The jump to full-frame used to mean saving for a long time. Now it mostly means shopping for one of the bodies that working photographers traded in when they moved to something newer. There are a lot of them, they were built to be used hard, and they still make lovely pictures. Here are the seven we'd look at first for a first full-frame body, what each is good at, and the one thing to check on each.
One rule before the list. Pick the lens mount before the body, because your lenses will outlast it. If you already own Canon EF or Nikon F lenses, start with that brand. If you're starting fresh, our guide to choosing a system walks through the options.
Nikon D610: the plain, solid start
Nikon announced the D610 in October 2013, barely a year after the D600, and the headline change was a new shutter. D600 owners had found dust building up on their sensors, and Nikon ended up offering free shutter replacements on the D600. The D610 kept the rest: a 24.3-megapixel sensor, 39 autofocus points, two SD slots and a full-coverage pentaprism finder in a compact body. Nikon rates its shutter at 150,000 cycles.
It suits landscape, travel and portrait work, where its autofocus is plenty. The thing to check is that it really is a D610, because the bodies look almost the same. Read the model name on the front.
Nikon D750: the one most people end up with
The D750 came a year later with the 51-point autofocus from Nikon's D4S and D810, 6.5 frames per second, a tilting screen and a carbon-fiber and magnesium body. Popular Photography named it Camera of the Year. It's the D610 with better focus for people, events and anything that moves, and it uses the same EN-EL15 battery.
Check its service history. Nikon ran two advisories. One covered flare from a bright light just above the frame, and repaired bodies carry a black dot inside the tripod socket. The other replaced shutters that could shade part of the image on bodies made between July 2014 and September 2016, free even out of warranty. Nikon offers a serial-number checker, so ask the seller for the serial and look it up.
Canon 6D Mark II: the flip screen
Canon's 6D Mark II arrived in 2017 as the first Canon full-frame DSLR with a vari-angle touchscreen, with Canon's Dual Pixel autofocus behind it in live view and video. That made it a favorite for travel and video. Through the viewfinder you get 45 cross-type points, clustered near the center, so you'll focus and recompose more than on a 5D. Reviewers knocked its dynamic range at low ISO, which matters most if you lift dark shadows in landscapes.
It takes EF lenses, so everything you buy for it also works on Canon's mirrorless bodies through Canon's adapter. Check the screen hinge in the photos, since it's the part that moves the most.
Canon 5D Mark III: the workhorse
The 5D Mark III put the 61-point autofocus from Canon's flagship EOS-1D X into a 5D body in 2012, with 6 fps, a 100% viewfinder and slots for both CompactFlash and SD. That mix made it a workhorse for wedding and event shooters, which is why so many are for sale and why plenty have high counts. Canon rates the shutter at 150,000 cycles.
Canon doesn't put the count in the photo files, so ask the seller to read it over USB with a tool like EOSCount and send a screenshot. Then check that the CF slot reads cards, since its fine pins can bend.
Sony A7 II: stabilization on a budget
Sony's A7 II of 2014 added 5-axis in-body stabilization to the original A7, so every lens you mount is steadied, including old manual lenses on a simple adapter. It's small, it's full-frame, and it's the least expensive way into a stabilized full-frame Sony on the E mount, which Sony and many third-party makers build lenses for.
The catch is power. The NP-FW50 battery is rated for about 350 shots per charge, so plan on two or three spares. It has one card slot. Check that the listing is really an A7 II and not the original A7, which has no stabilization. The model code ILCE-7M2 settles it.
Sony A7 III: the all-rounder
If the budget stretches, the A7 III fixes almost everything the A7 II left out. Sony gave it the 693-point autofocus from its pro A9, two SD slots, a joystick, 10 frames per second and the big NP-FZ100 battery, rated for 710 shots per charge. It was Sony's basic model in 2018, and reviewers spent the next year pointing out how little was basic about it.
Sony stores the count encrypted in each photo, and free readers like shuttertool.com decode it from an untouched file. DPReview found the sealing weakest along the bottom of the body, so look closely at the bottom plate and battery door.
Pentax K-1: the different choice
The K-1 is Pentax's first full-frame DSLR, from 2016, with a 36.4-megapixel sensor on a five-axis stabilization unit. Every lens is stabilized, including decades of old K-mount glass, and Pixel Shift combines four frames for more detail on still subjects. The body has 87 seals, and Ricoh tested the shutter to 300,000 releases. In 2018 Ricoh offered an upgrade that gave a K-1 the newer Mark II board, so a listing may be either.
The question with Pentax is the future. In September 2026 Ricoh said it would end production of its current K-series DSLRs while it develops a new series for the mount, so the choice of new Pentax bodies is thin. For a photographer who loves old lenses and slow, careful work, that matters less than you'd think.
How to choose
- For still subjects and travel on a tight budget: the D610 or the A7 II.
- For people, events and anything that moves: the D750, the 5D Mark III or the A7 III.
- For video and awkward angles: the 6D Mark II or the A7 III.
- For old lenses with stabilization: the A7 II or the K-1.
Whichever you pick, read the shutter count first with our shutter count guide, and test it the day it arrives with our arrival checklist.
