D7100 or D5300 or D5200? (1 Viewer)

These are the current body-only prices these cameras can be found at

D7100 for £768
D5300 for £729
D5200 for £389

Which would you go with for bird photography and digiscoping? I'm in the very early stages - the D7100 seems like a camera you could grow into as your skills increase. I like the other two for the articulating screen (great for macro it seems to me) and the D5300 for the built-in wifi (for remote use from an ipad, mainly for action at my feeder, it must be admitted)

I'm not sure there would be any great difference in quality between them, picture and video, especially for a relatively inexperienced user. Perhaps the D5200 with a wireless module and a 2nd-hand 70-300mm?

Any thoughts?

Cheers

Marco

Only one has a pro grade AF and this makes a huge difference. The D7100.

Thanks for the reply - can you please explain in more detail?

Cheers


Marco

The D7100 has a motor drive for autofocus lenses. For the others you need lenses that have an autofocus motor built in. If you already own some Nikon or third party lenses you should consider this feature.

OK thanks

I'm ruling out the D5300 as there are not enough useful differences to justify the much higher price. I don't need GPS and could add a WU-1a to a D5200 for much less money

I don't have any older lenses and all new ones have a motor built in. At this stage the D7100 probably has more controls than I will use and by the time I'm ready there'll be a newer model or cheaper D1700's around

So...a D5200, WU-1a and used 70-300mm seems the best way to spend my pennies

Thanks for your replies

In the past month I've met two guys doing serious digiscoping and putting out wonderful shots. So much so that I'm tempted to give it a try !

One was using a Nikon scope and the other a Swarovski. Neither were using DSLRs. The guy with the Nikon scope, we met in the rainforests of Borneo, and he was using a V1 and had simply stunning shots (he showed us his portfolio), the other guy I met in HK and he had a number of P&S cameras but he prefered the Sonys.

I'd look a little more into digiscoping and see what the advantages/disadvantages are of the DSLR over the V1 or Sonys ... unless of course you are going to use the camera for a lot more than just digiscoping birds ! Note that there is one very important disadvantage with the D7100 - the buffer is tiny and you'll fill it in just 1 second before your camera freezes whilst the buffer empties. These guys fired off serious rounds of shots to get the perfect shot - watching them it seemed like 2-3 secs per time.

Marcobf said:

Thanks for the reply - can you please explain in more detail?

Cheers


Marco

Click to expand...

The D7100 has the same 51 autofocus system as the D4 and D800. It is fast to acquire and track and works down to f8 lenses/tc's at the central point.

Honestly?
The only sensible camera here is the d7100.
It is weather sealed and made partially of Magnesium-Alloy.
The AF-system has been spoken about, so consider that covered.

Tilt/Swivel Screen is a feature that has stayed confined to entry level models, for good reason. No one who is serious about their photography uses live-view for photography. Certainly not for birding - as it forces you to use the slow (but technically more acurate) contrast focusing system on the sensor, rather than the super fast phase detection system.
The d7100 also has a proper pentaprism which is brighter, fuller and does not require any battery, unlike the penta-mirror used by the d3x00.

Regarding Macro, again I reckon you will end up using the real viewfinder. Liveview is interesting here, as you can "zoom" in on your image to get a 100% view, allowing you to control focus perfectly (I assume you are aware that you will most likely need to MF for macro?).
But realistically this is unusable, as the handshake and minute DoF will mean you will never get your focus and will be more likely to lose your subject.

Of the options you name:
The D7100 is the best system hands down (unless you are into video I suppose, as well as all of that WiFi battery draining nonsense) IMO.
The only alternative is the d5200 as it allows you to invest money in good glass, which is ultimately the more important component of your system.

Not many people seem to digiscope with DSLRs interestingly. I reckon it is because you are exposing your sensor to a lot of Dust and the large/heavy body size of a DSLR makes it hard to get the Camera in the right place of your Scope after focusing - even with a dedicated Digiscoping rig. Your subject will most likely have moved.
Digiscoping with compact systems has the obvious drawback of smaller/lower quality sensors and if using a compact quality loss through the glass already present.

Hi - thanks for taking the time to give a comprehensive view, definitely food for thought

It's hard to let go of the swivel screen as seems to offer intriguing creative possibilities, for stills as well as video. I've had a quick look at the 70D, Canon's answer to the D7100 and it has implemented the swivel screen too, so they don't view it as an entry-level feature. If the D7200 had one...argument over - I realise that won't happen as Nikon have clearly defined their 3000/5000/7000 lines

The D5200 appears very well spec'd for the current price. I've ruled out the D5300 - if I end up spending that much money on the body alone the D7100 looks the much superior buy

Thanks again

You are welcome =)
Although I would be careful comparing the d7100 and the 70D.
The 70D sits between the D5X00 and the D7100 as far as I can tell. - At least that is how it was with the 60D and the d7000.

Any which way, you will have a lot of fun with your system =)

Frogfish said:

In the past month I've met two guys doing serious digiscoping and putting out wonderful shots. So much so that I'm tempted to give it a try !

One was using a Nikon scope and the other a Swarovski. Neither were using DSLRs. The guy with the Nikon scope, we met in the rainforests of Borneo, and he was using a V1 and had simply stunning shots (he showed us his portfolio), the other guy I met in HK and he had a number of P&S cameras but he prefered the Sonys.

I'd look a little more into digiscoping and see what the advantages/disadvantages are of the DSLR over the V1 or Sonys ... unless of course you are going to use the camera for a lot more than just digiscoping birds ! Note that there is one very important disadvantage with the D7100 - the buffer is tiny and you'll fill it in just 1 second before your camera freezes whilst the buffer empties. These guys fired off serious rounds of shots to get the perfect shot - watching them it seemed like 2-3 secs per time.

Click to expand...

Curious,

Was it a chinese guy you met in Borneo with Nikon Fieldscope + V1?

horukuru said:

Curious,

Was it a chinese guy you met in Borneo with Nikon Fieldscope + V1?

Click to expand...

Malaysian - yes.

Frogfish said:

Malaysian - yes.

Click to expand...

Aha must be my good friend by the name of Alven Chang https://www.facebook.com/alven.chang.1 :king:

He uses custom made adapter with his V1