Best ISO Nikon body on a £350 budget

  • Thread starter Thread starter SimonH
  • Start date Start date
S

SimonH

Guest
My backup D50 recently got swiped from my friend's car, along with some glass. Since she forgot to lock it, she's putting up £200 towards a replacement body at the end of the month. That means I have a total of around £350 to spend.

I'm eyeing up the D5100, which is just about within budget, but it would be crazy to hit the stores without seeking the advice and recommendations of the knowledgeable folk here!

So I hear the D5100 has a D7000 sensor, with the same image processor, but with a flip-out screen (me likey) and an intervalometer (love timelapse). It's not as well built as the 7000, is considerably smaller, is light, but is photographically about as capable.

I'm specifically interested in a cheap tide-me-over until I'm flush enough to add the D3s (or really flush, and go for the D4x) to my bag - but one which has the healthiest ISO performance for my budget.. ISO performance being the thing that my D2x (bless its little cotton socks) just ain't got.

Am I facing the right direction, or am I missing a Nikon trick with another model?

[edit] PS: Since the heist, all my remaining glass is AF-S, so no body motor needed.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
i'd buy a second hand d7000 just for the focusing motor
I have a d5100 and love it but miss out on some great lenses because of the lack of motor.
however if you've got a bag full of suitable elnses then either would do.

my good points about the d5100 are
its lightweight
flippy out screen when shooting at awkward angles. (children animals)
pictures are v sharp (again i'm not a trained tog, so might miss some things)
ISO to my eyes seems good all the way up to about 1000+
i like the layout of the controls
and its all i can afford at the mo :)
 
Gr8Shot said:
i'd buy a second hand d7000 just for the focusing motor
I have a d5100 and love it but miss out on some great lenses because of the lack of motor.
however if you've got a bag full of suitable elnses then either would do.

my good points about the d5100 are
its lightweight
flippy out screen when shooting at awkward angles. (children animals)
pictures are v sharp (again i'm not a trained tog, so might miss some things)
ISO to my eyes seems good all the way up to about 1000+
i like the layout of the controls
and its all i can afford at the mo :)
Click to expand...

I agree with all but the controls. D7000 has a much better set of them, and two SD card slots to boot. Consider a 2nd hand D7000....
 
You'll struggle to get a used D7000 for £350 though.

For your budget I'd get a 3200. It's a piece of plastic crap, but the sensor is good.
 
Thanks very much everyone!

Maccas said:
Maybe look at buying second hand
Click to expand...
Yep! Willing to do this, though they're all few and far between. Probably a good sign?
adrianday said:
Have you considered the D3200? Fewer bells and whistles but capable nonetheless.

DxOMarks here.
Click to expand...
I hadn't considered the D3200, but you and Pookeyhead have got me thinking. Budget-wise, it may be difficult to find one. Unfortunately my £350 upper limit is pretty strict. :(
spacester said:
I agree with all but the controls. D7000 has a much better set of them, and two SD card slots to boot. Consider a 2nd hand D7000....
Click to expand...
Yep.. but..
Pookeyhead said:
You'll struggle to get a used D7000 for £350 though.

For your budget I'd get a 3200. It's a piece of plastic crap, but the sensor is good.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the D7000 looks to be considerably beyond my budget, even well used and 2nd-hand.

The D3200 has Expeed 3, vs the Expeed 2 of the D5100, but the D3200 has a smaller pixel pitch. Not sure how that would work out in terms of noise but if DXO is to be believed, the D5100 appears to marginally win through.
gad-westy said:
Yep, no better sensor performance than these two for £350, new or used.
Click to expand...
That's how it's looking! If high-ISO noise is comparable between them, I think I'll plop for the D5100. It still has the flippy-outy screen and built-in intervalometer.

Many thanks everyone! :thumbs:
 
Pookeyhead said:
You'll struggle to get a used D7000 for £350 though.

For your budget I'd get a 3200. It's a piece of plastic crap, but the sensor is good.
Click to expand...

I have tested the D3200 in store and I was impressed with its sensor.

