Canisdirus

The higher end Canon, Sony, and Fuji are all better than the Nikons in that price range...not a secret.
The OP is just getting started...his best bet with Nikon is a DSLR.
That part they have down pat...and deals can be had...especially with lenses.

Again, there is a reason why Nikon is 5th in mirrorless...and it's not a conspiracy.

flip1948 Loc: Hamden, CT

I know that...I said "entry level models" and by that I meant D3xxx and D5xxx series.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Pick whatever you want/can afford and decide what you don't like about it and then upgrade, upgrade, upgrade, etc. Your money, your choice.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I’ll agree that DSLR’s are at a very advanced stage of development. It’s likely they’re about as advanced as they’re gonna get. And yes they will continue to be more than serviceable for many years. I’ll also agree that mirrorless are still fairly “young” in their development. The thing is that at this stage of their development mirrorless cameras are equally capable as DSLR’s and in many ways already surpass DSLR’s.

joemcl1

I think this is excellent advice by Flip1948.
Six years ago I faced a similar situation and purchased a D 700 and battery grip on Ebay . While it's only a 12 MP camera I have been pleased with it and have not felt the need to purchase a newer model yet. I say this as an owner of an extensive array of Nikon lenses and film bodies including a pair of F5s.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

First question... DX or FX: Depends upon what you shoot and how big, heavy gear you're willing to carry. DX or crop sensor cameras tend to be a bit smaller, lighter and less expensive. They also allow you to get "more reach" with telephotos, while at the same time making wide angle lenses act "less wide". So if you shoot sports/action/wildlife with telephotos a lot, you might want DX. But if you shoot landscape, architecture, portraits, macro/close-ups a lot, you may prefer FX. Of course, either format can serve in any of those situations... so it's more a matter of one format offering some advantages over the other, depending upon what you're shooting.

You didn't specify what you're previous lenses are, but generally speaking older F-mount lenses can be used on modern cameras... both DSLRs and mirrorless. To use them on mirrorless you will need an adapter. It is important exactly what lenses you have. Really old (pre-AI) Nikkors can be problematic. Earlier AF lenses also are only able to autofocus on certain camera bodies (D7500 and D500, among the DX cameras, for example). If you shop used gear, older DSLR bodies are not fully compatible with the most recent AF-P lenses. AF-S lenses are the most widely compatible with the DSLRs and adaptable for use on the mirrorless Z-series.

There are lens/camera compatibility charts at the Nikon USA website, at Ken Rockwell's website and at the Nikonians.org website. You should check out your specific lenses there. (Third party lenses are another matter entirely, if that's what you have. They may or may not work... you'll have to do more research.)

DSLR or mirrorless? They both have their advantages. Mirrorless are the "latest and greatest", which means they're out of stock more often and their prices tend to be higher. A key feature of mirrorless is that they use an electronic viewfinder (EVF).... this is both a plus and a minus. The EVF is essentially a small screen that displays exactly what the image sensor in the camera is "seeing" through the lens. It can be set up so that it gives "exposure preview" that's reasonably accurate, can brighten up the scene in low light conditions and allows fast on-the-fly exposure tweaks while keeping your eye to the viewfinder. But EVFs also draw a lot of power, so you typically get a lot fewer shots than with a DSLR. There also can be problems with "blackout" that occurs in some EVFs, particularly when firing bursts of shots. Of course the same thing occurs in DSLRs, but the higher frame rate many mirrorless can shoot tends to make the blackout more problematic. Depending upon the manufacturer, there may be ways of reducing blackout... some have gone to continuing to display the last view on the EVF, while the image is being recorded.

Optical viewfinders in DSLRs are much like you're accustomed to using film SLRs. However, if yours are older SLRs designed for use with manual focus lenses, you will notice some things missing from modern DSLRs. Their viewfinders tend to be a bit smaller and don't have manual focus assist features like a matte screen, split image rangefinder or micro-diaprisms. This can make it a bit challenging to use older manual focus lenses on modern camera. However, in some models there are modern focus assist features, plus you can use Live View on the rear screen and even magnify the preview to help with critical focus... this can be done in many mirrorless cameras' EVFs, too.

Going forward, mirrorless will continue to improve and supplantDSLRs. It's now about 50/50... But that's happened in just 8 or 9 years. DSLRs really aren't that "old school", have only been around in common use since around 2000. (Yes, there were a few prior to that... but they were quite expensive, low resolution and really not in wide use by the general public.)

In spite of the phasing out of DSLRs that's bound to occur, DSLRs will be fully usable for many years to come, I'm sure. Particularly major brands like Nikon will be repairable and serviceable (if ever needed) for at least the next ten years or so, I'd wager. You can likely get more for your money, buying a DSLR... and it will feel most familiar to you, having used film SLRs.

Another mirrorless advantage is that some can shoot silently or very nearly so (AF and image stabilization may make some slight noises). This is done with an electronic shutter, rather than a physical one. There is a problem, though, called "rolling shutter effect" that occurs when making shots of moving subjects with an electronic shutter, so most (all?) mirrorless also have a mechanical shutter that isn't completely silent (and usually can't fire at the the same burst rate as an electronic shutter.)

smussler Loc: Land O Lakes, FL - Formerly Miller Place, NY

I have just one comment - something I didn't see in all the good advice given. Avoid gray market Nikon cameras. See Nikon's site about it. Buy a gray market, if it needs a repair, Nikon won't touch it. Nikon has also stopped selling parts to shops that used to repair Nikons. So if your Nikon needs a part, It (most likely) can only be fixed by a Nikon service center.

I myself bought a Nikon D5600. My reasons - I didn't want a Full Frame because of the heavy weight (Primary reason) and the more expensive lenses (and heavier). As pointed out the D5xxx don't have a focusing motor, but not having any Nikon Glass - that wasn't an issue for me. If I had to do it over, I'd go with a D500 - Nikon's best crop sensor DSLR.

Best advice I read many a time on this site - get to a brick & mortar store to be able hold the cameras. Mirrorless - seems to be where all the development and new models are. I didn't consider them 2 years ago. I almost bought gray market - never heard of it before. Upon looking for reviews for Abes of Maine, I learned what gray market is all about., especially with how Nikon deals with it. Other manufacturers deal with gray market in different ways. They can save you some money if the camera never needs a repair.

Second response by Naptown Gaijin, sums things up pretty concisely. Do google searchs for comparisons of various Nikon models - lots of comparative reviews are out there. Good luck in making a decision.

Doc Mck Loc: Terrell,Texas

I haven’t been sold on the tsunami mirrorless trend. I have 5 DSLR cameras and about 15 modern lenses and have no interest in video work. I am a hobby photographer. I have been admiring photos from all over the world over the past several years that have been made with DSLR cameras. Most with less than 20 MP cameras. I can’t justify the upgrade, just to be more “ modern “. Lots of excellent used DSLR Cameras on the market at great prices.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Mirrorless cameras are a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. Images captured from behind a mirror are cold, heartless and uncaring.

srt101fan

Ah, yes! But more joyful days lie ahead with lensless cameras......😉

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I started with a used Nikon D3100 for less than $200 when I moved to dslrs. It can use all of the vintage Nikon lenses except the fisheye. The vintage lenses will be manual focus. It was a great camera to learn about dslrs, shooting jpeg and raw, and using manual as well as auto controls. The vintage Nikon lenses on ebay are dirt cheap. And you can use the video feature as well in auto or manual modes.