First dslr camera for me

[BananaRepublic]

the sales guy recommend the D5300

He would recommend it cause he probably wants rid of it as the 5300 has been overtaken buy the d5500
but its still a very good mid range entry level if you understand the phrase.

The D3300 would be classed as a basic entry level DSLR
The D5300, now superseded by the d5500, would be a mid range entry level dslr ( I have a d5100)
The D7200 would be classed as a range toping entry level dslr.

I go with the 5300 but look at what deal there is , as there normally is with the that entry levels. the d5500 there may be cash back from nikon plus some other thing thrown in.

The D3x00 and D5x00 lines are basically exactly the same thing.

This is true for almost everything nowadays be it camera, computer, cars/tractors anything thats built on a line. For example take your standard German car if you opt for a basic then you get just that but the car would come of the factory floor wired for all the extras so if for example you didn't get rear electric windows or cruise control the wiring is in there for it they have just put a blank piece of plastic over where the buttons should be.

 

[mulak]

Dave

image: make sense

I just found out that they discontinued the D3300 and apparently bringing out their successor this summer hopefully.

If you had your D3300... what are you using now?

GPS: it true that I would know where I'm taking the pictures. I wouldn't be able to take pictures at different places in one day anyway... GPS would probably be pointless for me.

Swivel screen; I don't do videos or selfie so i guess swivel screen is not a big deal for me and you said it not necessary for macro work... so in conclusion, I don't need swivel screen I guess lol

AF: I got no comments lol

build quality: that is good that the D3300 can handle the environment. It was one of my main concerns because I would like to take pictures during the winter especially after a rare ice storm, which would make unique photos comparing to a common snow storm.

ergonomic: after hearing that they stop making d3300, it make me wonder if I should wait for the successor since it coming out this summer to see d3500 features have to offer. It could provide better ergonomic and better value features to compete against the d5xxx

I read that people suggested buying FX lenses over DX since FX have better glass over DX and it can fit on a DX body

Solarflare

seems like Fuji is pointless for me since there is no decent macro len and who know when there is one coming out

Based on your DX vs FX dilemma... You are telling me that I should get FX which is full frame camera and the cheapest full frame camera is D610 which is going for at least $2500. Also FX lens are way more money than DX lens.

I wondered why D5500 doesn't have GPS, which make sense

I might have to consider the D7xxx or D90... I have a feeling that the full frame D3 or D700 are quite heavy because I tried out the D810 at henrys and it was surprising heavy like 5lbs plus carrying heavy FX lenses as well. I just not sure that I would want to carry it around my neck while i'm out for a period of time.

BananaRepublic

it make sense to get rid of the D5300 old inventory

I don't know if I even want to consider the D3300 knowing that they stopped making it a couple months ago and they are releasing a new successor this summer with 24mp.

D5100 is your current camera?

that make sense with your basic car analogy

 

[BananaRepublic]

D5100 is your current camera?

that make sense with your basic car analogy

Actually my current camera is a Nikon D750 Fx, the first camera I bought was a d5100 and its still working as good as new. I was simply reiterating what solar flare said about the base being the same.
One can with the know how and internet resources hack the firmware on a d5xxx to give access to some of the d7xxx features, the same is true to about the d3xxx going to d5xxx but unless you know what your doing and are prepaid to chalk down the risks its best to stay away, I count myself in this stay away category.

On your point about buying FX lenses and pairing them with DX bodies: there is a truth to doing this if you always intend going to an Fx body in the near future but to my mind there is not much sense mainly because Dx lens are fare cheaper plus you can't get the full benefit of the lens on a cropped sensor, If I was to use an analogy it would be " having bought a massive semi truck you then turn around and put a tiny car trailer on it".

If i was going to buy Fx for Dx bodies I would consider a 70 200 f2.8, its good allrounder and you will get extra magnification form the cropped sensor, this of course true for all Fx to Dx scenarios . In summary the are some pluses but more cons - I am not going to outline all of them here.

You will learn faster and cheaper with a d5xxx you can always move to a d7xxx or the new d500 and still make use of your Dx/APC lenses.
If you go Fx, at this point I have forgotten what your money making intensions are, you will find it a heavy money pit that you may regret starting out with.

Overall having shiny expensive tools won't make you better a the job if you don't understand what your doing.

PS the Nikon 55 - 200 that may be offered as a kit is not much good better to look for a 18 - 55 or 18 - 105

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Dave

image: make sense

I just found out that they discontinued the D3300 and apparently bringing out their successor this summer hopefully.

If you had your D3300... what are you using now?

GPS: it true that I would know where I'm taking the pictures. I wouldn't be able to take pictures at different places in one day anyway... GPS would probably be pointless for me.

