D3100 upgrade

RoryP84

New member
Hi all , I hope you're enjoying what for me has to be one of the best times of year for landscape photography! I'm looking for advice on upgrading my D3100 please. Now, I'm only doing so as it's developed a fault - although after 10 years of use and acquiring some half decent lenses (35mm f1.8, 55-300mm f4.5 and Sigma 8-16mm f4.5) I'd like to think I've pushed it to 85% of my / it's capabilities. Id consider myself an experienced amateur, I don't like editing software and don't shoot in RAW - preferring to let the light work it's magic and just point and click (only using basic enhancements where needed). My reel is mostly full up with sunsets, ocean scenes and wildlife. I've read up regarding potential D3100 replacements and of course, the "whys" and budget are the leading factors. So, if my camera wasn't broken - the main reason for an upgrade would be for more focus points, faster autofocus and an increase of FPS. Then there's the Budget, cost of living crisis and fact I've now become a father - the reality is if £200 (second hand) can see me get a better body that ticks at least one of the performance improvements I need then that's good enough. I'd like opinions and a bit of user oversight on the 3*** series vs the 5*** series - as other than the retractable LCD im not sure what major differences are? Obviously for a bit more money there's the D7100 which ticks ALL the boxes (plus opens up lens options) but it's a completely different body and one I'm not sure I'm ready for. In a similar vein there's then the D610 full frame option. Given what I've been used to, my requirements and my budget - should I see a noticeable improvement by upgrading to a newer 3***/5*** and working at maximising my skills, body's potential- hell even shooting in RAW and learning a bit more of the editing side - or am I in essence wasting my time for the sake of stretching my budget a bit further? Many thanks all! Ps apologies if wrong forum - Mods feel free to move
 

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
If you were satisfied with your d3100 you will be more than likely satisfied with 5 series. I had a d5100 for some time and now have a d7100, for my shooting style the d7100 is a better fit. Shoot a lot of manual mode and the button allow faster access for setting changes. A big difference is weight it much heavier. Going FF can be a costly proposition especially if you need to replace lenses.

Here is a site that can be used to compare camera features https://cameradecision.com/compare/Nikon-D3100-vs-Nikon-D5100

But its always best if you can put your hand on what you are interested in have a local store.
 
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Peter7100

Senior Member
Like Needa states the D7100 is a very capable camera. I picked mine up secondhand for only £238 on ebay which might fit your budget.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
YoryP84, If you really want an upgrade in a good DX camera, consider finding a good D7200. This is the the most capable smaller camera unless you are heavy into wildlife photography in which case the D500 is a good choice. The D7200 beats the D7500 in my (and many others) opinion. The later FX models like the D780 or D850 are also good, but I have never used them.
 

Clovishound

Senior Member
If money is really tight, you probably want to stick with a DSLR and DX. I'm assuming some or all of your current lenses are DX. FWIW, I went from a DX d3400 to a full frame Z5. I didn't see a huge jump in resolution. It's better, and there are other benefits, but it's not like going from 35mm to 2 1/4.

I still have my D3400 and my daughter has a D5600. There are definitely some nice features the 5600 has that the 3400 doesn't. Auto bracketing for one. Touch screen for another. More focusing points is another, although the 3400 does a decent job. I can't comment on the more "advanced" DX bodies, as I have had no experience with them. I believe you are going to have to move "up" to something higher in the line for more fps. The 5600 is roughly the same fps as the 3400.

Note, after looking at specs for the 3100 I see that it has a substantially lower MP sensor, and slower frames per second than the D3400. Perhaps you might consider one of those if the right deal comes along. It is a capable camera, but the 5600 would be my preference. The 3400 would be an upgrade in several areas. Not the least is nearly doubling your MP rating.

As I have said several times here, the bottom line is that it's more about your ability than your gear.

I would also comment that you might want to rethink post processing. Even back in the film days, there were tweaks and enhancements to be had in the darkroom after the image was captured. Many of the camera settings are just presets of what is done with much more control in post processing. I understand and respect doing things your own way. Trying to get the best image possible in the camera, rather than relying on "fixing" in Lightroom is a good thing, even if you are going to process it later anyway. In the end it's about the image, not necessarily how you got there.
 

