Excellent point Jerry.

Maryann,

It may help to use Auto and then move to the Aperture or Shutter speed to set your exposure before getting into full manual. That was the good advice a very good photographer gave me. That way you can get a good feel for how that works. If in aperture you can set the aperture to where you need and the shutter will be adjusted by the cameras auto settings and visa verse.

I think that in the end it does come down to what you want to do with the camera. But I can give you some feed back that may help.

The D5300 has the same 24 MP sensor as the D7100. So the image quality is roughly the same. Having said that I choose the D7100 for its higher quality, weather resistant, AF assist motor in the camera, and deeper menu system and function abilities over the D5200. I actually had the D5200 and returned it for D7100. However, the D5200 and D5300 are just as capable a camera as the D7100.

Now for the weight. This can be a concern. I will be turning 66 in a few weeks and noticed that after hauling around my D7100 with the 18 - 200 VR II that my shoulder and neck really began to hurt. I am beginning to toy with the idea of getting a mirrorless camera such as the Sony A6000. The D5300 is around 20% smaller and 30% lighter. Plus the 18 -200 VR II adds weight. http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon-D5300-vs-Nikon-D7100.

Hope that this helps.

I have not been on the Hog for a while but this is a good place to jump in. I am not familiar with this lens but I do have a D7100. Now I may be wrong, but my understanding is that the 80 -200 AF version requires the camera body to have a AF motor in the camera in order to auto focus. The D5x00 do not have this which is why it will not focus the lens. The D7100 does have this. If you look at the mounting ring you will notice what looks like a small flat head screw driver bit. This drives a screw mechanism on the lens. If the D7100 is not working with the lens that mechanism may not be working. How old is the lens, it maybe malfunctioning here? The drive on the lens could be bunged up. Is the D7100 operating properly, will it focus other AF or D lens mounts with the internal motor. First make sure that the AF/M switch on the D7100 body is not in manual mode. I have done this with my nifty fifty D lens.

Hope that this helps.

I have the D7100 and also think that you should go for it. The 18 - 200 is a good walk about and is the lens that I use. It is not that sharp at 200 or 135 and has some lens distortion at 18, but this is workable.

What I like about the D7100 is that it does have a AF motor in the body. This means that you can use older AF and D lens' and auto focus, the Nikon D3x00 and D5x00 bodies do not have the AF motor in the body. I picked up a grey market 50 1.8 D for $109 at B&H and my D7100 will auto focus it. It is a great portrait lens. I also picked up the Nikkor 35 f/1.8G AF-S DX , $195, for this and it is incredibly sharp, recommended also. The 35 MM works out to be the equivalent to a 50 mm on a FF camera and is a good street lens.

I have had my D7100 and tend to change lenses and I also have not seen any oil or dust on the mirror yet.

I like the controls so far, still learning as I am a rank beginner. Only quibble I would give it is that after handling my brother's in laws D200 it feels a little small in my hands. However, I do like the weight, it feels substantial in my hands. One of the selling points is the weather seal, I am in changeable wet and snowy Vermont.

Good Morning,

My understanding is the Windows 8.1 start menu they are adding back in is not fully functional in style of the old start menu from Win 7 and will drop you back in the Metro menu system, however my information maybe incorrect. I would seriously entertain the idea of using the classic shell.

Another alternative is http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/. It is only $5 and gives me a functioning start menu with good control. I find that I have forgotten how to use metro because I stay in and boot to the desk top 100% of the time.

I have just started in the digital photo with a D7100. Novice here so experience and knowledge is limited.

So far I have been very pleased with the camera. It is not a full frame and is a crop sensor. Here is an explanation: http://digital-photography-school.com/full-frame-sensor-vs-crop-sensor-which-is-right-for-you. My understanding is you will be able to use the D lenses on full frame if that model will take them, they image is then crop down to fit the crop format and is not full frame. But it will be usable.

I currently have an 18-200 VR II as my walk about which is a D lens and is for crop sensors. You will be able to use the D lenses on full frame if that model will take them, they image is then crop down to fit crop and is not full frame. I also have a full frame Might 50 from B&H which is a full frame lens and works like a champ on my D7100.

With the the D7100 you will have a camera to grow with. I am really growing to appreciate having controls that can be controlled at my finger tips and not have to use the menu.

My recommendation is to decide if you need full frame or as a beginner to advance photographer the crop will fit your needs. Also you can find great deals on the D7000 which is the older model and is a great camera. Just start reading reviews and do comparison on the net to get started. Here is one that helped me decide: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d7100. Also if you are a member of Costco they have a great deal on the D7100 now which is what I picked up: http://www.costco.com/Nikon-D7100-DSLR-Camera-with-18-200mm-VRII-Lens-Bundle.product.100042262.html?catalogId=10701&keyword=d7100&langId=-1&storeId=10301.

Good luck

Just recently retired and decided to jump into digital photography as a new hobby. So just wanted to stop by and say hi. I have been reading the discussion in the general list and all ready have learned a lot. Glad that I found this group and I am looking forward to getting additional help when needed. So a very good morning to everyone.