Which Nikon - for my first DSLR? (1 Viewer)

Ptarmi · Oct 25, 2012

Which Nikon for my first DSLR ~ the D5100?

I've been working happily with a Panasonic FZ150 bridge camera for the past year, but when out in the field, I find I'm constantly fitting & removing the extension & Tele Lens for different shots, which is not doing the threads much good at all. So I was thinking of keeping the Tele Lens on my 150 & getting myself a good Nikon camera to use for all the other shots.

Checking them out on Amazon, I like the look of the ~ Nikon D5100

Would this be a good choice for someone new to DSLR cameras, or would anyone care to recommend a better choice?

Were I to buy just the body, which Lens would you recommend? I'm thinking the 55-300mm might be the way to go.

Cheers,
Dick

squidge · Oct 25, 2012

Hi Dick, I don't know about the 5100 but last year I bought the Nikon d90 as my first dslr. It was more camera than I needed to be honest but I was more than happy with it. I've now set my sights on the d7000 as I find I crop 90% of my bird pics and i feel the extra megapixels on the d7000 will help in this regard.
From reading reviews and reports about the 5100 it is an excellent dslr. But I will leave it for the more experienced users to share their experience.

Regards Gerard.

Andy Hurley · Oct 25, 2012

Ptarmi said:
I've been working happily with a Panasonic FZ150 bridge camera for the past year, but when out in the field, I find I'm constantly fitting & removing the extension & Tele Lens for different shots, which is not doing the threads much good at all. So I was thinking of keeping the Tele Lens on my 150 & getting myself a good Nikon camera to use for all the other shots.

Checking them out on Amazon, I like the look of the ~ Nikon D5100

Would this be a good choice for someone new to DSLR cameras, or would anyone care to recommend a better choice?

Were I to buy just the body, which Lens would you recommend? I'm thinking the 55-300mm might be the way to go.

Cheers,
Dick

Hi Dick,

My wife got me the D7000 in August this year which I use soley with my Sigma 150-500mm lens and I must say it is a whole world better than the D3000. My shots are clearer and because it has 39 points of focus, I no longer have the problems I had focusing on birds in bushes, trees etc. Also it has two card slots, which means I can have RAW -NEF images as well as JPG, so there is no compression loss when I print images. We also have a 55-300mm as you were looking at, on the D3000. The Sigma beats it hands down in terms of performance especially for birds on the wing and distance shots. I suppose it all comes down to budget and how often you are out and about. Compared to professional cameras and Nikkor long lenses, this is relatively cheap, €900~ for the D7000 and €800~ for the Sigma 150-500mm.
We have had problems with the 55-300 lens when focusing on birds in a clear blue sky, but that said, we have only tried it on the D3000.

ps the D7000 can also make films with each frame 16Mega pixels, but I haven't got around to using it for that properly so I cant comment on how good it is but I tried filming through the Sigma and it works well enough.

Ralkbirdy · Oct 25, 2012

I have a Panasonic FZ38 + TC17 and am looking at a Nikon alternative. So far I have thought of the D3200 + TC1.4 + 300mm f4, but have also considered the Nikon V1 + TF1 + 55-300mm f4 VR lens. This is on another thread. I Have also thought about the D3200 + TC1.4 + 55-300mm f4 VR lens. I have been expecting to go to about 400mm. Not sure how much benefit the VR helps against the frequently used 300mm f4 lens without any vibration reduction system.
I probably prefer a package that is light and easy to carry around, the V1 + 55-300mm seems a similar size and weight to the panasonic that I use now. No help to you Dick, but it may help me to find an answer.

Mike

Neil · Oct 28, 2012

Ptarmi said:
I've been working happily with a Panasonic FZ150 bridge camera for the past year, but when out in the field, I find I'm constantly fitting & removing the extension & Tele Lens for different shots, which is not doing the threads much good at all. So I was thinking of keeping the Tele Lens on my 150 & getting myself a good Nikon camera to use for all the other shots.

Checking them out on Amazon, I like the look of the ~ Nikon D5100

Would this be a good choice for someone new to DSLR cameras, or would anyone care to recommend a better choice?

Were I to buy just the body, which Lens would you recommend? I'm thinking the 55-300mm might be the way to go.