Danno

Senior Member
You would probably be very happy with a 5500 or 5600 body. If you could stretch a bit of your budget a 7100 or 7200 would get you out of the menus to make changes to your settings. They rely more on dials and buttons to make changes and for me, it made shooting in manual easier. I could make every adjustment without lowering the camera from my eye. I do not remember how my 3200 worked, but I do remember the transition being a big plus to me.

RAW and editing are fun if you have time. Light Room is not too difficult to use and if you can handle the monthly fee it is worth having.

I wish you well in the decision process. We have all been there. I have been exactly where you are and I went for the D7200 refurb from Nikon. I would say you could find a used one in good shape.
 

bluzman

Senior Member
As can be seen from my signature, I own most of the DX cameras that others have mentioned. A check of MPB's UK website shows a host of lightly used, low shutter count bodies are available for less than £250. As expected, the price jumps to around £450 when looking at their inventory of low shutter count D5600 bodies in GOOD (vs EXCELLENT) condition. As for the D7200, even heavily used, very high shutter count items are around £300 and that number escalates quickly for units in better shape and less used.

You don't indicate that you photograph fast moving subjects (e.g., BIFs, sports) so a higher frame rate than a D3XXX/D5XXX (5 fps) doesn't seem worth stretching the budget to a D7XXX body. I'd recommend a D5600 if you can find the budget. That would give you a larger MP sensor and version of the processor (Expeed 4 vs 2), a touch sensitive articulating screen, better battery life, lighter weight, wider ISO range camera than the D3100. If a D5600 isn't possible, the D3400 (same sensor and processor as D5600) would be a nice upgrade IMO.
 

RoryP84

New member
Hi guys. Thank you all so much for the replies - really useful.

So I’ve cashed in on my d3100 and now need to take the plunge into a new body.

One of the things I’d like to step up is my birds in flight photography - hence me wanting an increase in focal points and max fps.

Ive had a hold of a d7100 and didn’t notice too much on the weight increase, more just that it was built better than the d3100. So I’m leaning towards this option at the moment , but wanted to ask if I’d missed anything obvious in how It scores vs the d7200 - “camera decision” website actually has the d7100 as the winner but doesn’t really elaborate why (possibly just price?)

The only other small attributing factor is I may occasionally need the ability to do a self take - as my camera comes fishing with me most trips. I have an actuator bulb release that retrofits any camera, but it’s a lot of faff if I’ve an uncooperative prize in the net and it’s p*ssing down with rain. So perhaps something that can be remote/IR triggered - plus the benefit of an articulating screen showing that I’m actually in the shot , could be beneficial.

I’m still none the wiser on where the d5*** series sits in the range - is it basically a d3*** with an articulated screen?

Hoping to get my new toy in the next few days - im really looking forward to it :)

Thanks again 🙌🏼
 

Dangerspouse

Senior Member
Hi guys. Thank you all so much for the replies - really useful.

So I’ve cashed in on my d3100 and now need to take the plunge into a new body.

One of the things I’d like to step up is my birds in flight photography - hence me wanting an increase in focal points and max fps.

Ive had a hold of a d7100 and didn’t notice too much on the weight increase, more just that it was built better than the d3100. So I’m leaning towards this option at the moment , but wanted to ask if I’d missed anything obvious in how It scores vs the d7200 - “camera decision” website actually has the d7100 as the winner but doesn’t really elaborate why (possibly just price?)

The only other small attributing factor is I may occasionally need the ability to do a self take - as my camera comes fishing with me most trips. I have an actuator bulb release that retrofits any camera, but it’s a lot of faff if I’ve an uncooperative prize in the net and it’s p*ssing down with rain. So perhaps something that can be remote/IR triggered - plus the benefit of an articulating screen showing that I’m actually in the shot , could be beneficial.

I’m still none the wiser on where the d5*** series sits in the range - is it basically a d3*** with an articulated screen?

