Hello from IA

CyHawk

CyHawk

Senior Member
Hello everyone!
New to forums
I could use some advice. I want to get into photography and I am looking for my first dslr camera. My wife has a D5100 so I guess I am getting a Nikon so we can share lenses. My wife likes to shoot nature, our 7 month old and sometimes she will show up at the school and take some pictures of the football game. I am interested in the same.
I have been looking at the D5100 or the D3200. With the 18-55 kit they are basically the same price, around $600. Refurbished ones are even cheaper. I have a friend who upgraded from a D90 to the D7000. He is willing to sell me his D90 for $600. It comes with the 18-55 lens, two batteries, charger, 4gb sd card, manuals, dvd’s. I’ve read through the D90 and D5100 forms and everyone seems to love both cameras. So my questions are;

1. Price being the same, what camera would you recommend?
2. Would you purchase a refurb? Why/why not?
3. With the D90 being a non-entry level camera, would it be harder to learn on?
4. I was reading a review on the D5200 and the reviewer said to “forget the ancient D90, which is a leftover from a previous decade; the D90 trails these new cameras in every respects but costs the same.” Seems like a harsh statement about the D90. Any comments from someone who owns a D90 and a D5100/D3200?

Thanks for your time!
James
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
The regulars in here know where I stand on this........I'd go for the D90 in a heartbeat! Better built, proven workhorse, takes great pictures, easy to learn and use. built in focus motor.....I could go on and on.
 
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ryanwphotography

Senior Member
Welcome to the forum!
I would say go for the new D5200! It competes with my D7000 in some ways. More resolution and same focussing system. I wouldn't trade the 39 point AF for any D3200, D5100 or D90! I wouldn't get the same thing or anything less than what your wife has either.
My next Nikon would be either a D600 or the next D7000 (7100 or 7200?)
But also if your on a budget, you want to spend less on the camera body itself and spend more on lenses. Something I didn't really consider when I spent the $400-$500 more on the D7000. But I'm glad I did anyways. :)
In the end it's what you feel comfortable with!
 
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CyHawk

CyHawk

Senior Member
Thanks for the input! The wife made it clear that I can not get anything more expensive that her D5100. She got a very nice kit from Costco for $800 (body, 18-55/70-300, 16gb sd card, bag, dvd's) around the new year. She really wanted the D7000 but it wasn't in her budget.
 
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ryanwphotography

Senior Member
CyHawk said:
Thanks for the input! The wife made it clear that I can not get anything more expensive that her D5100. She got a very nice kit from Costco for $800 (body, 18-55/70-300, 16gb sd card, bag, dvd's) around the new year. She really wanted the D7000 but it wasn't in her budget.
Click to expand...

Ok well, can't argue that! lol
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
Welcome to the site James! Convince her you need a new D7000 because it has the same sensor as her D5100, but more manual controls so you take better pictures of the kids :).
 
Kias

Kias

Senior Member
Here's my gut feeling on all of this.

If you HAVE to get one now, I'm with Jack on this. Get the D90, it's a proven workhorse.

However...

You already have a D5100 in the family. Hopefully your wife is sharing that with you!? So is timing a real factor in this?

I decided to get a DSLR when my point -n- shoot just couldn't get the shots I wanted to get anymore. It wasn't the camera's fault, I just outgrew it. (Oh, and I also lost it, but that's another story.)

So I was doing my homework. I too looked at the D90, D5100, and the then new D3200, then I really got into the specifications of all the cameras and also looked at the D7000 knowing I'd never be able to afford it. Well... The specifications on the D7000 were just too good to pass up. Where I could have dropped the 6-700 bucks for the D90, etc, right then and there, I decided my phone camera would have to suffice until I could save the extra money for the D7000. Suffice it did... I put a penny away here, and a penny away there... During that time I read a LOT about photography. I lurked around here a LOT too. I learned about the exposure triangle, dof, iso, aperture, bokeh, lenses, lighting techniques, and other (at that time) such weird things. Also, about three months in to saving for the D7000 I learned it's not really the camera body that makes the difference, it's the lens. But more importantly than the lens is how the body behind the camera is using all of it. So I quit saving for the D7000 kit, and started to save even more for the D7000 body and the lens of my choice.

