Mike59 Loc: New York City

Posted last night and I don't see it in My Topics. So, here goes again: l am looking for a little wisdom about investing in a camera that is more camera than I need right now, with an eye towards the future where I expect to need more than an entry level DSLR. Any thoughts? Money is a factor of course, but a few hundred more makes better sense now, instead of needing to by a whole new system later.

mrpentaxk5ii

You have a ton of cameras to pick from, what are you looking to photograph and what is your top dollar that you can spend at this time?

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Mike, part of the decision process would also entail FX or DX format. You can find really good deals on used / refurbed equipment on any of the major manufacturer's sites. Also good deal can be had on B and H and Adorama, as well.
--Bob

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Hey Mike, welcome aboard. In general, purchase the best you can afford. In some cases, buying a used camera and especially used lenses, will stretch your dollars the furthest. Consider what your friends / family own as you can share equipment and knowledge, when possible. If you don't have others to leverage, visit a store and handle the candidate models as there are subtle (and very real) differences in size and button layout that may catch your attention when handling the camera body. Consider your intended purposes. If you don't have a family member in competitive sports or a wildlife center near by, you probably don't need to pay extract for a camera with features like 10+ frame / sec shooting.

I'll leave it to others to start the shouting match of vendors, bodies and lenses. All of the candidates from Sony, Nikon and Canon are excellent choices, up and down their current family of bodies. None of these three companies are going anywhere anytime soon. Mirrorless is the trend of the future, but none are there yet for sports and wildlife. Sony has been pumping out lenses because their weakness is a limited lens line-up. Nikon and Canon continue to pump out relatively cutting edge bodies and lenses as well as having an extensive back catalog of lenses covering every need identified in the industry over the past 40+ years.

The best pricing is available on the internet with some vendors specialized in used or refurbished models / brands. The internet is the best source (only in most cases) for specialized or very-high end equipment.

repleo Loc: Boston

If you have been away from photography for awhile like I was, make sure you at least familiarize yourself with the latest generation of 'mirrorless' cameras vs traditional DSLRs before you decide. If you watch the posts here on UHH you will see that a lot of photographers are abandoning their DSLR's in favor of mirrorless cameras.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Mike, welcome. i am not afan of used. Refurbished by Nikon is my preference.

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/dslr-cameras/1576/d5600.html

Great starter outfit you can always use the lenses as you grow.

tjpratt Loc: Ballard

Spend money on a GOOD LENS that you will keep. Up grade to a better body when you can afford it.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'm glad you narrowed it down to a DSLR and not entry level. That means a D7200 or D750.

Read comparisons and specs, and decide what features are important to you.
(Reviews) https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCameraStoreTV/videos
http://www.cameradecision.com/
http://cameras.reviewed.com/
http://camerasize.com/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM
http://snapsort.com/compare
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras?utm_campaign=internal-link&utm_source=mainmenu&utm_medium=text&ref=mainmenu

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

How long ago did you stop doing photography, and what equipment did you have?

Some degree of familiarity may help the learning curve. Also, what types of subjects do you have in mind?

danlsmith Loc: Columbus Ohio

I also found your advice to be most helpful.
Thanks.

Jerrin1 Loc: Wolverhampton, England

Have a look at a mint/excellent second hand Nikon D500. I have one and as far as I'm concerned it is brilliant. I used to have a Canon 7D mark II, which is a great camera - but I much prefer my D500. Both cameras will allow for fast action as well as family/wedding/landscape genres etc.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Interesting. Did you have several lenses and other Canon system gear? How much effort and cost was involved in the transition to Nikon?

Boris Ekner Loc: From Sweden, living in Guatemala

Here's my answer to a similar question in another thread.

Here's what I did:
-Budget: no more than $500. (This was the most important criteria I had.)
-Searched for $500 DSLR's on eBay & Amazon in order to understand what I might get.
-I found some favorite models that I compared at cameradecision.com. I refused to have any brand preferences.
-I read plenty of reviews on the cameras I found interesting.

My priorities were; very good professional reviews, the highest pixel count possible, RAW format option, wifi, built in GPS, fair prices & f/values on future lenses.

Nikon D5300 turned out to be the final option. With my personal preferences, and budget, it was by far the best option. Price paid: $449 on eBay, including an 18-55mm lens, plus some other (now useless)-stuff in the bundle.

I've had the camera since January 2017, and I have no regrets on my purchase. On the contrary, I'm very happy with what I got for the money spent.

Later I've bought a 55-200mm(used) and a 35mm(used) lenses. A better speed light/flash, a good tripod, petal lens hoods, third party battery grip, extra batteries, twin charger, better/faster memory card, and some other stuff. All from eBay who time after time confirms to have the best prices.

Your best option is probably not my best, and vice versa. It is not about the camera as much as it is about the photographer. Just as a good stove and pan isn't enough to cook you a good dinner, right?

In order to update my knowledge I started off with reading Nikon D5300 For Dummies, as well as Stunning Digital Photography by Tony Northrup. The third book was Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System by Steve Perry, which is my favorite so far.
It was all well invested pennies. The book I'm reading right now is Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. As knowledge has no weight it is easy to carry...

http://backcountrygallery.com/secrets-nikon-autofocus-system/

Best of luck on your persuit of your best camera. ...and don't rush it to get one. Take your time, i.e. weeks, to learn about your options and what you favor.

A very informative D5300 Review:
https://sleeklens.com/nikon-d5300-review/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-blog&substat=blog

Examples of pictures I've shot are found under my name at 500px.com as well as at Instagram.com.

www.instagram.com/borisekner

www.500px.com/borisekner

The most important subject in photography is not the equipment, nor what is in front of the camera. The most important subject in photography is what is behind it, the photographer.

PS
I had the same procedure when I looked for, and bought, my sons camera. (He turned 6 at the end of July) The budget was no more than $80, had to be fully automatic, as well as having manual features to grow with as he gets older and if his photo interest persists. Best option: a used Fujifilm Finepix S8600 (it's a bridge camera), for $76 on eBay. And there are instructive videos on his camera on YouTube for him to watch later.

PPS
Here’s a different opinion on this issue.https://petapixel.com/2017/03/24/battle-micro-43-camera-outsold-full-frame-dslr/

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

A good process, good advice. It helps to understsnd what you need.

BuckeyeBilly Loc: St. Petersburg, FL

Most here on UHH are going to cast their vote for some model of Canon or Nikon, and, quite honestly, you'll be fine with either of these camera manufacturers. There are other ones out there who don't get the press as Canon or Nikon do but are nonetheless just as good. My recommendation? Pentax K-70. It's been out about a year and is more than just an entry-level camera. Three things about this camera that make it better than entry-level are, one, the shutter speed (it has 1/6000 vs. 1/4000 on almost all entry-levels), two, it is both weather-sealed and dustproofed where almost all other entry-levels are not, and three, the image stabilization is built into the camera rather than the lens. These three factors alone are putting you into the league with mid-levels and will be something you can grow with. Here is an excellent review of your next camera:
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentax-k-70

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