Nikon D5X00

doodah

doodah

doodah

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Me and girlfriend have decided we can't go on our first proper holiday without a camera and we can't get a camera without going on a holiday, win win :D.

I have been meaning to buy an SLR for a while now but this time I have a little more financial flexibility. The budget is up to £500 but I think I can probably get away with £400-450 after a quick Google.

After playing with a friend's D5200, I immediately fell in love with. Easy to use straight away and it looked like it had plenty of bells and whistles to grasp once I start learning to use manual. Essentially that's what we are after; a camera takes decent pictures in auto but allows good scope for the more advanced. We are both beginners, though I have used enough SLRs to know my way round and my girlfriend has quite a keen eye for decent photos. For now I would imagine the kit 18-55mm will do.

Until yesterday I had my eye on the D5200 but have just seen the D5300 can be had for ~£450 (body and lens). Quite often the D5200 isn't *that* much cheaper. I really doubt I would use GPS but what can you do with WiFi on a camera? Has anyone used both cameras?

Where is the best place to buy cameras? I remember reading something on here a while back about an online store that offers good prices through importing?

So is the D5X00 a worthy choice? Or is there a competitor worth consideration? Thanks :)

EDIT

I have found a D5300 for £465 with a kit lens or a D5200 with the following:

1) Nikon D5200 Digital SLR Camera Body
2) Nikon 18-55mm VR (Vibration Reduction) Lens
3) Wide Angle Lens
4) 2X Telephoto Lens
5) 3 Piece Filter Kit
6)Flower Lens Hood
7) 32GB Memory Card
8) High Speed Memory Card Reader
9) Slave Flash
10)Carrying Case

For £400 :eek:. Surely not!!!?
 
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IMO opinion one of the best DSLRs out there when considering value. The d7xoo are nicer prosumer orientated cameras, the D7100 is quite stunning with its auto focus system but you do pay more for this.
 
xibinim said:
EDIT

I have found a D5300 for £465 with a kit lens or a D5200 with the following:

1) Nikon D5200 Digital SLR Camera Body
2) Nikon 18-55mm VR (Vibration Reduction) Lens
3) Wide Angle Lens
4) 2X Telephoto Lens
5) 3 Piece Filter Kit
6)Flower Lens Hood
7) 32GB Memory Card
8) High Speed Memory Card Reader
9) Slave Flash
10)Carrying Case

For £400 :eek:. Surely not!!!?
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It doesn't say what telephoto lens or wide angle, sounds like a scam or junk, avoid.

Look on camerapricebuster.co.uk for best prices on UK stock.
You can import from hong kong but you will legally need to declare taxes to HMRC else you are committing illegal tax fraud. you also don't get a UK warranty so if something goes wrong you likely have to ship it to HK. It also reduces second hand value.
 
Thanks for the link DP. Assume SanDisk Class 10 is a decent memory card suggestion?

EDIT

Perhaps the prices in my OP were a little naive. The site I used for those are way off the prices camerapricebuster.co.uk are showing.

EDIT 2

Searched the forum and have seen others mention camera retailers. SLRHut was the store I got the OP prices from but it seems to get mixed reviews. digitalrev appears to get a better rep, any one confirm? The D5300 can be had for £509 and a SanDisk Extreme 64GB SDXC for £40.

EDIT 3

HDEW do the D500 with a kit lens for £550 but it comes with a 3 year warranty and by the looks of it everything is dealt with in the UK.
 
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xibinim said:
HDEW do the D500 with a kit lens for £550 but it comes with a 3 year warranty and by the looks of it everything is dealt with in the UK.
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I have just finished placing an order with HDEW for the reason they are a UK company, and their prices are very good, though more than importing... I also did it over the phone (due to past issues with Sage Pay) and I have to say they were very nice to deal with. I received my confirmation email a few minutes later. So far, so good, but obviously until I have the goods I can't speak for the rest of the process... I should have it (Canon 70D) in 3 to 5days.
 
I bought my D5100 + kit lens for £340 after Nikon cashback back in Dec 2012.

I'm really am happy with this camera. Got the 35mm F1.8 Prime lens too for £120 and use that all the time.

Look out for some bargain S/H D5100's. I don't there there is much difference with the newer models other than more focus points and WIFI/GPS.
 
xibinim said:
Thanks for the link DP. Assume SanDisk Class 10 is a decent memory card suggestion?

EDIT

Perhaps the prices in my OP were a little naive. The site I used for those are way off the prices camerapricebuster.co.uk are showing.

EDIT 2

Searched the forum and have seen others mention camera retailers. SLRHut was the store I got the OP prices from but it seems to get mixed reviews. digitalrev appears to get a better rep, any one confirm? The D5300 can be had for £509 and a SanDisk Extreme 64GB SDXC for £40.

EDIT 3

HDEW do the D500 with a kit lens for £550 but it comes with a 3 year warranty and by the looks of it everything is dealt with in the UK.
Click to expand...


Neither HDEW or Digital rev give you a UK model, so Nikon wont touch them Both companies have some kind of warranty service of their own, but I don't know what that really is or how reliable. They aren't scam companies though, just don't expect the same customer service as a good UK retailer or have such an easy time of things go wrong. I think with digital rev you will have to send your camera to Hong Kong at your shipping expense. I think HDEW you send it to a UK address, they try to fix it there if it is monitor/do testing and then send it to hong kong. When in Hong kong I don't think Nikon is officially repairing these cameras either, they just get parts and replacements and do the fixing in some backshop.
 
