Beginner help required... upgrade

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Gaz

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Hi all I'm looking for some advice, I currently have the Nikon D3200 as a starter camera and I've loved using it but now I'm thinking should I change to a more advanced camera ? I love to shoot street & urban documentary style photography but not really interested in a fixed focal length! Can you recommend anything or should I just buy better glass ?

Thank you
 
I went from a D3100 to a D5100 then to a D7000..loving it and certainly for the foreseeable future I don't need anything more..though now discontinued I think there are some good deals around, highly recommended (imo)

Robin
 
My advice would be to keep working with, and exploring, the equipment you have until you reach a point where you feel it is holding you back and you HAVE to upgrade. That would usually start wih lenses and perhaps, eventually, the body itself.
 
Thank you for all your comments, The D3200 is a great little camera and I've shot some good stuff using it but it's poor in low light and doesn't have the sharpness I'd like in my street images. I would be open to the idea of new glass but also open to a new camera so keep your options coming. My price range is £400-£700
 
You would gain better control by changing to a D7100, should be able to find one near the bottom of your price range, that would also let you improve your lens,within your budget, this should see you sorted for the forseable future, while you learn the capabilitiees of the camera and yourself.
 
What lens do you have? The sigma 18-35 f1.8 is great for the price.
 
Thank you for all your comments, The D3200 is a great little camera and I've shot some good stuff using it but it's poor in low light and doesn't have the sharpness I'd like in my street images. I would be open to the idea of new glass but also open to a new camera so keep your options coming. My price range is £400-£700
Sharpness is the lens, not the body. You can improve low light capability far more for the money by wider aperture lenses than upgrading camera sensor, unless you're already using the widest aperture lenses available. In other words, unless you're already using top glass, upgrading glass is likely to buy you much more IQ improvement than upgrading the camera.
 
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Thank you for all your comments, The D3200 is a great little camera and I've shot some good stuff using it but it's poor in low light and doesn't have the sharpness I'd like in my street images. I would be open to the idea of new glass but also open to a new camera so keep your options coming. My price range is £400-£700

As Chris says above, I really don't think its the camera letting you down here. There are many variables when it comes to sharpness and indeed low light performance but one thing that is certain is that the sensor in the D3200 is capable of extremely good results. In terms of low light noise performance, there really aren't any APSC cameras significantly better. Better lenses and more importantly flawless technique are likely to yield far greater improvements at least when it comes to image quality.
 
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As above, the sensor in the D3200 is a very good crop sensor, the only way you'll get significant noise advantages is going full frame. Where cameras like the D7000/D7100 are better are functions and autofocus, which may or may not be of use to you depending on your street shooting style.
 
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