"Noob" question: D90 or D5100

[Joel_W]

Kerbouchard, I think that your reasoning about returning products that you don't find satisfactory, whether they're brick & Motor, or internet companies, to be somewhat outdated. Just about every company these days offers the consumer the option to return any product that they're not completely satisfied with for either an exchange or full refund depending on their posted return policy. As an example, Adorama clearly states that they have a 100% customer satisfaction policy, and even pays the freight back if you call for a UPS label rather then just following their stated return policy.

Companies these days fight for the consumer's business, and their loyalty as a repeat customer. Any policy which makes the consumer feel more secure in purchasing a product, knowing that they can return or exchange it if they're not completely satisfied, creates sales, which is the name of the game. Companies offer all sorts of sales incentives like private label merchandise, in house coupons, extended no interest payment plans, to entice you to buy from them. They've all done their homework on the return/exchange ratio to new sales. Built into each sales point is the cost to recover that ratio.

Today those returned cameras from the major players become refurb cameras, which get resold for a smaller profit margin, but they still make a nice profit. Defective equipment is returned to the manufacture for credit which also are turned around and sold as refurbs.

BTW, even Discount Giants like Walmart, Kmart, Target, etc. all take back any and all merchandise for any reason as long as it is returned in the same condition and box as it was sold in, and with a valid receipt within their return period.

 

[OLDSKEWL]

The D5100 is a "poor value"? for body only, it is $600.00 cheaper than a D7000, and over $200 cheaper than the D90.

 

[gryffinwings]

Sorry Kerbouchard, I turned it back into bestbuy and so far I'm happy I did. This d7000 is sweet right now and I know I haven't even scratched the surface. Ritz offers tons of classes and they have 4 free classes for starters and I get discounts on all of their seminars and classes. I actually already signed up seminar next month. I'm excited. reading through this manual 3 times is going to be interesting to say the least. 320 pages.

Please don't say I messed up just because i am a beginner and I didn't buy a "beginners camera"

I have no issue with you buying a D7000. If you would have asked prior to your purchase, I would have recommended the D90 or the d7000 over the D5100. Honestly, I never recommend the D5100. I think it is a poor value and that there are much better options.

For you, I think you made the right choice.

The only issue I have is that you treated Best Buy like a rental store to try something out and didn't pay for it. IMO, that is unethical and a large part of why storefronts like that are failing. There were plenty of places you could have rented a camera to try it out to see if you liked it. Instead, you purchased it, used it, decided to upgrade, returned it, and then bought something from a different company. You basically turned a new camera into a used camera and walked away. I find it unsettling that you think that is okay. My guess, you are also a Democrat.

Like I said in my first post, the D90 is a better camera. The D7000 is the D90's successor and is also a better camera than a D5100.

Sounds like you made the decision that works for you and picked up a better camera completely disregarding any sort of personal responsiblity for your choices. Good for you.

Honestly, I have to disagree with you, by no means is the D5100 a poor choice in camera. Certainly it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the D7000 has, but it does have the same basic image quality that the D7000 has because they both have the same CMOS sensor. To be honest you haven't said any to back up what you said that makes you not really recommend it except to say that you think the D7000 and D90 cameras are better.

 

[Mach0]

Honestly, I have to disagree with you, by no means is the D5100 a poor choice in camera. Certainly it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the D7000 has, but it does have the same basic image quality that the D7000 has because they both have the same CMOS sensor. To be honest you haven't said any to back up what you said that makes you not really recommend it except to say that you think the D7000 and D90 cameras are better.

It's not a poor choice but the lack of controls and features make it a less desirable choice than the d90 or d7000. If you don't need the features then it's a fantastic camera and it will be a while before you hit its limits.

