Time to upgrade my D80

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elijahosiris

Senior Member
Hello all! I own a D80 and a few basic lens I use mostly for a hobby, and the occasional newborn or senior photo shoot. I love my D80 but as I am progressing in my photography I would really like to upgrade and get a camera that's more up to date. I've been looking at the D5200 and the D5300. I really like the fact that they have an articulating screen, and the option of shooting video is a big plus because I have a newborn of my own and I would love to be able to get some good video of her firsts. Because of the cold winter I've been stuck inside dealing with a lot of low light situations, which my recently purchased 50mm 1.8 has been beautiful for. I'm on a budget but if I could get a decent advantage with the D5300 I don't mind paying the difference for it. The wifi and gps would be cool but honestly I don't think it would ever get used. I tried to find some info about the expeed 3 and 4 processors but I didn't really find a big difference. Also the slightly larger screen isn't a big deal to me either, the D5200 will already be a huge improvement over my D80. Is the D5300 worth the extra money for a guy like me? or will the D5200 be more than enough.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
elijahosiris said:
Hello all! I own a D80 and a few basic lens I use mostly for a hobby, and the occasional newborn or senior photo shoot. I love my D80 but as I am progressing in my photography I would really like to upgrade and get a camera that's more up to date. I've been looking at the D5200 and the D5300. I really like the fact that they have an articulating screen, and the option of shooting video is a big plus because I have a newborn of my own and I would love to be able to get some good video of her firsts. Because of the cold winter I've been stuck inside dealing with a lot of low light situations, which my recently purchased 50mm 1.8 has been beautiful for. I'm on a budget but if I could get a decent advantage with the D5300 I don't mind paying the difference for it. The wifi and gps would be cool but honestly I don't think it would ever get used. I tried to find some info about the expeed 3 and 4 processors but I didn't really find a big difference. Also the slightly larger screen isn't a big deal to me either, the D5200 will already be a huge improvement over my D80. Is the D5300 worth the extra money for a guy like me? or will the D5200 be more than enough.
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Short answer, no... As in, no need for you to "upgrade" to the D5300 over the D5200, in my opinion. The jump from D80 to D5200 is going to be huge and in all the ways that *actually* matter. Things like the CMOS sensor, better color depth, far more focus points, better dynamic range... Going from D5200 to D5300 the differences minor and less applicable, I think, to what you actually need based on what you've posted.

The main reason the D5300 is more expensive is the addition of the built-in GPS (which I hear is dodgy anyway) and WiFi. From reading your post neither of those options sound practical, much less necessary, for you. I'd suggest you get the D5200 and with the money you save get decent hot-shoe mounted flash or a really good prime lens.

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elijahosiris

Senior Member
Thanks for the swift reply :) I was also looking at the Sigma 70-300 motorized telephoto/macro lens. I do a lot of hiking in the summer and my wife is a horse trainer. I want more reach than my older Nikkor 70-210 and I think the macro function would be cool to start playing with. Again I'm on a budget, any suggestions weather this lens would be a good addition to my collection or should I save for something better?
 
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elijahosiris

Senior Member
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elijahosiris

Senior Member
Horoscope Fish said:
Short answer, no... As in, no need for you to "upgrade" to the D5300 over the D5200, in my opinion. The jump from D80 to D5200 is going to be huge and in all the ways that *actually* matter. Things like the CMOS sensor, better color depth, far more focus points, better dynamic range... Going from D5200 to D5300 the differences minor and less applicable, I think, to what you actually need based on what you've posted.

The main reason the D5300 is more expensive is the addition of the built-in GPS (which I hear is dodgy anyway) and WiFi. From reading your post neither of those options sound practical, much less necessary, for you. I'd suggest you get the D5200 and with the money you save get decent hot-shoe mounted flash or a really good prime lens.

