Help buying first DSLR

As the title says, I am looking to purchase my first DSLR. I'm excited but also a bit overwhelmed. I've read through a lot of the threads here on the topic but still have some questions I'm hoping you will all be kind enough to answer.

Details:

1. I currently own a Nikon Coolpix p510. It's 5 years old and the zoom is starting to act up so it's time for a replacement. I like it a lot but I want a take my photography up a level with photos that are sharper.

2. My pictures generally consist of scenery and wildlife that I take while hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

3. Needs: Short term - I am going on a couple of cruises later this year (Alaska and Caribbean) and will mostly be taking outdoor photos of scenery, wildlife, and my family. Long term - I am a birdwatcher and would like to eventually get a lens that will allow some good bird photos. That lens is not in the budget for the initial purchase but I'd love some suggestions.

4. I want to keep it under $700 for the camera and whatever lens I will need for the pictures I like to take while hiking, camping, and while in alaska, to the extent that is feasible.

5. Right now, I'm looking at the Nikon D3300. It comes with a 18-55mm lens, 55-200mm lens, 55-300mm lens, or some combination thereof.

It sounds like kit lenses are generally looked down on. I was hoping to buy a camera body and then buy lenses separate but I can't find this camera on it's own. Since it looks like I'd be stuck with at least the 18-55mm lens, do you think this kit lens is something that I will eventually grow out of but is OK as a starter, or do you think I should get a better lens right from the beginning? I'd rather save a few more months and increase my budget to get a camera I will love versus buying something that will just frustrate me for a while before I replace it.

Thoughts?

The Nikon 3300 is a perfectly fine camera. (I have a 3100, the older model which is virtually identical, which I carry as a back up in case of failure of my main camera.)

The 18-55 lens is perfectly capable and will shoot excellent pictures. It will be your main lens for people pictures and landscape. The major disadvantage is that it is relatively slow, in other words doesn't have a large maximum aperture. This will only come into play in low light situations, where you are trying to shoot without flash.

The 3300 with the kit lens will undoubtably be worlds better than the point and shoot you have now.

And the great thing about an SLR is that later you can buy virtually any modern Nikon lens to use with it. The only limitation is that the 3300 does not have an internal focusing motor, so the lens must have one. Almost every modern Nikon lens does.

As one gets serious about photography, the often spend far more on lenses than on the camera body. (Not uncommon to spend $500 on the body, and $3000 on lenses). But for a more casual shooter, the kit lenses are fine.

The D3300 is a fine camera that will be clear upgrade from what you're shooting. Truthfully, all the entry level ILC (interchangeable lens cameras) will effectively give you the same results. Whether the Canon T5, the Sony A6000 or the Nikon D3300. (If you want to keep size down, go with the A6000) .

Nikon has some great lenses for wildlife and birding, but they are rather expensive. They have a new lens which is considered affordable by super-telephoto standards, the 200-500/5.6 It's about $1300.

Getting back to your starting kit.. the 18-55 will be a big step up in quality from your point and shoot. If you pixel peep, it won't hold up nearly as well as a premium lens. It won't have the same low light ability of a premium lens. And it won't give you the same degree of background separation that you can get from a premium lens.

Read this: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/07/lenses-dont-collect-the-whole-set/ Some of it won't make sense, but some will, and it's hilarious. Maybe halfway down, you'll see Rogers suggestions on how to start. The basic kit isn't great, but it's good enough to start, and I agree with Roger that you should prioritize adding a tripod (let's call it "medium" grade, maybe something in the 150-200 range - you don't want the $75 "camera store (junky) special, and you're not ready to spend upwards of $1500 on a really good tripod), a midrange flash (Nikon SB-600 or so), and an inexpensive "fast prime", either a 50/1.8 or 85/1.8 depending on your tastes.

If you're "bringing your own light", it's all about the light, and the camera/lens practically doesn't matter. I've gotten really involved in using studio lighting, and aside from certain relatively small performance advantages of my higher-end cameras, EVERY shot I take with studio lights could be done with entry-level camera and lens, and turn out at least 90% the same (some lenses do have a certain look to them that's not easy to replicate).

