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Deejaybee727

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I hope that some of you will offer suggestions to me as I try to sort out a starter APS-C camera and a couple of lenses to get me started in the learning process. Have only been using Point & Shoot til now. I love taking wildlife shots and landscapes with my Coolpix P900 and my Canon SX730HS. I'm considering a used Nikon D5500, and would like a couple of lenses, with at least one of them being a long telephoto that will not break my bank...no $1,500 lenses in my immediate future. I will be looking at good used lenses as well. I've seen some very reasonably priced ones at a well known online store. I'd love to have feedback and suggestions as to whether the D5500 is a good choice for a person who is unskilled but eager to learn. I want to try to get the basics down before I invest in a newer, high-end, and more complicated camera. Just looking at all the possibilities makes my head spin! Thanks in advance for your time and any feedback you may offer!!
 
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A bundle made up of the Nikon Z50 with 16-50mm and 50-250mm lenses is worth considering, and is often discounted. Longer telephoto lenses are on the roadmap, such as the 200-600mm lens. Similar bundles can be made from the Sony a6400, Lumix G95, and Fujifilm X-T30 II. The Nikon bundle is perhaps the most cost effective. I would skip buying into a DSLR system at this time.

Best wishes on finding the right product for your needs.
 
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While mirrorless may be the way of the future I see nothing wrong with a starter dslr system. Prices of used dslr gear are low, much lower than an equivalent mirrorless. As for a long tele, depends on what you mean by long. The 70-300 is in your price range but a used 200-500 may be a better choice/value as the 200-500 would still be very viable in the mirrorless world. The 18-65 DX is a great lens and paired with a 70-300 (one of the later versions) is a nice starter kit.
 
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Not a dslr or an interchangeable lens camera but I would also suggest giving the Sony RX10-iv a serious look. It is a significant upgrade to the P900 with a larger sensor, far better glass )Zeiss lens), ability to shoot RAW and far superior image quality. My wife started with a P900 and after she broke it (took a tumble down a hill with the lens fully extended...oops) she didn't want to have to carry multiple lenses etc. I did a lot of research and settled on the Sony. Unless you looked at the EXIF data, I would challenge anyone to tell me if a photo was shot with her Sony or my Nikon. Some of the very far extremes (light too low to really be shooting anyway, an animal a quarter mile out in a field, extreme macro shots, etc.) one can tell but for 90% of the work we do, they are fine. In fact, she has been published a couple times with photos taken with her RX10. It is close to being in your price range and would be a step up from most of the low end kit lenses.
 
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No, the D5500 is not a good choice in the Nikon world. The problem with the D3xxx and D5xxx series is that you'll outgrow them too quickly. If DSLR APS-C is what you want, the D500 is still the best choice. I can't speak for mirrorless APS-C cameras. If that's too much money I'd look for a D7200 over the D5500 for sure. As far as lenses - the best bang for your buck is still the 200-500 f/5.6 (assuming you're doing birds and wildlife). I hear the 3rd party 150-600 lenses are also pretty good, but I've never used them.
 
Wondering why you mentioned the d5500 in particular and why you specified aps-c. Is it just that it fits your budget, or does something about that particular camera appeal to you? Do you have a total budget? What do you want to shoot that you can't shoot with your current camera /will you need several lenses?

Remember you will need to budget for some accessories like a battery charger, maybe a camera bag, a couple of memory cards, a computer with a card reader or maybe a cable to connect camera to computer.

It's human nature for us to want you to shoot our pet brand and cameras we have used (Canon is the worlds best selling brand for interchangable lens cameras for a reason, dontcha know?) a lot of us our first 'real' camera is our forever brand, because the lenses start to build a system where your next body can use some of the same lenses if you stay with the same brand. You need a sorting hat.
 
