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I have a Nikon DX D3200 and I want to switch to an FX Nikon D610.

I know I can use my DX lenses on the FX body and I don't have enough money to replace them with FX lenses. Both bodies are 24MP but the D610 will crop the image in DX lens mode - so I will get less MP then before.

My question:

Is there a benefit of using the FX body compared to my DX body or will the image quality be almost the same?

My current DX lenses: a Sigma 17-70 and my prime lens is the Nikkor 35mm 1.8

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    \$\begingroup\$ It's either a case of going for a second hand body so you can upgrade a lens too, or just waiting and saving so you can get an FX lens along with the FX body. \$\endgroup\$
    – ElendilTheTall
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 11:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ElendilTheTall buying a lense first has some disadvantades too - e.g. the Tamron 27-70mm on my DX-body is a 40-105mm and i cant efford both \$\endgroup\$
    – fubo
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 11:45
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    \$\begingroup\$ That's what I'm saying - wait until you can afford both \$\endgroup\$
    – ElendilTheTall
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 11:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ You can probably come very close to trading your AF-S 35/1.8G DX for a AF 50/1.8D even-steven, which will give you one FX lens with approximately the equivalent field of view (and smaller DoF when you want it as well). The 50D is an older lens, but it's a nice older lens. \$\endgroup\$
    – user28116
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 12:14
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    \$\begingroup\$ You've run up against the "hidden" cost of "upgrading" to full frame: you want glass to match the sensor and FX equivalents tend to be more expensive than their DX counterparts. \$\endgroup\$
    – inkista
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 20:07

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There's no benefit in terms of image quality to the larger sensor of the 610 if you are going to use DX lenses in crop mode (except possibly in noise, not sure exactly how the D610 cropped compares to the D3200). Having said that there's no real loss either when resizing images for the web - 10 megapixels is plenty.

You could probably get away with the 35 f/1.8 in FX mode if shooting in a dark environment where the black corners wont be as visible. You could also probably get an APS-H (1.3x crop) image out of it by chopping off the dark corners. I've done this with the Sigma 30 f/1.4 on a Canon 5D.

Likewise the Sigma zoom will probably project a large enough image circle for FX for at least part of the zoom range if you take the hood off.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ that's pretty chastening - but thank you for sharing your experience \$\endgroup\$
    – fubo
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 9:48
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I think there are two things you can think about here; image quality relating to the lenses and camera mode (DX versus FX) and then overall camera features.

Image quality will be primarily determined by the lens you use. With the DX format the difference will be minor.

The other consideration though is overall camera features and what they mean to you. I have both a D3200 and a D610. The additional features offered by the body including the increased shutter speeds and burst mode opens up new opportunities for things like sports and nature photography. In addition, it offers the bracketed shooting that was missing from the D3200 which comes in very handy for landscape shooting. There is even an option for on camera HDR.

In my case, I picked up a couple of FX lenses before I purchased the FX body to help with the transition, but there is still value in having the upgraded body.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Sure, but you don't need to go full frame to get the benefits of a better camera body. You'll get all that on the D7100 at two-thirds the cost. \$\endgroup\$
    – Philip Kendall ♦
    Commented Nov 20, 2014 at 14:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ @PhilipKendall - For me, I wanted to have a full frame option so when I went with the D610. If the DX mode is more your thing, then the D7100 is a very good camera. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mike Oryszak
    Commented Nov 20, 2014 at 19:36
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    \$\begingroup\$ @fubo My first FX lens was the 50mm f/1.4 that I got about a year ago when Nikon was running some specials. Both the 1.4 and 1.8 are very good lenses, but the price difference with the special made the 1.4 a much better buy. My second lens was the 24-70 f/2.8. I like to shoot low light so I chose that over the 24-120 f/4. Both are very good lenses, but the 24-70 is probably the best most versatile lens I've used. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mike Oryszak
    Commented Nov 20, 2014 at 19:39

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