Looking to get my first real DSLR

[WhiteHorse]

Hi I'm new here,
I'm wanting to pick up photography as a new hobby. Gives me a reason to
Travel more and do hikes . I'll be using it for out door stuff, landscape, animals ect. and of course family pics.
I've narrowed it down to either the nikon D5200 or the nikon d7100. I would like to try and
Get away with the lower price one if it can take pics as good as the 7100. Im not worried about
Learning all the buttons and settings, I'm an engineer so tech stuff is my thing. Should something
Like the 7100 be only for those that are serious about photography? Would it be overkill for my purposes? Are there quality differences from the pictures taken from the 5200 and 7100?
Thank you so much for the advice!

 

[WayneF]

There wont be any difference in the PICTURES from a D5200 and D7100, those two sensors are quite similar.

The difference is in features. Nikon tends to omit features, menus, and buttons at lower prices, and goes all out with them on higher prices.

For example D7100 has the Commander for controlling remote TTL flashes, and has FV Lock, and Mirror Lock up, etc. Pentaprism viewfinder instead of less expensive penta mirror. Viewfinder shows 100% instead of 95%. Programmable Function button and Depth of Field preview buttons. Has several more handy and convenient buttons outside, instead of diving into menus (things like ISO, WB, etc). And it has a better shutter, which generally is more the same than not, but faster, D7100 has 1/8000 speed, and 1/250 second flash sync, HSS sync, 6 frames/sec vs 5, and a little longer life expectancy. D7100 has 51 focus points in viewfinder instead of 39 (for action, but FWIW, I normally use Single Point focus however). There probably is more, but the answer is - the D7100 has it, and lesser models may not.

Come the day you are more serious, you'll be glad to have the D7100 features, it does not get much better than that. Some of it is rather important if you think you need it, but not if you don't care. If you instead stay more automatic point&shoot, more at level like using a compact camera, then you'll probably never investigate most features, they would be wasted.

The user manuals are here if interested
Nikon Product Manuals available for download | Nikon Knowledgebase

 

[robbins.photo]

Hi I'm new here,
I'm wanting to pick up photography as a new hobby. Gives me a reason to
Travel more and do hikes . I'll be using it for out door stuff, landscape, animals ect. and of course family pics.
I've narrowed it down to either the nikon D5200 or the nikon d7100. I would like to try and
Get away with the lower price one if it can take pics as good as the 7100. Im not worried about
Learning all the buttons and settings, I'm an engineer so tech stuff is my thing. Should something
Like the 7100 be only for those that are serious about photography? Would it be overkill for my purposes? Are there quality differences from the pictures taken from the 5200 and 7100?
Thank you so much for the advice!

Ok, well I owned and shot the D5200 for quite a while, and then recently upgraded to the D7100. First, for the record, the D5200 is a good solid camera and takes excellent pictures.

That having been said, if the D7100 is within your budget, I'd recommend the D7100. The big difference I found between the D7100 and the D5200 is it's ability to take excellent pictures consistently even in difficult situations. It isn't a single feature really that sets it apart from the 5200, but rather a combination of improvements that really do make a big difference in real world shooting situations.

The 7100 gives you more control which is nice, but even more so when you shoot both you'll notice things like the D7100's more advanced AF system and the better auto white balance making a big difference in the overall consistency of your shots. The thing I notice is that with the 7100 I get the shot I want time and time again.

Don't get me wrong, the 5200 is a capable camera and it really can take some outstanding shots - but really if the 7100 is within your budget I think in the long run it really is worth the extra money.

 

[WhiteHorse]

Thank you for the replies, it looks like I'll look closely into getting the d7100!
I plan on getting it used or " referbished ". I wonder if anybody knows where there are pictures of both the 5200 and 7100 that I could compare although it seems like they take similar pics. Do you guys know a good place to get referb or good used ones?

 

[rudimaes]

At the comparometer, you can compare pictures of two cameras:
Imaging Resource "Comparometer" ™ Digital Camera Image Comparison Page
Rudi

 

[Village Idiot]

I've honestly not looked at new DSLR specs besides the new 7D MKII and 5D MKIII, so I don't know what a 5100 or a 7100 is, but how do they compare to a 7D? I was talking to a local photog that picked one up for $600 and that's a lot of camera.

 

[robbins.photo]

Thank you for the replies, it looks like I'll look closely into getting the d7100!
I plan on getting it used or " referbished ". I wonder if anybody knows where there are pictures of both the 5200 and 7100 that I could compare although it seems like they take similar pics. Do you guys know a good place to get referb or good used ones?

