I’ll admit this is a bit of a long shot, as it’s a very technical question, but here we go…
Which is the best Nikon DX camera for low-light performance? That is, which performs best in terms of noise?
It’s time to upgrade my D60, and it’s a great time to do it because Nikon has so many models on the market, past models are an absolute steal on ebay. It’s a choice between the D3100, D3200, D3300, D5100, D5200, D5300. Although the D7000 is lovely, I don’t want a camera that big and heavy – the small size and weight of the smaller models is important for me.
I’ve scoured dpreview.com and there doesn’t seem to be much difference between these models. Higher resolution = more noise BUT = more detail which kind of makes up for the increased noise.
Very confusing!
Andrew,
Good question. I must admit I had to go out and do some research on this since I’ve never had the chance to shoot the less expensive Nikon cameras. I found a great video review of the D5300 produced by Kelby Media. A link is at the bottom of this comment. The gentleman discussing this camera, they don’t mention his name, does a great job and at exactly 3:48 seconds in to the video he specifically talks about low light capabilities. I think they did a really nice job presenting lots of good information though I can’t vouch for how totally accurate it is. If I had to guess, I would be inclined to trust this information. I’m apologize I’m not more helpful than this. Let me know if this works for you if not I may have some other ideas.