New Camera Purchase dilemma : What trade off do I make

Hi, new to this forum though I have been lurking around several photography related forums for years now. Here is my story and why I decided to join this forum.


I purchased my 1st DSLR, a D3100 early in 2011 and have used it till May this year when my camera + lenses + filters were all stolen during a holiday trip. The only items which were saved were my tripod and the remote. So I need to purchase a new camera and lenses all over again. Under such a situation, I can purchase any brand since I had lost even my lenses but I have decided on Nikon for several reasons, primarily because of lower sensor noise in APS-C which I intend to purchase this time too primarily because of budget constraints. My D3100 gave me fantastic pictures though I had outgrown it very soon after my last purchase. I couldnt take bracketed shots easily though I took them manually and the camera gave me wonderful results. The ISO limitations also limited my low light photography .... again I got wonderful pictures because of some very good prime lens at large apertures. Infact, I was happy with my D3100 though it made me work a lot manually preparing for the shots. It was low in weight and small (I have small hands). I uploaded to Flickr just once, here are a few of my photos - https://www.flickr.com/photos/124887242@N03/


I have shortlisted the D7*** and D5*** this time. Budget is a constraint, the D7200 is beyond my reach as of now. Again, I might fast for a few months and get the D7200, but will it serve my purpose (vs money constraints) since I am not an expert photographer and have loads to learn/practise. Again, the difference between them isnt huge.


This is what I am looking for, the primary want list :

1. Low noise at high ISO, basically want to increase my usuable night/low light photo's.
2. Light Weight, dont want a huge camera
3. Easy access to menu, more buttons. Ability to take photos quickly without searching - the 2 things I usually change are my ISO and Aperture and dont mess with other settings. Again, I only shoot raw.
4. AE Bracketing - gotta be there, even if its primary
5. Good and quick auto focussing. Again, I am quite used to focussing with my center cross-hair in my D3100 and then framing the shot.
6. Short in budget as of now, maybe I could purchase better glasses if I manage to save some in the body. Again I could delay my lens purchase over time and purchase a more "professional" body or something which might put me in the envy list as "Pro user"
7. Not thinking of buying another body in the next 10-15 years since I am not a professional, I just love photography.
8. Minimum sensor size = APS-C. Mirrorless & Bridge camera out of contention.


Tilt screen and touch screens arent that important to me since I always use the viewfinder. Also, I am not willing to pay for higher frame rates than what is currently offered. Weather sealing is nice though. I have never used my last DSLR for videos and I expect I wont in the future since I have a nice cam for that. I will be having basically 3 lenses like my last lens collection : a wide angle (Prime or Zoom), the 35mm/1.8 (a certain) and a upto 300 mm for the long shots. Most of my shots are in the wide angle and upto 55mm category (for portraits).


One thing which bugs me whenever I lurk around in forums is the fact, that DSLRs have been categorised into new users, enthusiasts, pro, etc etc. And I dont like being called a "learner" just because I could not afford a higher end/Costly DSLR. Another thing, which I am well aware of is the actual difference in ISO and DR when taking photos by different brands (just because DxO states that brand X is 50 or 100 points better than brand Y. All are good cameras. But then again, ISO & DR are big big factors for me since I want good quality photos without having to use much PP - upto ISO 1600 atleast.


Actually, I have sort of made up my mind but want to confirm from the forum if most people here think like me. I just want a camera which gives me good photos and good results at low light and the ability of easy of use. Anything else offered is extra since I am limited by my budget. Since, I am well aware of the functionalities offered by each, I know I will have to make compromises in this purchase since not everything I want is offered in a camera. The question being what I can trade off vs what is essential.


Thanks and Good day to everyone.

D7100 for your point #3. I'm sure you've compared all the features, but once you hold it in your hands and look down on that top lcd, you'll love it. So much info right there all the time about what state the camera is in. And #7.... I'll be impressed if you can hold out for 10 years without wanting a new camera even if yours works fine.

If I was you I would look at the refurbished D7000 or D7100 which are both reasonably priced at Adorama right now and of course, you need a nifty 50 or a 35mm f1.8 to start you on your way.

nickt said:

D7100 for your point #3. I'm sure you've compared all the features, but once you hold it in your hands and look down on that top lcd, you'll love it. So much info right there all the time about what state the camera is in. And #7.... I'll be impressed if you can hold out for 10 years without wanting a new camera even if yours works fine.

