Trying to choose first SLR

stacy87

stacy87

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Stacy
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Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone here can help me. I'm trying to decide which camera to go for, for my first SLR. I am currently torn between the Canon 500D and the Nikon D3100. Has anyone had experience with these cameras, and what are the pro's and con's of both.

I'm planning on going into the store at some point and getting a feel for them both myself before I make a final decision. I just want to make sure I'm making the right choice, as it's a lot of money for me to spend! lol

If it makes any difference, I will most likely be taking landscape/wildlife/people pictures with my camera.

Thanks in advance!
 
Don't just look at the cameras but have a look at the range and prices of lenses. It may not seem important at the moment but in the future it can make a huge difference. Cameras don't come with memory cards so budget for that as well. Recommend Sandisk111 4gig card to get you started


Worth having a look at lens prices and the distances they cover in mm

link

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/
Realspeed
 
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I am a canon user but did try a Nikon D5000 which was good with good images, well built etc but it felt uncomfy in my hands and the menu system was not very good (in my opinion). I then bought a Canon 500D and am really loving it. It's perfect for me, decent sensor, great image quality, light, easy to use, superb screen easy manu structure and awesome lens selection (very important!).

The Nikon 3100 has had some great reviews!

Try them out at jessops!
 
Thanks very much for the advice so far!

I'm hoping to get to Jessops one lunchtime and have a look and feel of the cameras.

I will have a browse online later and look at the range of lenses for both cameras too :)
 
One persons pro is anothers con. So take anything you read here with a pinch of salt.

It really does come down to what you can afford, what feels right in your hands and what has a cotrol layout and menu system you find most intuitive.

all the modern DSLR cameras take good photos. You make them great.
 
Spend more of your money on lenses.
You list landscapes/wildlife/people

It's worth thinking about what lens you want for which application. When it comes to image quality, the lens has far more of an effect than the camera body.

For landscapes, an 18-55mm IS/VR kitlens will do the job nicely on a budget, or something really wide like a sigma 10-20mm or canon 10-22mm would be even better, but a lot more expensive

For people, a cheap 50mm prime would be good. Canon's 50mm f/1.8 is cheap and sharp stopped down, but built like a toy. Nikon's 50mm f/1.8 is much better built, but it doesn't have an AF motor so won't auto focus on lower end nikon bodies. Nikon also have a 35mm f/1.8 DX that will AF on lower end bodies.

Or a tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 would be a good combination of the two.
Faster and sharper than the kitlens, and more versatile than the 50mm.

For wildlife, things get expensive if you want high quality shots.
A canon 55-250mm or nikon 55-200mm is a good budget option, but you'll have to get VERY close to wildlife for good pictures (this is an important skill to learn though, all wildlife photography requires being close to the subject, even when you have very large expensive lenses).
For more cash you can get a canon or nikon 70-300mm.
Above that you get the supertele zooms and primes, like the 120-400, 150-500 and 50-500, and the canon 100-400L, or primes like the canon 300mm f/4L or nikkor 300mm f/4 AF-S or the canon 400mm f/5.6.

Personally, in your situation I would get the body you like the feel of best.
Then get a used tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 non VC, 50mm prime (or 35mm on nikon if you're not comfortable with manual focus) and a zoom lens like the canon 55-250 or nikon 55-200.

If newer features like video are not important to you, I would go with an older body second hand, leaving you more to spend on the lenses.
 
Thanks for that squishy-I can see where you're coming from with focussing more on lenses than the actual camera body.

I'm not interested in video at all on the SLR-I have my little Coolpix for that which does me fine. It's more for high quality, sharper images that I'm looking for.

I've just taken a note of what you have suggested, so will use my lunch hour to explore the options! :)
 
Went for a trip to Jessops today and have decided on the Canon 500D. I'm buying it from Amazon though, as it was a bit cheaper. The package I get comes with an 18-55mm IS lens, and I also purchased a good carry case for it too!

It should get delivered tomorrow, so I'm very excited to get it and start snapping away :)

Thanks to all the advice you have given me for choosing my camera :)
 
You won't be able to "snap away" without a memory card. :shake::shake:

Realspeed
 
If you're remotely into wildlife and you're on a tight budget go Canon. As noted above, Canon do a 55-250mm lens which is very highly thought of by a lot of folks hereabouts. The nearest equivalent Nikon is only 55-200mm.

You can never get enough zoom when you're stalking wildlife. 200mm is only good for photographing elephants, rhinos or something which is almost sitting in your lap.

Good luck whichever way you go.
 
alexhcowley said:
If you're remotely into wildlife and you're on a tight budget go Canon. As noted above, Canon do a 55-250mm lens which is very highly thought of by a lot of folks hereabouts. The nearest equivalent Nikon is only 55-200mm.

You can never get enough zoom when you're stalking wildlife. 200mm is only good for photographing elephants, rhinos or something which is almost sitting in your lap.

Good luck whichever way you go.
Click to expand...


Thanks for that! I've taken a note of this, as I am interested in taking photographs of wildlife. Have purchased the Canon 500D (which came today!) - I am going to spend a while getting used to the camera with he kit lens before I start looking at lenses, but this information is great for me to keep until that time :thumbs: Thanks!
 
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