How do YOU like the D5100?

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OnyxBunny

Senior Member
Buying my 1st DSLR soon & just want to know how you all like the camera & if there is anything I should know(tips) about it, bc it seems to be a lot of ppl posting for help about Problems w it. I'm really excited about getting it bc the flip screen will help me out a LOT w self portraits!!<3
 
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RickSawThat

Senior Member
No complaints or issues with mine. Glad I got it. Flip screen is great. I found the more advanced the technology the more you need to use a program like Lightroom or Aperture or.... to get the best out of your images.
 
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Philnz

Senior Member
Yes had mine about 2 months now like it a lot go for it. Also as well as the 2 lens that came with it (18-55) (55-200) now have (18-200) and (50mm 1.8) the 18-200 is on camera most of the time a great lens for the money.
 
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Brett-G

New member
We've had ours about 2 months now as well and love it. Got it with the twin lens kit (18-55) and (70-300). Its our first DSLR and the photo's are just brilliant. No problems encountered at all and would thoroughly recommend it.
 
Patrick M

Patrick M

Senior Member
Had my D5100 for about 8 months and I'm amazed how much I've learnt using it...and there's she'd loads more yet! It will take me years ;-)
Loving it!
 
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trailertrash

New member
I've had my D5100 since just before Xmas. I love everything about it. I took it to Paris for a road test and the quality is superb. We're off to Belgium on Wednesday and I cant wait to see what comes out.

Andrew
 
Clayton

Clayton

New member
Absolutely love it. Have had it for about a year now. For the price it certainly can't be beat. I do not use the kit lens very much anymore. I have the 50-300mm Nikon and the 50mm 1.8G Nikon prime and that covers almost everything I need. Looking into the 10-24mm Nikon as a possible purchase soon to get those extra wide landscape shots. Also, if any of you haven't played with the HDR option I would suggest trying it out, very cool:)

I've read the manual cover to cover about 5 times now and would be more than happy to try and answer anyone's questions.
 
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nniicckkss

New member
Clayton said:
I've read the manual cover to cover about 5 times now and would be more than happy to try and answer anyone's questions.
Click to expand...

Is that the 80 page Manual as supplied, or the downloaded >230 page PDF manual?!! ;)

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I've had my D5100 since January (my first DSLR, from a pocket CyberShot!), I've not really had a good session at a specific event, but have taken quite a few (300+) test shots out and about locally.

My verdict - I need practice and experience!

There is loads to learn about 'photography in general' and then I can start to get the best from my camera. I love the camera, and I really appreciate the potential of it. This is why I get quite frustrated at the moment after taking about 30-40 shots of something, bracketing and trying various combinations of settings, and not quite hitting the result I was looking for!

It's gradually starting to make sense though and I am starting to remember more. I don't like shooting in Auto mode unless I need to get a shot there and then without fiddling with settings, but otherwise I try to shoot Manual where I can - I just want to be able to take photos that I have captured myself, and not just by letting the camera capturing it for me by pointing it in a general direction and pressing the shutter button!

ISO vs light vs aperture vs shutter speed = a lot to consider. Then there are noise reduction, focus options, lighting effects (D lighting) and many other settings to play with too.

So far I've shot mainly landscapes, sunrise/sunset, and the moon! Mainly tripod stuff, but I want to learn to get a sharp shot hand-held too. I can't seem to maintain sharp focus and DOF when hand-held, but I'm getting a little closer when using the tripod.
Plus I've shot (photographed) my children too, but they don't keep still long enough to really practice!

I've got the D5100 with the 18-55 kit lens, plus I got the Nikon 55-300 lens too. I know different lenses achieve different results, and not knowing the potential of my own kit could be causing me to expect more from it than it is capable of. But on the other hand, I probably just need more practice.

So all of my comments above are very general. They do not reflect the D5100, just my personal ability - they would be the same comments whichever camera I had gone for.

I'm very pleased with my choice of camera, I would definitely recommend it at this price range/specification. If I were making the choice again today, I'd still go for this model for my needs. And I've not had any issues with it not working.

The point of all my comments above is that you can't just go and buy a nice camera to get good photos. The point and shoot Auto mode photos are very much better than I am used to, but I know I can achieve much more with this kit with a bit more practice and experience.

And finally (again, not D5100 specific), once you have done all of that, you can then get involved in Post Processing using your favourite software package - there is almost as much skill involved in this than there is in the taking of the photo in the first place!
Shoot RAW, adjust it later - all good fun!! :cool:
 
Clayton

Clayton

New member
nniicckkss said:
Is that the 80 page Manual as supplied, or the downloaded >230 page PDF manual?!! ;)
Click to expand...

I printed out the PDF and stapled the other to it:) No, just the manual it came with. Past the basic functions and what they do is good enough for me, half the fun is figuring out all the rest for yourself through trial and error. Just shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. Try different lighting situations. If you practice in manual mode in low-light it will make it easier and give you a better understanding of how the light will reflect on your lower ISO compositions. As far as handheld sharpness is concerned, get yourself a 35 or 50mm prime and you can juggle your camera while shooting and still get a sharp image.:p

Oh, and I've recently been using lightroom, and I think I can speak for most on this forum, it's absolutely fantastic for processing your RAW files.
 
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Blurrymess

New member
Hello, I'm new to the forum. Got my D5100 not too long ago, and have been loving it! It's the perfect camera for all the applications I need, and most importantly, I get a great quality image that's super sharp (again, good for my applications). Like Clayton mentions above, I like to press all the buttons, shoot with different settings, and just mess around with it as oppose to reading every single page... though I have read quite a few pages. Every time I come across a hurdle, I flip open the manual for guidance. Granted it's not my first slr, or my first dslr for that matter, but all the button and functions differ enough to learn a new way. I've found it a pretty intuitive camera.

It's a good balance of good image quality and light weight where you can use it anywhere without much hassle... one of the things that sold me on it. I don't feel like I'm lugging around a dumbbell, and I don't feel like I'm sacrificing image quality either, so I'm good with this thing. Got a 40mm 2.8 prime macro lens, including the 18-55mm that came with the kit, and finding the prime to not only be super sharp, but also has lots of applications. I may pick up a 50mm 1.8 down the road for indoor low light situations, but I'm good for now.
 
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