Nikon D5100

[gloryee]

Just purchased this camera a couple weeks ago and am looking for others to share info about this camera.... HELP

[OsmosisStudios]

What do you want to know, exactly?

[Jpereira]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

What do you want to know, exactly?

I have a cheap digital camera with very limited capability and have used a Canon EOS 630 film camera for years. Big, heavy and bulky but takes great pics.
Now I'm looking at the Nikon D5100 or maybe the D3100 or the Canon T3i as upgrade option. I have read many articles and reviews on the listed and still have a hard time making a decision. Each seem to have advantages over the other including cost.
If I were to go with Canon I think my 80-200 lens may work but for some reason I always have wanted a Nikon. Brand recognition has got me..I know.
Any advise would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Jerry
digilink@gmail.com

P.S. Not sure I would be using the movie feature all that much

[ccting]

Originally Posted by Jpereira

Now I'm looking at the Nikon D5100 or maybe the D3100 or the Canon T3i as upgrade option.
P.S. Not sure I would be using the movie feature all that much

I am D5100 owner, and I use the camera for shooting rather than movie.

Fact about these cameras:
a) D3100 is at least 50% cheaper than D5100; D5100 is cheaper than D7000
b) D7000 wins the best semi-pro camera in the famous EISA

Advantage D5100 over D7000
a) Flipable digital view finder that enables seamless shooting
b) HDR, many photo editing command
c) BULB Timing with Cheap IR remote sensor without holding the button
d) Many template shooting - Low key, High Key and a lot more
e) Lighter
f) Same noise handling

Disadvantage D5100 over D7000
a) Does not have motor, thus almost only can utilize AFS lenses, which are much more expenses and limited. That means you need spend a lot more for lenses. For example AFS 50mm f1.8 $799 vs NON-AFS 50mm f1.8 $399.

b) Does not have Channel mode for flash, that is to say, you can have slave mode flash.. (I am not sure about slave mode, more or less..). That means I can't separate nissin di622 from my camera in order to function - creative lighting disable. May be there are alternatives but much more expensive - Nikon Commander? USD 400?. (By now, your D5100 should more expensive than D7000 - assume the len also rain-resistant).

c) Cannot adjust Kelvin mannually. You need to trick your D5100 with WB Preset with card. But you can edit your photo using D5100 using color map. So, you can do it Pre-shot, but you can do Post-shot for temperature. Any difference? I don't know.

d) No dust / moisture protection, that means you need more money to clean your sensor and the body last shorter. Have you survey how much to clean dust / moisture of the body? That's to say, D5100 needs much more cleaning services than D7000. How about D3100 / Canon?If you own only 1 len, I think it should not give much problems for dust, but you can't shoot in rain (vs D7000).

e) 11 Multicam points vs 39 multicam points. That makes composition harder. D5100 has only 11, Canon has 9 if not mistaken. For me, autofocus becomes hard when these focus points are lesser. I love D7000 - 39 points.

f) Less buttons to press, that means you need to look at digital viewfinder to adjust some settings. D7000 can adjust settings on the fly. So, do you want to spend 10-20 seconds to adjust camera settings or you want to adjust the settings without looking at the LCD? It all depends on you.

g) Plastic feel, may break if you drop it. I believe you can drop D7000. Therefore, D7000 is more durable than
D5100. I have seen a Nikon demo room with a broken LCD (D5100) after a client dropped it. Have you make a survey how much to replace the LCD?

As D5100 is much expensive than D3100, I guess you can guess how D3100 behave.

Therefore, I think ...
a) If you are serious about photoshooting or learn more advanced shooting, go for D7000 for long-term cost-saving, and enables you to do more advanced shooting.

b) If you taking photos merely for memory, D3100.

c) If you wish to take photos using my templates and you don't plant to buy more lenses , i suggest you go for D5100.

d) If you wish to buy more lenses and landscape photography and update body frequently, go for Canon, as you owns canon lenses already.

Nikon vs Canon:
-If you shoot only landscape that utilize ISO less or equal 400, than go for Canon
-If you shoot sports that needs freeze motions, go for Nikon, as higher ISO gives cleaner image
-if you want to save more money for lenses, go for Canon as Nikon lenses are much more expensive.
-Nikon high end lenses may autofocus faster than Canon..
-Canon events / promotions/ competition more than Nikon, in my country. It is when you can earn some gears, free, only if only you win the competitions.
-I believe, Canon has higher granularity of ISO settings..manually.

I could have buy 50mm f1.8 around $200 if I have canon body. But I need to buy $799 50mm f1.8 AFS len for my D5100. I can't utilize the D series of 50mm f1.8 which is around $399 because my D5100 does not have motor to enable autofocus. All canon cameras have motor i guess.

Before you buy a camera, my experience is that
a) Make survey on their accesories such as cost of battery, battery grip, flash support, etc etc. Battery for D5100 is around $170-210 compared to $45 battery for D90 in my country. I can't use nission di622 slave mode for my D5100 but D90/D7000 can. So, consider Total Cost of Ownership of body, lenses, flashes and learning capability, and not the cost of body alone.

b) Consider NOT to include VR KIT. The VR Kit, particularly VR KIT 18-55mm is not usable during low-light. 18mm with f/3.5 widest; 55mm with f/5.6 widest. Without flash, the shutter speed at low light is always around 1/3 at f/3.5 ISO 100. Therefore you need D5100/D7000 and not D3100 or Canon if you owns this VR KIT, for portrait / events. But, excellent during daytime.

c) If you can wait, please wait for the 2nd version of D7000, then the price of D7000 will drop significantly, and then buy it. I believe every camera body will "expire" 2 years after the introduction. You can't keep up-to-dated if you are on budget like me. Be extremely sensitive to prices if you are not professional photographer like me and you are ON budget.

d) Wait for promotion. Usually Canon promotion is around 30-40%, at least in my country. Nikon never wants to give any discount, at least in my country.

e) Never buy converter during the purchase.. THis is when the saler mark-up their revenue. Make survey about filters, flash, etc etc

f) Please include LCD protector in the purchase. I have scratched my LCD screen, and no one told me about that before.!

Nikon VR Kit 18-55mm. Very sharp at f/8 35mm with Flash + tripod with VR /NR OFF (where you can see detail of hairs, eyes clearly). Use 55mm instead of 50mm for portrait..as 50mm seems a bit problem..not sure.


I understand your feeling and tension. When I bought my first camera on 23 June 2011, I purchased it without asking / knowing anything, for around $3000, plus some useless expensive converters, filters. Now, I wish to buy a speedlight, and this time I will be extremely carefully in selecting an appropriate speedlight, as I don't want to spend any more money on this hobby, which may tentative and not permanent.