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Just ordered the D5200. Should be here in a few days. I'm going to be like a kid in a candy store!:D Cant wait to post some of the new pics!
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Here is my advice. Go to a photo store with your 70-210 and bring an sd card, try the 3200, 5200 AND 7000. I think the 70-210 is a fine lens but it would not auto-focus with the 3200 nor the 5200 series. It would work with the 90, 7000, 7100.

The point being that your hands are used to the size of the D80 and the 3200 and 5200 are quite smaller and smaller doesn't always mean better in hand feel. Try them out first BEFORE getting cash out of your pocket means that maybe you can wait a few weeks but get the camera that really feels comfortable for you.
 
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crashton

Senior Member
Not to rain on your parade, lots of menu diving with the D5200. Yes the articulating screen is a plus, but menu diving is a minus.

I had a D5100 which I liked. The articulating screen was nice, but I moved on to get a camera with more direct controls. For me that was the D7000. Just my thoughts.

Enjoy your camera whichever you chose.
 
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elijahosiris

Senior Member
Marcel said:
Here is my advice. Go to a photo store with your 70-210 and bring an sd card, try the 3200, 5200 AND 7000. I think the 70-210 is a fine lens but it would not auto-focus with the 3200 nor the 5200 series. It would work with the 90, 7000, 7100.

The point being that your hands are used to the size of the D80 and the 3200 and 5200 are quite smaller and smaller doesn't always mean better in hand feel. Try them out first BEFORE getting cash out of your pocket means that maybe you can wait a few weeks but get the camera that really feels comfortable for you.
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I did test out the 5200 quick at Best Buy. Didn't have a lens so I couldn't take any photos but the feel of the camera was comfortable, my hands aren't very big so I still felt like I had a good grip on it. It is going to be different having to go to the LCD screen to view/change settings, but I think its more than outweighed by the articulating screen. I think if I was trying to make money off of my photography I would defiantly buy the D7000 instead but I'm just looking for a good camera to have fun with. But we'll see how I like it when the 5200 gets here.
 
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Deezey

Senior Member
How many bodies do you own? Just the D80? If so keep it! Always try and keep a back up.

Sent from my RM-860_nam_usa_100 using Tapatalk
 
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elijahosiris

Senior Member
Deezey said:
How many bodies do you own? Just the D80? If so keep it! Always try and keep a back up.

Sent from my RM-860_nam_usa_100 using Tapatalk
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Yea just the D80. I think I will keep it. Be nice to still be able to use AF on my older 70-210 and my 50 1.8D. When I get a few more bucks saved up I want to buy the 35mm 1.8G and the Sigma 70-300 macro lens with the built in motor.
 
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elijahosiris

Senior Member
I got my D5200 today. Wow does this camera impress me! The low light capabilities are 10x what my D80 will shoot. The body size took a little getting used to, but by the end of the day it felt very comfortable in my hand. Only downside to this camera is the lack of an AF motor and not being able to adjust aperture in live view. Besides that I am a very happy owner of a D5200 :D
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
elijahosiris said:
I got my D5200 today. Wow does this camera impress me! The low light capabilities are 10x what my D80 will shoot. The body size took a little getting used to, but by the end of the day it felt very comfortable in my hand. Only downside to this camera is the lack of an AF motor and not being able to adjust aperture in live view. Besides that I am a very happy owner of a D5200 :D
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Not that many times you will be using live view. Or at least most people don't. It eats batteries and really is not that useful.

I own a D5100 and the D7000 and have a D7100 on order. The D7000 will be sold but I don;t think I will every get rid of my D5100. They are great cameras. It think you are really going to enjoy your new camera.
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
True, no AF motor, but it seems more lenses are coming as AF-S or lenses are being modernized to be AF-S. I don't think you will find it to be as big of an issue going forward as oppose to looking back for lenses.

Enjoy and lets see some photos.
 
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elijahosiris

Senior Member
5.6 1/200 ISO 2000 Bounced speed light off the ceiling
DSC_0230 (2).jpg
Just took this a few minutes ago. Its been well below freezing out the past couple days so I haven't had the chance to get many shots out of the house. The light in my home sucks :(
 
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