Nikon D5200, A good choice?

[Dexter Morgan]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I am studying Photography in my fourth semester of undergraduate. I've always had this obsession with photography and finally I'm a student of it. So, our teacher asked everyone to buy a camera, an entry level DSLR which can help in learning and we could take some photos as sample. I'm going to buy Nikon D5200 and one I have got enough knowledge of photography I'll switch to professional one. Please help me find any better camera as compared to this one and what are some basic flaws in D5200?

Cheers!

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Are you buying new or used?

I would recommend buying a used 'pro' level camera if you're considering a new D5200.

I just think you'll end up getting more use out of it in the long run.

oh, and there are no 'basic flaws' in a D5200, it's a Nikon!

[Shadowman]

Hi Dexter,

Doesn't seem to be good reason to choose entry level only; however if you are to be on even footing with the other students you might be far ahead of the bunch. Depending on where you read specs on the D5200; this particular model is sometimes listed as Upper Entry Level model. The only negative I can think of would be lack of built-in AF motor which means it only AF with AFS lenses.

The D3400 is the latest entry level Nikon but like the D5200 it doesn't have built-in AF motor. So if your professor is adamant about entry level and we don't argue about minor differences you should probably go with the D3400. If you are looking forward in your photography career, future needs then ignore the professor's entry level criteria, buy an upper level camera and just shoot in auto mode. Hope this helps.

I would suggest getting more precise instruction from the professor.

[Dave Humphries]

Almost any digital camera is going to be good enough Dexter,

Given your current level of knowledge, there's really no reason* not to go with a Nikon D5200.

* OK, I take that back - I have just thought of one.

If you are buying second hand (as I suspect you may be given that it is two generations out of date now), if you also intend to buy extra second hand lenses, you'll have more choice of lenses that will autofocus on your camera if you bought a Nikon D7000 or 7100 camera.
That's because some old lenses e.g. those with "AF-D" in their name (amongst others), rely on there being a focus motor in the camera body, which the D3xxx and D5xxx series do not have, but D7xxx do. More recent lenses; with "AF-S" in their name, will focus on all Nikon camera bodies.

I started with a D5000, so I know they are reasonable cameras, but there is that one limitation that applies to the lower end offerings from Nikon. I have kept the explanation simple, iof you're considering other alternative Nikon bodies I haven't named above, please ask us again.

There are many other features that make the D5200 a good camera though, so if you have been offered one at a good price, it may still be a good place to start.

Welcome to the CiC forums, Dave

PS, I see John had the same idea!

[tclune]

There are a few things that are clearly superior about the 7x00 series over the 5x00 series. You need to decide for yourself whether they are worth the extra money to you or not.

First, the 7x00 series can micro-adjust focus on lenses. Especially for large-apertu8re lenses, like portrait lenses, this can be important. If you have a lens that doesn't quite focus precisely on a 5x00 series, you can work around that by using live mode, but it is a bit of a pain.

Second, the 7x00 series supports the full commander mode flash system, including off-camera flash control. The 5x00 does not include the off-camera support in the camera. The commander mode has a lot to recommend it, with just one big flaw -- it is IR control. IR requires line-of-sight to work, and may be blocked if, for example, you are using flash with a light box. RF is much more reliable, can work over a longer distance, and does not require line-of-sight. But, if that isn't a major concern, the Nikon CLS system is very good.

Third, the 7x00 series has true mirror lock-up (MLU). The 5x00 does not support MLU, although it does have a mode that inserts a one-second delay after raising the mirror before clicking the shutter. But one second is not enough to dissipate mirror slap in many contexts. MLU is essential for maximum control with macro photography unless you are using live view -- in which case it is irrelevant.

Fourth, the 7x00 has fully lossless raw image modes. The 5x00 series compresses the raw data by combining similar values into a single value. Toward the maximum brightness, 5x00 lumps five values into one. Instead of saving 4096 distinct values, it combines the brighter ones into increasingly-larger lumps to yield a total of around 1000 distinct values (I forgot the precise number of values). This can lead to posterization in some cases. It also makes exposure to the right (ETTR) downright perilous -- you are making major use of the most decimated region of the exposure values on that camera. I should mention that the 7x00 can use the decimated tables for saving data just like the 5x00 series does -- but it doesn't have to do so.

There are a couple of features that are well-regarded on the 7x00 that are worth mentioning. First, it has a pentaprism instead of a pentamirror in its viewfinder, which is both brighter and larger than the alternative. And second, the 7x00 has dual controls, which make the camera adjustments faster once you get used to them.

The 5x00 has an articulated viewing screen that some people find handy, especially for taking photos at odd angles -- down low or up high in a crowd.

FWIW

ETA: I forgot to mention that the 5x00 series does not support high-speed synch, while the 7x00 does. That means that the 7x00 can take photos using fill flash in bright sun. For the 5x00, you need to use a neutral density filter to lower the shutter speed to 1/200 in order to use fill flash in bright sun.

