Which is better for a beginner, Canon 1100D or Nikon 3100?

[ellaalmeda]

I am planning to buy my first DSLR, which is better for a beginner, 1100D or 3100? Thanks

 

[andyred]

I am planning to buy my first DSLR, which is better for a beginner, 1100D or 3100? Thanks

Hi,

They're both very similar and will do similar things. Have you had a go with either, if not then I'd strongly recommend you do. You need to see which you prefer, which feels nicer in your hands, which menu system do you prefer, etc

Good luck with your new camera, whichever you choose, you won't be disappointed.

 

[pooley]

As above, the image quality is pretty equal in them both. The only major difference in my opinion is that the nikon will only autofocus with certain lenses which may be an issue sometime in the future.

 

[Quanosaur]

While it is true that the Nikon will only autofocus with the newer AF-S lenses, I would also say that that's not really an issue for a complete beginner. You're most likely not going to buy any non AF-S lenses, and even if you do, manual focus isn't the end of the world.

I started on a D60 (the D3100's predecessor), which has the same limitation. I now have a D7000 which could use any lens, but funnily enough I still don't own a single non AF-S lens. Probably because the newer lenses are often an improvement to their older counterparts, and also not normally that much more expensive (if at all), so I've just not found an older lens that I *had* to have.

As has been said before - best thing to do is to go and get your hands on both in a shop. Then decide what feels right.

 

[squishy]

I wouldn't worry at all about the AF-S thing with the nikon, it eliminates just a very few lenses of the very large selection available.

 

[micloi]

If you decide to go with a Canon do have a look at the 550D. Much better than the 1100D and Canon has £40 cash-back on the 550D making it a bargain (it has the same 18mp sensor as the 600D, 60D and 7D).

 

[pooley]

Quanosaur / squishy,
I accept your views of the af-s lenses but surely it's important enough to make s beginner aware of the issue. I've absolutely nothing against the d3100 and loathe the nikon v canon debate but I've seen too many posts from nikon owners on this issue to not make the OP aware.

 

[Jonhob]

The biggest problem with the Canon Vs Nikon debate is that both are designed by the very best in the business. Both do the same job and will produce stunning images. Ive found people would rather criticise the the camera than admit their ability.

 

[Nuffles]

In terms of the AF-S vs AF-D - The first lens you'll probably look at buying as a beginner over the standard lens is the 50mm f/1.8. This is the cheapest lens that either Canon or Nikon produce - the Canon version coming in at around £90-100 new. This will work on any Canon camera produced since 1987. Nikon produce a 50mm f/1.8 lens for roughly the same money, but in AF-D mount. This means that it won't auto focus on any of Nikon's budget bodies. If I'm only spending £20-30 on an old MF lens, this is fine, but dropping a hundred quid on a lens that won't auto focus seems like madness to me. If you want that lens in AF-S mount, you'll need to move up to the recently released G version, which will set you back £170-190 - almost double the AF-D mount version. Nikon are yet to update their excellent 35mm f/2, and 85mm f/1.8 lenses too - both excellent lengths on both crop and full frame - meaning neither will AF on cheaper bodies. It's a shame.

 

[squishy]

Nikon are yet to update their excellent 35mm f/2, and 85mm f/1.8 lenses too - both excellent lengths on both crop and full frame - meaning neither will AF on cheaper bodies. It's a shame.

They do have the superb 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX though. And while their 50mm AF-S is more expensive, it is better built than the canon 50/1.8 with a proper manual focus ring and silent wave AF-S. Not quite the same value for money as the cheap 50/1.8D but you do get more for the extra you pay.

As far as I can see, the only lenses that don't have some sort of AF-s substitute is the 85/1.8 and the 80-400 VR, and for the 80-400 you could get a sigma zoom for less money anyway.

So that just leaves the 85/1.8D, which is a shame but that's a lot less of a loss than " only work with some lenses" makes it sound

 

[aeronic]

Here's a question for you: do you have any friends or family with an slr. It would make sense to follow their brand if you hope to borrow lenses etc.

 

[Dale_tem]

Find which suits you and if you have friends into photography, I would lean towards what they have, borrowing lenses, tips etc.

