whatdat wrote:
Fellow UHH's:
I am looking at nikon 5000 series cameras. I believe the 5600 and 5500 are very similar with the major exception being that the 5600 has a touch screen. Is this important enough to choose the 5600 over any of the other 5000 series Nikons? I thought I would start out with one of these cameras with the 2 kit lenses (18-55 Nikkor and 70-300 Nikkor as-p ED lense; all refurbished). I am retired and have a limited budget, but want to move up from a bridge camera. Any suggestions or thoughts on the above or any of the other series 5000 cameras? My bridge camera has an articulating screen so I am wanting to keep that feature. Currently Cameta Camera has the above setup at $699 refurbished. I have read a lot of great info on this site, so I am looking forward to some good info.
Thanks,
Whatdat
Fellow UHH's: br I am looking at nikon 5000 series... (
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This is all about your budget. How much are you comfortable spending?
From my point of view the 70-300 lens is too much, too long. On a cropped sensor it equals a full frame of 105-450. Do you really need those 450mm's? At that length you have to have a tripod in order to shoot straight and steady. On top of that most reviews of that lens tells that it is not as sharp at maximum zoom as a shorter lens, like the 55-200.
Some may tell you to get an 18-200 or 18-300. Both are "one-size-fits-all" lenses. As such they are great lenses - if you accept the flaws that comes with them. Because, the same things appears with these two in the reviews. Both have a reputation of being less sharp at the far end. To my understanding it has to do with the zoom range, it's too long in order to create a sharp picture through the entire range, i.e. design compromises have been made.
Regarding pricing I recommend you to compare prices on Amazon, eBay, as well as other locations in order to get the most for your buck.
My recommendation is to get your best choice of camera with the kit lens, for starters. Then get books to update your knowledge from the past to the present. (I too started off with film. My first was a Kodak Instamatic in 1968.)
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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.
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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.
-Found some favorite models that I compared at cameradecision.com. I refused to have any brand preferences.
-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 for 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. Next book will be Understanding Exposure. 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=blogExamples of pictures I've shot are found under my name at 500px.com as well as at Instagram.com.
www.instagram.com/boriseknerwww.500px.com/boriseknerPS
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/