 

[cp24eva]

Although the d5100 wasn't the "wrong" choice, I believe with my spending habits that the d7000 was the right choice. I took it out to do various things this weekend and yes, I like it alot. Especially the 2 custom settings and the controls that are available with a few combo button pushes. The continuous high speed shooting was great at the sporting events we attended this weekend. Now I just need a better flash, tripod, and maybe a couple other lenses. Christmas will be fun this year lol.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

 

[gryffinwings]

Actually, that's also not exactly true. If you set it up it's got plenty of control. You have direct access to aperture and shutter speed control, just with the dial and the button, you can add ISO control to the function button, it's all in how you set up your camera and how you shoot with it, basically how good of a photographer you are to set up the camera how you want it and getting used to layout, once you've done that, I can see the D5100 being a bit better than the D90, especially if you haven't invested in lens.

 

[khis5184]

hi guys, i just want to share my experience with my d5100 as a newbie.

1st of all, i have a d5100 and im a beginner. i bought my d51 few months ago and i didnt regret buying it. i know d90 is a good camera. notice why i said good instead of better than d51? because i think they both produce nice image. here are the reasons why i chose d5100.

1 - for beginners like me, im assuming you guys dont have a collection of lenses. therefore the kit lense that comes with d51 which is 18-55mm vr will be your first. 18-55mm vr is a good lense and it does its job well. now, those people who already have a collection of lense (older lenses) that has no focus motor on it, they will benefit with the focus motor that was built in inside the d90. d5100 has no built in focus motor and it uses af-s lenses which means the focus motor is built in inside the lense, not the camera. to sum up, buy d5100 if you are totally new in photography and you dont have a collection of older lenses. if you are wanting to buy new lenses for your d5100 like zoom lense or macro lense, it may be a little expensive for now but for sure it will become cheaper in a few months/years.

2 - another reason which i like most is, it has low noise in low light. d5100 handles well in low light. i use high iso in a few occasions and even with 18-55mm vr, its ok. it satisfies me.

3 - when it comes to the controls, i dont think d90 is better. i see that the d90 has more outer controls but i think you just need to know and get used to the controls of the d5100 for you to switch it fast or change the settings quickly. only thing i notice is the location and design of the controls. the functions are the same. if you want to test, just go to best buy and hold a d5100 and see if you like how the controls are located and designed. i think for newbies they will be able to manipulate the controls of the d5100 very well. for professionals, it wont interest them. for semi pro, i think its ok with them. as for me, ive owned the d5100 for a few months now and the controls works just fine. i can quickly change settings if i want to. i just got used to it. i held a d90 few months ago and its ok too. i just like d5100.

4 - d5100 is smaller in size. i mean for small to medium hands, its perfect. ive got medium hands and i like to hold things firm and d5100 fits well. try to hold one and see if you like it. d90 is a little bigger and heavier. 10% bigger and 20% heavier than d5100. but some may find d90 more comfortable and firm. so it really depends on you.

5 - d5100 has better video which i dont really care. however, if i need a short video clip, atleast i have 1080p video. d90 has good video but not as good as d5100.

6 - d5100 cannot auto focus with older lenses while d90 can because d90 has a built in focus motor. but if you insist, you can use older lenses for d5100 but u have to focus manually. as i mentioned above, if you have old lenses or is planning to buy old lenses as your lense line up, then u should go for d90. d5100 uses af-s lenses which means the focus motor is built inside the lense. high end af-s lenses are a little expensive for now but you can always save money and buy later. for me, 18-55mm vr lense does its job well. if u decide to stick with 18-55mm vr, you can add a 55-200mm vr as your zoom lense. it cost around $150 i guess. if u want a prime lense, you can buy a 50mm 1.8 which is around $200. this combo is good enough for a beginner up to semi pro i think. for me, im only using 18-55mm vr. i will decide what af-s lense should i buy later when im done with the 18-55mm vr. in addition, i edit my photos using photoshop. simple edit here and there and i get all my desired photos (fine and crisp photos, colorful, clear and sharp images).

7 - now. ive read an article about having 2 focus motor (1 from body and another from the lense) is having an issue. im not sure but it says you need to turn off one of the motors. good thing about d5100 is, it has no built in focus motor and it uses the motor from the lense. so i dont need to worry. however, af-s lense are a little expensive. well, you pay for the motor inside the lense. i think it that way.

