New and looking for purchase advise.

zenprophet

Hello,

I am really interested in getting a dslr camera. I want a Nikon and have around $500 to spend. I know this is bottom dollar, but it's what I have to work with. My eyes have been on the Nikon D5200, 5300, and I've even considered the D3300.

I've been stalking these cameras on Ebay looking for a deal and not really sure if I'm doing the right thing. SO I need help...

I want to take night shot photos mostly landscape, and I also want to take some wild life photos as well as sunrise/sunset photos. So pretty general stuff.

From what I've read I want a camera with lower noise at higher ISO I know in my price range it's not going to be more than 1400 ISO. I want a camera that's better than the canon SL1.

So my question to you is, should I spend my budget on the D5300 with the kit 18-55mm VR II lens. Then in a few months look for a better lens. Or should I try to find a D5200 for around $350 (I've seen a few on Ebay without the lens). Then spend the remaining budget on a good lens... and if so what lens should I get?

Thanks for any help you can give me, I'm just starting out and I know how hard it is to give advice to someone new.

ziggy53

With a $500 budget, I strongly suggest waiting until you have around $800-$1000USD before purchasing, just because your options increase rather dramatically.

Spend more of the budget for a couple of decent lenses, instead of the "kit" lenses. Kit lenses are cheap because they are cheaply made and compromise the system to a high degree.

Rather than purchasing a late model body, get something at least 2 generations old. (Around 4-5 years old.) In Nikon I suggest purchasing a body which supports AF-D lenses, which means that the lens has no AF motor and AF drive is supplied by the host camera body. AF-D lenses tend to be older and less expensive, but they can still be great glass.

For instance, a Nikon D7000 is an enthusiast/prosumer body. It supports AF-D lenses (as well as AF-S lenses, including Nikon G type lenses), is reasonably quick in most regards, and has a decent noise signature with good dynamic range. It is still a very capable camera for most photographic pursuits, with action/sports the notable exception (not that you can't do action/sports with a Nikon D7000, but if that is a primary interest I would rather suggest different bodies and a much deeper budget). I strongly suggest purchasing from KEH.com, just because they are wonderful to work with and they stand behind their sales with a 180 day warranty. (https://www.keh.com/page/why)

Current KEH listing show a BGN condition D7000 body for $367USD.

Add to this a couple of lenses to get started:

TAMRON 17-50MM F/2.8 ASPHERICAL DI II SP IF LD XR (A16) 5 PIN AUTOFOCUS LENS FOR NIKON APS-C SENSOR DSLRS {67} - KEH has one in EX condition for $278. This is a very nice standard zoom, much better than any kit lens and capable of professional results.

NIKON 50MM F/1.8 D AUTOFOCUS LENS {52} - EX+ condition for $95. A full-frame (FX in Nikon-speak) prime lens, this is a short telephoto on the D7000. Suitable for many types of portraiture (space permitting) and you are using the "sweet spot" center of the lens. Again, you can achieve excellent results and much better than a kit lens. Allows shooting in very low light conditions.

So far we are at around $800.

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Add a flash with an AF-assist lamp, which greatly helps AF speed and accuracy in low light and indoors, and you have a very capable small system. The D7000 has a Commander mode capability, so you can also use a suitable flash off camera and the built-in flash for fill. Again, you can gain much better results with an external flash than without, in many shooting circumstances.

KEH has a Nikon SB-500 AF Speedlight in EX+ condition for around $200. This flash has most of the capabilities that you need for still photography, plus it has a video light as well.

This puts you at a cool $1000, but gives you a "very" capable starting system. From here you can add additional bodies, lenses, flashes, flash modifiers, etc.

zenprophet

Thanks so much for the reply, this gives me a lot more to think about and I've never heard of KEH, but have it up in a new tab to check out right after I make this post. I've always had an interest in photography. And recently I got to use a canon SL1 to try out and it is a good camera. But, I want something that will perform better and give me better night shot results.

Thanks again for the help!!