Nikon D5500 DX-format Digital SLR w/ 18-140mm VR Kit (Black)

This is the camera I've been looking for. My interest in photography goes way back, but it wasn't until I got my first iPhone (the 4S) that I was able to start exploring. From there, I bought a Fuji HS30EXR, which was very highly recommended, and had awful image quality; next, I purchased a Sony NEX-6, which was light-years ahead of the Fuji, but I always felt like something was missing. So I bought the Sony a6000 and suffered immediate buyer's remorse (though I eventually bought its little brother, the RX100 m2, which is my much-loved coat-pocket camera). I was always looking for that missing something. And not being trained at all in photography, never having taken any classes, and having to learn everything on my own from books and websites, I could never put my finger on what that something was. Until I discovered the D5500. The D5500 takes great pictures. It's also harder to use than the a6000. But it feels like a real camera. It's comfortable in my (somewhat large) hands. Compared to the CSC Sony cameras I've owned, it feels more like a tool than a toy. As I say, it's more challenging to use (no Focus Peaking!), and as a result, I'm more satisfied when I take a decent exposure. And it is sharp, in part because modern Nikons lack anti-aliasing filters. An Anti-Aliasing Filter serves to soften your images to prevent moiré- a sort of banding that occurs in high-contrast patterns (think a striped dress) when recorded by a digital sensor. (You may have seen these patterns on an old tube t.v. screen when you were a kid, too.) In my opinion, the benefit of having 24mp is not that you necessarily get a "better" image- you get more room to crop. I like to take pictures of the moon, and it's nice to be able to zoom in and inspect the surface. The Sony's were way too soft when zoomed in at 50%, let alone 100%. This may not be the case for the full-frame Sony cameras, but the APS-C models leave a lot to be desired. As far as those cameras are concerned, 24mp is about 16mp wasted. The D5500 feels great in hand, nice and light, but still substantial, with a good amount of grip, and it truly is optimized to help amatuers like me get the shot they want. It's fast (though not as quick in burst mode as the a6000), and the touchscreen is a treat coming from Sony (menus within menus within menus within menus...), making it super easy to change aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc. The lens selection is fantastic, whether you go Nikon or third-party (I've already added the AF-S 35mm and the 55-200mm VRII to my bag), although there is an obvious emphasis on pro gear. The D5500 is the camera for me. Every single box (image quality, feel, looks) is neatly checked. I find myself spending less time in Lightroom and more time with a camera in my hands, and I find that leaving things like ISO up to the camera (unthinkable on Sony's APS-C cameras, which render unusable images after ISO 6400 or so) not only renders great images, but makes it that much easier (and enjoyable) for me to bungle my way through this silly, expensive hobby of mine. I would recommend this camera to everyone who wants to go beyond smartphones and point-and-shoots. Side note- I chose the D5500 over the D7200 for several reasons that you may or may not agree with, but here they are: 1. The D5500 and the D7200 have the same sensor. IQ should be the same. 2. The D7200 is $400 more. Although I love my D5500, I will probably not be as fond of it in three or four years. But the lenses could conceivably last for decades with proper care. As better photographers than me have said, buy only as much camera as you need, and spend the rest on lenses. 3. Simpler exterior. I'm not ready for all the buttons and dials yet. Stepping up to the D7000 series will be next, but that's several years from now. I felt it was better to become accustomed to the DSLR form factor before dropping $1100 on the camera body alone. As far as the Nikon vs. Canon debate is concerned, I'm uninterested. I chose the D5500 over the comparable Canons for a couple of reasons. 1. Nikon bodies seem to cost less than their Canon counterparts, but are rated more highly; the Canon t6s is more expensive and does not perform as well. Ditto the 70d. 2. Nikon has legacy lens support unmatched by Canon. Will I ever take advantage of it? Who knows, but I like the idea. 3. Canon DSLR's don't render color as well, in my opinion, Easy fix, I know- but still. That being said, I'm certain that a skilled photographer could get great pictures from just about anything, so don't get yourself bogged down in fruitless Nikon vs. Canon, DSLR vs. Mirrorless/M43, Android vs. Apple type debates. Just take pictures!

