Better Body or Better Glass?

[htx]

The 3200 is a great camera and the low light performance won't be that much better with the D7200 / 7100 because it is still a crop sensor camera. I say go with better glass. I had the Sigma 17-50 2.8 on my D7000. It was a great walk around lens for Disney. The constant aperture of 2.8 is what sold me. Adorama will have a used one in great condition in the next few days. It is actually my old one, I traded it in to put towards a D600. The Nikon 35 1.8 DX is a great lens but it's really a 50MM because of the crop sensor on a D3200. I have taken both a 35 and 50 before and sometimes you just don't have enough room to get everything you want in the photo.

 

[NowInc]

The 3200 is a great camera and the low light performance won't be that much better with the D7200 / 7100 because it is still a crop sensor camera. I say go with better glass. I had the Sigma 17-50 2.8 on my D7000. It was a great walk around lens for Disney. The constant aperture of 2.8 is what sold me. Adorama will have a used one in great condition in the next few days. It is actually my old one, I traded it in to put towards a D600. The Nikon 35 1.8 DX is a great lens but it's really a 50MM because of the crop sensor on a D3200. I have taken both a 35 and 50 before and sometimes you just don't have enough room to get everything you want in the photo.

Going to have to disagree with part of what you said. The sensor on the D7100/7200 is much better than that than the D3200 (which is an older nikon entry level body), even tho both are crop (especially in low light). Source? I have used both extensively. Add to that the features of the D7X00 which make it a far more versatile body all around. This doesn't change my original suggestion of better glass, however. Bodies are typically obsolete before they turn 2, where as good glass can last you decades.

 

[htx]

I don't own a D3200 so I can't compare that exact camera. I do have a D5300 and the low light performance is a little better then my D7000. I agree that the sensor is better in the 7X00 series and all around the body is more versatile and pro like, but I don't think the noise performance alone is worth upgrading the camera vs glass. The features of the D7X00 series are great and everything is just positioned better than on the 3200 and 5300. I still say glass is the way to go for now. You will see a major improvement being able to shoot at 1.8 or 2.8 in low light since your ISO will be a lot lower. I am prime lens person but at Disney I do prefer a 2.8 zoom.

According to snapsort the D7200 is .2 stops better in their low light noise test. http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon-D3200-vs-Nikon-D7200