So... Nine months after I decided to get a DSLR, I have a D7000 which has enough options to keep me learning for years. I won't have to worry about outgrowing my camera for quite awhile. As an added bonus, the price dropped 4 or 500 bucks in the time I was saving for it. Also, the D7000 is nearing it's 'end of life' and will probably be replaced by something else here real soon. The price will probably drop even further when that happens. You already have a camera in the family to use. (Hopefully)

Will a 'non-entry' camera be harder to learn on? Probably not to take pictures. They all have aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual modes. It will be harder to learn what all the buttons and dials do, there's more of them! But in the end, all those buttons and dials makes things easier once you learn where/what they do. That's one of the main reasons I wanted the D7000, it has a dial on the front and back for aperture and shutter speed. No messy menus. Even after a couple months with the camera, I still get "Control Confused". Especially when I'm trying to adjust something in a hurry. But I know when I finally get everything straight in my head, it's all going to be second nature. Like riding a bike. Or falling off one. :emmersed:

Since I had nine months of "studying" before I even got the camera, it came out of the box and we hit it hard! A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to take the picture below, and I kept fiddling with the controls when somebody said, "Don't you have a backlight mode?" I had no idea what he was talking about until I thought about it for a bit. He was talking about one of those automatic modes. It hit me that I didn't even know if my camera worked in auto mode. Never had it in it. So later that night I turned the dial to auto, and nothing. I knew I had to push some button somewhere to bring up the menu for all the different modes, but I never found it, and never looked in the manual to see how to do it. So to this day, I still don't know if the auto mode actually works or not. That's fine by me, that's why I wanted to get away from point-n-shoots to begin with! I'm not about to have an expensive camera like that and only use it in Auto.

So, ya... go with the D90 if you have to have one now. But do you really? Save for the D7000, I promise you'll love it. ...and that's my 2.5 cents.

Oh! And totally work the "It's for the Kids" angle. It ALWAYS works. :cool:

20121224-20121224-_1RB1181_pp.jpg
 
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stmv

Senior Member
ok,,, first,, remember,, magazines are there to sale NEW stuff.. always the newer camera just blows away the older ones...

D90,,, nice build, good controls, decent sensor (same as the D300,,, which has taken lots of great pictures)..

5200,, awesome camera, a bit small, but sensor definitely a notch up in resolution and color rendition,, etc

will the 5200 make you a better photographer than a D90,, no...

for the same price,, I would recommend the 5100 over the D90,, brand new..

if you have the dollars, sure,, get the 5200,,

as far as the D90,, counter for 500 dollars,, 600 is not super cheap,, used, D90s go for 425 or so,, and 18-55 brand new is only 109 dollars,, so,, seems to me he is
kinda asking a lot..

don't worry, D90 has Auto mode too,, so,,, not really any more advanced then the 5200/5100.
 
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Eye-level

Banned
The D90 has a sensor that has a particulary nice feel to it. Colors are it's forte IMHO. The D5000 shares the sensor. The D5100 and the D7000 have a sensor that has a particulary neat feel to it. Resolution and a few extra stops of light via ISO is it's forte.

That being said I recommend the D700. Pro level camera....Bargain price... :)

Hello Iowa!

Jeff
 
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stmv

Senior Member
Eye-level said:
The D90 has a sensor that has a particulary nice feel to it. Colors are it's forte IMHO. The D5000 shares the sensor. The D5100 and the D7000 have a sensor that has a particulary neat feel to it. Resolution and a few extra stops of light via ISO is it's forte.

That being said I recommend the D700. Pro level camera....Bargain price... :)

Hello Iowa!

Jeff
Click to expand...

Did you mean to say D7000? for the super low price right now?

or did you really mean the D700 with FX price with even for used prices are still around 1400 dollars, higher than his budget.
 
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