A superb camera. While I could go on and on about how good the new 24MP imager is; how light but strong the body is; how fast the camera handles big files; and the great overall quality of the images if you lens and technique are good -- it's the touch screen that really makes it stand apart. Once you realize virtually everything can be done via iPhone-like gestures on the big rear articulating LCD, it becomes the fastest DSLR camera I've ever used. This camera is also lighter than ANY DSLR I've ever used, and I've used many Nikon's and Canon's. Since it's largely made from a single piece of polycarbonate, it's exceptionally strong too. I've dropped it on the sidewalk, I know. Although it's still 24MP, Nikon says it's a new sensor, not a carry-over from the D5300. That said, 24MP can make mural-sized photos. This camera is more capable than most lens' ability to resolve. The kit lens (18mm-55mm) while decent, cannot do the imager justice. Try the f1.8 35mm DX, or any older Nikkor 50mm "normal" lens on a tripod. You will be amazed at the resolution. I tested the D5500 with a 50 yr-old f4 200mm Nikkor Q lens, and the results were spectacular. While this camera will only auto-focus with DX lenses, you can manually focus with confidence with almost any Nikon lens because a little dot appears in the viewfinder when you have focused accurately. Exposure can be gauged by looking at the LCD screen. Another strong suit with the D5500 is it's low-light capability. It is nothing short of amazing! Nite photography with fast lenses is easy, hand-held! It is so good, taking pictures of the Milky Way on a clear night is relatively easy. Photos taken at ISO's of 12,500 are ridiculously good. Sure, there's some noise, but it isn't too noticeable depending on the circumstances. Astronomers of the world unite, here is your camera! Make no mistake, the D5500 in capable hands, with solid technique and good lenses, can match ANY camera under $3000. Oh, and it weighs almost nothing and has a touch screen, did I mention that? :D

This D5500 with a 18-140mm lens was a recent upgrade from my D5000. Boy, what a difference! The D5500 camera body is lighter, more compact, easier to use and handle, and with more features. The LCD screen is much larger and higher resolution; something that always bothered me on the D5000. The touchscreen is nice as it give you access to more features, faster, than having to scroll through menus and around the screen with the cursor. Nikon seemed to simplify and organize the most commonly used futures, making them more intuitive to access as well. The pictures this camera takes are absolutely stunning. It's much more capable under lower light conditions, and the videos are great looking too. Now a work about the lens. I made this camera update for a vacation abroad. The 18-140mm is amazing; much heavier, sturdier and higher quality than the 18-55mm and 55-200mm kit lenses I already have from the D5000 purchase, with a metal lens mount instead of plastic. Operation is smoother and more precise, and the zoom range is perfect all-around; it also takes nice macro photos. It's one lens that covers it all, and from what I've read, is very good relative to the aforementioned kit lenses. However, I will say it is HEAVY; at over 1lb, it tends to make the camera droop when it's around my neck and weigh the little D5500 down. I happened to purchase the inexpensive 35mm f/1.8g fantastic plastic lens (also with metal mount) at the same time, just for fun. I must say, the combination of the D5500 and 35mm prime lens is wonderful. This is a perfect match - the entire camera/lens assembly is light, small, easy to carry, and just feels right. Maybe even a BETTER vacation setup. And the prime is really FUN to use; it takes uber-sharp pictures, particularly under low-light indoors and gives you one less thing to adjust when you are taking shots. I am happy I have the versatile 18-140mm lens with my D5500 for situations where I know I will need a longer reach, kids sporting events, wildlife, etc, but the 35mm prime is the hands-down winner for indoor/low-light, city traveling and street shots. Get the D5500 with the 18-140mm lens...but don't forget the 35mm prime!

