Help please! Decent camera for low light, fast moving conditions

[djjen416]

Hi,

I have always used point & shoot or superzoom cameras, and I'm not a professional by no means. I am a DJ and I like to shoot photos during weddings and events that I DJ to upload onto my website to show what types of events I have provided services for and also it's an added bonus to the brides because sometimes I capture things that the photographer didn't. I also have kids, so I occasionally take pics during family gatherings and I use my camera to take videos during dance recitals, football games, etc. Mainly weddings though and mostly in low light or poor light situations and I need to be able to snap them on the fly because my primary focus is DJing but when I have an extra minute or two I snap some pictures. I've been using an old Fujifilm finepix S1500 and it's finally time for a major upgrade. I've narrowed it down to 3/4 choices, one of them being very different. I've been researching and learning, but primarily I'll still be using auto settings but possibly as I start getting more into it and learn what I'm doing I may start adjusting manually a little.

Here's the specs:

Samsung NX30- 20mp/100-25600 iso/1014 low light iso/9 cont shooting/1/8000 shutter/23.50x15.70 sensor/247 focal points

Nikon D3300- 24mp/100-25600 iso/1385 low light iso/5 cont shooting/1/4000 shutter/23.50x15.60 sensor/11 focal points

Nikon D5200- 24mp/100-25600 iso/1284 low light iso/5 cont shooting/1/4000 shutter/23.5x15.6 sensor/39 focal points

I'm at a total loss! NX30 seems to have faster continuous shooting, faster shutter speed, way more focal points but is 20mp where the others are 24mp but NX30 has very slightly larger sensor size. I know this is mirrorless where the others are DSLR and some places say DSLR is better but some people have told me unless I want to spend a lot of money on another lens besides the lens that comes with the DSLR camera then I'd be better off with mirrorless.

D3300 has the best low light iso but less focal points than the D5200

Was also looking at the Pentax K-50 it is 16mp though, 100-51600 iso, 6 cont shooting, 1/6000 shutter speed, 23.70x15.70 sensor, 11 focal points, low light iso 1120, also has weathersealed body and built in stabilization.

Which will be better for me???? All of them are way better than my old camera and I thought my pics were decent. I do have to use zoom a lot though because I am always in the back so I understand I may need to by an extra lens eventually. My finepix had a 12x optical zoom I'm not sure if these will be able to zoom that much with the basic kit lens?

Right now the NX30 is $414, D3300 is $549 and D5200 is $449 on amazon-price really isn't a factor for me in choosing I just want to stay under $550.00

 

[ruifo]

Among these, the Nikon D5200. But if you can, save a bit for a used Nikon D600 or a Nikon D610. They are full frame and will meet better your check list.

Or at least a used Nikon D7100 or Nikon D7200. Or a used Canon 7DII.

Good luck.

 

[djjen416]

Among these, the Nikon D5200. But if you can, save a bit for a used Nikon D600 or a Nikon D610. They are full frame and will meet better your check list.

Or at least a used Nikon D7100 or Nikon D7200. Or a used Canon 7DII.

Good luck.

Yea, those are all over $1000 I'm not wanting to invest that much into it. Are there any others under $550 that you'd suggest?

 

[sw_]

Among these, the Nikon D5200. But if you can, save a bit for a used Nikon D600 or a Nikon D610. They are full frame and will meet better your check list.

Or at least a used Nikon D7100 or Nikon D7200. Or a used Canon 7DII.

Good luck.

Yea, those are all over $1000 I'm not wanting to invest that much into it. Are there any others under $550 that you'd suggest?

Thinking outside the box, have you looked for a refurbished model? I picked up a nice little starter kit 3200 to learn on for around $225. Two kit lenses, body, wireless module etc etc. Not the fanciest camera in the world, but hey, I'm new. I'd rather learn and have the extra cash in my pocket to get better glass and go shoot.

 

[astroNikon]

When shooting weddings and events low light helps. Frames per second only helps if you don't know how to shoot ; called pray and spray. Lol.

But with your budget I'd go for the best low light though maybe try to move up with a refurbished model.

 

[djjen416]

When shooting weddings and events low light helps. Frames per second only helps if you don't know how to shoot ; called pray and spray. Lol.

But with your budget I'd go for the best low light though maybe try to move up with a refurbished model.

So then the d3300 out of these since it has highest low light iso or is the pentax better since its iso range is up to 51600 where Nikon is 25600? but pentax low light iso says its 1120 so that's lower than the d3300 and pentax has lower mp though.

 

[ruifo]

Yea, those are all over $1000 I'm not wanting to invest that much into it. Are there any others under $550 that you'd suggest?

