Interested In Nikon D3300 As My First DSLR Camera

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Eaglefan9727

New member
Hi Fellow Forum Members,

My name is Randy and I am a new member to this forum as of yesterday. The reason why I am a new member is, Because I am looking to buy my first DSLR camera which would either be a Nikon 3300 or a Nikon 3200. I have been doing photography for a number of years and for the last 7 to 8 years of those years. I have been shooting with a Sony DSC-H20 point and shoot camera that is 10MP with a 10x zoom on the camera. However, I am ready to move up to a DSLR camera at this time, But I am looking for some info and advice from other DSLR photographers.

At this time, I have about $600 to spend and I am planning to get a bundle package when I buy my first DSLR camera. The two bundle packages that I am looking at are as follows:

1) Nikon 3200 24.2 MP CMOS sensor, AF-S DX 18-55 mm lens with a AF-S DX 55-200 mm lens.

Price of bundle $599.98 at Best Buy

2) Nikon 3300 24.2 MP CMOS sensor, AF-S DX 18-55 mm lens with a AF-S DX 55-200 mm lens

Price of bundle $599.99 at BJ's Wholesale Club

I am not that knowledgeable with DSLR camera, But I am guessing that the only difference between those two bundles are the cameras itself. If so, Can you tell me what the difference is between the two cameras?


The type of photography that I do are railroads, amusement parks, landscapes, nature, and animals. However About 90 percent of my photography is railroads. I don't consider myself to be a great photographer, But I am decent enough. In the past, I had one of my railroad photographs featured in a national trains magazine.

What am I looking for in my first DSLR camera? I am looking for a DSLR camera that I can shoot panoramic shots with. Also, I am looking for a camera or I should say a lens that will still give me that or close to a 10x zoom that I have on my current point and shoot camera.

In the future, I am only planning to buy one extra lens for the DSLR camera that will give me the best zoom option that I can get for under $250. If anyone has any suggestions for the best lens. It would be appreciated.

Like I said above, I am not that knowledgeable with DSLR cameras, So any help will be appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and I hope to hear from other DSLR owners who can give me some good helpful information.

Thanks again,
Randy
 
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E

Eaglefan9727

New member
Don Kuykendall said:
Edited the title for you.
Click to expand...

Thanks Don for editing it.

Here is another question that I have about the DSLR camera that I hope someone can answer it.

Would I be able to get a better quality shot from the DSLR camera right out of the box over my point and shoot camera that I shoot with right now?
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Eaglefan9727 said:
Thanks Don for editing it.

Here is another question that I have about the DSLR camera that I hope someone can answer it.

Would I be able to get a better quality shot from the DSLR camera right out of the box over my point and shoot camera that I shoot with right now?
Click to expand...

Yes is the short answer.

The longer answer is that you need to practice and do some basic studying and learn the basics of photography to get the most out of your camera. If you don't want to put forth some effort then there are some very good point and shoots that cost even more than these cameras that will do a great job right out of the box.
 
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weebee

Senior Member
Welcome to the forum! The 3200 and the 3300 are both good cameras. But, I would go with the 3300 as well. As far as 250.00 for a lenses? Well, that's pushing it. With the bulk of your shooting being railroads. Then I would concentrate on better mid-level zoom. Such as the 18-140 1:3.5-5.6G
 
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aroy

Senior Member
I say D3300 with its kit lens. Postpone the telephoto zoom. The reason is that the consumer grade telephoto zooms are soft at the long end. So if your requirement is for longer end, then it will be better to save and get either the 300mm F4, or the 70-200 F2.8.

Here are a few tips
. The 24MP of D3300 enables you crop images drastically. Most of my bird images are 800x800 crops from the 6000x4000 frame, and produce excellent web image as well as 5x3 prints. As one article on the WEB pointed out cropping to 3000x2000 will give you instant magnification of 2 times, which is excellent if you are not going to use all those pixels for a high resolution print.
No Telephoto Lens No Problem - Tips on Shooting for the Crop
. Shoot Raw, and if do not want to invest any money in software download and install the Nikon Capture NX-D. That will enable you to utilise the 13EV DR which means that you can recover a lot more shadows or blown highlights than if you shoot JPEG.
. 35mm F1.8 DX is an excellent lens for indoor shooting
. The kit lens at 55mm makes a good semi-macro lens
. If you are going to shoot wild life at long distance, nothing beats the longer primes in terms of IQ and speed.
 
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J-see

Senior Member
I started with the D3300 and it's a very nice entry DSLR worth every penny. I had a great time shooting it and it did a good job.

It does fall a bit short when light is low but only when you desire perfect detail in heavily cropped shots. For fulls I've taken ISO 6400 shots with it that turned out pretty ok. As long as I don't go peeping at 100% evidently.

But I've shot everything with it from landscape to night-shots and macro to birding. For birding it's not really well equipped since it lacks some focus options the more expensive cams have but you'd have to be shooting a lot of birds in flight before that becomes an issue.

The sensor is a great performer for such a cheap cam.

It never gave me any reason to regret buying it.
 
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Eaglefan9727

New member
Don Kuykendall - Like I said in my original post, I have been shooting for a number of years with a point and shoot camera. I consider myself pretty good when it comes to photography, But like every other photographer. We just keep learning new things every time we shoot with the camera. However, I have never had any luck with night shooting when it comes to my point and shoot camera and I hope hoping that I will have better luck with the DSRL camera.