As for me, it's the D3100

Everyone talks about the nifty fifty, both Full frame people and DX people. Yet a nifty fifty on full frame is 50mm and on a DX is 80mm. The 35mm will give you a 56mm focal length. I love my 35mm. Don't use it as much as I should though.

 

[ausemmao]

They do have the superb 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX though. And while their 50mm AF-S is more expensive, it is better built than the canon 50/1.8 with a proper manual focus ring and silent wave AF-S. Not quite the same value for money as the cheap 50/1.8D but you do get more for the extra you pay.

As far as I can see, the only lenses that don't have some sort of AF-s substitute is the 85/1.8 and the 80-400 VR, and for the 80-400 you could get a sigma zoom for less money anyway.

So that just leaves the 85/1.8D, which is a shame but that's a lot less of a loss than " only work with some lenses" makes it sound

I bought the 85mm 1.8 a month ago - coupled with the rumours you can be sure an AF-S version will be out soon

There are a couple of other lenses with no AF-S counterparts that could do with them, but they're not lenses a beginner or indeed most photographers will care about.

I got the D3100 to start with after comparing with a 550D, mostly because it was £200 cheaper at the time. They both fit well and worked well. I don't think you can really go wrong with either.

 

[badboy1984]

The canon 50mm f1.8 is a pretty decent lens and is good but the lens is completely plastic, even the mount is plastic. For £70-100 many can just replace the lens if it fail.

The nikon 50mm f1.8 AF-D surely won't auto focus on budget camera but the price is same as canon but with a metal mount which i haven't heard anyone breaking their lens yet. I still uses mine without a problem.

By the way, reason why canon user said the 50mm f1.8 is must have is because thats the only cheap prime they can buy without spending couple of hundred or even thousands of pround for a decent prime.

Nikon have the 35mm f1.8 AF-S that will auto focus on all nikon DSLR and is better then the canon's 50mm f1.8 in turns of build quality but price is around £140-180.

Remember we using these in crop body so the 35mm is much more better than the 50mm in crop.

Canon doesn't do a cheap 35mm prime so thats why they stuck with the 50mm. Nikon user enjoy their 35mm

 

[Llamaman]

Also the Nikon 35 regularly appears for sale in classifieds and can be had for £120. I bought mine new for £180 and still think it's excellent value.

Also, another plus for Nikon is that as well as the standard 18-55 kits lens that everyone (canon, nikon, sony, pentax) makes, there's also the 18-105 kit lens that covers almost twice the focal length without losing the IQ. And the 70-300VR is a great lens for £300 second hand.

I wouldn't go for Canon just to get a cheap nifty fifty - go for whatever suits you best. And don't rule out Pentax or Sony either...

 

[badboy1984]

I'm not trying to bash Canon but on Nikon camera, you can use almost all the nikon lenses, of cause lens like Af-D on a budget body will manual focus only but in general all lens except pre AI lens will work on all nikon DSLR system.

For Canon pro range you can't use all the lens so it require you to buy new expensive lens.

Sure the DX lens won't work on Nikon full frame camera but you can always use the crop mode on your FX camera to work with the lens, is not meant to be use that way but it works.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Hi,

They're both very similar and will do similar things. Have you had a go with either, if not then I'd strongly recommend you do. You need to see which you prefer, which feels nicer in your hands, which menu system do you prefer, etc

Good luck with your new camera, whichever you choose, you won't be disappointed.

That's all the advice that is needed, for a beginner all the stuff about the D3100 needing AF-S lenses is immaterial - the 50mm f/1.8 is not the holy grail of lenses and any other lens that a beginner is likely to buy will have a motor...

 

[badboy1984]

You right about that Graham. I think we all try to tell her the facts about the camera. When i started out i bought a D5000 and it works fine but then soon i find all sort of stuff i need and want to buy but is limited because the body is limited. If i know i probably got a D90 right at the start and i won't have to buy the D7000 .......

 

[JohnN]

That's all the advice that is needed, for a beginner all the stuff about the D3100 needing AF-S lenses is immaterial - the 50mm f/1.8 is not the holy grail of lenses and any other lens that a beginner is likely to buy will have a motor...

I agree they would no doubt get a lens with a motor but cannot agree that its immaterial, introducing confusion of what lens can and cannot be used to a beginner is a bad move in my eyes and in the long term frustrating.

