Upgrade from nikon d5000?

I bought my nikon d5000 about 2 years ago, as my first dslr. I ended up loving photography (i do a lot of portrait photography). I've bought new lens and stuff, but I decided now would be a good time to upgrade to a better camera. Does anyone recommend any cameras?

Really there's no reason to upgrade your fine D5000.

I would suggest you spend any more money on a third lens, either the AF-S 10-24 mm wide angle zoom or AF-S 60 mm f/2.8 macro.

There's really NO reason to buy a newer camera until your existing camera is four to five years old. The changes in technology just don't warrant doing that.

If you were planning on buying the new Nikon D400 when it is finally introduced, then of course, that would make since, but you are looking at a camera that costs over $1, 800 for just the body and for what you have, you my not find the additional expense of such a camera worth while.

The current Nikon D5100 is a fine camera, but until you develop the skills that produce high quality images each time you press the shutter release, keep what you have and hone your skills

The goal for a new photographer is to be able to use ANY camera, under any conditions and produce marketable images on demand. That means that each time you press the shutter release, you have a great shot with NO need to do anything to it using a photo program.

Why do you want to upgrade? Is it just megapixels alone or are you after a certain feature that's not available from your current camera? Normally, pros use their dSLR's until they die. That's because all dSLR's are basically the same and if you know exactly what you are doing, you can get the same shot no matter what camera you use.

I would stick with Nikon because you are already familiar with it's menus and such. I just bought a used Nikon D200 and I love it. But if you can afford to go higher get a D300 or a D300s. There are many mint condition ones on ebay. Make sure you pay attention to milage or shutter actuations. It would be a good investment to get a standard / normal 35 or 50mm, f1.4 or f1.8 lens.