Why dont you shoot with both of them in store, go back home and compare the results. The D3200 might surprise you.
 
Surprise in what way, that the sensor he has said is good turns out to be good?
 
I haven't used the D3200 but I owned a D7000 and used a D5100 .... I like the way that they handle noise - definitely better than the other DX Nikons I've owned or used. I don't think the D5100 would let you down in that respect. And you are correct they have identical image processing/sensor.
 
architectfadi said:
I have tested the D3200 in store and I was impressed with its sensor.

Why dont you shoot with both of them in store, go back home and compare the results. The D3200 might surprise you.
Click to expand...
I wish I could but, now Jessops is no more, travelling to a store from where I am would actually impact my budget for the camera. But I have access to the knowledge and expertise on this forum to compensate! :D

ernesto said:
Surprise in what way, that the sensor he has said is good turns out to be good?
Click to expand...

Needlessly combative, Chris ;) It's fair to say that the sensor/processor of the D3200 are disproportionate to the camera's price point. No matter how good I know this entry-level camera's specs are on paper, I suspect I'll be floored by its performance in the flesh. Or, more to the point, polymer resin. There's no question it punches above its weight! :)

PaulButler said:
I haven't used the D3200 but I owned a D7000 and used a D5100 .... I like the way that they handle noise - definitely better than the other DX Nikons I've owned or used. I don't think the D5100 would let you down in that respect. And you are correct they have identical image processing/sensor.
Click to expand...

Good enough for me! :D
 
I was at work when I posted earlier so couldn't put any examples up ....

This was shot in raw @ iso6400, no noise reduction in post, on the D7000 and Tokina 100mm macro lens @ f4 - converted using default setting in LR4


and this is a 100% crop from the same ...


Apologies for the marks on the glass ... but personally I think that is pretty good noise handling ...
 
ernesto said:
Surprise in what way, that the sensor he has said is good turns out to be good?
Click to expand...

For a low end consumer camera the sensor inside the D3200 is really good. I wont be surprised if the D7000 replacement will have the sensor from the D3200 or the D5200.
 
Paul, that looks good enough to me! (apart from the marks on the glass!! ;) )

Bearing in mind that my main camera is a D2x, where a 400 ISO image is pretty much unusable, picture me impressed :D
 
Don't know how good the 3100/5100 are at iso, but a higher mileage used d300 could be an option. Up to 1600 it's fine and it's a great body.
 
cambsno said:
Don't know how good the 3100/5100 are at iso, but a higher mileage used d300 could be an option. Up to 1600 it's fine and it's a great body.
Click to expand...
It's specifically a significant low-light performance boost that I'm looking for. For robust hardware, my D2x will still be my daytime camera for climbing over walls, slipping in the mud etc. Fond of the D300, but it's been superceded several times now. :)
Phil Young said:
D3200 gets my vote. Same noise handling as D7000/5100...well.... 1/10th of a stop worse... :)
Click to expand...
Yep, it's close, but I'm getting creaky in my old age, and the flippyouty screen of the D5100 is calling. One of these days I'm not going to be able to get back up after taking photos of creepy crawlies in the grass ;)

Also, the D5100 has the intervalometer. I really fancy getting some shots and timelapses of the milky way. I tried shooting it with my D2x, but with the Nikkor 12-24mm being F4 at best, and shooting at 200 ISO (you can't really tell stars from noise above that), a 30 second exposure didn't render anything worth keeping. I figure at 6400 (5 stops more sensitivity), I'm in with a shot. :)
 
SimonH said:
Yep, it's close, but I'm getting creaky in my old age, and the flippyouty screen of the D5100 is calling. One of these days I'm not going to be able to get back up after taking photos of creepy crawlies in the grass ;)

:)
Click to expand...

Be warned here though. The flippy out screen isn't all that good. The problem is, focussing isn't as reliable as the viewfinder (read up on contrast vs phase difference focussing) and the camera takes an age to take the photo - it has to flip the mirror back down again before taking the photo, adding a second or so delay to the process. Both of these really matter for bugs..... It's quite good at awkward cityscape or landscape shots over walls etc...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top