First DSLR

[lennon33x]

To answer your question (and I apologize if we didn't in the first place), almost any Nikon of Canon that's been recently released. If through experience, you find that the cameras has limitations, then consider an upgrade then. Understanding exposure is a task only one can do through practice, so go out and start shooting.

 

[robbins.photo]

Hi all, thanks for all the replies. Well I read all the replies and I'm now more confused then I was before. But as I slowly read them over and over, you are all teaching me things I had no idea about. Also, I didn't mean to start a Nikon, Cannon war.

Let me try this again and be more specific. My mistake.

This will be a new hobby for me that I think I might like to do. I only have around $800-$1000 to spend. I know it's not much but for now it's alot for me. I was considering a Nikon D5200 since they are getting cheaper since the D5300 is out. I did look at the D7100 and it's just a little over my budget. I will consider refurbished. If I like the hobby I'm sure this won't be my only camera body. I would like to consider a brand Nikon, Cannon or something else that I could grow with as far a lenses go.


I like to shoot pictures of wildlife and taking pictures outside of old barns and scenery. I'm not interested in taking photos of people, weddings or the like. I ride my atv in the forrest and and have seen all sorts of wildlife and scenery and would love to take nice pictures of it. I'm camera stupid and I'm looking for something that would take nice pictures and something I can learn out of the auto mode. And if I buy extra lenses, would like to be able to use on a better body someday.

I just might bite the bullet and go for a Nikon D7100, because I have read in your posts that you can get older lenses for cheaper.

Hope I'm not confusing anyone, and I appreciate all of your replies and imput.

Thanks
Randy

The D7100 is a very nice camera, and will most likely last you for years and years to come. If the budget is of primary concern you can always do what I did, buy a cheaper body and a couple of good lenses and then upgrade the body later - it will give you a chance to get your feet wet and make sure that this is really something your going to be doing a lot before you dump a ton of money into it, and when you do eventually upgrade the body you can always either sell the old one or keep it as a backup.

I went with a D5100, the standard 18-55 kit lens, and a used Nikkor 70-300 mm F/4.5 - 5.6 VR AF-S G lens, and believe it or not I would probably recommend a similar route for you. The only big difference between the 5200 and the 5100 is that the 5200 has the 24 mp sensor as opposed to the D5100's 16, but believe it or not for a beginner/intermediate shooter a lot of times lower MP is actually better - it will be more forgiving of some of the errors you'll make when you first start taking pictures.

A lot of guys will tell you need prime lens, 1.8 etc etc - but again when your first starting out I don't recommend them. The wide apertures are nice for lowlight work but when you shoot with them wide open they have a very narrow depth of field and that can be very frustrating for someone who's first starting out. So my advice would be either a D5100 or D5200, standard kit lens, and a good telephoto - and believe me they don't get any better than the 70-300 mm Nikkor. That will get you off to a flying start, and you can always look at upgrading the body later on after you've mastered the basics.

Either the D5100 or D5200 will give you excellent images and it will be something easy to use when your starting out but it will be something you can grow into as you learn more and want to take more control over the camera settings. So that would be my recommendation.

 

[Randydan]

Thanks for your replies and info, I have decided to go with a Nikon 5100 for starters and see how this goes. I can always upgrade into a better quality body down the road. This way I can get my feet wet. Thanks again for all of your advice. I'm sure I will be back with a ton of questions.

Thanks again
Randy

 

[robbins.photo]

I think you'll be very happy with the 5100 - It's been a great camera for me and really though I will be upgrading to a D7100 sometime this year, it will be because I want to upgrade, not because I really need to upgrade. Even when I do I'll most likely be keeping my D5100, it's been such a great camera I just don't think I'd be willing to part with it.

One other thing I would recommend, perhaps not to start with but down the road take a look at the Black Rapid carrying straps. I just purchased an RS-5 Cargo myself, they are a little expensive for camera straps but after using it for just a few days I can say that it was well worth the investment. It's comfortable, has a ton of storage space and I don't really even need my camera bag anymore - I can leave it in the car.

I can carry spare batteries, microfiber cloth, etc all in the pockets on the strap, the camera is slung at my side and when I'm ready I just grab it and fire, then when I'm done it just slides right back down the strap and it's ready to go when I need it again.

Be sure to let us know when you get the camera in and post a couple of sample pictures when you can

 

[dubiousone]

I think the 5100 is an excellent choice! Loaded with features yet simple enough. One of my 'strategies' is to buy the last year's model of...whatever on clearance. You can save a ton of money and there's really nothing wrong with last year's stuff. That's more money for lenses, software...and stuff. I refuse to get sucked into the megapixel wars; both of my DSLR's have 6MP sensors and for what I do, that's perfect. With a larger sensor (files) you run into space issues and why pay the extra $$ for what you don't need? I will eventually upgrade probably to a 16 or 24 something, Pentax or Nikon and for me, that's the real dilemma. I'm so much of a gearhead that I really like both and I shoot both in film and digital so that choice is tougher for me.

A good kit lens is just fine; I have an 18-55 on my Pentax and the same on my Nikon. Both do for 99%. One of my favorite lenses is a 28-200; I'm a big fan of having just one lens instead of a camera bag of lenses for differing things. I went 'cheap' and got a used Quantaray. Decent glass, maybe a little soft here and there and slow at 3.8. It's also the slowest to focus and it 'hunts' a lot more than my Nikon lenses, doesn't focus all that close and the mechanism is clunky. Definitely not perfect but it does what I need it to do within its limitations. The 28-200 range gives me the ability to get the shot when its offered which is why I bought it.

Primes; benefit to some is they're faster than a kit lens (larger aperture so less light is needed) but the trade off is fixed focal length. One of my favorite lenses is a 50mm 1.8D which really looks nice in low light. Of course you can crank the ISO up; my theory on that is 'noise' is like grain. I shoot film so that's normal for me. I just got back a roll of Tri-X (Kodak 400 ISO B&W) and the grain was very evident in some depending on the exposure but mostly, looked ok. The beauty of digital is you can up the ISO to keep shutter speeds high if you need that or go low and use a tripod to get that shot. (And you know if you got it right away!)

 

[KcR]

I would start with a Nikon D200 they are dirt cheap price on them used E+ conditions if you can find one with the bundle even better.don't go all plastic because it has a massive megapixels. 10 megpix should do it.

 

[Randydan]

Well everyone, I was going with a d5100 but I have cahnged my mind and I'm going to get a d3200. Yes, it is because it is a little cheaper and it is my first dslr and also money is a little tight. Do any of you have any comments on this? Should I hold out until I can spend more for a better camera? I'm not trying to throw a cork screw in this but actually I'm not interested in taking videos with the camera. I just want to take wildlife and pictures of outdoor scenery.

Thanks
Randy