Purchasing First Camera!

jortiz7

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I've always had a passion for photography, and now I'm ready to buy my first camera. I am leaning heavily on either the Nikon D5200 or the D5300. I have seen pictures with the Nikkor 18-140mm f/s 3.5-5.6g Ed vr lens and I really like that lens from what i've seen. I plan on using the camera for videos as well nothing too serious but I want good quality lenses. I was also looking at Carl Zeiss and Sigma lenses as well. Any advice and feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
If your interested in getting some Sigma lenses I'd look at the D5200 in preference to the D5300. The D5300 has some problems with some of the older sigma lenses that won't allow them to autofocus in Live view. Sigma has put out a firmware update that will fix the issue but unless the lens is new enough that it has the usb connection or will work with their usb adapter (which a lot of their older lenses won't) you'll have to send the lens to Sigma to have them update the firmware.
 
Differences between the D5200 and D5300 are not huge, yes the D5300 has no AA filter but in most cases the IQ between the cameras should be negligable.
D5200 is simply a very good camera and frankly I dont thin its worth the price difference.
If I would consider the D5300 I would shell the little extra and get the more advanced D7100

As for lenses, the 18-140mm is a good lens but is a kit lens, if you currently dont have the money to invest in a seriously good lens then there is nothing wrong with this lens, it will do the job very nicely.
I would add to this lens few more lenses though
For portraits and night photography I would get the Nikon 50mm 1.8G
For telezoom I would get the Nikon 70-300mm VR
And last if you can afford it I would get the Nikon 60mm 2.8G Micro for general use and Macro photography but I would leave this lens last if you cant afford it for now.

I am pretty sure whether you will get the D5200 or D5300 you will be VERY happy :)

Good luck.
 
The D5200 is actually quite good for video. Oh, yes it takes pictures too. I sold my kit lens on ebay. It's not really a good lens compared to the quality of the camera. They actually have a new 18-55 lens coming that is better. I now mostly use a 50mm f/1.8 and a 35mm f/1.8. These are the CHEAPEST good prime lens made by Nikon - just get one and have fun with wide open shooting. Long focal lengths get seriously expensive for decent quality so I would avoid cheap long lenses. I also shoot a walking around 18-105mm but it gets the least use. You'll find nice deals on the D5200 now that the D5300 is out. Compare the features and the differences list is pretty short. If you bought the D5200 now and then bought good glass you could upgrade later and not have put a ton of money into the body up front. If you really stick with shooting you'll replace the body a few times over the years and keep the best lenses you own a long time. Don't forget the door prizes either. A nice tripod or maybe a flash and the extra gadgets and goodies all add up. Starting simple helps as you define the things you love the most. Any Nikon DSLR is probably a huge step up for you and they really all take nice pictures when you know how.

I upgraded from the D3100 to the D5200 mostly for a few of the advanced features it has that I really wanted. Selling the old camera for the new one didn't cost much more. The extra resolution is nice but you could easily go out and get a really good deal on a D3100 and spend the left over money on lenses and be ecstatic!. The shooting extra features would take you a while to sort out and the automatic JPG mode shooting is about the same. You'll like the video features of the D5200. When you get serious about video the cost of the gear skyrockets. There are pro video shooters that do use a D5200 for B camera work. The D600 is also a great video choice as is the D7100. Those would be the best on the low end of the Nikon food chain to get pro video. To get serious you also need external audio recorders and video monitors plus a lot of post process gear. It will take a good year to explore all the parts of either of these cameras. It's fun!
 

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