Nikon D5300 - digital cameras (Auto, Cloudy, Flash, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Manual, Shade, Sunny, Landscape, Portrait, Aperture priority, Auto, Lens priority, Manual, Program, Scene, Shutter priority, Black&White, Neutral, Vivid, Highlights, Movie, Single image, Slide show, Optical)

So far so good Haven’t had much use yet, but the quality of the pictures so far is exceptional. Easy to use camera with loads of extra features

I upgraded to this camera from a Nikon D40x. I love the D40x. I have had that camera since 2009. I got to where I had an almost Zen-like relationship to it. The only reason I upgraded to the D5300 was I wanted to experiment using some features my D40x did not have. In particular, I wanted to be able to bracket my shots. And, after seeing the pictures I got from a friend whose camera gave 16+ megapixel resolution, I wanted to see how 24+ megapixels resolution helped my photography if at all. My first trip out with my D5300 was a disappointment. The disappointment was not, however, with the camera. It was with me. I did not have the settings defined as I thought I had. This was due in part by the excitement of having a new camera and the fact that the menus on the 5300 are much more involved than those on the D40x. I came home and started taking pictures inside. I watched videos, went back to the camera manual and ran through the camera's menus again. I found some settings that were not where I thought they were and changed them, then started shooting some indoor pictures. This is the same style of photography I used with my D40x. Once I got the settings on my D5300 where I wanted them to be, I was blown away by the images. From a technical standpoint, I found nothing to complain about. Great color. Great resolution. Very good color rendition under different settings. While the D5300 is not as easy to figure out as the D40x, I do not see that as a minus. I have a multitude of new features on this camera that I did not have on the D40x. My only complaint about the camera is that the explanations of some of the menu items are not what they should be. There are still menu items I am not understanding. In time I expect the D5300 will become as much a part of my arm as my D40x feels. It may not be a perfect camera in some people's eyes. But, I did a lot of research into which camera would best suit my needs for the price and the Nikon D5300 won over all the others in contention. I have no regrets in my choice. I hope to be able to return to outdoor shooting soon. I will make sure I am all set up for the adventure this time. And, beyond any doubt, I believe the D5300 will take even more amazing photos than does my D40x, if that is possible. I enjoy photography. Nikon builds cameras that are not only technically brilliant, but fun to use as well. I highly recommend Nikon's D5300 to anyone that is interested in learning the possibilities this camera affords the user. *** Six Month Evaluation *** There are no real technical problems with this camera. However, I have changed my feelings towards it after having used it for six months. Some older reviewers may remember when CDs first came out. While they were amazing from a technological standpoint, the music lacked the warmth of a vinyl album. There was a very definite cold and sterile sound to the music. Even technicians admitted there was something different with a digitized sound versus an analog reproduction. Now, almost anyone realizes that a film photo has more depth and warmth to the image than a digital photograph. Yet, hardly anyone cares. I know I don't. The ease of creating a fine image through digitization is a photographer's siren call. Interestingly, however, as concerns my experience with a comparison of the results from my D40x to my D5300, all digitized images are not the same. With my D40x, with a minimal use of Lightroom, I could manage images that had nuance, warmth and a goodly amount of appeal that comes from that undefinable human connection. From the beginning, I recognized there was something different about the D5300's images. From the aspect of a human connection, there was a major disconnect. I concentrated to make sure I was careful in my settings. I assumed that my images were different because a setting or two was not correct. Goodness knows, the D5300 is all about options of settings. Well, after six months of using the D5300, I now realize that, like the sound of music from a CD, its images lacked the warmth and human appeal that I found so abundant with my D40x. I am a user of Flickr. I belong to the Nikon D5300 group. If one surveys the images posted in that group, it will quite soon become evident that the images are amazingly lacking in true appeal. They may look decent from a technical aspect. But, there is no human emotional presence to be found in the photos. If one doubts that a digital camera can present an emotional presence, go to any group dedicated to the Nikon D90. That camera has a soul that is absolutely amazing. I can look at a photograph and recognize if it was made with a D90 camera. What's my bottom line about this camera now? It lacks soul. It's a machine. Personally speaking, I have not been able to connect with it on anything other than a technical level. Technically it is superb. But, something is missing. And, that missing element becomes very apparent when looking at the images the D5300 makes. I use the term "makes" because it doesn't "take" an image. It "makes" one. There is a difference. Some photographers may not see that there is a difference between making an image and taking an image. Some photographers, alas, are not creative in their approach to photography. I do not always succeed in being creative. But, I do, at least, try. Even under the best of circumstances, my photos rarely connect with others. But, I don't take photos for others. I take them for me. Tragically, the D5300 does not create images to which I feel that human connection. If what I am saying makes sense to anyone, my advice would be to go to a site like Flickr and seriously study the images posted for this camera. Determine for yourself how you relate to the pictures on an emotional level. Then make your decision to either purchase or pass on this camera.

