Nikon D5300

[Thalestris24]

Hi all

Just wondered if anyone had any experience of the Nikon D5300 for astro and terrestrial imaging? I realise they are a little old, as consumer cameras go, but they can still be bought for a reasonable price. Spec says they have inbuilt GPS and wifi, both of which would be nice to have. Has the same sensor as the qhy247c though obviously electronics will be different and may be only 13bit? Still, for short astro exposures ~1 min, should be ok without cooling. I've been a Canon girl up til now but some of the Nikons have me under their spell!

I'd be grateful for any feed back on the D5300

Thanks

Louise

[davew]

15 hours ago, Thalestris24 said:

Hi all

Just wondered if anyone had any experience of the Nikon D5300 for astro and terrestrial imaging? I realise they are a little old, as consumer cameras go, but they can still be bought for a reasonable price. Spec says they have inbuilt GPS and wifi, both of which would be nice to have. Has the same sensor as the qhy247c though obviously electronics will be different and may be only 13bit? Still, for short astro exposures ~1 min, should be ok without cooling. I've been a Canon girl up til now but some of the Nikons have me under their spell!

I'd be grateful for any feed back on the D5300

Thanks

Louise

Hi Louise,

I think it unlikely that you'd get much help re Nikon cameras as most people round here use Canon. There is quite a following over the other side of the Atlantic for the D5300 and the Cloudy Nights forum has a number of threads. I believe Jerry Lodriguss uses the D5300 when he shoots APSC ( If you've heard of him )

I have only used a 5300 series camera in passing and as it wasn't mine and I couldn't alter too many settings. It worked like a charm under the stars even with the kit lens

The Pros seem to be the very good Sony chip on board with very low read noise for those short exposures and the swivel out screen. Oh, and the fact that there are loads of capture programmes that work !

The Cons are that the film back register prevents the use of most other non Nikon fit lenses. Although there are plenty of Nikon APSC fit clip filters made, not many are advertised over here. I think a retailer very close to this site may in fact be able to help if requested.

Think before you change systems because if you already have lenses and other bits for the Canon then you'll be buying twice. If it was me and I wanted a cheap and very good APSC camera then I'd chose the Nikon. If I wanted a cheap and good FF Canon then I'd go for the 6D. If I wanted a more expensive FF camera I'd be back to Nikon.

Interestingly, chip advancements seem to be slowing down somewhat so an older chip, as in this case, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Another thing is that Nikon have in camera timelapse and have for many years. That too works a treat.

This may or may not help but ask if you think I could help any further,

Dave.

[Thalestris24]

Thanks, Dave

I was just musing and thought it might be a good buy as, as mentioned, it has the same 24mp sensor as the qhy247c. I liked the idea of having built-in gps for terrestrial photo geotagging . Of course, my Samsung phone does that anyway - well, some of the time!. I've seen some decent d5300 images on here. The APT website quotes the D5300 as having a QE of 55% which is quite good and significantly better than either my Canon 1100d (36%) or 550d (40%). The D5100 and D7000 also have the same sensor as the 16mp QHY168c/ASI071mc pro and relatively cheap second hand. I'm also looking at mirrorless camera options but they are pricier... I'm not 'changing' anything, rather, 'expanding' is the word!

Louise

[Allinthehead]

Hi Louise. Ciaran (Xiga is his username) uses this camera very successfully. Produces some great narrowband stuff too. Give him a pm I'm sure he'd be happy to help.

[davew]

1 hour ago, Thalestris24 said:

Thanks, Dave

I was just musing and thought it might be a good buy as, as mentioned, it has the same 24mp sensor as the qhy247c. I liked the idea of having built-in gps for terrestrial photo geotagging . Of course, my Samsung phone does that anyway - well, some of the time!. I've seen some decent d5300 images on here. The APT website quotes the D5300 as having a QE of 55% which is quite good and significantly better than either my Canon 1100d (36%) or 550d (40%). The D5100 and D7000 also have the same sensor as the 16mp QHY168c/ASI071mc pro and relatively cheap second hand. I'm also looking at mirrorless camera options but they are pricier... I'm not 'changing' anything, rather, 'expanding' is the word!

Louise

I think the D5300 is a good deal secondhand. The D7000 is also very good but a great deal heavier. It can take the Nikon hack though and that makes the sensor very good for night shots.

Another pro I forgot was the lack of AA filter in front of the chip on the 5300.

Good luck with your musings and perhaps bring yourself and your camera to Kielder one day,

Dave.

[Thalestris24]

8 minutes ago, davew said:

I think the D5300 is a good deal secondhand. The D7000 is also very good but a great deal heavier. It can take the Nikon hack though and that makes the sensor very good for night shots.

Another pro I forgot was the lack of AA filter in front of the chip on the 5300.

Good luck with your musings and perhaps bring yourself and your camera to Kielder one day,

Dave.

I'm also looking at the Canon M100 which compares quite well plus is a dinky little thing! https://cameradecision.com/compare/Canon-EOS-M100-vs-Nikon-D5300

The M100 has the same sensor as the Eos 80D with a QE of 55% but apparently has no intervalometer options whereas the M50 does so I'm looking at that now.
I'm not very mobile, I'm afraid (no car), so no chance of getting outside Glasgow. I do all my imaging from within a 2nd floor flat.

Louise

[happy-kat]

You won't be able to use your m42 takumar leses with a Nikon.

Or any canon lenses you may have.

Sorry on re reading I see davew has said this.

Edited July 19, 2019 by happy-kat

[Thalestris24]

7 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

You won't be able to use your m42 takumar leses with a Nikon.

Or any canon lenses you may have.

I was thinking of using it for astro with my Pentax 67 300mm - with a Nikon adapter, of course. Other than that, it would be for daytime use with, probably, just the kit Nikon lens. I'm into photographing different wild plants and uploading them to iNaturalist. Hence the desire for gps/geotagging. I've been using a mobile phone for that. I have to say, I don't really need yet another camera! Was just toying with the idea, really. As usual, I'll continue mulling over it .

Louise

[happy-kat]

Nikon have a different distance from flange to sensor and this prevents Canon compatible lenses being used, Canon with an adaptor can use Nikon lenses. (I don't know what the position is on mirror less flavours).

[Thalestris24]

1 minute ago, happy-kat said:

Nikon have a different distance from flange to sensor and this prevents Canon compatible lenses being used, Canon with an adaptor can use Nikon lenses. (I don't know what the position is on mirror less flavours).

As I said, I wasn't planning on using it with any Canon lenses so not a problem

[happy-kat]

Sorry I thought your Pentax was m42 fit.

[Thalestris24]

Just now, happy-kat said:

Sorry I thought your Pentax was m42 fit.

Ah, no, it's a p67 medium format lens. Can get adapters for lots of different cameras. The lens has a long back focus so the adapters are 'chunky'. You can easily fit 2" filters on the inside of the adapters

Louise