Used D7000 or D7100 are good options too. In addition to the extra cost for potentially unnecessary features (aside from the nice viewfinder and weather sealing which is always a plus), it does make the camera noticeably larger and heavier.ĭ3300, D5300, D5500, D5600 all share the same sensor as the D7200 so image quality is very similar. The main reasons to get the D7200 over D5XXX are for better autofocus (if taking action shots), slightly bigger buffer for continuous shooting, bigger and brighter optical viewfinder, a little better in low light at higher ISOs, dual card slots (seems unlikely she needs that), weather sealing, more dials/controls, and ability to autofocus with older lenses. Lenses can be more important than the camera body and if she is mostly just taking casual shots of families and nature the D7200 may be a bit overkill compared to D3300 (better than newer D3400/D3500 models) or a D5300/D5500/D5600 and putting the rest of your budget into lenses. Nikon Nikor AF-S 35mm f/1.8G DX lens for $100-115 used or $200 new is always a great option. If you want the excellent 70-300mm lens I'd recommend not getting it in the kit and buying the VR version on eBay for cheap (maybe $135ish for new open box).Īre you planning to buy D7200 new which will be basically your entire budget or used? If you buy used you'll have enough room left for a decent lens or two. You may get the AF-P 18-55mm VR with your camera and some come with the AF-P 70-300mm (non VR). Still they are pretty good so don't let inability to turn off VR prevent you from getting them. Plus, there are currently only 3 AF-P lenses designed for DX (crop sensor) cameras like the D7200 anyway. Although pros generally turn VR off when using a tripod, it isn't anything I'd worry about with modern lenses which have excellent VR capabilities. It is a quite minor issue on a fantastic camera. A little annoying Nikon just won't fix the firmware, but absolutely do not let that keep you from buying a D7200. You must be talking about not being able to turn off VR (vibration reduction aka image stabilization) when using the newer AF-P lenses on a D7200.

Nikon d7200 firmware