upgrading DX from 5500, advice requested: I have a crop sensor camera that has been discontinued. I am mostly interested in sharp, clear landscape and wildlife photography without...

dreff Loc: Bow, WA

I have a crop sensor camera that has been discontinued. I am mostly interested in sharp, clear landscape and wildlife photography without having to pack the weight of an FX and buy new lenses. I currently have a 16-85(3.5), 70-300(4.5), and 135mm(1.8) lenses, all Nikkor. Any recommendations for a DX upgrade?

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

dreff wrote:

I have a crop sensor camera that has been discontinued. I am mostly interested in sharp, clear landscape and wildlife photography without having to pack the weight of an FX and buy new lenses. I currently have a 16-85(3.5), 70-300(4.5), and 135mm(1.8) lenses, all Nikkor. Any recommendations for a DX upgrade?

Did your "discontinued" camera stop working?

Buy a D7200 or a D500.

dreff Loc: Bow, WA

No, it works fine. I was wondering if the upgrades had more sophisticated sensor-electronics toward sharper images. Thanks...will look into these cameras.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Invest in sharper lenses. A lens can transform your photos, if you are after sharpness and clarity. Nothing is wrong with your camera

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

The D500 is a great DX camera. I do use FX lenses on mine.I don't own a DX lens.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Go for the D500, has pro controls but easy to get used to

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

dreff wrote:

I have a crop sensor camera that has been discontinued. I am mostly interested in sharp, clear landscape and wildlife photography without having to pack the weight of an FX and buy new lenses. I currently have a 16-85(3.5), 70-300(4.5), and 135mm(1.8) lenses, all Nikkor. Any recommendations for a DX upgrade?

The D500 is Nikon's top of the line DX camera. I have not used it, but I have heard nothing but positive comments about it.
I use a Nikon D7200 for wildlife which is less expensive than a D500, but does good work. I posted some pics in Photo Gallery yesterday that were taken with the D7200 if you'd like to see what it can do.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

Steve Perry, a member here and an outdoor photographer uses the D500 for wildlife. His book "Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System" outlines a lot about that camera and other Nikons as well. You might want to check him out at: www.backcountrygallery.com

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

I use the D7200. It is much less expensive than the D500 but lacks some of the features of the D500 that you may want. Or maybe not.

JPL

dreff wrote:

I have a crop sensor camera that has been discontinued. I am mostly interested in sharp, clear landscape and wildlife photography without having to pack the weight of an FX and buy new lenses. I currently have a 16-85(3.5), 70-300(4.5), and 135mm(1.8) lenses, all Nikkor. Any recommendations for a DX upgrade?

With the camera you have there is no reason to upgrade in the DX class unless you need a camera to chase fast moving wildlife. Then it would be the D500 or D7500. But when upgrading to those cameras you would loose some megapixel that are nice to have in the landscape photography. In return you get faster and more accurate autofocus which would make you better equipped for the fast moving wildlife.

CO

If you're not getting sharp, clear images there are some things to check.
1) Check for front focusing or back focusing issues. The D5500 doesn't have AF fine tuning. If it does front or back focus you may be able send it to Nikon for adjustment.
2) Do you shoot RAW or .jpeg files? If you shoot .jpeg files go through all of the Pictures controls - Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, etc. and increase the sharpening to level 6. Nikon sets the default sharpening for picture controls very low at level 3.
3) Check menu options a1: AF-C Priority Selection and a2: AF-S Priority Selection. Those can be set to Release or Focus. Set them to Focus.

mrpentaxk5ii

You say that you want sharper photos, if your photos lack sharpness it coule be a number of issues, that need to be delth with. post a photo,give all the info on the shot, ie...shutter speed, apeture ISO, did you use a tripod or hand held and last was it a J-peg or raw file and how it was processed. we can then give you an idea on what needs to done to get the kind of photo that you desire.

dreff Loc: Bow, WA

Thanks all, and especially CO....I will have to dig a bit in order to run those items but that will be good experience for me. I am not a novice photographer, but have been surprised at my results compared to my Lumix GH1 (stolen) and Lumix point and shoot. I live in a very scenic part of the country and have not posted in awhile. I've got some to post haste!

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

dreff wrote:

I have a crop sensor camera that has been discontinued. I am mostly interested in sharp, clear landscape and wildlife photography without having to pack the weight of an FX and buy new lenses. I currently have a 16-85(3.5), 70-300(4.5), and 135mm(1.8) lenses, all Nikkor. Any recommendations for a DX upgrade?

Many cameras that have been discontinued still work fine. What model do you have? What do you need from an upgrade that your current camera doesn't provide?

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Are you saying that you have to update because your camera has been discontinued? If your D7000 performs to factory specs and most important if it is doing its job, why upgrade?
Save your money and invest in lenses.