Swivel screen; I don't do videos or selfie so i guess swivel screen is not a big deal for me and you said it not necessary for macro work... so in conclusion, I don't need swivel screen I guess lol

AF: I got no comments lol

build quality: that is good that the D3300 can handle the environment. It was one of my main concerns because I would like to take pictures during the winter especially after a rare ice storm, which would make unique photos comparing to a common snow storm.

ergonomic: after hearing that they stop making d3300, it make me wonder if I should wait for the successor since it coming out this summer to see d3500 features have to offer. It could provide better ergonomic and better value features to compete against the d5xxx

I read that people suggested buying FX lenses over DX since FX have better glass over DX and it can fit on a DX body

I am still using the D3300 but in the bast 3ish months I have considered upgrading. The truth is that every time I go out and shoot the D3300 does such a good job I forget about the upgrade for a while. Im sure it will happen at some point but there is really no reason right now. On a bit of a side note I have been shooting a lot of film on various 35mm and 120 format cameras which is a whole different ball game but has been my main focus lately.

The D3300 is pretty rugged but like anything you still must take care with it. I will admit mine has been pretty banged around and still has no issues. With that in mind it is generally moved around in a padded camera bag, i always give it a bit of a puff with an air blower when I change lenses to keep dust out. Lenses are always changed with the body pointing down and generally indoors if I can help it. I have never had any dirty sensor problems or things like that by following these simple rules. As of now my camera has been on 2 trips to over seas with heavy shooting, all over this country and in all kinds of conditions and is still kicking.

As for the GPS and swivel screen I was merely making those points as a contrary to the salesmen. You may find those features useful to you and they may be worth it. FWIW you can get a plug in GPS receiver for the D3300 if you want the pics tagged. The cost of one about equals the cost of the upgrade.

The one thing I would consider (and do miss) is built in Wi-Fi if you are big on social media. When I bought my camera Instagram was not what it is today, and I was not very active on Facebook or the like so the ability to mobile upload was not really a consideration. That being said times have changed and I have used those platforms as a social outlet more so than I once did so the ability to mobile upload has become more important and will be a factor in my next camera.

FX vs DX lenses, hmmm well there are great lenses on both platforms and this is more about cost than it is about the platform. Although some of the really high end stuff is only in FX. I have gotten really great (and very repeatable) images with the 35mm f1.8 DX lens (one of nikons cheapest on the market now) I have also gotten really great images with nikons 50mm f1.2 (one of nikons most expensive and arguable one of their sharpest ever, mounted on the D3300) but in reality I have not tried enough of their new stuff to have a huge opinion. A lot of people get bogged down in sharpness arguments and lens data sheets but the truth is modern technology has allowed even the "lower end" stuff to be great. There was a time when cheap imports and imitation products had inferior optics and were of significantly poorer quality. With a grain of salt, this is worth the read. As for buying FX on a DX body, you can but some wont auto focus so you should understand the difference in the in lens focus motors and the in body focus motors, what some people are also talking about here is buying vintage Nikon glass. Since the F mount never changed you can mount the older manual focus lenses to any modern nikon digital body (1956 and up, the F mount era). This opens up a great world of vintage primes as well as zooms from the 35mm days (35mm and "FX" are the same size, FX is the digital designation for a sensor the size of an old 35mm negative). Unfortunately on the lower end bodies you will lose metering and subsequently any auto functions so you will need to run in full manual mode. This wont be an issue once you progress in your photography.

If you want to see some sample images you can check out some of my photos here. Anything that is not square was most likely taken on my D3300. You can check the meta-data for what lens I was using. Anything tagged as manual (no lens data) was either the 50mm f1.2 AI or a 300mm f4.5 AI (both older manual lenses from the 80's) with no light meter (judged on the screen at the time most likely). If you have any questions on any of the pictures feel free to ask. Most of them are as they were taken, some have some editing. The square stuff is medium format film, that is a whole different story.

Regards
Dave

 

[chuasam]

Hi Dave,
I'm going to say this - I actually like your work.
the 35mm f/1.8 DX is an outstanding lens.

You might also consider a Fujifilm X100T instead
a D3300 is NOT Rugged
if you like to change lenses, also consider the XE2s

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Hi Dave,
I'm going to say this - I actually like your work.
the 35mm f/1.8 DX is an outstanding lens.

You might also consider a Fujifilm X100T instead
a D3300 is NOT Rugged
if you like to change lenses, also consider the XE2s

Why thank you good sir!

I have thought about some mirrorless stuff but not quite ready to upgrade and my film work has derailed that even farther, I was merely vouching for the D3300 here. Having to some extent bought some nikon lenses I also have been looking to take advantage of the F-Mount moving forward as well. While I know its not considered a proper "rugged" camera I have put mine through its share of situations and not yet had any issues with it (knock on wood). I will also admit that I bought it after some heavy research but in the end of the day a gut decision between it and its cannon counterparts. I have subsequently become quite a nikon fan and I know I drink the coolaid a bit but I have been able to get some really great images with it, which is in the end what really counts.

