Erp1938

I have a Nikon D5600 with a Tamron 18mm 400 Lens. would like to think about upgrading camera or lens or both, take mostly wildlife and landscape photos suggestions please.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Suggest you give a general idea on budget. You'll get more focused responses.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Hard to give an intelligent response without more info. As QD said budget is important. Do you want to stick with Nikon DSLR? My first observation with the given info is that I really don't like or trust really wide range zooms. Some work OK, others not so much. If the budget will allow, Nikon D7500 is a great body for wildlife, D500 even more so. There is a whole different world with full frame, again, budget might be too limited to go there. Especially when you think about the cost of full frame lenses. One thing you might want to think about is why do you think that you need/want to upgrade in the first place? What will you be able to do with an upgrade that you can't do with the D5600?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You have Nikon's cutting-edge 24MP 'upper-entry' DSLR in the D5600. You can't do better for this camera for landscape without significant investments in both the camera and lenses, and even then, it will be difficult to say you 'see' a tangible difference.

How 'serious' about wildlife? Are you up at all hours stalking birds and other animals, in all weather? Are you tracking birds in flight? You can blow a whole bunch of money on a few of Nikon's other cropped sensor bodies that are better at these specific tasks than your D5600. Even with a new body, you still need a lens appropriate for these all-weather, low-light shooting situations.

Your 18-400mm has more than enough focal length for wildlife, especially on the DX format body, although it's going to perform best in full light. Your D5600 has plenty of high ISO performance and frames per second to let you work outside of full sunlight.

If you are practicing wildlife with the 18-400 and disappointed with the results, you'll save your self a lot of money by simply posting some example JPEGs and storing the attached files and asking for help on your technique. An hour of coaching and 4 hours of practice are widely known to generate more and better results than another two (2) new lenses or even 30 more megapixels.

CO

The D3xxx and D5xxx series Nikons have a pentamirror viewfinder. If you go to a Nikon D7xxx series or above you get a superior pentaprism viewfinder and a superior autofocus module. The viewfinder has nothing to do with the camera's performance but the larger view through the viewfinder helps with composition when tracking.

The best Nikon cropped sensor camera is the D500. It has Nikon's best autofocus module. The chart here shows the D5500 camera but the D5600 has the same autofocus module. Your Tamron 18-400mm lens is an f/3.5-6.3. The autofocus module in the D5600 is rated to work down to f/5.6. In low light, the D5600 AF could struggle some with the lens at 400mm and f/6.3.

(Download)

Pentaprism viewfinder left, Pentamirror viewfinder right (Both are DX cameras)

(Download)

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

For landscape, the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 gives a very lot of bang for the buck - same with the Tamron 100-400 for wildlife on crop frame body. With both, you have very wide coverage with very good IQ.
Regarding a body, more frames per second is your friend with wildlife !
.

Erp1938

I have no set budget. I just want sharper pictures, a next step up from what I have.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Consider all the ideas presented in this linked post for How to obtain sharp images in digital photography

Erp1938

Thanks! I printed the pages out and testing the suggestions.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Shaper images come with practice technic and practice. Lol. Changing cameras won't give you sharper photos. Once you get sharp photos with what you have and you find you need better tracking or more frame rates then save your money and get a d7200 or D5oo. Depends on budget and how serious you are. Unless of course you feel the need to move to mirrorless. Then I can't help. I started with a d3300 moved to a d7100 then a d7200 now a D5oo. I should have skipped the 2 middle choices only due to my desire to take moving wildlife at a high level. If it was just a kind of fun thing the d7200 would have been perfect. I'm not a professional but am a perfectionist. Unfortunately. The d7200 can be bought for around 400 dollars now used. . A great buy

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

If you click "Quote Reply" under the post you are responding to, we can tell who you are addressing.

You have not indicated what needs improvement.

You can improve the camera for better convenience, but Digital Camera World loves the picture quality.(https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/nikon-d5600)

If you think the image quality needs improvement, we need to see an example so we can evaluate the issue.

Which would you prefer?

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I have always felt that lens is more important than camera. Upgrade the lens.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

The zoom ratio of the 18-400mm lens is 22:1. This is a very wide range, and accomplishing it requires some important compromises along the way. Those are likely to be most apparent at the long end of the zoom range. Zooms with a ratio of 4:1 or 5:1 generally require fewer design compromises and tend to perform better, including being sharper at longer focal lengths. You may also find a 'faster' lens to provide you with some better results.

As for your camera, I agree that the D5600 is a generally competent machine. Its sensor is fine, but as has been mentioned, the viewfinder provides smaller and dimmer images than the improved viewfinders in more enhanced models provide. This can make it more difficult than necessary to
achieve best focus.

Depending on how you shoot and how you use your camera, other models can provide you with a much better user interface, including more directly accessible physical controls and requiring far less dependence on the menu system. The biggest difference is that the D7500 and D500 both provide two command dials, allowing direct and immediate control of both shutter speed and lens aperture. While this may not directly affect picture sharpness, it can definitely reduce distractions that draw your attention away from critical things that do.

Finally...good shooting technique is critical, especially when shooting with long lenses. Proper two-handed camera support (or a sturdy and effective tripod or monopod) is very important. So is acareful, controlled shutter release technique that doesn't jostle the camera and lens, even a little bit.

Improving some of these may involve spending some money. Others just require attention and practice. I suggest working on the procedural ones first, then consider whether your equipment is holding you back. At any rate, have fun as you work through to discover how to improve your images.

Erp1938

Any suggestions?

CO

LensTip.com does extensive testing. They checked the Tamron 18-400mm for back and front focusing issues. They noticed inconsistent focusing accuracy through the zoom range. I would check your lens for focusing accuracy at different focal lengths. You can get the Tamron TAP-In console and adjust at different focal lengths. See the test at this link:

https://www.lenstip.com/514.10-Lens_review-Tamron_18-400_mm_f_3.5-6.3_Di_II_VC_HLD_Autofocus.html

You might want to look at the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 lens. It will give you more consistent performance.

https://www.lenstip.com/544.10-Lens_review-Nikon_Nikkor_AF-S_200%E2%80%93500_mm_f_5.6E_ED_VR_Autofocus.html

I use the DataColor SpyderLensCal to check my lenses.

(Download)