[Dexter Morgan]

Thank you so much for replying. I went to the market and was surprised to know that D5200 (New) was out of stock. Every shopkeeper suggested to buy either canon or Nikon D5300 as they said 5200 is too old to be in the store now. So I went for Canon T6i. Its latest and have same features as Nikon D5200.

Other reason of choosing Canon was lenses, its lenses are less costly as compared to Nikon. Thanks again for the help.

[Dexter Morgan]

There are a few things that are clearly superior about the 7x00 series over the 5x00 series. You need to decide for yourself whether they are worth the extra money to you or not.

First, the 7x00 series can micro-adjust focus on lenses. Especially for large-apertu8re lenses, like portrait lenses, this can be important. If you have a lens that doesn't quite focus precisely on a 5x00 series, you can work around that by using live mode, but it is a bit of a pain.

Second, the 7x00 series supports the full commander mode flash system, including off-camera flash control. The 5x00 does not include the off-camera support in the camera. The commander mode has a lot to recommend it, with just one big flaw -- it is IR control. IR requires line-of-sight to work, and may be blocked if, for example, you are using flash with a light box. RF is much more reliable, can work over a longer distance, and does not require line-of-sight. But, if that isn't a major concern, the Nikon CLS system is very good.

Third, the 7x00 series has true mirror lock-up (MLU). The 5x00 does not support MLU, although it does have a mode that inserts a one-second delay after raising the mirror before clicking the shutter. But one second is not enough to dissipate mirror slap in many contexts. MLU is essential for maximum control with macro photography unless you are using live view -- in which case it is irrelevant.

Fourth, the 7x00 has fully lossless raw image modes. The 5x00 series compresses the raw data by combining similar values into a single value. Toward the maximum brightness, 5x00 lumps five values into one. Instead of saving 4096 distinct values, it combines the brighter ones into increasingly-larger lumps to yield a total of around 1000 distinct values (I forgot the precise number of values). This can lead to posterization in some cases. It also makes exposure to the right (ETTR) downright perilous -- you are making major use of the most decimated region of the exposure values on that camera. I should mention that the 7x00 can use the decimated tables for saving data just like the 5x00 series does -- but it doesn't have to do so.

There are a couple of features that are well-regarded on the 7x00 that are worth mentioning. First, it has a pentaprism instead of a pentamirror in its viewfinder, which is both brighter and larger than the alternative. And second, the 7x00 has dual controls, which make the camera adjustments faster once you get used to them.

The 5x00 has an articulated viewing screen that some people find handy, especially for taking photos at odd angles -- down low or up high in a crowd.

FWIW

ETA: I forgot to mention that the 5x00 series does not support high-speed synch, while the 7x00 does. That means that the 7x00 can take photos using fill flash in bright sun. For the 5x00, you need to use a neutral density filter to lower the shutter speed to 1/200 in order to use fill flash in bright sun.

Thank you so much for replying. I went to the market and was surprised to know that D5200 (New) was out of stock. Every shopkeeper suggested to buy either canon or Nikon D5300 as they said 5200 is too old to be in the store now. So I went for Canon T6i. Its latest and have same features as Nikon D5200.

Other reason of choosing Canon was lenses, its lenses are less costly as compared to Nikon. Thanks again for the help.

[Dexter Morgan]

Almost any digital camera is going to be good enough Dexter,

Given your current level of knowledge, there's really no reason* not to go with a Nikon D5200.

* OK, I take that back - I have just thought of one.

If you are buying second hand (as I suspect you may be given that it is two generations out of date now), if you also intend to buy extra second hand lenses, you'll have more choice of lenses that will autofocus on your camera if you bought a Nikon D7000 or 7100 camera.
That's because some old lenses e.g. those with "AF-D" in their name (amongst others), rely on there being a focus motor in the camera body, which the D3xxx and D5xxx series do not have, but D7xxx do. More recent lenses; with "AF-S" in their name, will focus on all Nikon camera bodies.

I started with a D5000, so I know they are reasonable cameras, but there is that one limitation that applies to the lower end offerings from Nikon. I have kept the explanation simple, iof you're considering other alternative Nikon bodies I haven't named above, please ask us again.

There are many other features that make the D5200 a good camera though, so if you have been offered one at a good price, it may still be a good place to start.

Welcome to the CiC forums, Dave

PS, I see John had the same idea!

Thank you so much for replying. I went to the market and was surprised to know that D5200 (New) was out of stock. Every shopkeeper suggested to buy either canon or Nikon D5300 as they said 5200 is too old to be in the store now. So I went for Canon T6i. Its latest and have same features as Nikon D5200.

Other reason of choosing Canon was lenses, its lenses are less costly as compared to Nikon. Thanks again for the help.