Well, if you keep in mind that I'm just an amateur shutterbug and not a professional you can browse through my photostream on flickr. The newest stuff was shot with the 7100, once you get about half way down the first page that will be stuff shot with the D5200.

Flickr: robbins.photo's Photostream

I bought my 7100 refurbished through Cameta, I've done some business with them in the past and never had any issues. I also like KEH a lot for used equipment,

Nikon D7100 Digital SLR Camera Body - Factory Refurbished includes Full 1 Year Warranty

 

[robbins.photo]

I've honestly not looked at new DSLR specs besides the new 7D MKII and 5D MKIII, so I don't know what a 5100 or a 7100 is, but how do they compare to a 7D? I was talking to a local photog that picked one up for $600 and that's a lot of camera.

The 7d shoots faster, 8 FPS as opposed to 6, and it has a few more cross focus points for the AF, 19 as opposed to 15 - other than that the 7100 has it fairly overmatched in most categories. The 7100 has much better image quality, better dynamic range, much better high iso to low light noise abilities, much higher resolution (24 vrs 17).

Don't get me wrong, the 7d isn't a bad camera, but pound for pound I think the 7100 is a better value.

 

[Uros1982]

Hello..
I think you should grabe d7100.. I'm using d7000 and for me is oing grat job.. So i know that the cameras from this seria are realy cool.. Also you can buy d7000 and in that case invest more in lens.. You'll gona be shoked when you compare shots with kit lance and shots made with some better like fix 50mm or 35mm.. Maby it's a good idea to rent the gear for one day only.. So take body and one kit and second 50mm lens.. I hope that you'll see what will make you happy..

 

[DustinB]

+1 for the D7100. I have one as well and its a great compromise compared to pro bodies. Very good access to common settings. Another plus that may not have been mentioned is the dual card slots. You can assign them various ways, but the most useful part is the mirroring ability. All images will get saved to both cards like a RAId setup in a computer in case one card fails. Definitely nice to not lose important images to a corrupt card.

Also if you pick up some good lenses for it, the D7100 will really let you get the full potential out of them. That's what I elected to do. All of my high end lenses will be able to be used should I choose to upgrade to an FX body like the D810 one day. I think most people would agree that's where the money needs to be spent if you really want to get into photography, good glass.

All that being said, you could get away with the D5200 and save some cash if you want. Just depends on how much you think you will get into this. Better to spend a little more now than take a hit later when you upgrade.

 

[JacaRanda]

I've honestly not looked at new DSLR specs besides the new 7D MKII and 5D MKIII, so I don't know what a 5100 or a 7100 is, but how do they compare to a 7D? I was talking to a local photog that picked one up for $600 and that's a lot of camera.

The 7D is old in sensor years, and is primarily a sports and wildlife camera. It's auto focus system is hard to beat even versus many of the newer cameras in it's class. It's dual processors help during continuous bursts to keep your buffer from getting bogged down while writing to your cf card. Some new camera's have issues with this.

If you are a sports and wildlife photographer and can get a $600 deal, then go for it.

Here are some sample pictures for reference Flickr: bmse's Photostream most shot with a Canon 7D.

 

[ph0enix]

Is there any particular reason you're looking at the D5200 and not the D5300?
If the budget allows for it, I would take the D7100 any day!

Keep in mind that learning all the buttons and settings is just part of the battle. There is a lot more to photography than that.

 

[Leonidas Kontoulis]

I wish I had gotten a 7100 instead of my 5100...

 

[Mr.Photo]

Something else that nobody has mentioned is the fact that the Nikon D7000/D7100 bodies have a built in drive motor to drive the older Nikon "Screw driven" auto focus lenses. This opens up the option to get some incredibly nice pro grade lenses at very decent prices compared to the newer AF-S lenses. For example: I purchased an old 80-200 f/2.8 lens (circa: late 1980's to early 1990's) used for about $300 (compared to $2400 for the new AF-S 70-200 2.8). It is one of my most used lenses. I have done paid work, and also had photo's published using that lens. Another benefit of the D7000/D7100 range is the ability to also use the even older (70's-80's era) all manual Ai and Ai-S lenses.

I started out with a Nikon D3100 which is similar to the D5xx series bodies. I still own mine and love it, but when it comes time to do the serious stuff I'm reaching for my D7000.