Nikon d3100 vs Canon 550d vs Nikon d5000

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Mathew

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Mathew
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Hi everyone,

I am trying to decide between the Nikon D3100, the Nikon D5000 and the Canon 550d. I have to buy one of them in the next few weeks. The requirements are simple.

I am not a pro photographer - however, I like the pictures to be really good.

The camera will be used mostly for pictures of my kids and family. Mostly indoor and some outdoor photography while we are at the park / on vacations etc.

I havent used a DSLR before and therefore usability (intuitive buttons / menu) is a definitely a consideration criteria although photo quality is definitely more important.

I have used 4-5 different Nikon Coolpix and Canon IXUS cameras. I prefer the light shade / brightness the Nikons produce as the Canons always produced a reddish tint to photographs irrespective of what mode I used.
The image detail in Canons have been better. However, overall have always like the Nikon images.

I am Indian and i think that the reddish tint on images from the Canon is more prominent while taking pictures of people with my skin tone. I have not seen this issue when shooting images of people with lighter or darker skin tones.

I did try all three models at the store and found that the image detailing in the Canon to be better, but at the same time the reddish tint did exist.


To summarize - my requirements in order of priority are

1) Image quality overall
2) Indoor picture quality (flash without a flashgun) and other elements contributing to indoor images
3) Usability
4) Price of accessories
5) Overall price (I know the canon is about 180-210 pounds dearer

One other questions - considering that I am a starter and not into advanced images - is the basic lens offered (18-55mm) sufficient for me?
Do I need to get the 55-200mm lens for instance? I have decided that I will only by Nikon / Canon lenses with VR/AFS.

Appreciate any assistance you can offer,

thanks
Mathew
 
Mathew

If ypu prefere the images as a whole from the Nikon I would say go for a Nikon. The detail in the images might be down to the lens rarther than the camera body. You might find that you want to invest in different lenses that provide sharper images and more detail.

Do you need to 55-200mm lens? That depends of what you want to shoot. The further the subject the longer the lens. I personally would not get the 55-200 and see if you feel the 18-55 is too short. If so then buy the 55-200. If you don't need the extra reach you could invest in a faster/better lens that covers the focal lenghts that you do require.

Hope that helps and does not confuse.

Paul
 
I have used the D5000, 450D, and 500D and I can recommend all of those cameras. All of the DSLR's currently made by Nikon and Canon can produce excellent results.

With regards to lens, what type of photography do you do?

I assume from your comments you are looking to take portraits. If so you should be looking at lenses that can produce a shallow depth of field, these have a small 'f-number'. I can recommend the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 as I have this fitted, however Tamron, Nikon, and Canon all have excellent f2.8 zoom lenses.
 
You seem to have discounted the Canon already, but do bear in mind that for video its far more useful than the Nikons, being able to shoot at 50fps. If I had young children this might persuade me in its favour.

Personally I would discount the 5000 as it must be coming up for replacement in the near future. Its also larger, and heavier than the 3100 and being a generation older, does not have such great resolution or low light performance as the other two cameras

I would say that the Canon probably is the best body but the worst kit lens. So the 3100 would be my choice. Actually was my choice. The biggest compromise is the basically useless video option and the crap LCD. However the small size, weight and great image quality just about make up for this.

For me it was a very close call though. I would give the Canon serious consideration 18mps allows you to make huge crops when you've c***** it up, and by this time next year expect most DSLRs to have a similar spec.
 
I've had the same choice to make as well.

This is my first DSLR having only had a point-and-shoot before. In the end, and boy did it take a long time to decide, I went for the Nikon 3100.

For a first DSLR, I found out that they would all take great photos.. The angled screen on the 5000 nearly swayed me in that direction, but the 3100 though felt better in the hand than the others and I found it easier to understand. Having a 2 year warranty also veered my to the 3100.

Was never really bothered about having video on a camera anyway and the screen is fine for me.

I've only had it for a few days, but the Nikon 3100 handles great even when I have to clamber down on the floor to take pics of our cats!
 
I myself was faced with a similar choice in July and was a newcomer to DSLR. For me back then it was between the Nikon D5000 and Canon 500D but really it was the D5000 that was in my head from the off. The 550D was way more at the time and over budget so i discounted it but i did get a chance to have a go of one briefly yesterday when a workmate brought his friends into work. I have to say it was lovely in the hand but i far prefer the Nikon menus and screen layout etc. I would like to have more than 15 minutes with it to have a proper look as this was just basically 1st impressions. What i will say is that the Full HD Quality was blistering on the 550D! What really interested me was that it had a Sigma 17-70 f2.8 OS DCM lens on which was awesome! The lens is around £300 and available for both Nikon & Canon. If you decide to go Nikon maybe consider buying a used Nikon 18-70 AF-S f3.5-4.5 off Ebay. Its a very highly thought of lens and was around £330 but i got mine for £77. Jessops slashed the price of them to £150 which brought down the used price on EBay etc. It doesnt have VR but its no issue at this focal length.
Phil
 
I have had a Canon 550d and currently have a D5000.

I found that the Canon gave very poor image quality but I am reasonably convinced it was an issue with the sensor as other people had the same problem as I did. I don't like canon's newer high pixel sensors so i went over to Nikon and so far i have been very pleased. The D5000 has the same sensor as the brilliant D90 and it has a very handy flip out screen which has been useful.

The D3100 received 90/100 in this months Digital SLR mag and they thought it was a great camera.

I still wished the Canon 550d worked well for me as it is a superb camera to use. Maybe I'll give it another go one day.

My advice is to take a memory card to a decent shop that stocks the cameras you are interested in, Take pics on each and then compare the images to see which come out the best.
 
I was gonna say ive just read a review on the D3100 in Digital photo Mag and it gets 5 stars and a gold award.
 
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