Under $550 for a camera body, I'd recommend these options below:

• $248.00-$328.00: Nikon D300 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body (no lens)
  Nikon D300 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body
• $328.00-$449.00: Nikon D7000 16.2 Megapixel Digital Camera Body (no lens)
  Nikon D7000 Digital Camera Body
• $432.00-$528.00: Nikon D300S 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only (no lens)
  Nikon D300S 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only

Do not forget the lenses. Lenses are more important than bodies. For one of these three options above, these three lenses below would be excellent for low light or fast speed photography:

• $119.00-$139.00: Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Wide Angle Lens
  Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Wide Angle Lens
• $89.00-$105.00: Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF Lens
  Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF Lens
  
• $289.00-$339.00: Nikon Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D AF Telephoto Lens
  Nikon Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D AF Telephoto Lens

Good luck!

 

[weepete]

D5200 if you can aford it. Sometimes you really you get what you pay for and it's got it in spades
.

 

[djjen416]

D5200 if you can aford it. Sometimes you really you get what you pay for and it's got it in spades
.

Just trying to learn here so I know what I should be looking at, what is it that makes the 5200 the best out of these choices?

 

[ruifo]

D5200 if you can aford it. Sometimes you really you get what you pay for and it's got it in spades
.

Just trying to learn here so I know what I should be looking at, what is it that makes the 5200 the best out of these choices?

Its sensor. Among the best among its category.

Here my sample shots with my old D5200: Nikon D5200

 

[djjen416]

Yea, those are all over $1000 I'm not wanting to invest that much into it. Are there any others under $550 that you'd suggest?

Under $550 for a camera body, I'd recommend these options below:

• $248.00-$328.00: Nikon D300 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body (no lens)
  Nikon D300 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body
• $328.00-$449.00: Nikon D7000 16.2 Megapixel Digital Camera Body (no lens)
  Nikon D7000 Digital Camera Body
• $432.00-$528.00: Nikon D300S 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only (no lens)
  Nikon D300S 12.3 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only

Do not forget the lenses. Lenses are more important than bodies. For one of these three options above, these three lenses below would be excellent for low light or fast speed photography:

• $119.00-$139.00: Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Wide Angle Lens
  Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Wide Angle Lens
• $89.00-$105.00: Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF Lens
  Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF Lens
  
• $289.00-$339.00: Nikon Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D AF Telephoto Lens
  Nikon Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D AF Telephoto Lens

Good luck!

What kind of lens would I need when I mostly need to use zoom? I have to always be in the back so I need something that will give decent pics in low light using a good amount of zoom. Some people are telling me maybe I should just go with mirrorless or a good p&s. I'm racking my brain I thought it would be easier than this to just pick a camera that will be better than my old crappy one, but I figure if I'm gonna spend the money I might as well research to get the best my money can buy. I just don't want to go over $550 total and I'd rather have new than used so I have a warranty. And I don't have time to keep changing lenses.

 

[djjen416]

D5200 if you can aford it. Sometimes you really you get what you pay for and it's got it in spades
.

Just trying to learn here so I know what I should be looking at, what is it that makes the 5200 the best out of these choices?

Its sensor. Among the best among its category.

Here my sample shots with my old D5200: Nikon D5200

How does that compare with the Pentax K-50? I can't use a tripod and I'll probably just be using the kit lens-k-50 has image stabilization built in, and the Nikon doesn't-but the Nikons have higher low iso ratings. Sorry, I've been trying to read up on this stuff but I really don't know what half this stuff really does if you can't tell!

 

[astroNikon]

It's a really complex question
As a tripod won't help as you have moving people which require a minimum shutter speed.

Then it low light so you need a high end aperture lens but you'll be in the back.
Then you need a high end body for best low light capability.

But your budget is minimal compared to what most ppl would pick for these situations.

Just buy the most that you can afford in this particular situation is probably the best recommendation..

 

[djjen416]

It's a really complex question
As a tripod won't help as you have moving people which require a minimum shutter speed.

Then it low light so you need a high end aperture lens but you'll be in the back.
Then you need a high end body for best low light capability.

But your budget is minimal compared to what most ppl would pick for these situations.

Just buy the most that you can afford in this particular situation is probably the best recommendation..

that's what I'm trying to do but I don't know which camera is the best that's under my price limit.

 

[jaomul]

Don't get to bogged down with numbers you read off the net. For example you read the d3300 is better than the d5200 at higher iso, but the difference is something like 100. This is a number on a chart, in real photos you'll struggle to see this difference all else being equal.

Like everything there's no free lunch in low light photos. If you buy one of these excellent cameras you'll need a good lens to get good low light shots. A cheap zoom won't really suffice.

Lenses have f stop ratings. It's based on fractions so the lower the number on the lens, the bigger the fractions and they let more light in. A normal 200 dollar kit lens is generally f3.5-5.6. So if it's an 18-55 lens it's f3.5 at 18mm and 5.6 at 55mm, so it lets in less light at 55mm. These lenses are fine but not good in low light, this is why pros often have 17-55f2.8 lenses that are f2.8 at 17 all the way to 55mm. These lenses cost more, but most brands offer f1.8 non zoom lenses which are often inexpensive and great in lower light. These non zoom (prime lenses) are probably what you should be looking at.

Back to cameras, from your list I'd scrap the Samsung, the Pentax is a good solid camera, but I'd go the d5200 with a kit lens and add a 50mm f1.8 g, it will get you off to a good start