Looking to upgrade from my Nikon D3000....advice?

[Batmeat]

Like the title says. I've got a Nikon D3000. It has the stock 18mm-55mm lens, and I have a Tamron 55-280mm and Nikon Macro lens for closeups. I've had the camera for 5-6 years now. Photography is just a hobby so I don't need anything professional. I like Nikon, and plan to stick with them unless you can convince me otherwise. I was looking at the Nikon D5200 as a replacement simply cause it has some newer color features and is 24Mp instead of my current 10Mp. Cannon's all feel flimsy to me, sorry.

Advice?

 

[CuriousMike]

I think the only real reason to look outside of Nikon is if you're looking to change form-factor - i.e., do you want to go smaller.

If you want to go smaller, then you should start considering other makes.

But if you're OK with the DSLR size, then stick with Nikon so you can use your current lenses.

You could also consider the D3300 which is very small, but has the same sensor as the D5200. It just depends on what features you want in the next body.

 

[Batmeat]

ah gotcha. It's cheaper then the D5200 too. Feature wise, meh i don't need the extra's. Now I gota sell the D3000.

 

[radhak]

Why do you want to replace it? Does it not function?

And why do you want more than 10MP? Do you print out pics in large sizes?

 

[CuriousMike]

The Nikon D3000 was the weakest DSLR Nikon has put out... any other will produce better images.

You don't need to print out to appreciate more megapixels - I crop the shit out of a lot of my photos, and when I went from 12mp->24mp, the extra pixels were seriously appreciated.

 

[Syborg1211]

What are your complaints about your current D3000? A new lens might serve you better than a body upgrade.

 

[Batmeat]

I have no complaints or qualms of any kind. It's just time to get something with more megapixels though. Yes I crop, enlarge, and print out big prints.

 

[CuriousMike]

I'll throw out one more suggestion - consider a refurbished D3200/3300/5200.
You'll save serious coin and have a 'checked by the manufacturer' camera.
Cameta sells them and offers 1 year warranty.
http://www.cameta.com/Nikon-D3200-Digital-SLR-Camera-Body-Black-Factory-Refurbished-69675.cfm
http://www.cameta.com/Nikon-D5200-Digital-SLR-Camera-Body-Black-Factory-Refurbished-76316.cfm
With the left over money, you could fund a Nikon 35mm f/1.8g lens that can make you go "wow" the first time you bang out a shot with it at f/2.8.

 

[Batmeat]

Thanks for the links. I'll loot into it. Are refurb cameras ok to buy? I know for refurb computer parts it's a huge gamble.

 

[CuriousMike]

Thanks for the links. I'll loot into it. Are refurb cameras ok to buy? I know for refurb computer parts it's a huge gamble.

I have purchased two refurbs; the first was a D5000 which was without incident.
The 2nd was a D7100 from Cameta and the mirror locked up 2 days after getting it- they promptly replaced with another and it's been perfect.

My experience with the D7100 is pretty abnormal - I would not hesitate to purchase refurb.

I'd suggest googling "is it ok to purchase a refurbished camera" and read the responses.

 

[Batmeat]

I'd suggest googling "is it ok to purchase a refurbished camera" and read the responses.

Will do. Thanks again.

 

[tdawg]

Seconded for purchasing refurb. My D90 and D600 were both refurbs and I haven't had any issues with them (actually all of the bodies I've owned over the years have been used/refurb and none ever gave me any issues).

 

[Berliner]

I have no complaints or qualms of any kind. It's just time to get something with more megapixels though.

Unless you can really point to anything you NEED to upgrade, I'd stick with the D3000. Yes, it's not perfect, but if you photograph at low ISO its a good camera and can give you gigantic prints as well.

If you buy for MP without a very good reason the advertising industry really got to you.

 

[Batmeat]

Unless you can really point to anything you NEED to upgrade, I'd stick with the D3000. Yes, it's not perfect, but if you photograph at low ISO its a good camera and can give you gigantic prints as well.

If you buy for MP without a very good reason the advertising industry really got to you.

Zooming and photo editing it makes a difference.

 

[Berliner]

Zooming is usually done with a good lens

You can crop more with more MP, but you also need a great lens to do that. The quality will suffer, since you also enlarge lens problems.

Look at the Sigma 50-500 and read a few reviews if you really meant to have more zoom.

 

[CuriousMike]

Zooming is usually done with a good lens

While I agree, a good long-telephoto zoom lens are the most expensive lenses in all of photography.

Since most of our shots are now shared on screens, the quality of modest lenses and heavy cropping are often good enough.

 

[Berliner]

If he is cropping for screen, 10 MP should be good enough as well.

But sure, getting a D3200 for the newer sensor doesn't hurt, but it also does not make too much sense. He is sticking more MP behind low grade glass (except the macro).

 

[tsiunltdus]

My daughter has a Nikon 3200 and she loves it. She does quite a bit of photography and has even used it for photoing big events.

 

[doubledeluxe]

The D3000 was awful but if you have no complaints then you might not notice a difference with a new camera. Unless you're cropping to extreme levels and printing huge prints 10MP is quite a bit.

Try good glass first. You can always use it on a new camera.

 

[Batmeat]

I've got a tamron 50-280 lens. I'm going to wait till the 2015 models come out before buying. D3000 camera body is already super cheap. I'm sure the others will come down a bit more.

 

[turtile]

I don't see any point to upgrading the D3000 unless you upgrade to a D7xxx or higher model. Also, always buy used or refurbished. Camera bodies lose value instantly and they are very reliable.

Just get better lenses. It doesn't matter how good the sensor or how many megapixels you have if the lens isn't good.

 

[Batmeat]

I don't see any point to upgrading the D3000 unless you upgrade to a D7xxx or higher model. Also, always buy used or refurbished. Camera bodies lose value instantly and they are very reliable.

Just get better lenses. It doesn't matter how good the sensor or how many megapixels you have if the lens isn't good.

The 3300 has a new sensor and the 5200 and 7100 have the same sensor.

 

[Syborg1211]

My suggestion would be to pick up a Nikon 35mm f/1.8g from Best Buy to see the difference a lens makes (and easily return it if it doesn't make a difference for you). As most of the experienced photographers here have stated, the sensor/body of the camera has less effect on your images than the lens. Getting a new body when you have no real complaints about your setup is just falling for marketing bs.

A larger aperture lens will allow you to shoot in darker/indoor situations way more than getting a better sensor because the larger aperture lets in more light. Also, larger apertures are what give you that background blur that separates the phonecamera photos from pro photos.

 

[Batmeat]

My lenses:
Nikkor AF-s 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 DX VR
Tamron Di II 18-270mm 1:3.5-6.3
Nikkor AF-S Micro 40mm 1:2.8

Also, as I said above...more MP makes zooming and cropping/editing easier..... hence why I'm upgrading bodies.

 

[turtile]

The 3300 has a new sensor and the 5200 and 7100 have the same sensor.

There's more to the quality than the sensor. For one, the sensor can only capture what comes through the lens. On top of that, higher end cameras have better microlenses and filters which increase image quality - better AF, better viewfinders etc.

Here is a photo I took with an old 4MP Nikon:

Instead of cropping out of your images, pick up a used 300mm F4 and 1.4x TC. Not only will you get better image quality, the investment will hold.