Useful to know - thanks. My bank provides gadget insurance with a relatively low excess:

Protection for up to £750 in total against theft, breakdown, accidental and malicious damage.
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Would this not suffice?
 
xibinim said:
Useful to know - thanks. My bank provides gadget insurance with a relatively low excess:



Would this not suffice?
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Only by passing the fine print to a lawyer would you know.
You will probably find many exemptions, such as the protection is only in extension manufacturer warranty. I wouldn't be surprised if you made a claim that your new Nikon Camera doesn't work then they will ask you to send it to Nikon for a repair, Nikon UK don't have to touch a foreign import so might tell you to send it to the region of purchase for repair, e.g. send it to Hong Kong. Will the insurers be happy to pay for that complexity?

If the insurers find out it is it a grey import then that might be all the excuse they need to deny coverage In fact legally they might not want anything to do with an an grey import. I don't think anyone can accurately say, just note it is in the insurance providers interest not to shell out money if they have grounds to say the claim is invalid.

Personally, I would buy from a reputable UK retailer, pay the taxes due, have a free conscious, and know that your camera is protected by UK consumer law.
 
Gadgets up to a combined original retail value of £750 including VAT. Each gadget must have a minimum original retail value of £50 including VAT, and must be no more than two years old (from original purchase date of the device when new) at the point of registration and no more than five years old at any point during the period of cover. The gadget(s) must be owned by you or be your responsibility.

Replacing or repairing your gadget in the event of:

− theft
− damage
− breakdown (including faults)

If your gadget is damaged or breaks down we will either:

(1) repair the gadget (where possible) or
(2) replace it with a gadget of the same make and model. If we cannot do this you will be given a choice of models with an equivalent specification.
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They do mention "this policy is provided in addition to any manufacturer’s warranty" but only for mobile phones. This aspect is not mentioned in the gadget section. I'll do a little more digging otherwise get it through a UK retailer.
 
D.P. said:
Neither HDEW.
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Is this correct?... I missed this earlier somehow.

They claim "All products come with a standard 1-year manufacturers warranty" plus they add an addition 2 year warranty of their own.

In the FAQ

"Are all products guaranteed for UK repair?

Yes. All products can be repaired in the UK"

I will ring them tommorow for clarification, as I feel if this is not a proper UK camera, with a proper UK warranty then it needs to be made clear.

Not sure what I will do, if that is the case... in 25years of owning many cameras not one has ever failed... but.


Edit..

Its an old post on Talk Photography, but someone phoned Canon about imports and this is the quote.

"A quick phone call to Canon UK and now I know that I can happily buy these products and be fully covered by a UK warranty as long as the retailer has a UK address on the invoice."

HDEW do have a UK address and outlet, but I may seek clarification from Canon as well, in case this has changed... if correct then no worries using this company.
 
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redline said:
Is this correct?... I missed this earlier somehow.

They claim "All products come with a standard 1-year manufacturers warranty" plus they add an addition 2 year warranty of their own.

In the FAQ

"Are all products guaranteed for UK repair?

Yes. All products can be repaired in the UK"

I will ring them tommorow for clarification, as I feel if this is not a proper UK camera, with a proper UK warranty then it needs to be made clear.

Not sure what I will do, if that is the case... in 25years of owning many cameras not one has ever failed... but.
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That doesn't mean they have UK inventory though. It might be Hong Kong stock with a valid Hong Kong warranty but you get to send the camera to the UK office where they either repair it their themselves or send it themselves to Hong Kong.

I would check the canon/nikon official dealers, you should be able to find a list like this for the UK:
http://cdn-6.nikon-cdn.com/where-to-buy/nikon_img_auth_dealers.pdf

Then you know you are buying authentic legal imports.
 
D.P. said:
That doesn't mean they have UK inventory though. It might be Hong Kong stock with a valid Hong Kong warranty but you get to send the camera to the UK office where they either repair it their themselves or send it themselves to Hong Kong.

I would check the canon/nikon official dealers, you should be able to find a list like this for the UK:
http://cdn-6.nikon-cdn.com/where-to-buy/nikon_img_auth_dealers.pdf

Then you know you are buying authentic legal imports.
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What a blooming minefield this is... From reading more it seems all HDEW's repairs go back to Johnstones in Glasgow and it also seems most have no issues in dealing with them for warranty related issues... at least I've yet to read a bad experience [but, I'm still reading]

It basically seems... if the product is significantly cheaper than the average retail price, then it is most likely a grey import, full stop!....

I do think there needs to be legislation on companies selling in the UK marketplace to fully disclose all the facts...
 
Emailed the insurers, they said I should contact customer services. Helpful.

The pragmatist in me wants to get the D5200 but the tech geek wants the D5300 (1080p video, lighter, WiFi which I think I would use for remote shots)

The D5300 doesn't have a low pass filter (not going to pretend I know what this means but I do know it's something to do with ailising). Is the image quality noticeably sharper without it?
 
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xibinim said:
The D5300 doesn't have a low pass filter (not going to pretend I know what this means but I do know it's something to do with ailising). Is the image quality noticably sharper without it?
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Yes it is slightly sharper but only if you intend look at your shots at pixel level and put better glass on the front, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Just seen a D5200 for £379 (after £50 cash back) with the 18-55mm lens, two year guarantee, an additional battery and wireless remote. This was on a high street store :eek:, think I'm going to have to bite the bullet.
 
Bough it :D

Worst shopping experience though; it took 5 different people and 45 minutes to purchase it. I even had time to pop over to the laptops and decide what I should have for dinner and help an old woman with her mobile phone. It came in handy with some leaving drinks at work but I don't know how to use most of its functions, very excited to learn :).
 
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