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Deejaybee727 said:
I hope that some of you will offer suggestions to me as I try to sort out a starter APS-C camera and a couple of lenses to get me started in the learning process. Have only been using Point & Shoot til now. I love taking wildlife shots and landscapes with my Coolpix P900 and my Canon SX730HS. I'm considering a used Nikon D5500, and would like a couple of lenses, with at least one of them being a long telephoto that will not break my bank...no $1,500 lenses in my immediate future. I will be looking at good used lenses as well. I've seen some very reasonably priced ones at a well known online store. I'd love to have feedback and suggestions as to whether the D5500 is a good choice for a person who is unskilled but eager to learn. I want to try to get the basics down before I invest in a newer, high-end, and more complicated camera. Just looking at all the possibilities makes my head spin! Thanks in advance for your time and any feedback you may offer!!
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You will probably get all kinds of recommendations, but just about any starter kit will give you the tools you need to learn the basics. Most of the consumer kits come with a couple of lenses - I believe that the D5500 comes with a 18-55mm, and a 70-300mm, plenty enough to learn with. The D5600 kit retails for around $800 new, and I'm sure you could find one used for $500-600. It's a great starter kit. The kit bundles are a perfectly fine place to start - as your skills and interest grow, you can add better and longer lenses and still use the same camera body (spending money on glass is always the better way to go). Later, if you stick with it, upgrading to a full frame camera is always an option, and you'd still be able to use whatever lenses you've acquired.

I'd also suggest that you pick up a couple of basic books on photography - Bryan Peterson has several excellent ones that are easy to read, and will get you off on the right foot - Understanding Exposure is a particularly good introduction. Also recommended is one of the Creative Live courses on whatever camera model you choose - the courses generally run around $20, and are well worth the investment. Best of luck, and welcome to the club!
 
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Thank you all so much for your suggestions!
@grossidm, you mention that I will outgrow the D5500 too quickly, and that's actually a concern I've had. In fact, my first choice in an APS-C DSLR was a D500 as you suggested. However, as I've read and watched Youtubes for several months, it seemed on the subject of Nikon beginners that a lot of more experienced photographers and professionals recommended starting with simpler cameras, and the D5xxx and D7xxx series have come up often. Of those, the used D5500 was less expensive, and therefore less loss when I moved up to a bigger, better model! So that was my thinking anyway...
@Charles Loy I've also looked really hard at that D7500, thinking that eventually the higher fps and the buffer size might be better for my wildlife aspiriations, and it was getting me closer to that D500.
@bleirer, I have really had fun shooting with the P900, and my little Canon point and shoot has given me great, beautiful photos as well. My reasons for moving into interchangeable lens cameras...I think alot of it is challenging myself more, and that I might eventually be able to get higher quality shots. It definitely gives me joy when I feel that I've captured a moment that I can share with friends. I wouldn't mind investing more as I go, if I truly enjoy the challenges and it results in higher quality photos. I appreciate you pointing out the need to budget for all the necessary accessories. I've been comparing some straps (better than the ones that come with the cameras) and camera bags...I have the computer with the card reader...like any hobby, I know there is always more stuff!
@jeffnles1 - thank you for the suggestion of giving the Sony consideration, I will give it a look. That fall your wife took with the P900 extended - the fall is terrible in itself, but breaking the camera to boot! Double Ugh! I nearly dropped mine while taking photos of the partial lunar eclipse in November, and I had to take several deep breaths before I could resume.
@Craig Yuill - Thank you for the mirrorless recommendations, I've read really good reviews. I've also had a friend recommend the micro four thirds cameras for the sake of lighter weight, and read good things about those.
@Warren D - thank you for your starter kit/lens recommendations. I'll look at these as well. Ditto @Abinoone - I appreciate the starter kit suggestions and also the reading material. I am going to look at the Peterson book(s) on Amazon.

I am overwhelmed with the responses from all of you, and appreciate you taking the time to give me all these suggestions and sharing your thoughts. It means alot, and I will definitely take it all to heart. I have a tendency to overthink things, but in this instance I think it's best to give it plenty of thought! thanks again to all of you for your time and sharing your knowledge.
 
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bleirer said:
a lot of us our first 'real' camera is our forever brand, because the lenses start to build a system where your next body can use some of the same lenses if you stay with the same brand. You need a sorting hat.
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for me, building that system with camera + lenses will definitely be a commitment! lenses, lenses, lenses.
 
Deejaybee727 said:
for me, building that system with camera + lenses will definitely be a commitment! lenses, lenses, lenses.
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So this is something to consider. The dslr is dying. Thats part of why prices are so good, I think. For someone on a budget they can still give high quality results, its just that no one is designing new ones, everyone is designing mirrorless, and for whatever reason the focus is on full frame mirrorless, not crop sensor.

