Considering moving from D3100 to D7000

Hi all

I purchased a D3100 with the kit 18-105 lens around august 2011, and i'm actually quite happy with it, in general.

But for the type of photos i find myself shooting, i'm starting to see som limitations. I shoot in burst mode quite a lot, outside, often in the late afternoon(so fading light) - So the slow'ish burst mode on the d3100, and the less-than-perfect image noise reduction is often a problem - Also the lack of inhouse focusing limits my choise of lenses(which could compensate for the other issues to some degree)

So, in order to not lose too much cash, i'm thinking about trying to sell my d3100+18-105, and buying a used d7000 without a lens(i'll have the nikkor 35mm 1/8 g and a sigma 70-300 mm then), which i'm hoping would mean i don't have to find too much cash for an upgrade.

The question is; will the upgrade be "big enough" to warrant the trouble of selling a perfectly fine camera, giving up the 18-105, and trying to track down a used d7000.

As i understand there's a fairly big AF problem with the d7000?

Oh and i also considered the d5100 as a replacement at first, but the actual upgrade there would be rather tiny i reckon, since i don't shoot movies at all.

Would you say this move would be a good idea, or would i be better off saving up for better lenses, and sticking with the d3100? (i'm not interested in going full frame atm, so the d7000 is really the best choice of dx right?)

I didn't find a "general" forum, where this would fit, so hopefully a few current d3100 users will notice it as well, in here

I would recommend the D7000, it is a significant upgrade, the sensor is fantastic. I think with the "issues" out there you might want to try getting a new body. I have the D5100 and it is a great camera, shares the same sensor as the D7000 and has several other features over the D3100 also, like Bracketing (important if you like HDR). You can get a new D5100 body for 600-650 (US$).

I read this post with great interest, as I bought a D3100 in March 2011 and am wondering if a D5100 would do better on sharpness of the photos. I can manipulate my current photos using software, but would like a little better detail to start out with. I shoot B & W mainly street scenes and architecturally interesting buildings in the city I grew up in. Thanks for the answers as to the sensor etc.

I'd go for the 5100 over the 7000 personally myself...(1) like Rick said ^ it has the same sensor and (2) I'm a cheapskate tightwad and it is half the money for the 5100. I shoot a D5000 which I find to be perfectly adequate for me and it was dirt cheap!

I find D5100 is sharper than the D3100 unedited in raw. I was surprised at the difference in sharpness when Blown up to 20x30 as well. There is more to it than just a better sensor.

The shot below with the D5100, The second crop would make it almost 20x30

Good glass makes a huge huge difference as well...good glass is expensive too!

If you are serious enough to lay out the chili on a D7000 I think it would serve you well to look at a D700...

There is rumor of a new Dx model comming out this year, might want to wait (and save) a little while. I'm awaiting the next top Dx and at that point will decide either to upgrade to that or move to Fx. The D5100 gave me the best part of the D7000 now, until I find my ultimate path.

Thanks for all the feedback

The main reason i'm thinking about "skipping" the d5100 and going straight to d7000, is the lack of internal focusing in the d5100; i'd prefer to be less limited in what lenses i buy, and i'm not very proficient in manual focusing.

I'm going to hold off on the purchase for a few months, and see what nikon might release this year. If it's "just" a d3200 and d5200, then i suppose the d7000 will still come out on top(?) - But if there's a d7000 upgrade, then that's suddenly very intereresting...if nothing else, it'll push the price down on d7000.

D700 as Eye-Level suggested isn't one i'd really consider at this time, due to the FX/DX thing, even if i don't have any really expensive lenses, i'm afraid it would be rather expensive in the long run, to make the switch to full frame? (i'm guessing that fx lenses are a tad pricier?)

Also the price difference from d7000 to d700 is quite high imho (here in Denmark); ~1250 us dollars for the d7000 and ~2225 for the d700

Rasmus said:

Thanks for all the feedback

The main reason i'm thinking about "skipping" the d5100 and going straight to d7000, is the lack of internal focusing in the d5100; i'd prefer to be less limited in what lenses i buy, and i'm not very proficient in manual focusing.

I'm going to hold off on the purchase for a few months, and see what nikon might release this year. If it's "just" a d3200 and d5200, then i suppose the d7000 will still come out on top(?) - But if there's a d7000 upgrade, then that's suddenly very intereresting...if nothing else, it'll push the price down on d7000.

D700 as Eye-Level suggested isn't one i'd really consider at this time, due to the FX/DX thing, even if i don't have any really expensive lenses, i'm afraid it would be rather expensive in the long run, to make the switch to full frame? (i'm guessing that fx lenses are a tad pricier?)

Click to expand...

Good points, I'm sitting it out for a few of the same reasons also. There is rumor of a D7100, we will see!