Looking at getting a new DSLR body...

[dayav07]

So I've been using my D5000 for about 3 years now, been looking at getting an upgrade for some time. The 3 lenses I have are the 18-55, 55-200 and a 50mm 1.8G. When I was looking around on what to get, some people told me to rather invest in lenses rather than upgrade the body. My reason for upgrading the body is that I need better video capabilities, the 720p on the D5000 with the mono mic is really out dated. And there's no external mic input.

So I had 3 options in mind:
*The D5200 (Roughly R8.5k)
*The D7000 (Roughly R10k)
*The D7100 (Roughly R15k)

I had my mind quite set on the D5200, the video capabilities are spectacular. It has a stereo mic and an external mic input as well. It came out this year I believe. And a 39 point autofocus system compared to the 11 point on my D5000. But some people have told me to go for something a bit more advanced.
So the next option was the D7000, but I feel that it is quite similar to the D5200 and the tech is about 2/3 years old.
The final option is the D7100, but the problem is that it is quite pricey just for a body.

I am basically looking for an 'advanced entry level' upgrade for my D5000, any thoughts?

All ideas are welcome

Thanks

 

[bwana]

Are you sure the lenses you have are suited to video? For one thing, from the look of it that 18-55 of yours has the same nasty little manual focus ring the canon counterpart has.

From talking to my friends who do a lot of DSLR video the lack of a audio input is minor because they simply don't use it. They do all their audio on a separate device and sync it in post.

Unless video is going to play a major part of your use I really would improve (invest is a lousy word) your lens collection and then look at a new/better body.

 

[Bern]

After much consideration my sister went with the D7000, it is AWESOME!! If you can afford the D7100, that would of course be better, but I don't think you can go wrong with the 7000.

 

[fvdbergh]

You did not really specify what type of video you are planning on recording.

The 1080p24 mode on the D7000 is excellent, but I find the focus to be rather dodgy. The D7100 *might* be better, but judging from the DPReview review (which you really should take a look at) the D7100 did not really improve focus performance all that much. In addition, the D7100 only gives you 1080p30, or 1080i60, neither of which I would choose over 1080p24 (which the D7000 already gives you).

As Bwana implied, manual focus might be more important, but you would need a good manual focus lens to pull that off. Luckily, older MF Nikkor lenses should work fine, if you can locate some Ai lenses (and resolution is not that important for video anyway).
The older lenses would work better with the D7000, i.e., you would get Aperture priority exposure support (the d5000 is full Manual exposure only with these lenses, I suspect).

But ... you are not heavily invested in expensive Nikkor lenses at the moment. Why not consider a different system exclusively for video? Something like the Panasonic GH3 is reputedly much better suited to video recording (but do your own research here, my knowledge is rather limited on this series). Unfortunately, the GH3 is quite new, and will set you back R15k anyway (and that probably excludes lenses).


See if you can rent/borrow a D7000, and take it for a spin. It is a lovely body, but I am not entirely convinced that it will solve all your video issues, unless you were planning on going manual focus anyway.

 

[binkybozo]

I hate it that they put video with a dslr now. When I shoot pictures I use a camera when I want to video something I will use my video camera.
The D7100 is an awesome camera but I have to agree with Bwana, invest in some glass, that is unless there is some type of photography that you want to get into and can't with your D5000.

 

[Polymathic]

Don't know much about Nikons but I would go for the one with the best performance under low light.

 

[bwana]

I hate it that they put video with a dslr now. When I shoot pictures I use a camera when I want to video something I will use my video camera.
The D7100 is an awesome camera but I have to agree with Bwana, invest in some glass, that is unless there is some type of photography that you want to get into and can't with your D5000.

I don't use video but I can't say it bothers me in the slightest knowing it's there.