Beginner Thinking of a used Nikon D3200

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Dean77

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Dean
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Just after some general advice as a newbie please? I've found a D3200 Nikon for sale for a decent price with kit lens......should this be OK to get me started on my mid life photography journey?

Don't wanna spend a small fortune but fancy taking the plunge.

Thank you in advance.
 
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All I would say is check or ask about the shutter count before buying. This will affect the price. Think of it this way, you see a shiny car with a gleaming body, but the engine is clapped out. Same with a camera, one with a high shutter count may not last very long

quote" The Nikon D3200 shutter count is estimated to be 100,000 actuations. This is the average number of times the shutter is expected to cycle before it might require maintenance or replacement. However, this is not a guarantee, and shutters can fail earlier or last longer. " unquote
 
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It should be fine. Do be aware that this is 'obsolete' technology, and though it will always take decent pictures and be fine to learn on, you probably shouldn't invest too much in lenses unless you really want a retro outfit.

The D3200 was a camera I considered seriously in 2013, and is not a bad choice. From memory, the things that made me choose something different were the small size (a bit too small for my hands) and a rather dim viewfinder. I had a friend with one at the time, and she took some great pictures with hers.
 
Should be fine. Stick it in auto/scene modes and go take pictures. When you feel confident, look into the more advanced settings.

Make sure it comes with a battery and charger. The connecting cable to a computer is really useful to (might be a slightly obsolete USB mini size) but you can get them from Amazon if it is missing.
 
realspeed said:
quote" The Nikon D3200 shutter count is estimated to be 100,000 actuations. This is the average number of times the shutter is expected to cycle before it might require maintenance or replacement. However, this is not a guarantee, and shutters can fail earlier or last longer. " unquote
Click to expand...

I would be fairly confident that the majority cameras on the lower end of the price spectrum such as D3*00 Nikons, K30/50/70/f Pentax or the 3 or 4 digit EOS Canons will be on fairly low shutter mileage. Anyone intending on going out taking thousands of images regularly rather than just a few from time to time will probably buy a higher specification camera at the outset.

If you are starting out the D3200 will be fine, if you either get bored with photography or decide to outgrow it quickly then the only thing is you won't get much for it ....but you'll probably lose a lot less than a fair few of us on the forum have paid VAT on our gear this year...
 
ancient_mariner said:
It should be fine. Do be aware that this is 'obsolete' technology, and though it will always take decent pictures and be fine to learn on, you probably shouldn't invest too much in lenses unless you really want a retro outfit.

The D3200 was a camera I considered seriously in 2013, and is not a bad choice. From memory, the things that made me choose something different were the small size (a bit too small for my hands) and a rather dim viewfinder. I had a friend with one at the time, and she took some great pictures with hers.
Click to expand...
Good point, it is a bit small and fiddly. Don't under-estimate how important this can be to some people, especially those of us who have large hands and who like to have more controls for ease and speed of use.

But, at the price, it's a great camera, and if you want something thats bigger and more user-friendly you'll need to pay a lot more. Have you seen this pretty comprehensive review? https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d3200
 
Just as a add on that most newbies don’t know the big two canon and Nikon with there dslr ranges used the numbers system , so pro-sumer bodies are in the 1000 numbers , enthusiast bodies in 100’s numbers then pro bodies in the 10’s range and the top end bodies in single numbers .. all of the ranges also carry a few upgraded models with a “S” designation as well , that caters for new features during the production run of the model
 
I have the D3100, which I have found fairly easy to use in manual, found some good enough lenses for it at a not too steep a price, I also have an old D 70 which is a good old school camera..
So I think the camera your thinking off should do fine.
 
Before taking the plunge and buying a camera of my own, I learned for 6 months on a borrowed Nikon D3200 and I had a great time with it. Really served me well.
 
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