Question on comparison of 7200

EODK9Trainer

Senior Member
Greetings,

New member here. I'll add to the profile and such soon. I am not a pro by any means but love taking pics and have used Nikon for years. I've owned a D40, 80 and 90 as well as my current 5100. I'm looking at a 7200 (body) and would like advice from those on here on whether this is a good upgrade? Is it that much better a camera that it is worth purchasing? I love the wi fi option. My biggest love in taking pics is that of scenery and old abandoned homes in the Shenandoah Valley area in VA. Thanks.
 

Ironwood

Senior Member
Hi, and welcome to the forum. Yes, I would consider the D7200 a good and worthwhile upgrade for you. You get better controls, more buttons and dials vs menu driven changes. Better AF, and the ability to fine tune your lenses to the body, better low light performance, and the list goes on.
 

pforsell

Senior Member
My personal opinion is that the upgrade from D5100 to D7200 is worthwhile.

There are two sides to a digital camera, the digital side which consists of the sensor and other electronics in charge of the image capture, but there's also the camera side which consists of the user interface (buttons and dials), viewfinder brightness and size, auto focus speed and accuracy, frame rate, buffer size and whatnot.

To me personally the camera side is more important. D7200 is a direct descendant of your previous D80/D90 lineage and definitely a step up in cameraness from the 5000 series. It also has two generations newer sensor, since the D5100 sensor is the same that was in D7000.
 

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Went from a d5100 to d7100 and it was a great upgrade and the specs for the 7200 are even better. The only thing you may miss if you use it is the tilt screen.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

I would recommend the D7200 highly. I know I love mine. Many users on this site consider the D7200 the best all-around DX camera made. Better than the D500 except for sports and action and better than the crippled D7500, designed only to sell more D500s.
 

nickt

Senior Member
If you like to mess with settings, go for it without hesitation. The d7200 will be a joy to use. Front and rear command wheels, many direct access buttons and top lcd display just to name a few things I love. I bought a 2nd one a few months back. I thought long and hard about a d500 but in the end, a refurb d7200 was a great value and met all my needs.
 

Danno

Senior Member
I have enjoyed my 7200. I do like similar things when I shoot. I think you would like the D7200 especially if you like the thought of being able to quickly adjust settings manually and utilize bracketing. Some of the old abandoned stuff does not always have well-balanced light and it is nice to be able to use bracketing and play with HDR now and then.

I admit that I did buy a used D700 recently and I use it a lot for the sunrise and landscapes now but I still use the 7200 as well. I am glad I have it.
 

EODK9Trainer

Senior Member
Thanks all. I bit the bullet and went for it today. Now it's time for me to find someone near me willing to meet for a few lessons. Time for me to learn how to really use a camera and not on Auto.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Thanks all. I bit the bullet and went for it today. Now it's time for me to find someone near me willing to meet for a few lessons. Time for me to learn how to really use a camera and not on Auto.

Good choice. Unfortunately, I am 3000 miles from you so can't help you with any lessons. But, I can highly recommend the David Busch's "Nikon D7200 Digital SLR Photography" book. Also there are a lot of good tutorials on the internet. Try a google search for "best d7200 tutorial".
 

Danno

Senior Member
Congrats, I am sure you will like it. I would suggest you pick up a good handbook to supplement the manual. It really helped me set up the menus and get started with the camera. Below is a link. There are others out there. I just like this guys approach.

Moving to manual settings is not too difficult. There are books and videos on the exposure triangle as well as a ton of videos and articles at places sites like photography life. There are lots of guys here that will help with that here... Most of them have better memories than me as well... :)

https://www.amazon.com/David-Buschs...preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
 

nickt

Senior Member
Start here:
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8T94sdiNjc

Learn the basics of exposure. Understand the triangle. Its not a big deal, but its essential to having fun with your camera. Get a good hold on the exposure triangle before you read you new camera manual. The manual will make a lot more sense if you understand the basics of exposure. Those links will give you a good start or then come back and ask us about the autofocus modes.

The books the others mention are good. If you are on budget though, you can learn everything online and ask questions here.
 

nickt

Senior Member
I'm in the same boat as the OP. I have a 5100 and considering upgrading, would the 18-140 do well on the D7200 or D500?
The 18-140 was my walking around lens for a long time on my d7100 and d7200. It's a decent lens but I think the d500 deserves better. My current everyday lens on my d7200 is the Sigma 17-50. Less zoom but incredibly sharp.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
The Nikon manual is plenty enough introduction to the camera provided you know the concepts of exposure. Then all of it makes sense and allows you to use any camera without having to research it. A classic book on Exposure that probably taught more photographers the essence of photography than any camera specific book is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryon Peterson. Any library will have it, used books store or new bookstore. It was written for film but updated for digital but the principles are identical. Once the exposure Triad is second nature to you...about a day of experimenting, you will appreciate full manual mode as the mode to use if you have a preference for how an image turns out. Visualizing a finished image and getting it, requires manual mode for exposure, anyone taking images for their income uses it. The ease of making adjustments without taking your eye from the viewfinder is the single best reason to upgrade from a D5100. Image quality in auto modes are not much difference between them.
All the Nikons from D90 through D7200 are about the same in the user flexibility in getting the shot. Many cite the improvements in ISO but there really is not that much difference, 1 stop. Using high ISO is a reason cited for upgrading but in reality, no serious print-worthy shot is taken with high ISO.
Have fun with you new camera, it is a good one.
 

rob shearing

Senior Member
Honestly, snap up a D7200. I had the 5200 and although a great camera in it's own right, the 7200 blows it away, the bigger, brighter viewfinder and autofocus system are worth it alone. Like nickt, I also have the Sigma 17-50 2.8 and can thoroughly recommend it. As for the lack of top end zoom....I just use my feet. :D
 

EODK9Trainer

Senior Member
Good suggestion on the club. But out here in the Valley where we live now, and love it, we find fewer options for things like these. But it 's worth looking into.
 
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