Nikon purchase decision
Apr 10, 2018 07:57:12 #
Hi, you guys have a lot of experience and I wish to avail myself of some of that.
i cannot get my head around the newer Nikon cameras and their differences. I am an experienced amateur photographer and have been for many years. I currently have a Nikon D5200 which is a nice camera for me but I want to upgrade. My wife and I are planning extended travel over the next few years and I am trying to figure out which new camera to buy. We will be mainly on the water and in coastal areas in the islands.
I think I have narrowed my choices to the D500, D7500 or D750. I know that some are full frame and others not, I am not sure that makes a big difference to me since I would rarely print any photos. I am asking for your opinion as to which would be the better choice and why.
Thanks for your input
Steve
i cannot get my head around the newer Nikon cameras and their differences. I am an experienced amateur photographer and have been for many years. I currently have a Nikon D5200 which is a nice camera for me but I want to upgrade. My wife and I are planning extended travel over the next few years and I am trying to figure out which new camera to buy. We will be mainly on the water and in coastal areas in the islands.
I think I have narrowed my choices to the D500, D7500 or D750. I know that some are full frame and others not, I am not sure that makes a big difference to me since I would rarely print any photos. I am asking for your opinion as to which would be the better choice and why.
Thanks for your input
Steve
Apr 10, 2018 08:10:00 #
Apr 10, 2018 08:10:46 #
LWW
Loc: Banana Republic of America
I prefer a crop sensor because of the lighter weight and extended reach when used with a full frame lens.
I almost bought a D7500 but NIKON doesn’t make a vertical grip, which is a dealbreaker for me.
I opted for a D7200 which is essentially the same thing. With a vertical battery grip it was actually less than the “NEW AND IMPROVED” D7500.
If you want to not be worried about battery life and shoot much where a 2X3 format serves you better than a 3X2 format a vertical grip is a blessing.
They hold an additional battery and the handoff from the dead battery to the charged one is seamless ... plus having a vertical shutter/aperture controls makes life much simpler.
My $0.02, YMMV.
I almost bought a D7500 but NIKON doesn’t make a vertical grip, which is a dealbreaker for me.
I opted for a D7200 which is essentially the same thing. With a vertical battery grip it was actually less than the “NEW AND IMPROVED” D7500.
If you want to not be worried about battery life and shoot much where a 2X3 format serves you better than a 3X2 format a vertical grip is a blessing.
They hold an additional battery and the handoff from the dead battery to the charged one is seamless ... plus having a vertical shutter/aperture controls makes life much simpler.
My $0.02, YMMV.
Apr 10, 2018 08:14:29 #
Tomcat5133
Loc: Gladwyne PA
I don't do Nikons anymore but some thoughts. You are looking at cropped apc s camera's
(cropped) and full frame like the 750. Big difference in price of lens and experience. I would also check
into moisture proof and all the crazy definitions of being in wet weather at times from these cameras today.
I have read posters here that say if you have a pop-up flash on camera (nice to have) you lose some of the
seal from moisture. I have Sony's and i would not use them in driving rain. They do make rain coats
for some of these cameras. Good luck to you.
(cropped) and full frame like the 750. Big difference in price of lens and experience. I would also check
into moisture proof and all the crazy definitions of being in wet weather at times from these cameras today.
I have read posters here that say if you have a pop-up flash on camera (nice to have) you lose some of the
seal from moisture. I have Sony's and i would not use them in driving rain. They do make rain coats
for some of these cameras. Good luck to you.
Apr 10, 2018 08:21:33 #
Steve Dollar wrote:
Hi, you guys have a lot of experience and I wish t... (show quote)
Don't respond to the naysayers who question why you should upgrade. If you want to upgrade, do it.
Buy a full frame camera and enjoy it.
But, you will want better lenses.
Apr 10, 2018 08:22:03 #
In my less than humble (sometimes) opinion, it's up to you IF you want to upgrade, then upgrade. You'll get some lectures about using what you have. Life is short, do what you want.
For the upgrade, again, you are asking a bunch of strangers, and more than likely, we'll just point you towards whatever WE have, or want, which may not be helpful to you.
That being said, I'm only guessing that you have DX glass, and not full frame. If that's the case, upgrading to FF will require at least double the investment. DX glass on FF body will result in DX photos with lower resolution than a DX lens on a DX body. Example, if you use DX glass on a D-810, you will get less than a 20mp result. Your choice of a D750, would be even less.
AS for what's left in your choices. I have the D-500 and love it, but I'm not sure I would suggest it for travel and personal photography unless part of your travel is capturing birds in flight, or action sports. It also lacks the pop up flash that might be handy if you don't want to carry an off camera flash. It's perfect for what I need, but I would probably bring my D-7100 if I were traveling.