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Thanks Nickt. Yes the D7100 is within my budget though it will be straining at the seams. But what about the Expeed3+ not so good performance in low light vs the newer offers. The body motor isn't a big factor since (1) the newer Nikon lenses with built-in motors are better and (2) my lens requirement are limited and spelled out.

The near-Pro camera or a camera justified costwise & utilitywise or a better camera 10 years from now. Even the D5*** serves my purpose right now but the dilemna is can I justify the extra price of the D7*** series as of now vs the specs. Refurbished cameras are not available in my country and 2nd hand cameras are a risk.

Welcome to the forum,reading your need/wish list for camera facility's and not going into technical answers i have the feeling you need a mix of both series cameras,ime with the others though as your talking about going beyond family/holiday snaps at the end of the day the D7100 will go with you a lot deeper into image making than a D5xxx.

mikew, you are absolutely spot on, I would like to have a mixture of the specs from the D5*** & D7*** but unfortunately, thats not gonna happen. Some points to ponder.



The D5500 has these better specs (for my consideration) -
(1) The low light (ISO) capability of the D5500 is far ahead of the D7100 with the Sony sensor superior to the Toshiba sensor. Same for DR. Image quality (ISO + DR + Color depth) is supposed to be better with the Sony sensor. But does it actually translate much in actual photography since I expect I will not be printing.
(2) So far as weight & Size - I was very comfortable with the D3100, same goes with the D5500 in comparision with the D7100. I wish I could just use maybe just a 18mm 1.8 lens, if it was available.
(3) Expeed 4 vs the older Expeed 3 in D7100
(4) Slightly cheaper compared to the 7100



The D7100 has these better specs (for my consideration) -
(1) Much better ease of use with the top lcd
(2) 51 focus points with 15 cross types vs 39 & 9. But I am quite used to using the center cross hair and framing. But how better is the Multi-CAM 3500DX in the D7100 vs the Multi-CAM 4800DX AF in the D5500 ?
(3) The live view LCD has higher resolution

Almost same in both the cameras -
(1) Both can do bracketing but the 7100 has max 5 vs the 3 in the 5500. I am getting a feeling that I will have to manually do bracketing even with the 7100 to get the best results - maybe, not sure.


D5500 specs that dont matter much to me -
(1) Tilt screen & touch screen is fine but I can do without them.
(2) Again, I have no use for Wifi.
(3) Dont need GPS.
(4) Better video at 60p.


D7100 specs that dont matter much to me -
(1) Body motor is fine but I will probably never use it since my lens collection will be all motorised and I dont want to carry too many lenses around, increases my holiday baggage.
(2) Weather sealing is fine but again I wouldnt take a chance in the rain.
(3) Dual SD Card slot - not a big deal for me
(4) Minimum shutter speed of 1/8000 vs 1/4000 - not a big deal for me
(5) Slightly higher frame rate


Now, does the D7100 three specs (specs which matter to me) translate into the extra cost ? I need a camera with easy photo taking functionality combined with better image quality (though I am absolutely sure, I wont be able to tell the APS-C camera if a photo was shown to me without the exif.

Looking at that the D5500 looks like your best choice,i did have the D5100 i know its a different animal but it was one silly thing really that made me unhappy with it,you could not lock the center focus point in place,i need to be able to react fairly quickly so found it annoying putting it to my eye only to find i had pressed the jog wheel on the back and moved the focus point to the far right.
The above is the sort of thing that is often better on a higher model,nothing major but a small bit of extra thought put into the construction to make picture taking easier and so more pleasurable,thats why most members tend to advice you to go to the highest model you can.

Reading this post I don't think anyone can really help you as you know a lot more about the technical details of the various models.

From my experience technical details are fine but not the be-all-and-end-all of everything as the art of photography is in the shooter.
I didn't look at your flickr account so with apologies ask: "can you shoot?"

If so then the body won't matter to a large extent.
What will matter is the glass you put on and your ability to change settings on the fly. To me the D7100 wins hands down.

You say the focus moto built into the body does not matter and that may be so but there are a lot of quality lenses that can be used with auto-focus on the D7100 that cannot be used on other bodies.

I made the switch from D5100 to D7100 for being able to change settings on the fly - without taking my eye off the viewfinder.

