Looking at upgrading DSLR body

[waltny]

Hello all.
I used to be somewhat active here about 10 years ago and then life caught up with me. I currently using a D300s and a few lens(12-24 f4 tokina, 90/2.8 tokina macro and 70-200/2.8 VR-1) looking to upgrade to a more modern body.

Im looking at the 3300/5300/7100 bodies and newer.
From recent reading:
The 3300/3400/3500 image quality with the high ISO capabilities I desire is suppose to be spectacular and be superior to the 700 I test drove years ago. With that said, most of the manual options are buried in the menus and the build quality leaves a bit to desired.
The 5300/5500/5600 likewise have amazing image quality with the high ISO capabilities I desire. The bodies are a little more robust and more menu friendly.
The 7100/7200 are same as above, but have a better build and more set up for the serious amateur in mind.
Just curious how accurate this take is as Im trying to catch up on almost 10 years of camera gear and decide on the cheapest body to purchase.

 

[Wile E. Coyote]

It depends on how "serious" you are. Your stable of lenses will give you good service whichever camera you choose, but you may be limited to manual focusing with the lower-priced camera bodies. Having gone through a D 50 and D90 in 15+ years, and finding them to be excellent cameras, I now have a D 7100, and like it very much. And it has features I will never find a use for. I am not sure how the D300s stacks up to what I now have.
One of my shooting buddies has/had the D300s, which he used professionally, and gave it to his son when he transitioned to Canon, but his gave him good service. I never saw the need to discuss which was the better platform, because what we had was sufficient to our needs. Good luck!

 

[ac12]

IF you have any AF lenses (mechanical screw drive autofocus mechanism), ONLY the D7xxx series will AF those lenses.

The D3xxx and D5xxx are AFS only.​

IF you are used to 2-dial operation (front dial = aperture, rear dial = shutter speed), again your only option is the D7xxx cameras.

Operationally it is hard and clumsy for me to use a single-dial camera, because I am so used to the 2-dial cameras.​

The weight of the cameras go up D3xxx, D5xxx, D7xxx.

If weight is an issue, you need to consider that.​

If you want a tilt screen, you need to look at which of the cameras have that feature.

I've had to go belly down on the floor to shoot a low angle shot (my D7200 did not have a tilt screen), and I would HATE to have to do that in the mud.​

If you shoot in LOW light, you need to look at the specs for each camera to see how high the ISO goes, and plan to shoot a couple stops below that.

I would get a used low shutter count D7200.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Also consider whether you want a vertical grip now or in the future, as some of the cameras you are considering might not allow that.

 

[rbsinto]

What specifically, do you want to do with a newer camera body that you are unable to do with the equipment you currently own? Stating your specific requirements will make it much more likely that you will receive good advice.
Robert

 

[Mitchell]

Have you considered a lightly used D500? This would be a great upgrade from your current body and the transition would be very easy since the bodies are very similar in layout and heft. Should also work with all of your current lenses.

 

[drr1531]

I shot a D300 a while back as well as both the D7100 and D7200. Still have the D7200 and use it from time to time rather than the more advanced options that sit on my shelf right beside it. Although the sensors of the 3XXX and 5XXX series may be superior to the D300, functionally they are a step backward. They are also smaller to handle. IMO the D7200 is still one of the best value Nikon bodies out there.

 

[7006]

D7200 has my votes. I bought one new 3 months ago.
And for half the price I just bought a D700.
In terms of lenses the FX lenses are way more expensive than the DX lenses. As a hobbyist on a limited budget I can not get the best lenses for the D700.
I am all set with the D7200.