This is billed as the camera for people who want to take their photography seriously. Wish Nikon and/or Amazon felt the same way. The camera comes highly recommended from several sources and it's every bit as good as they say. Great image quality, very versatile, very useful and very usable - I'm having a lot of fun with it, and won't be replacing it for a very long time. Check out youtube for Tony Northrup's user guide for pretty much everything you need to know about this camera. He starts at the basic "how to turn it on" and goes all the way through with advance settings for specific situations - how you would use it at your kid's soccer game, for instance. It's an hour well spent. https://youtu.be/Hf_aqeeQ8jY Quibbles about the overall package: Really? No SD card included. SHAME! Camera has a mini HDMI port, but they don't include a cable. Meh. Camera has an old school USB port, but they do include a too short cable. Lots of those lying around. Meh. Battery is proprietary. I'm sure at this level, they all are. Do yourself a favor and order another when you order the camera. ARRGGH! Battery charger is a huge PITA and makes me a tiny bit angry everytime I have to use it. It's got flip out prongs for a wall outlet. You have to directly plug it into an outlet, so lots of bending over, and good luck if you're traveling. If you use it with a powerstrip, it's going to cover 2 or 3 additional outlets. Why didn't they make it so you can plug a standard usb cable into it for charging, like every other device I own? EHHHHH. The kit lens is ok. If you're at all serious, you'll want to replace it pretty quickly with something else faster, stronger, better and more expensive. If your budget will allow, get the body only and pick up one of the lenses noted by Tony at the end of the tutorial. I don't know why Nikon or even Amazon don't offer "if you're serious and want to take X kind of pictures" bundles with better lenses. Even some of the third party stuff from Sigma is better than the kit lenses.

I have purchased this camera twice. The first one bit the dust when I fell down beside a waterfall and it smashed on the rocks. Popped the battery cover off, scratched the lens just a little. Taped the battery in until I could afford a new one. Got a different Nikon from a pawn shop, a D3400. Good camera, but not as good as the little red one. Great camera for beginners and professionals. The post office threw this one over the 6' fence when they delivered it. Right. Thankfully it was undamaged.

We bought this camera for a trip we recently completed. The picture quality was outstanding, even for pictures taken without flash. The museum pictures might be copyright protected, but here's a sample hand-held picture taken after dark with only street lighting. The focus is near the center of the picture. The second picture is a daylight picture. At 4000x6000 (the default resolution) the brown and white street sign can be magnified to be readable. We took a lot of pictures in museums which don't allow flash photography, but the camera was able to handle almost all of them. There was only one shot it couldn't take but that was an almost pitch black situation. In this case with automatic settings the camera simply refused to take the picture. Some notes: 1) In order to get a quick shutter speed in lower light situations you need to look through the eye piece rather than the view screen. Hand held pictures with low light came out crisp with bright colors. (see the example) 2) When shooting movies, you need to use the view screen rather than the eye piece. Pressing the movie button without the view screen active has no effect. The 18-55mm lens which came with the kit was the one I used almost all the time on this trip. I also got a 55-200mm lens, but didn't want to carry both lenses around all the time. I didn't find a lot of situations that called for zoom, but for trip photography it might have been wiser to get one 18-200mm lens instead of the two lenses. This camera has a lot of features which are explained in the detailed manual provided. I didn't use most of them. I used the automatic without flash setting for most pictures. It was useful to read the manual, though, for the rare situations that required special handling. Two versions of the manual came with the camera: one in English, one in Spanish. The camera battery is rated for over 800 pictures (a large percentage with flash.) I took 555 mostly without flash, and the battery indicator is still at 100%. I brought along the charger but never used it. Picture downloading to a computer is pretty fast. USB-3 is supported. This camera also supports WiFi, but I haven't used that feature yet so can't comment on it other to say that it's there.