Again, the D-7500 is the newest in the D7xxx series. If I were to replace my D-7100 or D-7000, I would actually get the D-7200, only because some things that are important to me personally (like dual card slots, and available battery grip) were removed from the D-7500. Again, that's for my style, and for what I do. *(mostly weddings, but also portrait work, where losing the images because of a bad card could cause a lawsuit.) you losing images may cause disappointment, but probably wouldn't end up in the courts.
Anyway, the best bet is to do research, and actually go to a camera store, even if you need to travel to one, and try them out. It's a good size investment, that should last a very long time, so it's worth it. (or, you could always rent the bodies, but think of traveling to a camera store as "more travel" and an adventure)
For the upgrade, again, you are asking a bunch of strangers, and more than likely, we'll just point you towards whatever WE have, or want, which may not be helpful to you.
That being said, I'm only guessing that you have DX glass, and not full frame. If that's the case, upgrading to FF will require at least double the investment. DX glass on FF body will result in DX photos with lower resolution than a DX lens on a DX body. Example, if you use DX glass on a D-810, you will get less than a 20mp result. Your choice of a D750, would be even less.
AS for what's left in your choices. I have the D-500 and love it, but I'm not sure I would suggest it for travel and personal photography unless part of your travel is capturing birds in flight, or action sports. It also lacks the pop up flash that might be handy if you don't want to carry an off camera flash. It's perfect for what I need, but I would probably bring my D-7100 if I were traveling.
Again, the D-7500 is the newest in the D7xxx series. If I were to replace my D-7100 or D-7000, I would actually get the D-7200, only because some things that are important to me personally (like dual card slots, and available battery grip) were removed from the D-7500. Again, that's for my style, and for what I do. *(mostly weddings, but also portrait work, where losing the images because of a bad card could cause a lawsuit.) you losing images may cause disappointment, but probably wouldn't end up in the courts.
Anyway, the best bet is to do research, and actually go to a camera store, even if you need to travel to one, and try them out. It's a good size investment, that should last a very long time, so it's worth it. (or, you could always rent the bodies, but think of traveling to a camera store as "more travel" and an adventure)
Apr 10, 2018 08:26:05 #
LWW
Loc: Banana Republic of America
Tom Daniels wrote:
I don't do Nikons anymore but some thoughts. You are looking at cropped apc s camera's
(cropped) and full frame. Big difference in price of lens and experience. I would also check
into moisture proof and all the crazy definitions of being in wet weather at times.
I have Sony's and i would not use them in driving rain. Good luck to you.
(cropped) and full frame. Big difference in price of lens and experience. I would also check
into moisture proof and all the crazy definitions of being in wet weather at times.
I have Sony's and i would not use them in driving rain. Good luck to you.
Good points.
The D7XXX and corresponding NIKON vertical grips have some pretty good weather sealing and a magnesium frame.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bIfFR1AvlKY
Apr 10, 2018 08:35:09 #
The king of the crop sensor cameras current available is the D500. If full frame does not matter to you and you want a weather sealed DSLR made by Nikon then the D500 is the camera for you. I've had one for about 2 years now and I love it.
By the way, welcome to the UHH.
By the way, welcome to the UHH.
Apr 10, 2018 08:37:40 #
Selecting a camera is a very personal decision. For someone like you with experience in photography making a choice is not that difficult especially when you are saying that you do not do much more than using the files to send them throughout the Net. It seems as if you have no interest in making enlargements.
I am not familiar with the D5200 but I know it can shoot 5 FPS and it sports much more pixels than you actually need (24 Mp.) It is a DX camera so I can assume that you have DX lenses to fit it, not saying it will not accept FX lenses although DX cameras do best with DX lenses that cover the whole sensor.
I do not own any of the cameras you mentioned but I am familiar with them and in the case of the D750 I have used one. Buying a D750 means you will have to buy FX lenses for best performance. The other cameras, the D500 and D7500 are DX cameras and will accept the lenses you have now.
If you want to buy a new camera so be it but I cannot understand your reasoning. If you have limitations with your D5200 it is time to update but if the camera performs to your satisfaction are you really going to gain something by switching to a new camera, perhaps with more megapixels? Just to share your images over the Internet?
It is your decision to own a new camera but I see no reasons behind it.
I am not familiar with the D5200 but I know it can shoot 5 FPS and it sports much more pixels than you actually need (24 Mp.) It is a DX camera so I can assume that you have DX lenses to fit it, not saying it will not accept FX lenses although DX cameras do best with DX lenses that cover the whole sensor.