If you're not BYOL, it's all about the lens. Almost all of my favorites over the years could be taken with an entry-level camera - they're almost never shot "in a burst", so burst speed doesn't matter, but the choice of lens inevitably mattered. So truly, don't worry about the camera at this stage of the game, and kit lenses are fine. Some of the advantages of better lenses (thin depth of field) can be disadvantages until you learn to manage your focus points (by being focused on the wrong thing; P&S cameras are natively far more forgiving about focus errors, and often better at facial detection and focusing).

D3300 is a good choice. You will be happy with it and the 18 - 55. Because the sensor is not quite full frame, you willget what is known as a 1.5 crop, meaning that your 18 - 55 acts like a 27 - 82.5. For the nature, especially Alaska, you will be happy with either the 55 - 200, or the 55 - 300 (I have this one). If you need more zoom for a special situation (Alaska?), you can always rent a longer zoom (ie. 150 - 600 (225 - 900 after crop)), remembering that they are quite heavy.

The kit lenses you mentioned are very good, not the best, and significantly better than what you have.

A couple suggestions:

• Get in a lot of practice
  
• DO NOT BUY GREY MARKET. If something goes wrong, it will be very difficult to find anyone to repair it
  
• For the D3300 and any of the kit lenses, you do not need a a $200 Tripod. I am using a under $100 tripod that is more than adequate for beginners. On many cruises, I do not even bring it, and when I do, I seldom use it (I will use my Monopod some).
  
• Alternative flashes (Yungnuo as an example) are hundreds less
  

This looks like a good deal:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1119766-REG/nikon_13473_d3300_dslr_camera_with.html

D3300 with 18 - 55 and 55 - 200 under $600

Ken

Thank you all for the reassurance, information, and the link to the article!

Now I'll also start saving for that birding lens :)

I'm a canon fan, but nothing wrong with the 3300 at all.

But as others have said, get a good lens.

For the D3300 and any of the kit lenses, you do not need a a $200 Tripod. I am using a under $100 tripod that is more than adequate for beginners. On many cruises, I do not even bring it, and when I do, I seldom use it (I will use my Monopod some).

 

Alternative flashes (Yungnuo as an example) are hundreds less

The reasoning behind buying a $200 tripod instead of a $75-100 camera store special is to have it last through the point where the $100 tripod becomes "poo" and it's time for a better tripod. Sure, it might be good enough for the kit lenses, but anyone who upgrades lenses just a tiny bit, only to find out their tripod is woefully insufficient, is going to be disappointed when they end up buying a $200 tripod when they were encouraged to buy one of those in the first place.

The numbers here haven't suffered from inflation like real-world prices, but the concept is still the same: http://bythom.com/support.htm In my case, it's all true. I really did buy the aluminum $65 camera store special, with the annoying leg braces (it was two years before I read this article). It's good enough for a remote-controlled selfie in good light, but the camera shake is horrendous. For our 2010 cruise, I rented a medium-duty tripod kit with a set of Velbon legs and a Markins ballhead, plus a set of Velbon legs and a Wimberley gimbal for the 500/4 I rented. That Christmas, my wife wanted to get me a tripod, so she tried to get the same one we rented; it'd been discontinued, so she got the one LensRentals was now using in its place (a $400 Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 - carbon fiber legs, lever locks, stiff/jerky center column that can do a funky horizontal move that's odd and awkward, plus a $350 Markins ballhead). It served us well for 4-5 years, but it was too short for me to use it well, wobbly at max height, and I'd grown less fond of lever locks. Up next, a $1,000 set of legs from RRS with a $275 leveling base, and a $500 Wimberley gimbal head. I'm about to buy a $450 ballhead. The good thing is that my wife will happily use the old tripod, and I might use it for remote cameras, etc. If it wasn't for that, that $750 tripod would be up for sale, probably only netting half of what we paid.

And yes, there are alternate flashes. Read up on them before you go jumping into aftermarket flashes, so you know what (if any) surprises to expect. I expect my gear to work every time, and the only time my gear doesn't work is when it needs a repair. I wouldn't expect that level of reliability from aftermarket gear, especially Yungnuo. Perhaps YMMV is all I need to say.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2016-round-up-interchangeable-lens-cameras-under-500

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2016-roundup-interchangeable-lens-cameras-800-1200

DON

[*]For the D3300 and any of the kit lenses, you do not need a a $200 Tripod. I am using a under $100 tripod that is more than adequate for beginners. On many cruises, I do not even bring it, and when I do, I seldom use it (I will use my Monopod some).