8 - d90 and d5100 has almost the same price range. d5100 is newer so i chose the newer.

for now, thats all i can think. for me, the rest are easy and should not be a big deal. personally, the secret to having a nice picture is having a good light and the correct setting. d90 or d5100, imho they both produce good image when you have the correct setting plus some tricks. for normal users like me, who likes to shoot landscapes, portraits, sometimes sports, nature and everyday activities, d5100 should be ok. its not perfect but it produces nice image if you know how to use it correctly even with 18-55mm vr and other low end lenses. with high end lenses, d5100 will be awesome. but you can think about it later. im not saying d5100 is better than d90. they both produce nice pictures. i just prefer d5100.

btw, i forgot to mention that the live view in d5100 is slow. i dont use live view not because its slow but because it makes me feel like its a point and shoot camera. i dont know if live view is a big deal for u but for me its not. for me its better to look at the viewfinder when taking a shot. i think pro users will agree with me. its steady and more accurate. most of the time, my eye is on the view finder and i frame my shots very good. then again, i use photoshop.

i hope this helps the newbies.

 

[Mach0]

^^^ if you are using a camera with an AF motor with an afs lens, the in body motor won't engage.

 

[khis5184]

^^^ if you are using a camera with an AF motor with an afs lens, the in body motor won't engage.

oh ok. thanks for the info. but will some issue arise when you have 2 focus motors, like blurry image or anything?
does the in body focus motor has an external switch to turn on and off? will it automatically turn off once it detects a af-s lense?

 

[Mach0]

oh ok. thanks for the info. but will some issue arise when you have 2 focus motors, like blurry image or anything?
does the in body focus motor has an external switch to turn on and off? will it automatically turn off once it detects a af-s lense?

Automatically...

 

[shadowlands]

Still shoot with my D90. Love it!
Keep the MB-D80 on mine and seldom take it off. Bam!!!

 

[AaronLLockhart]

D90 all the way, focus motor and larger sensor. The sensor in the 5100 is actually a better sensor, but the difference can be made up in lenses.

 

[StandingBear1983]

D90 all the way, focus motor and larger sensor. The sensor in the 5100 is actually a better sensor, but the difference can be made up in lenses.

Larger sensor?! are you kidding man? - its the same size sensor exactly. 1.5x crop.

OP - if you don't have older lenses, get the D5100, if you have older lenses get the D90, as simple as that. if your only starting in my opinion...the D5100 has better insides (guts of a D7000), but the D90 has better manual use of the camera, better control, as a noob master i would suggest getting the D5100 (because it takes time to learn to control the camera manually anyway), it is a better learning tool to get started with. and its cheaper and much newer.

 

[AaronLLockhart]

Larger sensor?! are you kidding man? - its the same size sensor exactly. 1.5x crop..

Before you go off on a condescending rant, know your facts the second your mouth opens. By your logic, all 1.5x crop bodies have the same sized sensor, and that is completely skewed information. There are 1.5x bodies that are down to 20% smaller than others, and require smaller sensors.

So

YES, LARGER SENSOR, and no, Im not kidding

http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon-D5100-vs-Nikon_D90

1.5x is the crop factor, not the sensor size, genius.

 

[StandingBear1983]

Larger sensor?! are you kidding man? - its the same size sensor exactly. 1.5x crop..

Before you go off on a condescending rant, know your facts the second your mouth opens. By your logic, all 1.5x crop bodies have the same sized sensor, and that is completely skewed information. There are 1.5x bodies that are down to 20% smaller than others, and require smaller sensors.

So

YES, LARGER SENSOR, and no, Im not kidding

Nikon D5100 vs D90 - Our Analysis

1.5x is the crop factor, not the sensor size, genius.

Side by Side Comparison: Digital Photography Review

D90 = APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm)

D5100 = APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm)

0.1, WOW! such a HUGE difference! :hugs: - its the same sensor size.