Regards
Dave

 

[jcdeboever]

I have the D3300 and it is a very good entry level DSLR. If I had to do it over again, I would have went with the D7200 for the better viewfinder (Pentaprism) and focus system. The viewfinder and focus points have been something that would fit me better, of course the D500 wasn't out last June when I purchased. So today, probably still, the D7200 would be more than enough for me. I would recommend going into a store and look through the viewfinder (I didn't do until after purchase) and see if it makes a big difference to you. There are like 51 focus points vs 13 give or take a few with the D7200 vs the D3300.

 

[mulak]

Dave

i like your photo especially your black and white bridge photo

I totally get your view on the GPS and swivel screen, it doesn't seem to be a big deal as time goes by. I will probably be in awe of the features at first time and will move on.

how does wifi work with the camera? does it connect to a cell phone to use it internet connection? or have to connect to some wifi hotspot? I use instagram and Facebook but I don't know if I want to post raw or jpeg picture and upload immediately without processing the photos to the best I can make it to be and then upload it to my social medias.

correct me if i'm wrong.. D3xxx, D5xxx and D7xxx have somewhat similar specs for image quality except the higher the camera rank is, the more buttons/dials to make it more easier to adjust the settings?

I checked the total price for each possible camera including the tax

D3300 18-55 - $586.47
D5300 18-55 - $789
D7100 18-105 - $1377.47
D7100 18-140 - $1356
D7200 18-140 - $1722

D7200 is quite a big jump from D3300 ... pretty much 3 times more money than D33300

here is a scenario with the cameras and lenses for image quality and budget is 2k max

D3300 with $1400 len
D5300 with $1200 len
D7100 with $650 len
D7200 with $300 len

does this mean D3300 will have a better image quality than D7200 for the same picture?

also someone mentioned to me to get additional gears of getting at least one preferably two SD cards of 32GB or more, good computer with at least a reasonably large monitor, RAW processing software, a sturdy tripod with a good head, at least one External flash, If I gravitate towards macro photography then a couple of macro flash.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

how does wifi work with the camera?

The wifi works by allowing your phone to connect directly to the camera. Essentially your camera becomes a small wifi accessible unit that has the sole capability of moving images from its self to a device connected to it. As far as I know the wifi chip is not capable of connecting to any kind of home network and doing stuff. Once you upload the image onto your phone you can manipulate it as you like. iPhones allow some editing but Lightroom was recently released for the iPhone/iPad platform so you can edit on your mobile device before uploading to your social media of choice.

correct me if i'm wrong.. D3xxx, D5xxx and D7xxx have somewhat similar specs for image quality except the higher the camera rank is, the more buttons/dials to make it more easier to adjust the settings?

Yes i belive this is correct (but someone may have more info than me on this)

also someone mentioned to me to get additional gears of getting at least one preferably two SD cards of 32GB or more, good computer with at least a reasonably large monitor, RAW processing software, a sturdy tripod with a good head, at least one External flash, If I gravitate towards macro photography then a couple of macro flash

Well this is a long list of gadgets...

Yes you should have multiple memory cards (I have 4 or 5 floating around all of the 32GB variant). The truth on memory is it has plummeted in price and you can pay well under 1$ a GB these days so cards come cheap. I have done a week of heavy shooting in paris on 2 cards (thats about 3,500 raw images of storage).

I do everything on a 15 inch mac. I have some bigger screens at work that I some times use, that is personal preference, you can always zoom... The truth is many people make images these days to be consumed on an iPhone or iPad screen, printing 4x6 to put in small frames, or even 8X10 so some times the need for a 32 inch monitor is not really there. But I get that some people prefer seeing a whole image to zooming. I have been editing digital video since the early days, I started on a 12inch mac so zooming in has never bothered me.

At those zoom lengths you don't really need a tripod unless you are doing long night exposures. That bridge photo was a long exposure, I used this tripod and a remote release (the remote release is key for the long exposures).

The built in flash works when I need it to on the D3300. I don't really shoot a lot at night so its never been a huge concern of mine thus I cant offer much advice. The night shooting I do is generally long exposure star stuff or the like.

here is a scenario with the cameras and lenses for image quality and budget is 2k max

Frankly if your budget is 2K (thats a far cry from a D3300). Forget all these crop sensors and get a full on D610 with the 24-85mm kit lens (~1900 at B&H)

i like your photo especially your black and white bridge photo

The secret to that bridge photo is a bit of nikon history that seems to be long forgotten... they can be had on eBay for <100$ and are fun to use, all be it in only a handful of cases. For sure one of the more interesting nikon lenses out there.

