Been a while.

[SWB]

Been a while since I have been in the game, about 17 years. Got a Nikon D5000 used it a lot. Looking to upgrade? Get more involved in camera game again. I enjoy hunting, fishing and generally outdoors.

Oh, and retiring real soon. Got me wondering if I should update camera.

 

[SWB]

Thanks for approval onto forum.

 

[Clovishound]

Welcome. A lot depends on your interest, style, expectations and pocketbook.

First off, does the D5000 meet your needs and expectations? The current lineup of Nikon cameras start at 21 MP and go as high as 46 MP in resolution. The 12 MP of your current camera is sufficient for many tasks, but may not be up to moderate to heavy cropping, or making large prints.

Some genres, such as wildlife and sports, are heavily reliant on auto focus capabilities, and other newer features, like high frame rates, pre-capture release and focus stacking. Others, like landscape and street photography, have far less dependence on these features.

Digital cameras have come a long way since your D5000 came out. AF, resolution, frame rates, and a myriad of other features have been greatly improved and added. My honest opinion, without knowing more about your and your shooting, is that it is likely time for an upgrade. One issue is that Nikon, and virtually all manufacturers, have abandoned DSLRs and are now only developing mirrorless models. These have a different lens mount than the older F mount. The good news is that you can use an adapter to mount F mount lenses, on the newer Z mount, mirrorless cameras. Having said that, if you decide to move to mirrorless, you will likely want to replace most or all of your F mount lenses with the Z mount models, although not necessarily all at once. The Z lenses are generally better, to much better than their older designed F mount counterparts. The newer mount has a number of advantages in engineering their lenses.

The bad news is that it's not cheap to move to newer equipment. I would also recommend that you not make quick decisions. I became dazzled with a higher resolution model that was on a very good sale, and bought a camera that really didn't suite my needs. It's a great camera, just not for what I was trying to use it for. I ended up replacing it with something more appropriate about a year later.

Feel free to ask questions, there is a lot of experience on the forum here, and lots of folks are happy to share their knowledge and experience.

 

[nikonbill]

Welcome - congratulations on retirement being on the horizon!

In addition to well stated above - maybe explore with what you have to see what you find yourself shooting. With digital (as you know) it cost nothing to play. Seeing what shots you wish were better will give great insight as to what would make you shoot more.

Retirement is awesome BTW, for me I'm still finding my way (2 years come Feb). Some of what I thought I would do is different than what am doing. Truly enjoy it and let it take you into new and old interests.

Enjoy the site!

 

[tonye]

Welcome aboard. As all of the above, don't rush into anything drastic, look at what you have and what you want to shoot. There's plenty of choice out there so do some homework and research what you need for the type of work you want to do. The main thing is have fun and enjoy your retirement.

 

[benhasajeep]

Welcome to the board. As for camera in the newer lower cost range there would be the Z50ii or ZFc. Both are crop cameras like your D5000, but much better AF system and processor system. You could use your current lenses with an FTZ adapter. Or buy new Z lenses for better performance. I just bought a refurbished Z50ii from Nikonusa with their 16-50 kit lens but they are sold out of the refurbs right now. But the ZFc is on sale for $760 right now on Nikonusa.com, and probably same price at amazon?? With the 16-50 kit lens it's $900. The ZFc and Z50ii share the same newest gen processor as the higher priced pro bodies. With much better AF systems. If you would like to go full frame the Z5ii (have one) and Z6iii are very good middle of the road small mp full frame sensors. While the Z8 (I also have) and Z9 is king of the hill with the big mp sensors.

 

[SWB]

Thanks for welcome. I'm thinking about either D780 or Nikon Z6III. Buying lenses as I go. I hear that the D780 is good in low light? Really know nothing about Z6III? Any thoughts? Camera will be used for mostly outdoors.

 

[Clovishound]

If by outdoors, you mean wildlife, or sports, then the 6iii would be the obvious choice. Yes, it's a little more expensive than the D780, but it also has a lot more to offer. Significantly better AF is one of the main advantages. The 6iii has great object detection, including bird detection. This is a game changer for most wildlife photographers. It also has a much faster frame rate. With moving subjects, this is important. Both the Z6iii and the D780 have BSI 24 MP sensors, so low light performance should be similar.

The 6iii also has some neat features like pre release capture, focus stacking, focus peaking, focus limiting, and many more. Another advantage is the lack of viewfinder blackout during burst shooting.

I shoot primarily wildlife and macro with a Z8 equipped with the Z180-600 F6.3, and Z105mm F2.8 micro. The 6iii is very similar to the Z8 in features. I'm firmly in the mirrorless camp at this point. I love the extra features available, and particularly I like the fact that the viewfinder gives a constant exposure preview, since you are looking through an electronic viewfinder, rather than an optical one. It took me a few shooting sessions to get used to the EVF, but once I did, I did not want to go back to an optical viewfinder.

If you feel that you really want to stick to a DSLR, I would recommend spending a couple hundred more and get the D850. Unless it just to big and heavy for you, it is a big step up, IMO, from the D780. Keep in mind, Nikon only has 3 DSLRs left in their new camera lineup. I suspect it won't be long before there are no new Nikon DSLRs available for purchase.