First camera... Nikon D5600 or D7200?

Scuderia07 · Mar 21, 2017

Hey everyone. I am completely new to photography. I just introduced myself in the introduction section earlier today. Anyway, I've found myself within the last few years really trying to get good shots of the sky, night sky, sunsets, scenes in nature, etc with my smartphone. I find I enjoy trying to get good shots of things, even if its nothing special. This, coupled with the fact that Formula 1 racing is my passion and I will be attending the race in Montreal in June, has led to me to want to purchase a more serious camera.
I know nothing about cameras and photography. It may as well be Japanese at this point haha. But I want to learn. After doing some research and talking to people at my local camera shop, I think I've narrowed my choices down to the Nikon D5600, or maybe, possibly, the D7200. I want something that I can learn on but is also good enough it will last me years if I end up getting really into this. If I go with the D5600, I will have some money left over for another lens (the 70-300mm was recommended to me by a worker there, he said especially for the Formula 1 race).
Is the D5600 a good starter Digital SLR for me? Should I save more and get the more expensive D7200? As I've said my immediate interests will be trying to get good action shots of the Formula 1 cars in Montreal, landscape/sky/night sky pics, family pics, and touristy type pictures when I visit new places. Does it matter in my camera choice that I want to photograph Formula 1 race cars in action but also starry night sky pics? Does that factor in to a certain camera I should buy? I am totally lost in this new world.
I apologize for the longer post, just trying to give people an idea what I'm interested in photographing and what I'm trying to figure out. Thanks for your time!

Msteelio91 · Mar 21, 2017

日本人の何が悪いですか？

Kidding... If the debate is D7200 with kit lens vs D5600 with a 70-300 and your plans are going to involve shooting stuff farther away, go for the option with the better glass.

That said, the D7200 will likely be a bit better in every way for what you're looking for. Slightly steeper learning curve perhaps, but certainly better performance. So if you can swing it and also find a lens for it, I'd say go for it. Also don't be afraid of used/refurbished!

Derrel · Mar 21, 2017

It's a tough call. Here's a good review of the D5600: Nikon D5600 Review | PhotographyBLOG

The D5600 has Touch AF, also called tap-to-focus on the rear LCD screen, which other higher- and lower-models have lacked, plus that same rear LCD screen swivels, whereas the rear LCD in the D7100 and D7200 do not swivel.

I dunno...depends...Tap to Focus is handy if you're used to it. I would choose the D7200, but in terms of price/performance, I am thinking the winner is the D5600 for "most users". Lenses are where I would want to spend the price difference between a 5600 and a 7200.

We have now gotten to the point where the D3400 or 5600 or 7200 all have comparable sensors, but the AF systems and some basic core features differentiate the three models.

Read the Thom Hogan review of the Nikon D3400 and his comments about that camera and the **NEW** 70-300mm AF-P lens. The newest Nikkon lens thing is the AF-P focusing protocol, and apparently the 70-300 AF-P lens is, despite its low cost, a BETTER 70-300 than the much older and more-expensive 70-300 AF-S VR lens.

For the beginning shooter, I think LENSES are what he/she needs, more so than a specifric camera body or model, which is why the lower-cost D5600 makes this a tough decision to make, and not an automatic vote for the D7200 body.

astroNikon · Mar 21, 2017

Your " I want something that I can learn on but is also good enough it will last me years if I end up getting really into this" is my concerned statement.

You'll find the D7200 being more viable for AutoFocus system than the d5600. Plus 2 control wheels can come handy too. 2 SD card slots, longer life battery, clearer viewfinder, etc.

Though of course the D5600 is a very nice feature rich camera, and cheaper too (by not having as many features).

For Formula1 I'd go with the more advanced AF camera system. But you'll be crippling yourself by just using a kit 18-105 lens in the stands. So if you had a fixed amount of D7200 + kit lens OR D5600 and 70-300 I'd guess I'd go with the D5600 & 70-300.

Of course, the D5600 shutter speed only goes to 1/4000 and the D7200 to 1/8000 for super fast moving objects .. though I haven't tried photographing a 200mph car going down the straightaway to know how fast a shutter I need.

Derrel · Mar 21, 2017

Remember when Nikon ran the "Nikon FM-2's 1/4000 seocnd shutter can stop a speeding bullet" ad in the photo magazines? That was a low-velocity .38 Special handgun bullet travelling at a very-slow-for-a-bullet speed of 385 feet per second.