Hoping to get my new toy in the next few days - im really looking forward to it :)

Thanks again 🙌🏼
Hi Rory. I went from a D3300 to a D5500 and yes, in essence it is a D3xxx with an articulated screen (plus a few other upgrades like full touch screen menu controls, more focus points, etc.). So it will take the same quality pictures as your current D3100 (which is excellent in good light, dodgy in dim) but able to do front-facing selfies. You can get both wired and wireless shutter triggers for it, and quite cheaply.

The 5xxx body is not gonna be your friend if you're getting pelted with rain. It's not sealed like the 7xxx's and up, so don't even try unless you're using a cover of some sort.

If you can find a 7-thousand series on only a £250 budget, I think it will serve you better. If on the off chance you find a D500 in that monetary range though, that's even better still. But I suspect that's a pipe dream.

Good luck, whichever you decide on!
 

RoryP84

New member
Hi All. Just a quick message to say I took the plunge with the d7100 and am really happy with it so far - so thank you for all your contributions! On a side note, how are people managing / saving their photos? I have a periodic dump of my card, pull out a specific subject and create folders and subfolders for any edits / items for publishing. Whilst a little old school it does work. My issue is sometimes things need to be in two folders - ie “holiday in Cornwall 2022” also has photos of my baby - which I also want in her own folder “baby 2022”. Is there a method to avoid saving twice, ie adding something specific to the file name like a #baby#Cornwall? Is this where having some fancy editing program can also help? I’m only using a PC desktop with standard Microsoft photo editor. Many thanks
 

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Congratulations on your D7100. As far as image sorting my are filed strictly by date (y/m/d). The software I use allows tagging so say there are 7 people at the beach in the photo it can be tagged by each of their names and also beach. Later photos can be searched by tag it also allows searches by date, camera, lens, aperture, etc. So you may want to look into a photo management software if yours doesn't fit you needs and OS.
 
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Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Hi All. Just a quick message to say I took the plunge with the d7100 and am really happy with it so far - so thank you for all your contributions! On a side note, how are people managing / saving their photos? I have a periodic dump of my card, pull out a specific subject and create folders and subfolders for any edits / items for publishing. Whilst a little old school it does work. My issue is sometimes things need to be in two folders - ie “holiday in Cornwall 2022” also has photos of my baby - which I also want in her own folder “baby 2022”. Is there a method to avoid saving twice, ie adding something specific to the file name like a #baby#Cornwall? Is this where having some fancy editing program can also help? I’m only using a PC desktop with standard Microsoft photo editor. Many thanks

There are several available photo editing systems that additionally, as part of the packages, have what's referred to as, a catalogue for storing/indexing your photos... Basically, they're just databases that can be configured to suit your needs... You import your images and it catalogues all your images based on criteria that you establish... As mentioned above, the top level index might be by Year/Month/Day... and then within that structure other refining levels... using keyword identifiers and ratings...

2022
12/25
Christmas at Granny's
Christmas at Aunt June's
12/31
New Years party at JimmieJohns
*** 3 star
***** 5 star...
etc.

Each entry represents separate folders and sub-folders within folders that contain those images...
 

Clovishound

Senior Member
Whatever system you end up using, be sure and have backups. My daughter lost a lot of her pictures this year when her hard drive crashed.

I'm sure you know this, but it's easy to get complacent about backups.
 

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
I use Affinity, but I don't think it has a built-in library like Photoshop Bridge. When I was using Photoshop, Bridge came with it to download, and that stayed on my computer even after I stopped my subscription. I never really use it.
Affinity is a one-time purchase that gets updated now and then. They just released a new version to purchase that now includes luminosity masking.
 

RoryP84

New member
Hmmm I’ve enrolled into a free trial of lightroom as basic edits, organisation and storage seemed to fit me best. However, it appears that the new version forces all content onto the 1tb of cloud space pre sorting, pre editing. So to save this space only for potential keepers, you’d have to sift through using photo viewer etc before selecting / creating a target folder / album for LR to work. I’m not sure that’s going to work to be honest! Any advice? Thanks
 
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