Purchasing a DSLR Camera

[DMac]

Question to the forum:

I plan on buying a DSLR camera soon and my research and comparisons have brought me to 2 potential cameras.

1. Canon Rebel T2i

2. Nikon d3100

I'm curious if anyone out there has experience with either of these and can make a recommendation. For the type of photos/video I will use it for, and price, these 2 seem very close to each other.

Thanks in advance.

[chad]

Question to the forum:

I plan on buying a DSLR camera soon and my research and comparisons have brought me to 2 potential cameras.

1. Canon Rebel T2i

2. Nikon d3100

I'm curious if anyone out there has experience with either of these and can make a recommendation. For the type of photos/video I will use it for, and price, these 2 seem very close to each other.

Thanks in advance.


i myself don't know, but a guy i know runs a place that does sports photography. he swears by nikon dlsr's because he says they have faster lenses than canons do. he always talking about nikon lenses whenever we get into photography stuff. meh.

[Cobalt]

Which ever one you choose just remember it is all about the glass

The kit lenses that come with them will produce acceptable everyday photos but if you are looking for exceptional photos you will need to upgrade to better glass.

I shoot Canon and all of my lenses cost at least 2 1/2 times what the camera body does.

Canon guys will tell you choose Canon, Nikon guys will tell you choose Nikon


A good place to research and read real life reviews is here
http://www.fredmiranda.com/

[Ponce]

Unless you are buying a "good" camera TO MAKE MONEY WITH it is then a waste of money that could go towards preps.

Ponce <------------$32.76 Walt Mart 8 years Casio watch......and $65.00 four years old camera that works like new.........................."Is not what you have, but how you use it"..., 20 years old Toyota two wheels drive pick up truck, four bangers.

Have you noticed that I talk about what I have and how happy I am?........given a choice between an old tool that works and a new tool in a box and I'll take the old tool because I know that it works.

[woodman]

I agree Ponce. I also hate learning all the stupid functions and programming of anything new that I buy. I love simplicity, speed and utility.

[Book]

I'm curious if anyone out there has experience with either of these and can make a recommendation. For the type of photos/video I will use it for, and price, these 2 seem very close to each other.



http://gold-silver.us/forum/profile/?u=448

This GSUS member is "TomD" over at GIM2. Famous for his photography. Drop him a PM here.

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[DMac]

I'm curious if anyone out there has experience with either of these and can make a recommendation. For the type of photos/video I will use it for, and price, these 2 seem very close to each other.



http://gold-silver.us/forum/profile/?u=448

This GSUS member is "TomD" over at GIM2. Famous for his photography. Drop him a PM here.

|--0--|


I did, thanks.

I got in touch with a photographer friend a little while ago, he told me if I care at all for shooting video to go Canon. He's a lifelong Nikon guy but claims the quality for Canon in video is much better than what he is able to shoot with a similar Nikon.

I plan on buying over the weekend after trying out a couple models myself.

[VX1]

Question to the forum:

I plan on buying a DSLR camera soon and my research and comparisons have brought me to 2 potential cameras.

1. Canon Rebel T2i

2. Nikon d3100

I'm curious if anyone out there has experience with either of these and can make a recommendation. For the type of photos/video I will use it for, and price, these 2 seem very close to each other.

Thanks in advance.


I’m an amateur filmmaker/photographer, and I’ll submit that there might be one more you should consider. I just got the Sony a580 for $799. As mentioned above, don’t get the package lenses, just get the body, then pay for decent quality lenses. I got a 50mm f1/4 prime for $360, and a good 18mm-250mm for $600. I didn’t want to invest in a full-frame camera setup (though the Canon Mark II 5d is a killer deal, for what it is), so I had settled on the Nikon d7000, which has a relatively large APS-C sensor. With a bit more studying, I learned that Sony makes the sensor for Nikon, and the a580 has the same sensor, so that’s the one I went with. The low-light ability and depth of field of this camera is insane for a APS-C; very comparable to full-frame, without the price. If I had aspirations of going professional, I might want the “Nikon” name to be on the front of the camera, but if that was the case, I’d be going full-frame anyway. The Sony does the same job a lot less expensively.

A friend of mine, who I’m working on a production with, just got the Canon T2i. I think it’s a fine camera, but it’s not on the same level as the a580/d7000. We were taking test shots at night at the boathouse, and his shots were completely unusable. Even at its highest ISO (6400, I believe), it was still too dark. The Sony, however, using the 50mm at full open aperture, brought in so much light at night, I’d almost want to throw on a ND filter, because it hardly looked like nighttime anymore. The point is, the low-light ability between the two is a night and day difference.

