Thom Hogan on used Nikons and upgrades

After reviewing years of his pictures from various Nikon bodies he has this advice (no permalink – get it while it lasts):

So, if you’re looking for bargains and don’t need high ISO much, the D2x/D2xs would be my choice amongst used offerings. The D200 is probably the best “bargain” amongst the group due to its all around decent image quality, and you can find new in box samples of this camera for substantially less than you’d pay for a new D90; the D200 performs quite well overall. So much so that I had one converted to IR and it’s my main IR camera now.

Another way of looking at things is “is it time to upgrade?” Here, I’ll look at each body and make a judgment about whether it’s time to move to a newer generation:

• D1, D1h, D1x: yes, to any of the FX bodies.
• D2h, D2hs: yes, to a D3 for more pixels, better really high ISO values; otherwise no.
• D2x, D2xs: no, unless you’re moving to a D3x or need high ISO regularly.
• D100: yes, to a D300.
• D200: no; I’d wait for a D400.
• D40: if you need more pixels, yes, to a D60; otherwise no.
• D40x: no; present bodies don’t provide enough more unless you move upwards in the lineup (e.g. D300).
• D50: yes, to a D60. (But note you may lose AF on some lenses, which may bring you back to no.)
• D70, D70s: yes, to a D90.
• D80: probably, to a D90.
• S1, S2: yes, to almost anything from a D90 up.
• S3, S5: yes, to a D700.
• Pro 14n, SLR/n: no, unless you need high ISO (D700) or lots more pixels (D3x).