D7200 from D5200

bandit993

Senior Member
The D7200 looks like a really good camera. I have the D5200 and I am wondering how much better the focusing and image quality will be. I am not completely happy with the focusing of my D5200. It does take very good pictures but I find it not consistent.
I can be taking a group of pictures all at the same setting, at the same subject and some will be good and some won't. I would like some thoughts and inputs.
Thank you
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
The D7200 looks like a really good camera. I have the D5200 and I am wondering how much better the focusing and image quality will be. I am not completely happy with the focusing of my D5200. It does take very good pictures but I find it not consistent.
I can be taking a group of pictures all at the same setting, at the same subject and some will be good and some won't. I would like some thoughts and inputs.
Thank you
I'm not sure you'd see a big jump in image quality between the D5200 and the D7200, all other things being equal.

What lens(es) are you shooting with on your D5200? What sorts of things do you shoot, specifically ones where the focus issue seems to the most prevelent? I'm wondering if there's a setting or a technique issue that is the core of the problem.
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bandit993

Senior Member
My main lens is the Sigma 70-200 F2.8. I like to shoot wildlife. I know when I do something stupid like too slow shutter speed but sometime it's just not sharp. I try to keep iso 100and shutter speed up to 400+. I shot Aperture mode. Thanks
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
The IQ won't be hugely different, although early reports seem to show a small increase in IQ with the D7200. The focusing should be a little quicker and more accurate. Other reasons to move to the D7100 or D7200 would be things like weather sealing, a brighter viewfinder with 100% coverage, 2 memory card slots, LCD panel on the top of the camera, a built in focus motor so you can use older AF lenses that don't have their own motor, and much longer battery life.

I think I would first try to diagnose why you are having focusing problems before putting money into a new camera. Are you sure it is a focus problem and not camera shake? Have you tried different AF settings? Maybe you have already thought of these things and tested them out, I'm just trying to be complete in answering your question. :)
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I think I would first try to diagnose why you are having focusing problems before putting money into a new camera. Are you sure it is a focus problem and not camera shake? Have you tried different AF settings? Maybe you have already thought of these things and tested them out, I'm just trying to be complete in answering your question.
I agree. I'm leery of suggesting that a better camera body is going to solve this issue.

I have a sneaking suspicion the problem lies in your lens. That particular Sigma (I'm assuming we're talking about the now discontinued 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM Macro) was known to have front-focus issues. Other reports indicate the lens was sharper on one side (I remember it being the left 1/3 of the frame but again, I'm going by memory here) than on the other at certain focal lengths. Here's what I suggest you do: borrow, rent or steal another zoom lens for a week or so and see if you get better, more consistent results when shooting it under the same, general shooting conditions. If you're suddenly "nailing the shot" 99% of the time, I'd call that pretty convincing evidence you're dealing with a "lemon" of a Sigma 70-200mm. If it turns the Sigma *is* the issue, sell it for what you can and get the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD instead.
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bandit993

Senior Member
Thanks for all the replies. I don't have the macro version of the sigma. I usually shoot it at f4 as I know wide open isn't always good. It s just annoying that can grab a couple good shots then for no apparent reason the next might be slightly out of focus. I have suspected slight front focusing but not 100 %sure. And no way to fine tune it like on some other bodies. Thanks again for the input.
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
If you are staying with photography as a hobby then you will at sometime upgrade,i would say why no now :D it will allow you to fine tune the focus and the controls for changing things on the fly are a lot better,if cash is not abundant then the D7100 is a great camera at a good price.
 

bandit993

Senior Member
Hello Mikew. I thought of that but for wildlife the D7100 buffer really sucks.. I had toyed with the idea of a D750 but that is a little too rich for me at this point. Thanks for your idea though.
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Hello Mikew. I thought of that but for wildlife the D7100 buffer really sucks.. I had toyed with the idea of a D750 but that is a little too rich for me at this point. Thanks for your idea though.

Yes though you can improve the situation,i use a 95m/bs card shoot continues low at 12 bit raw and it hardly ever chokes on me,but if the D7200 is within reach go for it i think i will.
 

Nero

Senior Member
The main difference in IQ will be in low-light situations. The main upgrades you'll be getting if you upgrade to the D7200 from your camera are the weather-sealing, the AF and the processor making everything run better.
 

bandit993

Senior Member
So will the AF be better and more accurate? The loss of the AA filter should make the pictures sharper as well?? Wondering if the upgrade from D5200 to the D7200 is worth it.
 

Bill16

Senior Member
Considering the better controls and such, I'd say yes! But I tend to be very heavily in favor of the pro features I look for in all my Nikon's now days! I hated the menu based controls vs the more user friendly button and dial controls! :)

So will the AF be better and more accurate? The loss of the AA filter should make the pictures sharper as well?? Wondering if the upgrade from D5200 to the D7200 is worth it.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
So will the AF be better and more accurate? The loss of the AA filter should make the pictures sharper as well?? Wondering if the upgrade from D5200 to the D7200 is worth it.
Just my opinion, but yeah... I'd say it's worth it to go from the D5200 to the D7200; that's a big jump in a lot ways.
 

Nero

Senior Member
So will the AF be better and more accurate? The loss of the AA filter should make the pictures sharper as well?? Wondering if the upgrade from D5200 to the D7200 is worth it.

It's definitely worth it. The AF on the D7200 is really good.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 4
 

bandit993

Senior Member
Well I bought the new D7200... A quick question while I am waiting for the battery to charge. Will my NX-2 software pick up where my D5200 left off? Or will I have to load the new NX-I ? just wondering...
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Well I bought the new D7200... A quick question while I am waiting for the battery to charge. Will my NX-2 software pick up where my D5200 left off? Or will I have to load the new NX-I ? just wondering...
I strongly suspect that you will have to update NX. It should be part of your new Nikon box. If not, you can download a version from your country's Nikon support website.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
What Marcel said...if you haven't been keeping up to date with NX-2, you will probably need to update to read the new RAW files.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

bandit993

Senior Member
Thanks for the replies. I upgraded from NX-2 to NX-I. The older version did not seem to act just right. So far, got to say, I am happy with the D7200. Still got some learning to do though. mostly because it is bigger and heavier than the D5200. Before I sell the D5200, I may try some head to head comparison. Image quality does seem a little better.
 
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