I have a Nikon D3100 and was wondering shall i upgrade to D5100?

My budget is a bit tight so not considering to upgrade to d7000 or d90 ? series yet.

Thanks in advance for the advise given thanks.

This post has been edited by scterryk: Dec 11 2015, 10:05 PM

go buy a used D7000.
if still want D5xxx series, stick with a min of D5200...and of cos if budget tight...then find used again.

Why a D5200 and above?

Agreed, its better to save more for a D7000 as the improvement from a D3100 to a D5XXX series is not much

What do u think about d90 rather than d7000?

D90 is abit too outdated, I wouldn't really recommend it.
It has some pretty neat features, but IQ-wise its almost the same level as the earlyD3xxx and D5xxx series

Save more and go for a D7100 if a body is what you really want. However, most of the time getting lenses, flashguns or other accessories will help improve your shots more

If you still sticking to kit lens, try upgrade lens first.

go for d7k series.

here sir
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=3710618&hl=

1. What do you photograph?
2. Why do you think you need to upgrade? (or What is it you find lacking in your photography?)

you are actually not allowed to post your sale on a discussion thread

i know this sound a little off topic

do you have a flash? if no, since your mention of tight budget, buying a flash might change your photography experience... and flash can bring forward and use when u upgrade.

back to topic, again if tight budget, then dont bother with upgrade first.. try explore more of your D3100 limit first... push it hard, understand more of camera behavior and limitation. that way, with more understanding of the camera, u will know why u would better buy D7xxx then grabbing a D5xxx. by the time you can upgrade, u got extra saving from all the CNY angpao or Raya next year.

is flash pricey? recommend me any thanks

what body are u using? if mirrorless then get nissin i40. Tiny flash with huge power and features.

he is using DSLR, Nikon D3100.

You can try YongNuo YN-560 MK III.
I am currently using YN560 II, it's a manual flash, no auto mode.

If you have to ask someone else what to upgrade to it means you have not hit any walls yet with your current camera. That means there is still room to explore and learn.

Hold off on the upgrade. Shoot more with your existing camera and whatever lens / lenses that you currently have. Shoot until you find out at least one limitation that frustrate the heck out of you. Then you will find the answer for yourself.

I will tell you my story for you to get a better understanding:

I started out with an APS-C body (much like your D3100). I had only a kit lens to start off with. Like any other newcomer, the GAS disease hit and I started to want to buy a lot of gears. When you are new, you dream of having lenses like the 24-70mm f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 and you would think that these are the things to make your system complete. Of course, budget is always an issue.

So I bought a 18-250mm lens, thinking that this was the best solution. I also bought a 50mm f1.7 lens second hand as people always say that you will need a 50mm lens right?

After a while, I found that I seldom use more than 100mm of the long range zoom. I was mostly shooting on the 18mm end and I already had the 18mm end on my kit lens. As for the 50mm, I found that while it was good in low light situations, the 50mm on an APS-C sensor is somewhat a little too tight for normal everyday use.

The more that I shot with the 18-250mm lens, the more I realized that I always found that it was never wide enough for me. I was already at 18mm. I can't go any wider but I felt that I need a wider view for my shots. It frustrated the heck out of me.

So now I know that I needed something wider and it came down to lenses like the 17-50mm, 16-35mm or even the 11-16mm. The 17-50mm is just a tiny bit wider so I struck it off my list. The others were either too expensive or too wide for my taste.

Then I came across the full frame body. It almost 'magically' made everything wider. 50mm became very useful and 24mm on a full frame is plenty wide. So I had my answer. What I needed was a full frame body and my existing 50mm lens could serve as my everyday lens. Next I would need a wide angle and I set my sights on a 24mm prime. Later I settled for a 20mm prime. As I still like to have a portrait lens, I set my sights on an 85mm prime (thanks to my experience using the 50mm on a APS-C sensor).

So I upgraded from my most basic entry level body to a full frame body with the 3 above mentioned lenses. I sold off every other lens I had. That was at least 4 years ago.

Today, I am still shooting with these 3 lenses and the same full frame body. I never felt the need to get any other lenses nor body so far.

This post has been edited by shootkk: Dec 28 2015, 09:40 PM

+1 to this. You will know what you need once you hit that wall.



Same here. I've been on my Canon EOS 60D and the same set of lens for some 4 - 5 years or so.

Went for a D750 last year because I want Dual-SD Card + Flip LCD camera, only 2 model has that (Nikon D750 and Sony A99) but I went for Nikon because I've used the A99 before and I can't do timer and bracketing at the same time.

Even with my D750 I was using using a 24-120 and 12-24 for a good year before I recently bought a 40mm DX lens for video purpose.

I still have my Canon EOS 60D, and I use it very often for pictures for my website.

In the end it goes back to what shootkk said - If you have to ask someone else what to upgrade to it means you have not hit any walls yet with your current camera.

wa that pricey! want to ask, if no do portrait no need flash right?

your story is inspiring and the conclusion is, get a full frame straight and few full frame lenses and you can settle down. lol.

it is depends on situation. if u have external flash, there's many things u can so, like bounce the flash to create softer lighting, taking photo with lower noise, etc

as 3rd party flash manufacturer, nissin external flash is consider consumer friendly, and it recommended by a lot of sony camera users. even sony HVL-F32M & HVL-F43M price is RM953 & RM1059 respectively

built in flash alrdy bright enough, need a stronger flash?

for what i see, you're totally dunno the importance of flashes. regardless built-in flash or external flash, they have their guide number (GN)? that's represents their flash power. furthermore, not all flash coverage are same

1st, most DSLR built-in flash GN is around 10 to 12, and mirrorless camera built-in flash GN is around 4 to 7