The lenses for mirrorless are a different mount and dslr lenses need an adapter to work on mirrorless. Mirrorless lenses can't be used on dslr. Lenses specifically for crop cameras don't necessarily work on full frame, or if they do work they only work in crop mode. On the other hand a kit lens might not be one you'll choose to carry over to your next body, so one strategy might be to go used crop dslr of the current or recent generation (sensors get better every generation) and just start fresh again if you eventually go mirrorless. Another option woukd be to sink more money into something basic that uses the full frame mirrorless mount, for example Nikon z6 or Canon RP, but you are talking more like $1000-$1300 for a body at the most basic used level.
 
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Deejaybee727 said:
Thank you all so much for your suggestions!

@jeffnles1 - thank you for the suggestion of giving the Sony consideration, I will give it a look. That fall your wife took with the P900 extended - the fall is terrible in itself, but breaking the camera to boot! Double Ugh! I nearly dropped mine while taking photos of the partial lunar eclipse in November, and I had to take several deep breaths before I could resume.
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Thanks. Fortunately she didn't get hurt just broke her camera (and bruised her pride a little).
Good luck with the next steps on cameras. I guess the good news is there really are no truly bad choices out there among any of the ones mentioned so far.
 
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Something often overlooked by experienced photographers is the lack of support for novice photographers with the higher end cameras. The 5xxx series cameras provide very useful picture modes that greatly increase the chances for success and having fun and getting good pictures to share with others.

The camera I recommend and is still being sold is the Nikon D5300 which has built-in Wifi and built-in GPS for automatically geotagging image files. For some bizarre reason Nikon's product managers decided to put GPS into the AW120 and the D5300 and the D6 and Z9. The logic of their thinking escapes me completely.

With every one of my pro Nikon digital cameras I have always had to buy a Bluetooth adapter for each camera so I could use it with a Holux GPS receiver and geotag my files. The AW120 even has a digital compass that shows the direction in which the camera was pointing when taking the picture.
 
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For only a little more than the price of a new D5500 you can get a used D500. A more complex camera, sure, but you can use it in a mode setting and keep it simple to start. Then you will have room to grow as you become interested in more advanced features. For wildlife I think you would be very happy with the D500 autofocus capability's, and 10 frames per second can be quite useful at times.

A lens that might make sense for you, and that is well under the $1500 mark you mentioned, is the Tamron 100-400. Just throwing that out there for something to consider. I have one and find it nice and light and pretty darn sharp.
 
Woodyg3 said:
For only a little more than the price of a new D5500 you can get a used D500. A more complex camera, sure, but you can use it in a mode setting and keep it simple to start. Then you will have room to grow as you become interested in more advanced features. For wildlife I think you would be very happy with the D500 autofocus capability's, and 10 frames per second can be quite useful at times.

A lens that might make sense for you, and that is well under the $1500 mark you mentioned, is the Tamron 100-400. Just throwing that out there for something to consider. I have one and find it nice and light and pretty darn sharp.
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The OP did not give a budget, I don't think.
 
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I second the recommendation on Bryan Peterson’s book ‘Understanding Exposure’. He does a really good job of eplaining exposure settings in a way that is easy to understand and shows many sample photos. This book helped me so much in the beginning and I can’t recommend it enough. Once you get a solid basic understanding of expsoure settings, Steve has some great ebooks to check out for wildlife photography.

Regarding the camera/lens recommendation, I’m a bit conflicted on what I’d suggest. The future being mirrorless, I struggle to recommend DSLRs because any lens you purchase would require an adapter once you go mirrorless or you would need to purchase new lenses. There are plenty of used cheap mirrorless cameras, but I can’t think of one to recommend since most of them wouldn’t be worthwhile. Maybe a Fuji X-T30 or Sony A6400. With that said, you could easily get by with something like a D5500 or any of the D7x00 Nikon DSLRs, but you would essentially be buying a discontinued product line.
 
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FWIW, my wife is shooting a D500 with hardly any photography experience and gets amazing results. The autofocus and frame rates are excellent. I agree with other posters that mirrorless is the future but I see no downside to a D500 body. I’m still getting great results with mine too! Not bad for macro work either.
 
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I started off with a D500 and the 200-500 on the recommendation of a friend and he was absolutely correct! You can do just about anything with that setup, and it is not difficult to learn, if fact, start with it in P mode (all automatic) and as you gain more knowledge you will eventually graduate to fully Manual because you understand "why".

You can start with shooting .jpg images and editing them online, and eventually, go to RAW and use Lightroom.