Cheers,
Dick

Dick,
Before jumping into the DSLR route consider the Canon SX50HS. With the 24-1200 mm lens (it has built-in 1.5x and 2x teleconverters ) and Raw it's a very lightweight step-up from your Panasonic. It's also much cheaper than a DSLR at about US$450.
For walking-around birding with quality results you need the 300/4 and a 1.4x teleconverter. Photographing warblers and kestrels in flight is tough with a zoom.
Neil.

Ptarmi · Oct 28, 2012

Neil, I did have a wee look at the SX50, but one thing that worried me a little, was the fact that there appear to be very few photos posted in the Gallery here, that were actually taken with this camera. |8.|

SX50 Photos

Another consideration, was the fact that I already have the DMW-LT55E Tele Lens on my FZ150 & I'm not sure the SX50 would get me any closer. :eek!:

However, I must admit that it does look rather tempting & the fact that it is a much cheaper option, certainly appeals to this canny Scotsman!

Cheers,
Dick

Neil · Oct 28, 2012

Ptarmi said:
Neil, I did have a wee look at the SX50, but one thing that worried me a little, was the fact that there appear to be very few photos posted in the Gallery here, that were actually taken with this camera. |8.|

I think the reason is that it's still a very new camera.
My mate is using it here http://www.flickr.com/photos/jingbar/8124079040/in/contacts/
and you can see the quality he is getting. He upgraded from the SX30HS so is an expert at using these superzooms.
I'm planning to get one soon as my "carry everywhere" birding camera.
Neil.

Pasquier · Oct 28, 2012

Neil,
those photos are very impressive - this looks like a great little camera at an unbelievably low price.
Need to check it out.
Thanks for the tip, P

David99 · Oct 31, 2012

Hi Ptarmi,

I think the two questions that need answering are, what is your budget and what are you going to use the camera for?

I currently have the D5100 and I am very happy with it. I do use it for bird photography, which I assume to be one of your interests, and on the whole it works well. If you look at my gallery the majority were taken with the D5100.

I am not going to pretend to be an expert, but my impressions are:

- Image quality is fine, I have no probelms whatsoever here;
- The articaulated screen is very helpful, particularly for low level macro work;
- The focus speed is good, but that is function of the lens as much as the camera.

However, I do feel that I am going to grow out of it. My main issues are:
- With birds you often tend to crop to a very great extent and in that case the more pixels the better (or buy very exepnsive prime teles);
- For birds in flight I find the focus struggles, but to be honest the problem could be my technique rather than the camara, and also the lens does influence this too.

Having said that I think the D5100 is remarkably good value for money and is dropping in price.

Hope that helps
David

RMWD · Nov 8, 2012

Ptarmi said:
I've been working happily with a Panasonic FZ150 bridge camera for the past year, but when out in the field, I find I'm constantly fitting & removing the extension & Tele Lens for different shots, which is not doing the threads much good at all. So I was thinking of keeping the Tele Lens on my 150 & getting myself a good Nikon camera to use for all the other shots.

Checking them out on Amazon, I like the look of the ~ Nikon D5100

Would this be a good choice for someone new to DSLR cameras, or would anyone care to recommend a better choice?

Were I to buy just the body, which Lens would you recommend? I'm thinking the 55-300mm might be the way to go.

Cheers,
Dick

Dick, I would suggest the 5100 and the Nikon 70-300vr. It is a sharper lens than the 55-300. I have used both and much prefer the former.
It is lightweight and a very good starting combination.
Another option is the V1 great price) and the 70-300 with ft1 adapter.

If you take the time to look their are several examples of these lenses with a d7000, v1 and D800 for you to assess.

Montereyman · Jan 19, 2013

The 5100 is an excellent first camera in every respect. The lens choice is not. A top notch used lens is going to provide much better images than a new hobby level lens. I would look for a used 70-300 VR lens or a 80-200mm f2.8 ED IF (not the push pull version).

With zooms if you stay with 3x zoom or less (70mm to 300 for example is 4x and pushing it compared to the 80mm to 200mm at a 2.5x zoom range). The longer the range the lower the quality overall and for bird photography you do not need the 55mm end of the range.

You are likely to change cameras again in the future but if you buy quality lenses they will continue to be used for many years.

Which Nikon - for my first DSLR? (1 Viewer)

More options

Ptarmi

Dick Glasgow

squidge

Wha Whassssat

Andy Hurley

Gotta love nature!

Ralkbirdy

Member

Neil

Well-known member

Ptarmi

Dick Glasgow

Neil

Well-known member

Pasquier

Well-known member

David99

Well-known member

RMWD

Well-known member

Montereyman

Member

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread