Upgrade from Nikon D60

[Frenzy]

Alright so this is the kit I have at the moment.

Nikon D60 body
Nikon VR 18-50mm lens
Nikon VR 55-200mm lens
Nikon 1.4 50mm lens not VR
I think I have a 300mm Tamron somewhere too.

I'm looking to upgrade for two reasons, one live view and two better night shots.

I have a budget of around 300-400 for a body, is it worth it? Any suggestions of what I should be looking at? This is purely as a hobby, one which I haven't touched for a while. I just fancy getting back into it.

 

[K.C. Leblanc]

The D60 is fairly old now and there are quite a few options. Are you looking at new of used?

I would start your hunt by looking at the D5100 onwards and also the D7000. The D7k is a bigger more grown up camera and has better compatibility with older Nikon lenses. The D5x00 is very much an evolution of the camera you have.

I personally have a D7000 and would recommend it highly.

EDIT: If you want to spend a lot less then even a D3200 would give you a noticeable improvement in low light performance and live view.

 

[Frenzy]

Thanks for the recommendations!

I would go second hand, it doesn't have to be new. Is there much a of a performance difference between a D5X00 and a D7000? What about the D7100 and D7200?

I've seen some D3200 cameras for around £180, body only.

The issue I'm having is not knowing how much of a performance gap there is between the various models, if its negligible then going for an older camera wouldn't bother me too much.

EDIT: What do you think of mirror less cameras? The mirror noise annoys me when I'm trying to take pictures in a quiet setting...

 

[MichaelAwkward]

Nikon don't currently offer a mirrorless F mount camera and there aren't any decent adapters for other mounts yet so you'd have to sell your camera body and lenses.

The performance gap between the D3x00, D5x00 and D7x00 has become more features-wise as Nikon's sensors have improved.

So the D5x00 has the tilty screen, and the D7x00 has more controls and a more rugged body but for most people, the image quality is basically the same.

Since you've been using a D60, I think the D3200/3300 offers the best leap in performance for the cost whilst still being familiar. The D3x00 bodies are also fairly small for DSLRs, and quieter in operation.

 

[Schizo]

I went from sony to a nikon D7000,the jump was amazing,i am now selling all my gear for the move back to a sony A6000,difference is night and day but gotta say....the D7000 is a awesome bit of kit and would serve you well.

 

[the shadow]

Twin Command dials useful to you?

 

[Frenzy]

Nikon don't currently offer a mirrorless F mount camera and there aren't any decent adapters for other mounts yet so you'd have to sell your camera body and lenses.

The performance gap between the D3x00, D5x00 and D7x00 has become more features-wise as Nikon's sensors have improved.

So the D5x00 has the tilty screen, and the D7x00 has more controls and a more rugged body but for most people, the image quality is basically the same.

Since you've been using a D60, I think the D3200/3300 offers the best leap in performance for the cost whilst still being familiar. The D3x00 bodies are also fairly small for DSLRs, and quieter in operation.

Great response. I feel like a can make an informed decision now

I would consider dropping my nikon kit completely if it was worth going over to a mirror-less camera.

I went from sony to a nikon D7000,the jump was amazing,i am now selling all my gear for the move back to a sony A6000,difference is night and day but gotta say....the D7000 is a awesome bit of kit and would serve you well.

Schizo what do you mean about the difference being night and day, the shutter noise?

What exactly made you go back to the sony?

Twin Command dials useful to you?

Twin command dials, I have no preference either way.

 

[Schizo]

Great response. I feel like a can make an informed decision now

I would consider dropping my nikon kit completely if it was worth going over to a mirror-less camera.



Schizo what do you mean about the difference being night and day, the shutter noise?

What exactly made you go back to the sony?

There is not that much difference between the sony a6000 and my nikon (for me anyway).

I wanted a smaller camera,i went out saturday to London for a photo walk,carrying my camera around (with a bag and 2 lens and tripod) was to much for me,i was there from 7am till 8.30pm,i want something smaller and compact but still takes great photos.




Twin command dials, I have no preference either way.

 

[Frenzy]

So I've been doing a little research.

I was ever so tempted to get a Sony A6000, it let me down on three things though.
Low light AF is terrible apparently.
Kit lens isn't that great so I would have to include a new lens at extra cost.
Lens prices are INSANE in comparison to DSLRs.

I was going to grab a D3300 but then I came across the D5300 and then the D5500.

D3300:
Panoramic stitching

D5300:
WIFI
GPS - This isn't supposed to be great though (buggy?).
More AF points
Tilt screen - I initially was not bothered about this until I watched some youtube videos which made a valid point. If I want a perspective close to the ground or high up this feature would be desirable. This is also something the Sony A6000 does not have.

D5500:
Only lacks the GPS
Has touchscreen

So finally realising I could get a cheapo GPS module and I could have the ability to touch the screen to focus on a point and take a shot I've settled on the D5500.

I've heard that Nikon might be doing a mirrorless camera which might be announced in February?

Edit: I even looked at the D7XXX range and they removed the tilt screen??