Upgrade from D5100?

Hi all,

I've been shooting with a D5100 for a couple of years now and very pleased with it. Ive taken some great shots however having recently had a play with a d3300 I was amazed by the high iso performance and lack of noise on longer exposures even with NR disabled. I do a lot of low light, night and long exposure photography at iso 800+.

Lens wise I mostly use the sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 contemporary or the Nikon 35mm f1.8.

I've played with the d5300, d5500 and d7200. Of them I found the 7200 too large, I'm not that big. I found the 5500 touch screen to be a nice extra over the 5300 and something I would find useful. I don't need gps although the wifi could be useful.

So basically I'm looking for improvements in noise reduction. Is the improvement from d5100 to d5500 worth the upgrade? I could probably sell my 5100 to cover up to half the cost.

Thanks

I can recommend the D5300

You can still come up quits with a second hand D7100 despite its similar size to D7200.

Thanks guys.

JH, how do you find the 5300 low light and long exposures for noise? I'd prefer the 5500 for the touch screen.

8to300... As I said in my first post the d7xxx is too big for me and I like the articulating screen of the d5xxx although for sure I've seen some good prices on the d7100.

The D5500 is a terrific camera, offering lots of versatility and ease of use. The video is a nice touch if you are into that aspect of photography. I like the camera because it's easy to carry on trips and produces excellent photographs. (I have a D7200 which I also love, but as you stated, it's bigger and heavy and not as easy to lug around.) A refurbished model from one of the usual suspects can be easy on the pocketbook and will serve you well.

I upgraded my D5100 to a D610 a while back, ... oh so close to going for the D7100. But I kept the D5100. If you can swing it having two bodies can come in handy. My wife is now using it when we go out together and if I have a long lens mounted on one, I can have a wide angle on the other. Just an idea to consider.

Well I took the plunge, sold my backup D3100 and picked up a D5500 today. Very pleased with it so far and looking forward to putting it through its paces real soon.

Undecided on what to do with the D5100, most likely sell it as I don't need a backup 99% of the time and when I do I can always borrow/rent an extra body.

Congrats - looking forward to the pics.

Unless you absolutely need the money that D5100 is a fantastic back-up camera and as you already know takes awesome photos.

Congrats, Marko. I'm looking forward to seeing some of your photos with the new D5500, as well as hearing your thoughts now that you pulled the trigger.

Well done Marko, The D5500 is a good camera.