Seriouisly its awesome camera! I’m going to take some time to address the warranty issues that everyone seems to be so concerned about. As soon as I received the invoice for my purchase, the first thing I did was to register the product on the Nikon India website.
Unfortunately, the S/N provided on the invoice gave me an invalid serial number error on the website. I was a little spooked due to this. I immediately called up Nikon customer care to clarify and they asked me to take the DSLR to the nearest Nikon service center and get it verified. However, upon further observation, I realized that the S/N provided on the invoice was for the Nikkor lens, and not for the DSLR body. There are 2 different S/N, one for the body and one for the lens, and you have to register them separately. I was finally able to register both the body and the lens on Nikon’s website and breathed a sigh of relief.
So, here are some pointers - while Nikon has advised against buying from Flipkart, I would first ask you to check the invoice the moment you get it. It should contain a mention of the serial number of the product(any one will do since it’s unique) and carry the TIN/CST no. of the seller as well. These two things will help you verify a genuine invoice. Secondly, register your product immediately with Nikon India. If it throws an invalid S/N error, you’ll know that it’s not a genuine product. Alternatively, it could be that the product S/N has not been updated with Nikon India yet. In this case, you can take the product to your nearest Nikon service center and get the product verified from there.
Finally, and most importantly, note that Nikon DSLR sold by an authorized dealer will have a serial number starting with 7. This is true for all Asian countries except Japan. Mine starts with 7 as well. And my Nikkor lens’s S/N starts with 2.
If all these things check out, then I don’t think you need to be worried about warranty.
As for the DSLR itself, I don’t think I need to praise it any more than some of the reviewers already have. It’s a fantastic camera with great picture quality and the built-in WiFi is a boon! Before going for this, I was going to get the Canon 60D, but the Nikon D5300 has better picture quality, more features, is a newer model, has built-in WiFi and GPS, a larger display and is cheaper than the Canon 60D. One downside is the battery; it can only capture~600 shots on a full charge compared to the~1100 on the 60D. But I think 600 shots in a day is more than enough. I recommend using the viewfinder as compared to LiveView to save battery.
After much research and analysis, finally decided on the Nikon d5300.
Pros:
24.3 megapixels gives u razor sharp images with amazing clarity.
Transfer to iPhone or iPad using built in WIFI is brilliant for uploading to social websites!
U can also use the same to take pictures as a remote control. This is possible with the nikon app that you can download for all platforms including android and iOS. I particularly like this feature as it is amazing to use ur iPhone to see the images u want to take pictures of and click ur phone to shoot them remotely! This alone along with the others makes it a must buy for all gadget freaks!
39 point autofocus, swivel screen, various effects, carbon fibre body shell making it extra light. The list goes on and on!
When it comes to taking pictures, it is brilliant. Beginners and amateurs can use it to point and shoot in auto mode and the pics r brilliant! Semi pros and professionals can play with the apertures and exposure rates and render mind blowing pics!
Kit came with Nikkor AFS 18-55 lenses. Picked up a prime lens AFS Nikkor 35mm.
This is enough for both landscapes(18mm for wide angle) and portraits(35mm)
Pics r extremely sharp with the 35mm lenses! This kit can be expanded with telephoto lenses for advanced photographers.
If you are looking for something to point and shoot but want pictures like the pros but also want something to pick up for future expansion to a professional level. Just go for the D5300!
Cons: Will post if I can find something.
Best of all, I got it for the lowest price in India, thanks to Flipkart!
Amazing product, well packaged and delivered in two days flat! Splendid!
Keep it up guyz!
All in all, I would highly recommend the D5300 to anyone looking to foray into the amazing world of DSLRs. This camera is definitely the way to start that photography career that you have been dreaming of for so long