I could go on and on about why I went with the Sony and how happy I am with it thus far, but for the sake of this thread, I just thought I’d mention that you might want to consider it, especially at nearly the same price point as the T2i.

Oh, and like Ponce said… we’re assuming you have your silver and preps in place too.

[DMac]

Question to the forum:

I plan on buying a DSLR camera soon and my research and comparisons have brought me to 2 potential cameras.

1. Canon Rebel T2i

2. Nikon d3100

I'm curious if anyone out there has experience with either of these and can make a recommendation. For the type of photos/video I will use it for, and price, these 2 seem very close to each other.

Thanks in advance.


I’m an amateur filmmaker/photographer, and I’ll submit that there might be one more you should consider. I just got the Sony a580 for $799. As mentioned above, don’t get the package lenses, just get the body, then pay for decent quality lenses. I got a 50mm f1/4 prime for $360, and a good 18mm-250mm for $600. I didn’t want to invest in a full-frame camera setup (though the Canon Mark II 5d is a killer deal, for what it is), so I had settled on the Nikon d7000, which has a relatively large APS-C sensor. With a bit more studying, I learned that Sony makes the sensor for Nikon, and the a580 has the same sensor, so that’s the one I went with. The low-light ability and depth of field of this camera is insane for a APS-C; very comparable to full-frame, without the price. If I had aspirations of going professional, I might want the “Nikon” name to be on the front of the camera, but if that was the case, I’d be going full-frame anyway. The Sony does the same job a lot less expensively.

A friend of mine, who I’m working on a production with, just got the Canon T2i. I think it’s a fine camera, but it’s not on the same level as the a580/d7000. We were taking test shots at night at the boathouse, and his shots were completely unusable. Even at its highest ISO (6400, I believe), it was still too dark. The Sony, however, using the 50mm at full open aperture, brought in so much light at night, I’d almost want to throw on a ND filter, because it hardly looked like nighttime anymore. The point is, the low-light ability between the two is a night and day difference.

I could go on and on about why I went with the Sony and how happy I am with it thus far, but for the sake of this thread, I just thought I’d mention that you might want to consider it, especially at nearly the same price point as the T2i.

Oh, and like Ponce said… we’re assuming you have your silver and preps in place too.



Thanks VX1. Preps and silver? You guys hold these barbarous relics???

I've seen the Sony you are talking about but it is a bit out of my price range. I'm a budding amateur and this will be my entry level camera. The out of the box lenses will have to do for the money I'm going to spend. I'm operating on a self imposed $700 budget. I could get the Nikon plus an extra lens for ~750, or the Canon for 700.

From what I read the d7000 is a different class of camera, one I'm not ready for given my limited budget.

[VX1]

You know DMac, I hit “submit” on my post before I realized I was responding to you; I know you’re prepared for the storm.

Well, I will say that at your price point, I believe you’ve chosen the two top contenders out there. The T2i and d3100 are so close in ability, but I’d have to give the edge to the T2i. My buddy got his with case and two lenses at Costco, for just about $750, I believe.

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon_EOS_Rebel_T2i-vs-Nikon_D3100

[TomD]

My first suggestions were going to be D90, D700 and the Sony 580. I don't really know that much about Canons now even though I grew up with them. I do agree with other posters who say the lens is more important than the body. With your budget, you are initially going to be limited to "kit" lenses but that's OK because you can upgrade the lenses if you feel the need. If I were starting my lens collection new, the first one I would get would be a fast ( f2.8 ) zoom in the 20m-70mm range (or thereabouts). That is a very good general purpose lens, I call my equivalent my walk around lens. The range is from wide angle to mild telephoto. That is going to be close to the range of your kit lens but several stops faster and probably much sharper.

Oh yeah, buy or get a copy of Photoshop Elements, no need to pay for the latest version (V9 I think), Elements 7 has the good stuff and is cheap.

Here are a couple of my recent shots.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x229/TomD77/misc%20stuff/customcar-2.jpg

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x229/TomD77/misc%20stuff/B25m.jpg

[MAGNES]

Here are a couple of my recent shots.


I tried doing macros with my canan compact, takes amazing photos outdoors,
I was surprised, highly rated on cnet, but I can't do any good macros, low light
indoors is crap too.

Tom you are the best, I love ya, I give you great credit for this, your best shot ever. ;D

http://i43.tinypic.com/2n6z0nn.jpg