With a lot of photographers moving to mirrorless, there are some great deals on use equipment out there. Buy from a good dealer or someone you know.

Even though I use my Nikon Z6II most of the time (with the Nikon 300 and 500 PF lenses), I still use my D500 and 200-500 and won't ever sell it!
 
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I would suggest a used d500 (about $1000) or d850 (more $$) and a Sigma 150-600C or Tamron 150-600. (about $800) If you are starting out you should invest in Steve's books on how to setup a Nikon DSLR and these two cameras will get the most out of these DSLR-centric books. If you have money left over purchase a Benro MAD59 monopod and a Wimberly monogimble because both the 150-600 lenses are heavy. If you can spend a bit more see if someone here is selling a good used Nikon 200-500. (About $1K used). It is also heavy.

If birds are your passion I suggest 'Secrets to stumming birds-in-flight photography' What I am saying is that your learning curve will be significantly, i mean SIGNIFICANTLY, shortened because Steve's books will show you how to setup a Nikon and how to take a photograph. Up until a year ago or so Steve was mostly into Nikon and the recommended cameras are top-of the-line DSLR's from Nikon. This means that you can use the setups that Steve recommends.

Regards,

Tom
 
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My 2 cents FWIW from me as a Newbee who was once in your situation a short while back I would absolutely consider looking at the Nikon D500 .. Yes its true the camera world is changing to Mirrorless however go back over this thread and you`ll find at least 6 other people not including myself that have recommended the Nikon D500 ,,there is good reason for that ,, Its a great APS-C Camera for wildlife and you can, for sure, acheive some great Landscapes with it . its also easily sourced on the USED market for a decent price right now,, there are lots of very very good Lenses for the D500 at very very good prices ,also in the USED market, and as one other member has stated , you will out grow the D5500 pretty quickly ...

There are also lots of very knowledgeable guys here that shoot Sony,Canon,Fugi etc so do not discount what they have to say about the particular brand they use as you may find something similar/better that suits your needs . I`ve also heard Canon are a great brand that is very compatable with lots of non nataive lenses so that may be an option for you to consider .I am merely giving you my take on what I use but its your call at the end of the day..

What I will say is, whichever way you decide to go you can be assured there are lots of great Cameras & Lenses on the USED market so definitely take a look at whats on offer .. I don`t own a single lens that I`ve bought Brand New and I`ve gotten some pretty incredible Photos with them ..

Even though the general concessus says FX ""full frame"" is the best way to go for Landscape photography and while that may be true as it generally has better quality , there is also nothing wrong with using APS-C as well for Landscapes .. Also for a Novice who`s just getting into photography Aps-C is a great choice.. Its also true to say that you`d be hard pushed to find ANY camera nowadays that wouldn`t take a great image..

I hope this was of some help to you and Good luck with your choice - hope to see you back here with some nice photos


Harry.G
 
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I graduated from Nikon and Lumix point and shoots to a D7500 kit from Costco….it came with 2 kit lenses…an 18-55mm DX and a 70-300mm DX, in about 2016. Both lenses worked well. I was getting into wildlife and was primarily using the 70-300, an underrated very nice lightweight lens. The D7500 worked very well and I progressed from shooting in Program mode, to Aperture Priority, and eventually to Manual with Auto ISO…..in part from watching @Steve’s videos and picking up ideas from this forum. I then graduated to a D500 and use the D7500 as a backup.

In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with the D500. I picked up the D7500 fairly quickly. There was a little steeper learning curve with the D500, primarily due to all of the customization available on it compared to the D7500. The D500 is something that you can progress through and it has a higher ceiling than the other APS-C DSLRs.

If you can’t swing a D500, then I’d go with a D7xxx body. The D5xxx bodies are more limited as far as making adjustments. YMMV.
 
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Having read the posts after mine, I think the D500 might be the best recommendation. Buying it used for around $1000, getting either the Nikon 200-500mm or Tamron 150-600 really is the best performance for the money you can buy for wildlife. You are buying DSLR as everyone is moving to mirrorless, but you should be very happy with it for quite a while. I think you would find the limited buttons on the D5500 cumbersome once you begin to know what you are doing and would quickly want to upgrade. The D500 still holds up well compared all but the best mirrorless cameras today in AF performance and is most likely the best APS-C DSLR made.
 
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