eliluong
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 p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Out of photography for a few years, coming back, DSLR recommendations? | |
acutol wrote:
Used D600, D700, D7200 would be same / cheaper than new D5500. Do you need pro / sealed body or small / light? Durable shutter that will do 100,000+ actuations (Dxxx / D7xxx) or not (D5xxx)? Tilt / touch screen (only on D5xxx in this price range, D750 is great but $1500 even used)? AF microadjust (using lenses <f4)? Low light performance (FX streets ahead)?
Personally having done both I'd go with used semi-pro models as the cheaper dx bodies don't focus well with faster lenses, but if you'll only use big range zooms this won't matter much for you. If you don't want to change lenses much / ever then d5500 makes sense, or maybe a mirrorless system....Show more →
Good questions. Size does not matter and I don't have any specific requirements in that regard. At the bottom of this post I answer what type of photography I plan to be doing. It'll be a cold winter, but I won't be trying to photograph in the middle of a blizzard or downpour.
Regarding durability, at most I will be doing in the tens of thousands of actuations, so nowhere near 100,000. The tilt/touch screen is nifty/useful, but I years ago I used the D70 heavily and never had a problem that prevented me from photographing something. It also did not display the aperture/shutter/ISO information in the LCD display, but displayed it on a small LCD screen on the top.
At this time, I won't have the budget for buying expensive and fast lenses. Maybe in a few years, but not right now. Low light performance- I'm not too sure. When I traveled, the biggest benefit I got was a lens with vibration-reduction. I would like to try some night photography (long-exposure), but general night photography (eg a band playing in a dark bar) is less a priority.
What do you consider a semi-pro model? I assume the Dx models are pro cameras, and the Dxxxx are consumer to pro-sumer? So Dxxx = semi-pro? The reason I was drawn to the D5500 was the praise for its sensor among other things in that are 'new' and the D7xxx is pricey. In your experience, do you feel it would make that much of a difference for me? I'm definitely not going to be pushing the limits like a pro photographer would demand of it.
Lens-wise, I enjoy taking photos at wide angle. I think during travels the zoom lens was helpful because I was often far from whatever subject I was photographing, like a person or some object. The rest of the time in my home area, it would be mostly some old kit lens, a 28-70mm or something like that.
frdjohns wrote:
D7100s are going for very little money used, considering what you get for the $.
Thanks, I will keep this in mind.
some_film wrote:
What do you like to photograph? I mean, what subjects?
I should have mentioned that in the original post.  At this time, I plan to do mostly still photography, landscape, try out night/long exposure of the sky, walking around the city.
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. I'd call D4, D5, also D500 pro; D600, 610, 700, 750, 7000, 7100 and 7200 semi-pro; D5xxx and D3xxx consumer. Mostly consumer vs semi-pro difference is twin SD cards, two command dials, rugged body, AF microadjust, and use of non-G lenses. In your price range you are looking at used semi-pro (maybe a clearance D7100) or new consumer. I'd consider a used semi-pro more reliable than a new consumer camera so I wouldn't worry too much about new / used. The semi pro won't take better pictures (same image quality, maybe a tad better if you can go to FX) but it will make it easier to take good pictures, and may save you money on lenses if you like old glass.
But I have been learning how to use the camera. It is quite heftier than my prior D70 + Tamron 24-300mm, but maybe it's just atrophy of the camera-grip muscles