Review: How Good is the Nikon D5300 for Vlogging?

The Nikon D5300 is the cheapest DSLR you could get to use for vlogging. It is an entry-level DSLR camera that has some advantages over its direct competition, the T5i. However, it also has some flaws that I’m going to point out throughout this post.

The Canon Rebel T5i is one of the main choices between YouTubers. But even so, the Nikon D5300 does some things better, starting from having 24.2Mp to work with.

Here are the best things you will get from the Nikon D5300

Why the Nikon D5300’s Image Quality is Way Above its Price Range

It can record 1080p60 video. While the T5i can only top 1080p30, this Nikon DSLR records better video. It can also record 1080p 30 and 24 fps, just like the T5i. This Nikon allows you to record faster video to upload to YouTube. This is usually a good idea because it fits vlogging very well; we don’t want to bore our audience, and smoother video helps with that.

It does not have anti-aliasing filter. This is also called low-pass filter. Since the camera doesn’t have one, the video is much sharper, so you can see more details in the image. Combined with 1080p60 video recording, its final result is better than the T5i’s.

However, not having low-pass filter makes it vulnerable to the moiré effect. Nevertheless, this won’t matter if you don’t use any heavily striped clothing when recording yourself.

It shows less noise in low light. Compared to the T5i, this camera gives you more freedom to work with lower light. You will be able to raise your ISO more without worrying about spoiling your image. This is nice when doing casual vlogging if you don’t have a lighting kit lying around. This will make the vlogging process certainly easy because you won’t need to think too much about lighting.

It can also go up to 25600 ISO if you need it, although it will not be free from noise.

It’s cheaper. With the Nikon D5300, you will get a better image quality for a lower price. This is true as long as you get only the body and buy a better lens.

However, there’s something important to take into account. The Canon T5i comes with a STM 18-55mm kit lens (it will cost the same if you buy it without it). If you buy the Nikon D5300 with an 18-55mm non-STM kit, it will cost a little bit more.

Now, the idea is NOT to buy the starting lens kit because it’s not good quality. This is a common mistake when approaching DSLRs for the first time. What you should do is buying only the body and an f/1.4 or f/1.8 50mm fixed lens for vlogging. This will make this purchase much cheaper than buying the T5i with an equivalent lens.

It comes with WiFi. This is becoming something essential nowadays, and Nikon knows it.

These are all good things that make the Nikon D5300 a good purchase. However, if you want to use it for vlogging, there’s more things to take into consideration.

Why, in the End, Canon is Better for Video than Nikon

After writing this statement I’m not trying to convince you to buy a Canon. This is just true; Nikon is focused toward photography. Canon gives better autofocus with their STM (silence focus lenses) and better performing AF in their cameras (including the T5i).

This leads us to the following points:

The Nikon D5300’s autofocus is slower and not so reliable. The T5i focuses much faster and chooses the focus point better than this Nikon camera. Also, Nikon doesn’t have the STM lenses Canon offers. These lenses are silence when focusing, so you can’t hear them in your recordings. This is huge for video.

Now, this might not be so bad for vlogging. Most vloggers like to speak a lot to the camera. They don’t move too much and they don’t use the camera to change a lot between focus points. If this is the kind of vlogging you plan to do, you can pick this camera without worrying about the poor autofocus. Since you will be standing within the same distance from the camera, you will be fine using the manual focus.

You can set the manual focus to where you will be standing and just leave it like that. If this is all you need to do, then it won’t matter the Nikon D5300 having worse autofocus system and lenses for video.

It lacks some nice features the Canon T5i offers to beginners and vloggers. The Creative Auto mode from Canon is great for beginners. Nikon stays a little behind with this. Also, its controls and access menus are not as easy to use as with a Canon camera. It also lacks a Touchscreen, although it does feature a 3.2’’ fully articulated screen.

Finally, the Video Snapshots feature from Canon is a really nice feature for vloggers. It allows you to record really small videos without having to press the shutter for each clip. This makes the filming and editing process much easier.

Find the best lens for vlogging with this camera