I do not own any of the cameras you mentioned but I am familiar with them and in the case of the D750 I have used one. Buying a D750 means you will have to buy FX lenses for best performance. The other cameras, the D500 and D7500 are DX cameras and will accept the lenses you have now.
If you want to buy a new camera so be it but I cannot understand your reasoning. If you have limitations with your D5200 it is time to update but if the camera performs to your satisfaction are you really going to gain something by switching to a new camera, perhaps with more megapixels? Just to share your images over the Internet?
It is your decision to own a new camera but I see no reasons behind it.
Apr 10, 2018 08:50:31 #
I'm only purchasing cameras that don't have an anti-aliasing filter in front of the sensor. I've noticed cameras that don't have an AA filter have a slight edge in sharpness. When I purchased my D500 (no AA filter) I did some comparison shots with it and a D750 (has AA filter). The photos were processed the same way for consistency. The D500 had an edge in sharpness. I've noticed the difference with other cameras as well.
Apr 10, 2018 08:51:18 #
If you don't know some of the differences then we can help but making the choice it must be your decision. Nobody can make a better choice for you but you.
Apr 10, 2018 10:03:26 #
LWW
Loc: Banana Republic of America
rmorrison1116 wrote:
The king of the crop sensor cameras current available is the D500. If full frame does not matter to you and you want a weather sealed DSLR made by Nikon then the D500 is the camera for you. I've had one for about 2 years now and I love it.
By the way, welcome to the UHH.
By the way, welcome to the UHH.
I agree, but other than the faster frames per second rate ther isn’t IMHO much real world difference.
Shooting fast moving sports it might make a difference.
Shooting vacation photos, probably not.
My $0.02. YMMV.
Apr 10, 2018 10:36:59 #
Steve Dollar wrote:
Hi, you guys have a lot of experience and I wish t... (show quote)
Steve,
Welcome to the forum. I would choose the D500. I plan to upgrade to it.
My 2 cents.
Apr 10, 2018 10:57:34 #
Wow So many replies and quite a bit of information. Do I really need to upgrade the D5100? Of course not but several granddaughters would like it and I can't refuse. Moisture is certainly a problem and I need good seals. Not just over the net but good albums for the last years of my life. Looks like it comes down to D500 or D7200. Yes, I have some DX glass. My major gripe with the D5200 is focus. It may be the camera or the glass or me but, my eyesight makes me use autofocus so don't know what I could do about that. This camera (D5200) just does not focus that well. I have used multiple glass so I don't think it is that. Is the D5200 known for poor focus or what?
These are just vacation photos. They will be our life on the water, whales, dolphin, birds, sunsets, people, cities, landscapes, et al.
And just many, many thanks for all the reponses.
Steve
These are just vacation photos. They will be our life on the water, whales, dolphin, birds, sunsets, people, cities, landscapes, et al.
And just many, many thanks for all the reponses.
Steve
Apr 10, 2018 12:29:22 #
67skylark27
Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI
You are exactly where I was at just a few months ago. I was ready to jump to the d500 from a d5300. I ended up
getting a used d7200 and a used Tamron 150-600 as I wanted to start shooting more wildlife and birds in flight this summer.
I spen about the same for those two items as I would have on the d500 alone. I will then pass it along to my son when I upgrade.
I would not have been able to both afford the d500 and the 200-500 lens, but now I can at least get started on
shooting those long lengths and the transition to the d500 will be quick. I'm using the d7200 for sports too with
my primes, it's an excellent choice - great bang for the buck. I am re-reading the article I purchased a year ago about
the Secrets to the Nikon Autofocus System - it's helping tremendously with the d7200. Many more features than my d5300.
What lenses do you already have? I would recommend the Nikon 18-140 for walkaround, 50mm f1.8 for night pics, and
the Tamron 150-600 for when you are out on the ocean - you will want the reach and it's not horribly heavy.
getting a used d7200 and a used Tamron 150-600 as I wanted to start shooting more wildlife and birds in flight this summer.
I spen about the same for those two items as I would have on the d500 alone. I will then pass it along to my son when I upgrade.
I would not have been able to both afford the d500 and the 200-500 lens, but now I can at least get started on
shooting those long lengths and the transition to the d500 will be quick. I'm using the d7200 for sports too with
my primes, it's an excellent choice - great bang for the buck. I am re-reading the article I purchased a year ago about
the Secrets to the Nikon Autofocus System - it's helping tremendously with the d7200. Many more features than my d5300.
What lenses do you already have? I would recommend the Nikon 18-140 for walkaround, 50mm f1.8 for night pics, and
the Tamron 150-600 for when you are out on the ocean - you will want the reach and it's not horribly heavy.
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