es una buena cámara. Nikon no defrauda. Muy buen producto

Tip #1: turn OFF the beep on your camera... immediately, no questions, just do it. NOW. It just announces to the world that you just bought it, and don't have a clue what you are doing. This may be true, but why advertise that fact, and annoy everyone around you with the annoying "beep...beep. Click. Beep...click. Beep, beep, beep....click". ;) Moving on: Any DSLR is not for the faint of heart, nor for those unwilling to read the user's manual for any mode other than "auto". Yes, you can leave it in the Green "Automatic mode w/ flash" or the "Auto mode without flash" and you'll do fine for snapshots and some great photographs as those moments present themselves. The "scenes" modes are a quick way to shoot various conditions we all find ourselves in often, without having to slow the fun with deep menu changes, just set it for "party" or "beach" or "candlelight" (etc.) and you'll be shooting very good shots. If you want to shoot huge RAW files, go full manual mode, alter the ISO settings, shoot time-lapse sequences, 1080p/60hz video, it is all there for the semi-professional, too. ISO goes to 12800 if you need it without too much noise. 3200 and 6400 ISO are much less noisy than my D70s model. I have the D70s model from a few years back, and I **REALLY** miss the front sub-control wheel. The D5300 has only one control wheel on the back for your thumb to rotate, and the lack of the second one up front is mind-boggling, forcing the user to hunt-n-peck on the LCD screen or with other buttons to switch up a few settings on the fly. The trade-off for that wheel was the flip-out screen and built in Wifi (vs. the more expensive new cameras with two wheels and more controls, so you don't have to use the LCD menu system). Remember, unless you are blowing up your photos to 30"x40", you can come down on the megapixel size to 6mpx or 12mpx without any drop in on-screen resolution. The files sizes are huge (11MP JPGs), so your hard-drive and uploads to facebook, twitter, etc will take much longer... so just shoot in 6MP "fine" or "normal" and you'll get fantastic pictures, without the bloated file sizes. Remember, MP only count if you do a lot of cropping or print enlargements. Google "Ken Rockwell megapixel myth" to learn more from the best about how "megapixels" are mostly hype. My D70s is a 6MP camera, and the pictures are gloriously beautiful (see the D70s group on Flickr). The battery life is about 200 shots for me, but I've been using the LCD screen alot and playing with settings, menus, etc. If/when I just flip the LCD monitor closed, and shoot through the viewfinder...it will probably shoot 500 photos on one battery. I do like that you can customize the "My Menu" for your most used settings, mine being: ISO, White balance, Set Picture Control, Release mode (timer/remote/continuous), Active-D Lighting, Image Size, Image Quality, Auto Information Display (on/off), Wi-Fi (on/off) Nikon has a great little feature so that when you have highlighted a menu item, you can hit the "?" button, and an on-screen paragraph explains the feature and what it does. Spend the few bucks to get a nice strap, camera bag and by all means the Nikon remote shutter control (under $10)...which is totally the best thing for tripod family shots and be in the picture. You can flip the LCD around to make sure you and everyone else is in the picture, hit the remote, and get a 2sec, 5sec or 10sec time delay to the picture (or instant, but then you can't hide the remote in time!). The WiFi option is pretty cool, and when enabled allows you to hook to the camera via your smartphone, download pictures, or even see what the camera sees (!), and use the phone as a remote shutter release. Once on your phone, hop back on the 4G network or your home wifi, and upload to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Pretty sweet. The phone can also act as a temporary backup to your camera memory card. Hope that helps... I'm lovin' it, and still think the flip-out screen is what we needed for selfies and family photos. If you don't need the flip-out screen, need lots of manual controls, and have the budget, move up to a Nikon with dual control wheels. Cheers, Doc Rings

