My first DLSR anyone have Canon 1100D or Nikon D3100?

[DayDreamer]

As the title really - I have spent the past few days narrowing down to one of these two cameras and so would be interested to hear from anyone who has one with the pros and cons of each. £400 is my absolute budget even with a big stretch. I also only want to buy new - my wife insists

I want a better low light performer than my Panasonic TZ8 compact camera and I want to take 'in focus' portraits with background blurred out.

I would really appreciate any help.

PS I have searched and found some information but could really do help with the two issues in my 2nd paragraph.

 

[Rebel t3i]

you will need a decent lens to achieve your aims
and that will cost more than the camera

 

[squishy]

Go to a camera shop and have a feel of both of them.

One will probably feel better in your hands, this is the one to go for.

Also, see if you can find any clearance deals on the pentax K-x? This is a superb low budget body with sensor shift stabilisation, so any lens has stabilisation making it great for use with fast primes (like a 50mm f/1.8) in low light.
I don't think it's still in production (correct me if I'm wrong, pentax experts), but you might still be able to find new stock in places.

Canon and nikon are the most common brands, but that does not mean best .


Lenses is also a big thing. The lens is for the most part, what determines the kind of shots you can take and most aspects of image quality (sharpness, micro-contrast, colour rendition to some extent). Most entry level cameras come with an 18-55mm, which is actually very decent for image quality, but not much use for portraits where you want to separate the background.
For that kind of shot, you're looking at a 50mm f/1.8 kind of lens as a minimum (which is an excellent budget lens, nikon's newer one (the 50mm f/1.8g) is better than canon's but more expensive, whereas nikon's older model (the 50mm f/1.8D won't autofocus on entry level bodies).

 

[Aaron]

50mm 1.8 lens will do the trick for you portiat with back ground blur, but that will be around the £100ish mark on top of the body

 

[Scots_quine]

I Have the D3100 and love it. It is my first DSLR and it takes really good pictures with the kit lens. It's easy to use and fits snugly in the hand. All you need to get started is a memory card and off you go.
But remember it is a slippery slope - next will come a camera bag, maybe a tripod, some filters, a new lens maybe..........your Christmas and birthday presents for years to come will be hi-jacked!!

 

[bensambrook]

I got my first DSLR 2 weeks ago, I bought a manufacturer refurbished 500D with kit lens from the Canon eBay store. I won it for £345 so well under your budget. When it arrived it still had the security seal intact and everything brand new, absolute bargain imo! But as said above the best thing to do is go into a local shop and have a feel and a little test with each camera to see which you prefer.