Weebee - Thank you. As for the mid level zoom. Would that be equivalent to the 10x zoom or close to it on my point and shoot camera that I have right now?


Aroy - My third lens wont be purchased right away as I would have to save up some money for the lens itself. Most of my animal shooting takes place at the zoo and not in the wild.


J-See - My main concern and requirements for a DSLR camera would just be the following:

1) Better quality shots than the point and shoot camera that I am using right not (Even if I am just shooting in auto mode)
2) Able to get better night shots than with the point and shoot camera that I am using right now
3) Able to take panoramic shots which I cant take right now with the point and shoot camera that I have right now
4) Find a lens that can get me close to 10x the zoom or better considering that my point and shoot camera has that right now.


Anyways, I uploaded 2 shots that I took with my point an shoot camera. The BNSF shot was from April 2012 while the other was from January 2015.
 

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J

J-see

Senior Member
The quality of the D3300 will depend upon the lens you attach to it. The sensor inside is better than your P&S but to get the image on that sensor you need a decent lens and that's again another choice.

Will it take better shots on auto? That depends entirely. A DSLR can take a good shot switched on auto but it can take horrible shots too. Your scene and how the camera interprets the light of that scene has much to do with it. A DSLR isn't really intended to be shot auto. It's a "starter" option until people learn to shoot the "other" modes.

Will it take better night shots? Yes but you have to work the cam to make it do that. Since you can expose at 100 ISO for any duration you like, you can basically shoot in the dark and get a picture out of it but every night shot requires you to be in control and have some idea of what you're doing.

Zoom is a matter of lenses. You can go up to 800mm if you invest the price of a small car and can even attach a teleconverter to that. 10x zoom is a bit of an alien concept to me since we use focal length.

Panoramic is always possible if you use a tripod. Even handheld it is doable. I wouldn't know if the D3300 has a panoramic option since I never used those options but in post you can glue as many shots together as your computer can handle.
 
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weebee

Senior Member
Eaglefan9727 said:
Don Kuykendall - Like I said in my original post, I have been shooting for a number of years with a point and shoot camera. I consider myself pretty good when it comes to photography, But like every other photographer. We just keep learning new things every time we shoot with the camera. However, I have never had any luck with night shooting when it comes to my point and shoot camera and I hope hoping that I will have better luck with the DSRL camera.

Weebee - Thank you. As for the mid level zoom. Would that be equivalent to the 10x zoom or close to it on my point and shoot camera that I have right now?


Aroy - My third lens wont be purchased right away as I would have to save up some money for the lens itself. Most of my animal shooting takes place at the zoo and not in the wild.


J-See - My main concern and requirements for a DSLR camera would just be the following:

1) Better quality shots than the point and shoot camera that I am using right not (Even if I am just shooting in auto mode)
2) Able to get better night shots than with the point and shoot camera that I am using right now
3) Able to take panoramic shots which I cant take right now with the point and shoot camera that I have right now
4) Find a lens that can get me close to 10x the zoom or better considering that my point and shoot camera has that right now.


Anyways, I uploaded 2 shots that I took with my point an shoot camera. The BNSF shot was from April 2012 while the other was from January 2015.
Click to expand...

At 140mm it is 7.8x
The D3300 does have a panoramic option.
 
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Eaglefan9727

New member
This is strange. After watching plenty of reviews of the Nikon 3300 on youtube. I went onto the Best Buy website and it claims that the 3300 has no panorama view.

Nikon D3300 DSLR Camera with 1855mm and 55200mm VR Lenses Black 13473 - Best Buy

Anyways, I would like to get some protective UV lenses to protect the glass on the lenses. Can anyone tell me which ones I need for the two lenses in the package that is from the BJ's Wholesale Club link? Thanks.

PS - If you could please let me know which UV lenses would work via the amazon website. It would be excellent. Thanks...
 
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weebee

Senior Member
Eaglefan9727 said:
This is strange. After watching plenty of reviews of the Nikon 3300 on youtube. I went onto the Best Buy website and it claims that the 3300 has no panorama view.

Nikon D3300 DSLR Camera with 1855mm and 55200mm VR Lenses Black 13473 - Best Buy

Anyways, I would like to get some protective UV lenses to protect the glass on the lenses. Can anyone tell me which ones I need for the two lenses in the package that is from the BJ's Wholesale Club link? Thanks.

PS - If you could please let me know which UV lenses would work via the amazon website. It would be excellent. Thanks...
Click to expand...

Go to the Nikon site. It is listed as having panorama ability. Yes, that is the lenses I'm talking about. Lenses now a days have a UV coating already. So that isn't needed. Most people use them to protect the actual lenses element. So you could just get a clear filter as well. I like Hoya filters myself.
 
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Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Eaglefan9727 said:
Anyways, I would like to get some protective UV lenses to protect the glass on the lenses. Can anyone tell me which ones I need for the two lenses in the package that is from the BJ's Wholesale Club link? Thanks.
Click to expand...
I'd suggest you skip the UV filter and get one these: Hoya HD Protector. Essentially a clear filter, but the entire HD series is made of extremely tough glass. According to Hoya it's up to 4x stronger than the typical glass filter. I know from experience they can take a beating. They also clean up running water like a dream.

Edit: Lucky for you both lenses take a 52mm filter. Easy-peasy, that one.
....
 
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Eaglefan9727

New member
Thanks for the help weebee and Horoscope Fish. Right now, If I can zoom about 75 to 100 yards with either of the 2 lenses that come with the bundle. I would be very happy and satisfied to start of with.
 
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