Really impressed so far. I had an SLR years ago in film days, and very much enjoyed using it. It was broken and for years I simply used point & shoots, eventually moving into digital with an HP 1.5 mp. I moved up through point & shoots and started getting back to the context of framing a picture and the art of photography--especially once I started hiking in our beautiful area mountains a few years ago. I had a 4 mp Kodak at the time, great little camera by the way that taught me the value of good glass-I still have it, but found I wanted to move up to newer and better technology. So, after considerable research, I purchased my Nikon L120. Very satisified, and great pictures, but I found in the last several months I wanted the versatility, options and creativity a dSLR would offer. Yeah, Now there's an expense, right? And here was someone who knew not much about them, having forgotten what she knew in the manual, film days. I have friends who will lay their lives on their Canon's and not as many who would for their Nikons (and possibly might offer their Canon friends as sacrifices, too) )-not that they aren't loyal to, and love their Nikon, there's just fewer of them. From earlier research I liked the image quality of Nikons just a bit better, but still when you're spending a chunk of cash, and if you're like me and are far, far from the top 3%, you want to make sure you're getting a good product, and a reasonably user friendly one for your money. So after considerable research, comparisons (to Canon), scrutinizing images for Canon & Nikons D3200, D5100, D5200, D5300, albeit not many with the 5300 since it was relatively new, and reading reviews here on Amazon (one of the best resources in my opinion, and '7's is a wonderful string with loads of interaction and advice) I started leaning towards the D5300 opposed to the other models, and finally due the reviews and 7's advice, I plunged and bought the D5300 with the 18-55 mm lens--the red one, of course. I love it! I was a little frustrated at first with all the menus's and options. It seemed overwhelming, but refer to the manual, buy a book to supplement ( I ended up buying 2), come here and read and just play with it. As you start experimenting with it and changing settings and modes, it gets less confusing and not as complicated as it felt at first. And it has auto modes, so it's not like you can't get great shots from the start while you learn. One of the things I found, is change your picture quality to fine, it will bring an incredible, realistic feel to your photo's. Images of my cat, a tortoise shell are fantastic, capturing the depth, clarity and colors in her eyes and the contrasts in her fur giving a very living feel to the picture--not to mention the disdainful look she's giving the dog is very clear. Photo's I took of my neighbor picked up the green flecks in his blue eyes, the lines, whiskers and age spots in his skin, making them look very lifelike. Captured him exactly, and with a sharper depth than normally in a photo. Some have noted difficulty with action shots. I haven't done much, but shots of my granddaughters jumping & goofing around captured them in mid air and did a nice job freezing the action. I also snapped some shots of my dog and his fur friends running outside, and captured hair and ears flying as they ran in different modes--Sport and pet, and I'm pretty sure some were in auto. I'm excited to take it out this summer to sporting and action events and see what I can get. I'm optimistic--if it can capture a flying, shaggy Shih-tzu, it's looking positive. I've noticed the single focus setting on auto doesn't stay put if you change modes and back, but as far as skewing the image, I'm not really seeing anything discernible or problematic. If you're taking a picture of a moving object, you won't want it fixed anyway. To me the wandering (and by that I mean it isn't fixed to a central single spot, not that it's randomly floating around) focus point is a little distracting when not fixed to a single point, but that's just me being over aware of it at the moment, I'm focusing on not focusing on it. Not a dealbreaker. I'm picky about image quality and I'm very satisfied with what I've gotten, As I become more familiar with various settings, I'm very much enjoying playing with it and look forward to learning more about a DSLR and what you can do with it. This is a perfect camera for it, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone stepping up to the dSLR universe.

Hi wasn't sure if a refurbished SLR camera was a good idea, but now that I've received it, I'm glad I did. The delivery is extra fast. I received it in about 5–6 calendar days. It's in perfect condition. I already had lenses for my D3100, and they fit without any problems. I can't wait to use it next summer. I tried it at home and photos look awesome. I liked to thank the buyers who took the time to write long and very informative reviews. They convince me it was a very good camera from someone like my who likes taking pictures while travelling (last destination Mexico City), but his in no way a professional.