Takes great pics. The only reason to get this over say the cheaper 5300 is supposedly a) the touchscreen, and b) 60fps at 1080p. Slow motion is cool, but not really necessary. A headphone jack, however, is necessary. I don't know why any company would make a camera that you can plug a microphone into, but not put a headphone jack for monitoring audio. This is clearly not for serious video users. If I would have done more research I probably would have went with a different camera. Secondly, the touchscreen is, as the title of this review suggests, rather meh. You can only adjust aperture and shutter speed via the touchscreen, not ISO. Why you might ask? For no apparent reason. The geniuses at Nikon just didn't think it was necessary. But it is. If you're going to try a gimmick like touchscreen, at least make it as usable as possible without needless gaps in functionality. Lastly, with only one assignable function knob you must choose either quick access to ISO or white balance. Adding ISO touchscreen might have made this a bit easier, then you could have semi quick access to the 4 main settings every photographer needs. As is this is a lackluster product. It is not worth the extra money over any other of nikon's smaller prosumer DSLRs. The best things about this camera is the small size. But overall it lacks functionality for the price. Either get a cheaper one in the same class (basically everything except the touchscreen) or spend a little more and get the 7200. I've had this camera for a year and just find it difficult to use. Nikon really could have made this a great camera but decided to skimp.

My Sony A6000 with the 18-200mm lens was stolen, and I couldn't justify sticking with Sony after that. Basically Sony is just too expensive for what you. After the theft, I still had my HVLF 43mm flash, 35mm Sony prime lens, Sony hotshoe microphone and after selling all those things I was almost able to pay for this camera and an additional 35mm Nikon prime lens. A lot of this review will compare it to the Sony A6000 which I previously had. I am an amateur photographer who doesn't have much to play around with Manual settings. Bottom line is for $1000 total (including the 35mm prime lens), I got a camera that was at least equivalent to the Sony A6000. The flash of this is much better than the built in flash on the A6000 which was so weak that I needed to get the external flash. The Nikon D5500 flash is built in and is way better than the Sony A6000 flash, due to it's further range and better resulting picture quality. If you have a bright background and need to use the flash for a portrait picture, then this works great. This was not the case with Sony's teeny A6000 flash. LCD. It's a touch screen, and allows you to touch the screen and focus on an object. The A6000 didn't let me do this. The A6500 does, but at a cost of 2.5X times this. It also fully swivels and turns and can be turned to face inwards when you're not using this, which is a great feature. The Sony A6000 sometimes missed the focus point which for me taking pictures of my kids was/is important. With the A6000 and my kids on the move, I didn't have time to move the cursor to track someone's face, which it also lost. With the D5500, you can either touch the part of the scene/screen that you want the camera to track and focus, or you can set it to automatically take the picture when you touch the part of screen/scene that you want the camera to focus on and then take your finger off the screen. Manual control is definitely not as good as the A6000. You cannot manually the ISO, shutter speed and aperture at the same time. Automatic mode and SCNs result in better pictures than the modes on the A6000. Overall picture quality is good enough for me which is mostly family and kid pictures with the odd landscape. Size is definitely bigger than the A6000 but with the A6000, I was using the 18-200mm lens and once you put on a big lens than the size of the body doesn't matter as much. Viewfinder is optical instead of digital. The A6000 wins here. Digital viewfinder shows what your picture is going to look like. Optical viewfinider does not. I definitely miss this feature. Lastly, as other reviewers have said, the wireless features of the Nikon D5500 don't work that well, which wasn't important to me. They also didn't work well with the Sony A6000 unless you had that touch NFC thing on your mobile or tablet. This was not important to me, but I still think Nikon could/should sort this out. In short, if you plan to get an A6000 and just use the kit 16-50mm lens and the 55-210mm lens, and you don't really care about a touchscreen and a good flash, then I would suggest you go with the Sony A6000 over this. If you plan on buying other lenses and care about having a good flash, and a touchscreen then I would go with the Nikon D5500. For $1000 total, I got the Nikon D5500, the 18-140mm lens, the 35mm prime lens, plus extra batteries, charger, camera case, shoulder strap and wrist strap. For me, this was the best camera in this price range which had all the features I wanted except one (digital viewfinder).