Nikon D5300 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Auto Focus-S DX NIKKOR Zoom Lens (Black)

My first DSLR and I'm loving it. Fairly easy to use with lots of nice features for someone just getting serious about photography. My only regret was buying it with the 18-140mm lens. It's a very good lens with AF-S VR and takes very sharp pictures; it's just not the focal length for me. I enjoy taking wildlife photos and probably would have enjoyed the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ED IF AF-S VR zoom more. If you are new to photography I would suggest buying this camera with a kit lens and then when you know what kind of photography you want to do you could explore better lenses. I used this to take my first fireworks photos and had a blast though with the 18-140mm lens! I used the RAW setting and the highest resolution and even though my photos looked liked they would be too small to enjoy, I was able to crop them and get some pretty sharp pictures. The swing-out LCD screen is great. It rotates 360 degrees and can be used to take photos from any angle; even selfies, but it's great to be able to angle it when the sun is glaring and you are trying to line up a shot. The camera body is fairly light in weight; the extra weight will come from the bigger lenses. I bought a used 50mm prime lens for taking family shots and the camera weight is not noticeable. When I change to the 18-140mm lens, the weight is a very noticeable and supporting the camera to take a photo gets tiresome. That's when I use my tripod (a MeFOTO Roadtrip which supports it nicely) with a remote and everything is steady and doesn't wear me out. I don't know enough about photography yet to review all the specs but I know this has a DX format which will allow me to use FX format lens. This means that even though I won't get the full benefit from the FX lens on this camera, when I advance my skills and decide to buy a full FX format camera I can use the same lenses. I know that the camera is fairly easy to use and with the programmed settings you can take a great picture with your first shot. It also has extensive settings for those wanting to learn manual settings and take complete control over their camera. If you are starting out and want a really nice camera to develop your skills I would recommend the D5300. It even has built-in WiFi and GPS and a great video feature. Nikon is a great brand and produces wonderful products; I don't think you can go wrong with their cameras!

I purchased this DSLR as my very first. I have only ever used point and shoots. I also bought a book to go with this so am slowly learning my way beyond Auto. This camera is amazing! I am simply a mom who loves to capture pictures. The pictures are beautiful, clear and stunning. I love that I can quickly capture pics of my 2 kids who never sit still! The other day I took a bunch of pics of a dolphin pod playing in the inlet and later cropped them in really close and the quality is still amazing! I haven't tried GPS or wifi yet. I love the cute filters and scene settings as I don't fully understand aperture, ISO, etc but I have no doubt that when I do my pics will be even better. FYI Nikon D5300 for Dummies is a great book to go with this awesome camera :) Update: 11/13/14. So I have been using this camera heavily for 7 months now and am even more impressed! I have learned soooo much and never touch that auto button now. I do tend to shoot in aperture priority mode 75% of the time just because it takes out a lot of the guess work from manual. Trust me folks, if this is your first dslr purchase this is a great choice! So easy to learn, so many fantastic tutorials out there (Pinterest!), the pictures are beautiful. I just shot our family Christmas pictures and have gotten so many compliments, and I don't even know how to use photoshop! Once posted to Facebook people wanted to book my photographer 😉.

I bought this to replaced my 8 years old D80. I'm a very picky person, and I am impressed by this camera. I've been considering SONY A6000, D5500, D7100, D7200. And finally decided to go with this camera. This is not a perfect camera. But budget wise, this is for sure a camera that have superior performance-to-price ratio. I use it with my one year old Nikon 18-200mm VR II lens. For the price of $496, I can't find another camera can compete with it. The A6000, it's a very nice mirrorless camera. I pay serious attention to it. And I went to Bestbuy to test it out. What I like A6000 is it's light weight and size. What I don't like much is when its length changes, it take like 1/4 second to show up in the OLED view finder. And A6000 doesn't have articular screen which equipped with D5300 that makes family portrait a lot easier. D5500, I don't see much different to D5300. The touch screen on D5500 is a nice but not must have. The higher ISO up to 25600 is technically nicer than the 12800 in D5300, but I doubt if I would shoot at such a high ISO. Other than that, I don't see much difference, and I know I ain't paying $200 more for touch screen and higher ISO. D7100, it has Expeed 3 processor while D5300 has Expeed 4 processor. Yes it has better manual control and functions. But after having D80 (which has top screen and dual dial and better manual control than D5300) for 8 years, I have to admit that I'm not a professional photographer but an enthusiast that enjoys the possibility to take photos that's better than a point and shoot camera. D7200, well, it has the same Expeed 4 processor while it comes with better manual control. But with $600 price difference, I'd give up those extra manual control and get a all around D5300 for the ease of my pocket. Bottom line, D5300 is a decent camera for the price that no one can deny, yet it's been announced for 2 years already but still maintains a 24MP clear and sharp production and relatively light and with functions that can make entry-level to enthusiast happy. The only thing I don't appreciate much is it's GPS function, I wish it had a faster and more accurate lock up performance that doesn't require a A-GPS file to be updated very 14 days.