And I have very, very small hands - never met a male with smaller hands - the D7100 is perfect for me although I would never add a grip to it.

Now I am going to look at your flickr page.

Okay I looked at your flickr account and what I saw makes me believe you caould benefit from doing a 365

That is not meant to be nasty in any way but your photos are average tp good to slightly better than good.
In other words you can improve quite a bit by mastering any camera you have.

I look forward to seeing your progress as you have joined the best forum in which to learn (IMHO).

Lawrence said:

I didn't look at your flickr account so with apologies ask: "can you shoot?"

If so then the body won't matter to a large extent.
What will matter is the glass you put on and your ability to change settings on the fly. To me the D7100 wins hands down.

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I agree to a large extent with what you wrote (in BOLD).

Price is the barrier. It finally comes down to better ease of use in the D7100 to better image quality (and higher ISO usability) in the D5500.

Maybe if only the D7100 had the D5500 sensor, i would have compromised with all the other negatives of the D7100 and the positives of the D5500. And the money I save on the D5500 will allow me to purchase atleast 1 or maybe 2 lens and lower my investment in the system.

What you wrote really boils down to whether the ease of use in the D7100 minus the better sensor in the D5500 translates into the extra cost of the D7100.

Like I wrote early on, I am still learning. Sorry, you found my photos to be average. I intend on improving my skills with whatever I finally purchase. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Good info here so far. Based on your criteria, it's tough to beat the Nikon refurbished D7100 at $650 or less right now.
That clears some extra money for glass.

Have you held these cameras in your hand? Before I bought my last camera I took my memory card to the local shop and tried the cameras I was interested in... took similar shots, with similar settings to see how the camera performed... and how they felt in my hand. I wasnt bothered about the "navigation" through the dials or menus as I figured that I would get used to that over time.

Good luck with your decision

I have held the D5500 recently and it feels just like the D3100, light and small. I liked the Flip screen but like I mentioned, I always use the viewfind when shooting and I dont shoot video. The D7100, I didnt try.

I am sure, in the future better cameras will be available. But I was surprised, no one in this forum seem impressed with the low light and other image performance of the D5500 compared with the D7100. Some of the other forums seem to make a big deal about the Sony sensor in the D5500 compared to the Toshiba sensor in the D7100. There also seems to be a issue about banding in the D7100 that worries me.


I wish the D7200 was priced at the current D7100 price though I have read that in tests carried out the D7200 low light capability wasnt a big deal compared to the D5500. And thats one of the reason I was inclining towards the D5500.

Dont know where you live but in the UK we have reputable gray importers selling the D7100 @ £469 and the D7200 @ £609 the D5500 @ £379 all with a three year warranty.

I looked your Flickr as well. You seem to have an eye for composition, although I could do without the leaning shots. To each is own however.
If I was to stay in the DX format, and by looking at the type of shots you take, I would get the D7100 and the 18-140mm lens.

I doubt that the D5500 will give you much better ISO performance than the 7100. If you really want/need to get into that area, where you need a high ISO low noise cam like 3200,6400 , you won't find it on the DX isle.

I had a D5100 and I have a D7100 now. It's unlikely I will buy another DSLR unless this one is broke beyond repair. The lighter weight of the D5100 was nice. I was always concerned about breaking the swivel back. I went on an open bus tour of a local wildlife park. They allow the animals to roam free (except for the cats). The roads aren't paved and it was quite dusty. I felt better with the better sealing of the D7100.

Can a refurbed D600 not be had in around the same price range that he is looking?

carguy said:

Good info here so far. Based on your criteria, it's tough to beat the Nikon refurbished D7100 at $650 or less right now.
That clears some extra money for glass.

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Echo... I have shot quite a bit at ISO 1600 and 3200 and easily been able to recover from any sensor noise with my D7100. Hands down my recommendation based on what I've read and budget constraints. Here's a sample of an amazingly clean ISO 1600 shot...



To get EVERYTHING on your wish list, you're going to need to go to FX, which I think is outside of the budget (considering you said the 7200 was), so I think you get a great mix with the... dare I say it? "PRIMAL BEAST" D7100.

Here are two shots at 1600 ISO and the third at 2200 ISO on the D7100. NO PP, SOOC NEF file converted to Jpeg. Standard output sharpening for screen from LR.
NO noise reduction applied.