Suggestions for an upgrade from D5500: I have $2,000 to spend tops. My whole goal of upgrading would be to banish noise as much as possible and need the camera to be as light as...

Deanie1113

I have $2,000 to spend tops. My whole goal of upgrading would be to banish noise as much as possible and need the camera to be as light as humanly possible since I have arm issues. I would be using this for landscapes and portraits of children. I currently have a Nikon D5500 paired with an 18-140 and am a bit confused on whether it is the lens or the camera that is contributing to the noise issue I am having. I'd love to hear recommendations for a lightweight system that can easily handle low-light situations. Thank you!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Save yourself some money. Instead, start a new post in the photo analysis or post processing sections with noisy image examples and lets some experts give you some free shooting advice. This won't lighten the camera weight, but you should learn how to better use this excellent camera or any new camera.

CO

You must be using very high ISO settings. What is the ISO setting on the photos that have noise? It usually becomes obvious in the darker areas of the photo - often chroma noise that produces colored speckles. Can you post some photos? Be sure to check the "store orignal" box. The only way you will improve upon that is to go to a full frame camera. The Nikon D750 is heavily discounted right now. This is a signal to noise comparison on the DxO website of the D750 vs D5500.

Signal to noise ratio. Red line - D5500, Orange line - D750

(Download)

ELNikkor

The D750 is quite a bit heavier than the D5500, so, if you want a light-weight camera, you will have to stay in the MFT or APS-C. Probably the D7500 will help with the noise issue, but if noise is your main complaint, stick with the D5500 and solve the noise problem with camera settings, a faster lens, and post-processing; it can save you that $2,000.

srt101fan

CHG_CANON wrote:

Save yourself some money. Instead, start a new post in the photo analysis or post processing sections with noisy image examples and lets some experts give you some free shooting advice. This won't lighten the camera weight, but you should learn how to better use this excellent camera or any new camera.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

The Nikon D5500 is a very good camera. It has the same IQ as the D7100. The D7200 or the D7500 would be an upgrade, because both of them have the internal focus motor. Nikon Legacy lenses selections, may be limited because of that, because some will not meter. The D7200 has dual SD slots. That is important to some, and not so important to others. Since your D5500 has only one SD card slot, the single SD card slot on a D7500 would be an upgrade. Other than the dual SD card slot, I think the D7500 is a better camera than the D7200. Now, that the D7200 is discontinued, the price is affordable, even for a new camera. Personally, I would keep the D5500, and get some more good Nikon AF-S or AF-P lenses. There's nothing wrong with that camera. It's a good 24 megapixels camera. Good luck.

Neverlost99 Loc: Sarasota

Can you explain Nikon lens abbreviations?

FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County

Neverlost99 wrote:

Can you explain Nikon lens abbreviations?

I can't - have to look them up each & every time. Have that CRS syndrome
😈😈😈

Deanie1113

CO wrote:

You must be using very high ISO settings. What is the ISO setting on the photos that have noise? It usually becomes obvious in the darker areas of the photo - often chroma noise that produces colored speckles. Can you post some photos? Be sure to check the "store orignal" box. The only way you will improve upon that is to go to a full frame camera. The Nikon D750 is heavily discounted right now. This is a signal to noise comparison on the DxO website of the D750 vs D5500.

Thanks so much. I found the chart a little confusing. Is it just saying the D750 has a little less noise as the ISO goes up as compared to the D5500? By looking at that chart, would you say there is a significant difference?

Deanie1113

mas24 wrote:

The Nikon D5500 is a very good camera. It has the ... (show quote)

Thank you for that great reply. Really the only thing I don't like about the 5500 is the noisiness. When you say "good" lenses, what would be better than my 18-140, which I enjoy for its range? A faster lens?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Deanie1113 wrote:

Thank you for that great reply. Really the only thing I don't like about the 5500 is the noisiness. When you say "good" lenses, what would be better than my 18-140, which I enjoy for its range? A faster lens?

The 18-140 is a great general-purpose lens. Again, some examples will help to demonstrate your issue and shooting situations.

BebuLamar

CHG_CANON wrote:

Save yourself some money. Instead, start a new post in the photo analysis or post processing sections with noisy image examples and lets some experts give you some free shooting advice. This won't lighten the camera weight, but you should learn how to better use this excellent camera or any new camera.

I agree! The D5500 should have unnoticeable noise at base ISO. If you use something like 25000 then I don't think there is a camera that can do that without visible noise. So really we need to know what kind of ISO you used.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Deanie1113 wrote:

Thank you for that great reply. Really the only thing I don't like about the 5500 is the noisiness. When you say "good" lenses, what would be better than my 18-140, which I enjoy for its range? A faster lens?

I like a mixture of prime lenses and zoom lenses. I own the Nikon 18-55mm kit lens, along with the 35mm f1.8G, 50mm f1.8G, and the AF-P 70-300mm. I wouldn't mind exchanging my 18-55mm for an 18-140mm. The Nikon 18-140mm is a new kit lens for some Nikon DX model cameras. And it has a good rating on this forum. Check and see what Ken Rockwell's opinion is, on that particular lens. Be advised, my choices for lenses will be completely different than yours. That's why there are so many to choose from. Excellent glass, usually means higher costs.

BebuLamar

Deanie1113 wrote:

Thanks so much. I found the chart a little confusing. Is it just saying the D750 has a little less noise as the ISO goes up as compared to the D5500? By looking at that chart, would you say there is a significant difference?

Looking at that chart I see that the D750 has 1 stop advantage over the D5500. That is the D750 at ISO1600 is as good as the D5500 at ISO800. You can get the D750 body within your budget but you need to get a lens. The 18-140mm is great for the D5500 would not work right on the D750. Yes it would work but deliver poorer images by using it on the D750 as you have to use it in crop mode. The 24-120 is kind of a good replacement for the 18-140mm and I think you can get the D750 with the lens for the $2000 budget. But remember you only get 1 stop improvement.

Deanie1113

BebuLamar wrote:

Looking at that chart I see that the D750 has 1 st... (show quote)

Gotcha. So appreciate your time to help me with this! I am going to post some examples also. Thank you so much!