Low light photography: Should I upgrade / what to upgrade?

Hi guys,
I read several similar questions on this forum with helpful answers, so I thought I would ask some specific questions.

I have a D5000 with two lenses, the Nikkor 18-200 VR2 and the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8. I have had this setup for a couple years and am very happy with this equipment for everything except indoor, low light photos when I want a wider angle than 35mm. (Such as family events or outdoor events in the evening when I want a wide angle shot.)

I am not an expert, but I do shoot in manual and adjust the settings.
When I set the ISO at 3200 or High (6400) in order to use my zoom lens at angles less than 35mm, the photos are usually very grainy and the color is not very good.
I do have a tripod which allows me to get good photos with longer shutter / lower ISO setting, but I typically do not have the tripod with me when I am at a family gathering.

Since the D5000 and the 18-200 work great for most of my uses (outdoors, hiking trips, railroad photography, family during the day, sports during the day, ...) I am not wanting to spend a lot of money unless it is the only option. So these are the options I found, and am looking for advice and possibly other options.

1) Perhaps the camera is capable of taking good photos, I need to learn how to use it in low light applications. (possible, but it appears others have had the same issue with the D5000.)

2) D3300 for around $400 (or less) used on ebay or refurbished on various sites.

3) Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4 for $445 on Amazon. (I am not sure if f/2.4 at 17mm will be enough of an improvement.)

4) Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 for $519 on Amazon. (I am not sure if f/2.8 will be enough of an improvement.)

5) D7000 for around $600 refurbished on various sites. (or less for a used body on ebay or craigslist)

6) Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 for $800. (I am sure this would work since my 35mm f/1.8 works great, but is this a better option than the others listed?)

7) D7100 for around $900 refurbished.

8) Don't waste any more money, save up for an FX to improve on low light performance.

Again, I am happy with the D5000 for everything except low light. - The 12MP is fine, picture quality is great in good lighting, I never use the flip out screen, and I don't use it for movies.

Thanks for any advice,
Mike

I need to learn how to use it in low light applications

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Perhaps it's true, but with certain cameras and lenses , you can only do so much hand held shooting in low light.

Depending on how much ISO improvements you need, I would go with #7 or #8

For your low light indoor photos with the 18-200, what f-stop are these shot at? If the 35mm f/1.8 works for you other than not being wide enough (I completely understand that), then I'd be inclined to fine a faster wide angle lens for this particular need.

The Tokina 11-16mm may be a little too wide, but gives you an idea on what's possible with your existing setup. Even if you buy a new body, you'll still be looking for better glass for this need.

Full disclosure, I added a D7100 body as well, but have also been trying to phase my lenses over to better glass along the way.


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Why don't you get a flash for the low light situations. If serious about photography, using and knowing how to use a flash is part of the deal. You definetly don't need to go full frame to get good low light performance. You need better glass. Cameras introduced to the market way before yours, people learned how to use them well and produced some pretty awesome images.

RocketCowboy said:

For your low light indoor photos with the 18-200, what f-stop are these shot at? ...

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I'll open the aperture as much as possible. At 18mm its f/3.5 on my 18-200mm.

FastGlass said:

Why don't you get a flash for the low light situations. If serious about photography, using and knowing how to use a flash is part of the deal. You definetly don't need to go full frame to get good low light performance. You need better glass. Cameras introduced to the market way before yours, people learned how to use them well and produced some pretty awesome images.

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Using the built in flash does help. (Perhaps this is option #1 for using the built in flash.) I'll look into external flashes also, but in some cases the flash can't be used for various reasons. Would you suggest a specific flash I should consider?


Thanks for the replies!

Refurbished D3300 with a used Nikon DX 35mm f1.8, is an excellent, and inexpensive, platform for what you want to accomplish.

Improved low light performance was the main reason I finally updated my D40 to a D7100. Bought mine about a year ago as a Nikon refurb through Roberts Camera fro $899.

The sigma 17-50 is great and will get you about a stop or just under at the wide end compared to your 18-200 and it will be much sharper. The 7100 will get you another one - two stops. My wife has this combo and it's excellent. As stated, a decent flash will give you what you need with the existing rig.

Ultimately you will want all of these things, it just depends when you're ready to pay for them. Unless you're really serious I would forget about FX as DX is very good these days if you put good glass on it. I have a D7100 as a second body to my 800 and it would not stress me if it was my only camera. The 7100 was not an option when I bought the D800.


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#8, find a cheap D600 and you can use your current glass until you can get some Fx. When I made the switch all I had was the D600 and 50mm 1.8g. I would rather have that than Dx and a collection mediocre glass (for my purposes).

With that said, The D7100 is great, My next body will be Dx, but for other purposes.

I would second the flash suggestion, to go with whatever you decide to do. I would recommend the sb-700 and you can bounce the flash off the ceiling, to avoid running your guests off! Lol

If going without using a flash is high on your list, then I would recommend a D7100 or a FX model. Either way you can pick up some af-d lenses pretty reasonable to suit your needs.

I tend to use a flash for my indoors shots, and a good flash make a huge difference than the pop-up flash. There are cheaper flash brands, and one that's fairly popular that works great from what I heard, but my buddy fotojack convinced me to go with Nikon brand and I don't regret it. For the record I bought a like new sb-800.

I would also suggest an external flash, in case your onboard flash does not suffice. Ultimately, you will be better off getting a body with latest sensor, as that will help you shoot at least 2 if not 3 stops faster at higher ISO.

The advantages of FX is that you will have access to a lot of wide glass, as 24mm on FX will have same FOV as a 16mm on DX, and you can go all the way to 14mm if you want to.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! A flash is at the top of my upgrade list. (I'm watching a couple on ebay and will do more research on flashes over the next couple weeks.)

I would love an FX, but realistically, I don't see going this route in 2014 unless I find a D700 or D600 for a really great price.

I read a couple suggestions for the D3300 and several for the D7100 but none for the D7000. (Should I forget about the D7000?) I'll watch for a good deal on a D7100, but due to price I am leaning towards the D3300 as my second upgrade. (possibly a Black Friday sale, or a used one off ebay...)

Thanks again for the help!

SuperPoser said:

Thanks for the advice, everyone! A flash is at the top of my upgrade list. (I'm watching a couple on ebay and will do more research on flashes over the next couple weeks.)

I would love an FX, but realistically, I don't see going this route in 2014 unless I find a D700 or D600 for a really great price.

I read a couple suggestions for the D3300 and several for the D7100 but none for the D7000. (Should I forget about the D7000?) I'll watch for a good deal on a D7100, but due to price I am leaning towards the D3300 as my second upgrade. (possibly a Black Friday sale, or a used one off ebay...)

Thanks again for the help!

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If you're shooting in low light you want a 7100, not 3300 as it will autofocus much better. I went to the 800 because the 600 struggled in low light situations. Basically the 51 point systems seem to focus much better, even when only using one focus point.


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I did not take the auto focus systems into consideration. Thanks Geoffc!