This is my first dslr camera and I did months of research before I bought it. I am not a pro or semi pro, I just love to take nice quality pictures and all I had before was an iphone 5s. :) Was looking at the d3200 first because I was a newbie and I wanted a good camera, but I figured I would spend the extra money for the built in wifi and endless other options the d3200 didn't have. When I bought it, it was $1,100 out the door with tax so the price has went down a lot in the last 9 months. I bought it February 2015. I've taken easily 2000 pictures with it and some videos. The battery life is amazing on it. I have maybe charged it 8-10 times. I haven't put it through tough everyday use because it's just a hobby. It has been in extreme cold, extreme hot and some misty rain conditions. The weather here in central illinois is crazy we get a bit of everything and this camera has handled it very well. However I am still very cautious with it and handle it like it's glass china wear because I would be heartbroken if it broke. This d5300 body with the 18-140mm lens is amazing, solid feel, awesome picture, beautiful screen display, easy for beginners. Buy it!!!!!

just after one year it has developed problems as it cannot take pictures except live view mode. I am struggling to fix it and they have diverted to NIKON servcice centre and they ask for proof of purchase even after sending them the invoice I hardly used the camera and now they say it is out of warrranty and charagable, In my opinion there is no value for the money and I suspect if I was sold a used model or a default piece. Need to fix it

The D5300 was an upgrade purchase for me from a D50 that I have used for 7 years. I have had very good luck with the D50 and wanted to stick with the Nikon brand, looking to use the add on accessories that I have purchased. There were enough feature differences, and the standard kit lens change, between the D5200 and D5300 that I felt spending the extra money was worth it. Some of the things that I like: 1. The 18-140 standard lens. It is very functional and covers a lot of picture options. 2. The large, movable, display screen. 3. The built in wireless feature. 4. The shutter speed. 5. Some of the setting options. Some of the things that I dislike: 1. The size of the camera body. It is smaller than the D50 body and find it to be a little too small for me. 2. The button placement on the back right of the camera. There are too many buttons where your thumb naturally rests and find myself pushing them when taking the camera out of the case. 3. There are too many menu screens to sort through when you want to use some of the features such as the wireless remote, self timer, and wireless settings. They are not difficult to use, just cumbersome. 4. Using the Live View. The pictures are not as good as when using the View Finder. Overall the camera is fine, but am just a little disappointed with the items mentioned above.

The camera is fantastic and takes great pictures. My only complaint is my camera came (unbeknownst to me) with a Nikon "European" Warranty. So my D5300 had some dust between the viewfinder and the optical sensor so I sent it off to Nikon, USA in New York to have it cleaned. They promptly sent it back with "Non-US Product" stamped on the invoice. I called and Nikon told me it's what they call a "Grey Camera" and not only would they not service it under warranty, but they wouldn't service the camera at all. Huh? It's a NIKON! So check that warranty card and make sure whatever camera you buy you have a "US Warranty" card.

This camera is AWESOME! It can do so much, it is good for a beginner and can be used for seasoned photographers as well. It is a great base. I bought a lightly used one from a certified seller for a great deal on Amazon. I got the camera, the 18-140 lens and a ton accessories for $600 so I would recommend looking at the used options on amazon if you do not want to pay full price. Also do not rush to buy everything at once. I have takes photos for a while now and most photographer upgrade certain parts as they need them. Do not feel like you need a complete kit with 3 lenses right off the bat (I only say this because I have a lot of accessories that I never use). If you are lazy like me and hate changing lens' go for the 18-140 lens in the bundle or buy just the base and get the 55-300 lens that is even more versatile separately. Make sure any lens you buy is AF-S, if the price seems too good to be true the lens probably has no autofocus to work with this camera. I have had it now for several months and mostly shoot wildlife (birds). The auto settings on it are so good I rarely use and of the manual settings and can take great in flight pictures of birds.