
My total base cost was just over $1000 USD for a full-frame camera plus two “new” lenses. Not bad considering a Sony a7C sells new, body only, for nearly $2000 USD and its lenses are expensive.
Recycling at its Best
I’m not a professional photographer and don’t need all the (lovely) bells and whistles of the latest models. And as a retiree on a fixed income, I have to be careful with my spending, so the prospect of recycling some of the slightly older, used gear is financially appealing.
It’s also a nice feeling to give a good used camera a new home rather than allowing it to sit idle on a shelf.
Buying used, as long as you’re careful about it, represents recycling at its best. As you can see from some of the photos I’ve added to this article, all taken from plants in our gardens, I’m a happy camper, very pleased to be photographing with my used gear.