Regards
Dave

 

[mulak]

Ahh make sense but bummer that I have a samsung

memory cards aren't bad... thats a lot of pictures for a trip lol

maybe i will hold on to macbook pro for now when I'm ready to do fine arts prints in different sizes in the future.... A decent iMac would be over 2k

I want to do night time shots... I will check out that tripod... thats great that it only a little over a foot... easy to put in any backpack

lol no .. my budget is not 2k... it just a hypothetical situation. I would like to but i'm 29 years old guy and aiming to get my own place...probably not the best time to blow 2k on a camera alone lol

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Ahh make sense but bummer that I have a samsung

memory cards aren't bad... thats a lot of pictures for a trip lol

maybe i will hold on to macbook pro for now when I'm ready to do fine arts prints in different sizes in the future.... A decent iMac would be over 2k

I want to do night time shots... I will check out that tripod... thats great that it only a little over a foot... easy to put in any backpack

lol no .. my budget is not 2k... it just a hypothetical situation. I would like to but i'm 29 years old guy and aiming to get my own place...probably not the best time to blow 2k on a camera alone lol

I would look at their next tripod up (its 200$ i think) it may be a bit more stable and not all that much bigger. I have been a big fan of the one I have but I have thought about trading it for the slightly larger one.

Im sure you can find a decent photo editor for Android, they may even have light room but im all iOS so i dont know much of whats out there for android.

You dont need a mac to get good prints, a PC will process the image just as well.

I would say the D3300 is still right for you.

Regards
Dave

 

[chuasam]

Which is why everyone who actually gets enthusiast about photography tends to switch to "FX" (aka small format aka 36x24mm sensor size aka 35mm film aka full frame). Or to other systems.

Totally not true. I know many pro photographers who shoot with the Fuji X-system.
Many enthusiasts are totally fine with µ43rds.
The D500 and 7D MkII exist for pros and enthusiasts who don't want to use full frame.
It's not the size that matters, it's what you do with it.

 

[mulak]

Ahh make sense but bummer that I have a samsung

memory cards aren't bad... thats a lot of pictures for a trip lol

maybe i will hold on to macbook pro for now when I'm ready to do fine arts prints in different sizes in the future.... A decent iMac would be over 2k

I want to do night time shots... I will check out that tripod... thats great that it only a little over a foot... easy to put in any backpack

lol no .. my budget is not 2k... it just a hypothetical situation. I would like to but i'm 29 years old guy and aiming to get my own place...probably not the best time to blow 2k on a camera alone lol

I would look at their next tripod up (its 200$ i think) it may be a bit more stable and not all that much bigger. I have been a big fan of the one I have but I have thought about trading it for the slightly larger one.

Im sure you can find a decent photo editor for Android, they may even have light room but im all iOS so i dont know much of whats out there for android.

You dont need a mac to get good prints, a PC will process the image just as well.

I would say the D3300 is still right for you.

Regards
Dave

I was doing a little research and found out that D3/5/7xxx have somewhat similar specs

big difference is that D3/5xxx have menu driven interface while D7xxx is more direct buttons, top lcd and front/rear command wheels to adjust the setting.

Is the menu awkward for you in a way that you are in a hurry or changing a lot in the bright sun?

One of my concerns regarding the lens is that if I do go full frame in the future. I will be getting the black around the edge from using DX lens. The best solution is to get the best DX body in the future which is probably something from the D7xxx unless nikon create something basically?

 

[BananaRepublic]

D5300 18-55 - $789

Thats a lot for what is now technically an obsolete camera I mean the d5500 is out now have you shopped around.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

I was doing a little research and found out that D3/5/7xxx have somewhat similar specs

big difference is that D3/5xxx have menu driven interface while D7xxx is more direct buttons, top lcd and front/rear command wheels to adjust the setting.

Is the menu awkward for you in a way that you are in a hurry or changing a lot in the bright sun?

One of my concerns regarding the lens is that if I do go full frame in the future. I will be getting the black around the edge from using DX lens. The best solution is to get the best DX body in the future which is probably something from the D7xxx unless nikon create something basically?

I have never found the menus cumbersome. For what its worth you can operate the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture (the settings I often change) all with buttons and the scroll wheel on the D3300, I am in manual mode often and find no issues with this in terms of speed. There are other menu things that I don't really change all that often. I always shoot in raw, white balance is usually on auto (although I have been playing with that a bit more recently) exposure compensation is usually at 0 as well and is almost never changed. I mess with the auto focus/metering settings a bit but I am often in spot meter/focus.

To my knowledge you no longer get the black around the edges using the DX lenses on FX bodies they now step down to use less of the sensor size. Although since you are using less of the sensor there may have been no reason to get the camera in the first place... I do think you can force it to use the whole sensor while using DX lenses which will cause the black edges.

Regards
Dave