is it worth upgrading to D5500

<p>Hi all,<br>

I'm new to this forum and I'm sorry if this question has already been answered. I wasn't able to find an appropriate answer myself.</p>

<p>The price of Nikon D5500 has dropped significantly and it can be purchased for around 800 Canadian dollars with 18-55 VR II lens.<br>

I'm thinking of upgrading to this camera but I'm not sure if I would really see any significant improvement over my current kit which includes:<br>

Nikon D3000 camera<br>

18-55 mm (Older NON-VR version)<br>

55-200 mm f/4-5.6 VR<br>

35 mm f/1.8 prime lens<br>

Nikon SB-700 flash</p>

<p>What I'm trying to get from new camera:<br>

1. Better high ISO performance. With D3000 I can go up to ISO 800 maximum. Anything above that is totally useless. I've heard that with D5500 you can easily go up to ISO 3200. What is your opinion about it? Do you use D5500 and how high you can go with ISO?<br>

2. Better AF system - Nikon D5500 has 39 AF points vs. 11 on D3000. My understanding is that on D5500 AF system is much faster and more accurate in low light. What is your experience with it?</p>

<p>Please understand that photography is just a hobby for me.<br>

If you are interested you can see my flickr photostream here:<br>

https://www.flickr.com/photos/popovsin/<br>

Thank you,<br>

Sinisa</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I would buy a used D5300. There's very little difference between it and D500. Certainly not enough to justify the $$ difference. The D5300 will give you an LCD screen.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>The D5500 has a much better sensor than the old 10Mp CCD sensor in the D3000, and it will give you at least one stop better low light response, so ISO 1600 will not be a problem. I don't know whether you will be happy using it at ISO 3200--I would be OK with it, but we all differ as to how much noise we tolerate.</p>

<p>As to the AF system, while the D5500 will represent a significant improvement, a D7100, whose price has also dropped, is much better. You might be able to find a good used one. If you don't mind the size and weight increase, the D7100 is my recommendation, although I don't know the prices in Canada.</p>

<p>Thank you for your replies. <br>

If anything the D3000 thought me to tolerate noise :-)<br>

Both D5300 and D7100 are good alternatives. Although a little bit older than D5500 they both seem to have similar 24 MP sensor.</p>

<p>The D7100 is a better camera and should be for its higher price. It has a more sophisticated processor that will give you better image quality with better noise control, and the more sophisticated autofocus will help you get more "keepers." Right now Adorama is selling a new D7100 body for $700US. I don't know if that is within your budget plans, and I don't know if similar offerings can be had in Canada, but I recommend you look and consider this. If the price of the D7100 is in the same ballpark at a D5500 with the kit lens, I suggest you hold onto your current kit lens and try it on the D7100 - you may not see a need to upgrade. If you find that you do want to change that lens, you could do so at your leisure as you can use the original kit lens until you can get something different.</p>

<p>This is the time of year to buy used--prices are at their yearly low. Pretty much all the photo gear I have was bought used. A used D7100 body is running $450 -$500 on ebay, and a used D5300 is $300-350. Prices will begin edging back up some time in March. Either camera will do what you want. The D5300 is smaller and has the swivel screen. The D7100 has a faster autofocus and will probably produce less noisy jpegs (if you are shooting NEF there might not be any difference.) Depends on your budget, but I would not buy new. With a used one, someone else has already taken the several hundred $$ hit on depreciation.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>I will add that the 18-55mm lens with VR would probably be a big help to you, if you are shooting at shutter speeds slower than 1/250s and not using a tripod.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>I own both a D5100 and a D7100. I keep the D5100 as a useful backup, but I love the D7100. I would recommend a D7XXX series camera for anyone who wants to stay in the DX format but does not need to move up to a D500. Even a gently used D7000 will be a better value than most of the D5XXX family, unless the articulated screen is an absolute gotta have.</p>

+1 for the D7100. It has the same sensor as my

D7200, which is capable of perfectly useable shots

at 6400 ISO.

<p>I went for a D5500 for a light weight alternative to my D800. I carry it with the 16-80 f2.8-4 VR lens and am very happy with it. 2 pounds and very versatile. As far as high iso- it depends. At indoor concerts I have used iso 3200 on a 1 inch sensor (sony and nikon V5)with pretty good result. On the D5500 I like to stay under 800, but 1600 is fine and 3200 should be reasonable given my prior 1 inch sensor results. Can't remember specifically using it. All in all it is a nice camera. I haven't seen any problem with the lossy compression, which compresses highlights. I was caving/pitting with it last weekend.</p>

<p>Thanks again for all your suggestions. <br>

I looked up D7100 prices and "body only" can be purchased for approximately the same price as D5500 with kit lens. I never considered buying a pro camera like D7100 before, but with prices like these it has become a viable option. The only downside is the extra size/weight and it doesn't have articulating screen (which is not critical but could be handy). Well. there is no "ideal" camera.<br>

What's important is that I can get about 2 f stops better ISO performance with either option. So it's time to get a new camera :-)</p>