385 Feet Per Second = 262.5 Miles Per Hour

astroNikon · Mar 21, 2017

Derrel said:
Remember when Nikon ran the "Nikon FM-2's 1/4000 seocnd shutter can stop a speeding bullet" ad in the photo magazines? That was a low-velocity .38 Special handgun bullet travelling at a very-slow-for-a-bullet speed of 385 feet per second.

385 Feet Per Second = 262.5 Miles Per Hour

oddly I do remember that ad. lol

Solarflare · Mar 21, 2017

Right now I always suggest the D7100 for newbies.

The D7200 has a bigger buffer, but thats basically all the advantage you get. Bigger buffer is nice, and the D7100 indeed has a bit small buffer - but the D7200 doesnt have the fps of a real sports camera. For that you'll have to get the D500 which certainly is an all kinds of fun camera, with flipscreen and touchscreen and 4k and "endless" buffer etc.

The D7000 was already a great, universal, pretty much perfect camera. The D7100 added the superior autofocus, which is always great thing to have unless you really only shoot stills. The D7200 just didnt had too much to add on top of that. Now that the D500 is out (and its great), the D7200 is a third wheel kind of camera, really.

The D5x00 line of cameras is not so hot for a prime camera. Certainly, you can learn on it. But it lacks all the advanced features. For example it doesnt have a second command dial, it doesnt have a motor for AF lenses (of which many are awesome, and they're often really cheap on the used market), it doesnt have the advanced flash features, it doesnt have weathersealing and a second memory card slot for backup, etc.

ayamani · Mar 23, 2017

I'm also stuck between these two, the Nikon D5600 and the D7200. I was considering the Canon 80D but given my budget and preference for image quality, I'd rather stick with the Nikon and will be going for the 18-140 kit lens.

What I like about D5600:

vari-angle touch screen
weight / grip
snap-bridge connectivity (bluetooth)

What I like about D7200:

built-in auto-focus motor
51 auto-focus points
build quality
battery life
high-speed flash sync

I've handled both these cameras at a local store and love the feel and grip of the D5600... The D7200 seems too heavy in comparison and requires both my hands at all times! I wont be doing lots of video, but I have photographic use for the vari-angle touch screen which is pushing me towards the D5600. On the other hand, I believe the D7200 will last longer and will give me the option to buy older (cheaper) lenses due to its built-in focus motor.

Based on rumors, it seems that Nikon will be announcing the next D7xxx soon which might have the vari-angle touch screen, 4k video and snap-bridge. Not sure if I should wait for it specially if it'll cost much more! As of now, I'm willing to pay a bit more to get the D7200, but don't want to regret not having snap-bridge and the vari-angle touch screen.... I believe the quality of the photos are very similar with both cameras, but the D7200 might have a small advantage in snapping faster moving objects with more focus points.... I'd appreciate any feedback/opinions.

astroNikon · Mar 23, 2017

I've used the D7000, D600 (FX) for sports all the time.
The problem with the D7100 is the buffer gets filled up too fast. It seems they used the same buffer in the D7000 - which was a 16mp camera, but the d7100 is a 24mp camera so the buffer gets log-jammed all the time even with short bursts.

It's the d7100's buffer that just takes the opportunities away from you in sports shooting.

A friend had a d7100, tried my first d500 and bought it. The d7100 buffer can block someone from the ability of getting the shot. The d7000 you don't get the log-jam like the d7100 from the buffer. And about 6.5fps isn't bad for sports. So the D7200 is a fine sports camera in comparison. I wouldn't recommend the d7100 if sports is the primary objective. And yes, they don't compare to the Canon 7d mark II nor the Nikon D500 or 300s for fps, etc.

One of the things I don't like about the d5x00 and d3x00 is the speed from pressing the shutter to an actual photo bring taking. I toyed with the d5500 for quite a bit in the store several times but couldn't get it to be fast. And in sports I wait for something to happen and that touch to shot speed is super important. I'm not out there just spraying along .. that would be insane. But in F1 you can see what is going to happen more easily than in other sports like football/soccer. So you can anticipate the action much better so a d5x00 could be a totally capable camera IMHO ... until you try a d7200 or better body.