2nd, there's a formula of maximum distance flash can light up the subject

GN / aperture = the distance flash can reach

let say, A6000 flash GN is 6, and if u set the aperture F4,

6 / 4 = 1.5meter

means the maximum distance flash can light up the subject is 1.5 meter

so, if u use built-in flash and take photo, 3 or 4 meter to the subject, with smaller aperture, u will ended up of subject is underexposed, or totally dark. although u can raise ISO sensitivity to brighten up the exposure, still, u raise the noises

external flashes not only have stronger GN, novice level flashes can tilt for bounce the flash to ceiling, wall, reflector or something can bounce the light off, to create softer, lesser shadow, etc... furthermore, with external flash, user can adjust stronger flash power and set lower ISO sensitivity for take brighter photo with lesser noise even indoor photography. thers's soooooooooooo many things external flash can do what built-in flash cannot perform

most novice level external flashes have at least GN32 and above, and user can adjust the flash power and flash coverage as well

not really.. you really have to start somewhere.. i went from mirrorless > apsc - dslr > mirrorless. I walk and shoot i don't really need a viewfinder. i need a quick auto focus and learning from M mode now i'm back to P. Live by simple rule making sure the auto iso doesn't go > 3200 and setting the exposure value on and off depending on situation.

It's really depending on yourself what kind of photography which you are into. I can't be holding a full frame travelling to tokyo, bangkok, singapore, hong kong walking with it for 6 to 8 hours daily so now i'm back to m4/3 with only a 25mm prime and 14mm prime.

Planning to get another m4/3 body so that i don't need to swap the lens at all.

A very very true quote. I wish i could understand this earlier then i don't need to swap systems jumping from m4/3 to canon entry level dslr's and back to m4/3.

Wait till you use bigger lenses with lens hood, then you realize the problem with pop-up flash.

Actually external flash does not mean only for portrait but it helps to get something you looking for in photography.... if u are creative enough... it even does more than u expected... of course the main purpose for flash light is help u in low light situation.... but i hardly use flash because i have fast lens... again, depends on your need...

This post has been edited by ahtiong: Dec 30 2015, 06:24 PM

If you feel that your built in flash is enough then you haven't really understood the function of a flash unit or lighting in photography.

It is a misconception if you think that having a bright / fast lens negates the need for a flash. Although a bright lens can help in some situations, there are situations where you cannot shoot wide open. For example, a group shot indoors with not much light. You just cannot shoot wide open or you will mess up the shot because of the narrow DOF that comes with shooting wide open.

A flash also helps you to freeze movement much better. You can have your aperture wide open but you cannot control subject movement.

A flash also helps to even out the lighting. No matter how fast a lens is, you cannot even out the lighting without additional sources of light.

Bro, thats why in my last sentence i mentioned "depends on your need" for me... i'm shooting more on street , travel and landscape photography.... i hardly shoot indoor or portraits... i love landscape and street... and my camera body does have AF assist in low light ... so again it's depends your need

It's the way you put it.

"I hardly use flash because I have fast lens" gives an impression that the fast lens is your flash replacement.

Fast lens relies on available light, there are times when your wide aperture doesn't even cut it. In many cases, that wide aperture results in horribly thin DOF and that's not good.

At events, it's common to use narrower aperture and external flash, even to direct flash at subject.

Flash also help in freezing obj, so that means u can achieve 1/4000 with f22?

I said it helps. I did not say it will definitely freeze subjects. Any camera / photo enthusiast will know that you would need to have the sun mounted on your camera to achieve 1/4000 with f22.

You comment seems to be aimed more towards trolling than really enquiring. So here's a twist : if you need to achieve 1/4000 with f22 with a flash, how would your fast/bright lens do in similar situation without a flash?

I don't think u shoot outside all the time. But f22 is overkilled, f11 is good enough for landscape, I guess?

Landscape photos need not even use f/11. Go with hyperfocal distance and you can use far narrower apertures and get away with it.

alright sifu i think i'm not pro enough to give my perspective since i don't have chance to shoot events, studio or super model

whats up?

a fast lens, doesnt u give anything else aside giving you control over your aperture. and by controling your aperture, you are determining the shutter speed after iso is set. thats all.

how much a fast lens can help in situation are nearly unlimited, due to fast lens does apply to 50 or 85 or 135 tele, there is 24mmF1.4 where, its perfectly fine to shoot group photo up to 16 people across without DOF issue.

but flash helps and bring the fast lens capability furtherrrrrrr, eg, allowing freezing image at 1/15 shutter, or allowing better DOF aperture (eg F4) for group photo.

so... as for flash, some of your are well experienced wayyyy beyond most of the new comers to understand what you guys are "seeing" or "knowing" whats best for you, non of you are wrong, infact its very interesting point of view how each of you uses your gear selection to its best. you can try push in your ideal setup to anyone, but doesnt mean it suit them.... so...

buying a flash and use, is a JOURNEY most general photographer will take, before knowing what suit them.


i shoot mostly in clubs(clubbings), almost exclusively... in tricky lighting, lots of dark spot/void, how do we capture a nice picture of the crowd?

without fast lens you wouldnt able to capture the ambient.
without flash you wouldnt able to lit the subject nicely.

so both are essential to you photography journey to experience.

flash price can range from 300 to 2000 (i think)
its better to ask for advise in your camera brand thread as they can give you better in depth advise.

my only advise, if its your first+primary+workhorse flash, grab the original branding with your camera. dont chimp on buying cheaper 3rd party. it affects your learning curve if you arent smart enough to grasp the idea of how it operate. not everyone born equally. my own opinion, 3rd party is good as slave flash when you start playing strobist(wireless flashes).