 

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1119766-REG/nikon_13473_d3300_dslr_camera_with.html

 

 

D3300 with 18 - 55 and 55 - 200 under $600

 

 

Ken

Before you waste money on a $100 tripod, read this - it is a classic -

http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

You obviously do not need to spend as much as Thom spends but his point that you can buy several bad tripods until you end up finally buying a good one or just buy a good one once is correct.

DON

Another vote for D3300 is a good starting model... it's also available in red!

[YOUTUBE]5RTh9K0kUDo[/YOUTUBE]

Before you waste money on a $100 tripod, read this - it is a classic -

 

http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

 

You obviously do not need to spend as much as Thom spends but his point that you can buy several bad tripods until you end up finally buying a good one or just buy a good one once is correct.

 

DON

I agree that a good tripod is invaluable. I was simply pointing out to a new DSLR user, for cruises, it is not the most important piece of equipment if living in a budget. On the ship, or an excursion, the opportunities, in my limited experience, are far and few between. On the ship, the motion of the ocean and the engine vibration will go right through the tripod to cause vibration. On an excursion, with exceptions, there is often not enough time to set up a tripod. Just my .02.

The two DPReview articles are good. Thanks for sharing.

Ken

Looks like you're getting a lot of good advice. I read thru it all fairly quick. I don't think anyone mentioned: When changing lenses with digital, you really have to be careful of dust or any particles in the air and keeping them off the inside of the camera and lens. The reason I mention this is you talk about landscape and wildlife, which might take a lens change in places where it's not a good idea. I don't want to make too big a deal out of it but I do believe it might be worth considering, maybe a 18-135mm lens, which is a more general purpose lens, for traveling and you might not need as many lens changes for your shots (and you'll miss less shots because of it, LOL).

Also, just another thing to think about, how much camera equipment do you want to take along, not just because of the weight and bulk, but also because of the security issues. In Europe there are more and more scanners at various tourist sites (I'm just back from Italy, Greece, and Medi) and bags are really becoming a pain to take into tourist stops.

Anyway, good luck with it!

I agree with dust concerns.... my fav lens is the 18-200mm to minimize lens swaps when traveling. However it pushes your budget and you may need an external flash to avoid lens shadows when extended.

dSLRs and all ILCs are meant to allow lens changing. (obviously). Fear of dust is way overrated. One shouldn't accept an inferior lens simply because they are afraid of changing the lens.

The only place one needs to be super concerned about changing lenses would be in the rain and on the beach. Sand and water are scary... but regular dust, not so much.

1 -- Just know how to change your lens. Don't leave the camera without a lens attached for an extended time. Make the swap quickly, keep the camera body turned down while there is no lens attached. Don't have the wind blowing directly into the camera.

2 -- Over time, you absolutely will get dust on the sensor. So from time to time, you need to clean your sensor. (for a few dollars, you get a blower which blows off the dust. Sometimes dust really wants to stick, and you need to use a swab to get it off).

My two prior DSLRs Nikon and Canon, but preferred my Canon Rebel T3i. Then I bought a new Sony a6000 a couple of months ago and will not use any other camera from now on! It is a mirror less model and is ver fast.

For the sake of closure, I thought I'd let you all know that I've decided on the D3300 with the kit 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses. I'm going to play with those over the next few months to see what I like before committing to anything else.

Again, the help is much appreciated. I've learned more about cameras over the last couple of weeks than I ever thought I would! I'm excited to get started.

A lot of very good advice here!

I have one other suggestion that I don't think I saw yet:

If you want to save on size and weight, a great travel system is a camera that uses the Micro Four/Thirds sensor.

These are not DSLR's. They don"t utilize a mirror, therefore it can be smaller. It uses an electronic viewfinder instead, and they are very good.

The image quality from these is quite amazing too! (See my website for examples).

My recommendations are for Panasonic Lumix, or for Olympus.

Both of these cameras share the same lens mount, and have some excellent lenses available for birding, when you can get the budget sorted out for one.

And it's true: whatever camera body you buy, it can/will be upgraded from time to time. But your lenses...it's all about the lenses!

These you will have for a very long time. Don't cheap out there.:)