I recently got a 5D (FF) so found the hard way that some of my lenses wouldn't work, luckily I'd mostly upgraded to EF or equivalent, but still it limited options and for a beginner they will most likely be looking to get second hand glass and if they get a non-motorised one by accident will cause all sorts of bad feeling that could have been easily avoided.

 

[squishy]

I'm not trying to bash Canon but on Nikon camera, you can use almost all the nikon lenses, of cause lens like Af-D on a budget body will manual focus only but in general all lens except pre AI lens will work on all nikon DSLR system.

For Canon pro range you can't use all the lens so it require you to buy new expensive lens.

Sure the DX lens won't work on Nikon full frame camera but you can always use the crop mode on your FX camera to work with the lens, is not meant to be use that way but it works.

But on canon you can get adaptors to use a huge range of older glass, a lot of which can't be adapted to nikon.

And if you're bothering to pay for a full frame body, what is the point of carrying on using crop glass? In that situation, you'd be silly not to upgrade lenses first then body later. And given the OP is asking about starter cameras like the 1100D and the D3100, both those points are almost entirely irrelevant anyway.

 

[boyfalldown]

But on canon you can get adaptors to use a huge range of older glass, a lot of which can't be adapted to nikon.

so you can't adapt old canon glass to fit the f mount. I'm not sure how thats relevant to the Canon v Nikon debate?

To the OP, best advice you can get is go to a shop, try both and then buy the one that feels best to you. I seriously doubt that all of the arguments regarding glass limitations are going to be relevant to you

 

[badboy1984]

But on canon you can get adaptors to use a huge range of older glass, a lot of which can't be adapted to nikon.

If you talking about getting adapters then nikon can mount pretty much any lens .........

what i try to point out is old nikon glass does not need any adapters, they just mount straight on ........ except Nikon pre AI glass.

All other manual glass require adapter to use on the nikon system anyway, just like any other camera.

 

[squishy]

so you can't adapt old canon glass to fit the f mount. I'm not sure how thats relevant to the Canon v Nikon debate?

If you talking about getting adapters then nikon can mount pretty much any lens .........

what i try to point out is old nikon glass does not need any adapters, they just mount straight on ........ except Nikon pre AI glass.

All other manual glass require adapter to use on the nikon system anyway, just like any other camera.

I meant that while nikon is a lot more backwards compatible in it's own mount for picking up cheap old manual focus lenses, canon has the potential to be adapted to K, OM, C/Y, M42, F, and leica R with cheap no-glass adaptors that don't degrade image quality at all and have infinity focus (you can adapt mounts like this to nikon, but you either can't infinity focus or you need glass which is either expensive or quality degrading). So if the OP did end up looking to use cheap old primes, canon does have a fair bit of potential there, if not in quite as simple a way as nikon.

Like I said, I doubt it's of much relevance here, but since someone pointed out nikon's backwards compatibility with older manual focus lenses, it was worth mentioning.

 

[Carousels Spin]

Find which suits you and if you have friends into photography, I would lean towards what they have, borrowing lenses, tips etc.

That assume they'll let you borrow their lenses or come on trips with them.

 

[StewartR]

Hi,

They're both very similar and will do similar things. Have you had a go with either, if not then I'd strongly recommend you do. You need to see which you prefer, which feels nicer in your hands, which menu system do you prefer, etc

Good luck with your new camera, whichever you choose, you won't be disappointed.

Let's say it again. This is the best advice on this thread.

When I bought my first DSLR I tried out the comparable Canon and Nikon models in a shop. Although I'd never owned any equipment from either manufacturer before, I found that the Canon did everything the way I intuitively expected it to and the Nikon was bizarrely unintuitive. Even down to little things like the position of the main aperture/shutter dial - Canon's is right (for me) and Nikon's is wrong (for me).

BUT - and this is the KEY point - I know people who made exactly the same comparison and reached exactly the opposite conclusion! It's a very personal thing.

Your first DSLR is unlikely to be your last, and as they acquire lenses, flashes etc most people tend upgrade within the same system rather than switching. So the choice of system matters. Don't worry too much about whether one camera has more features than another, because in 5 years time all that will have changed anyway. But do pay attention to the ergonomics, layout, menu design etc. because these things are baked into the manufacturers' DNA and will persist for many generations of equipment.

 

[ernesto]

And also as said previously, try out other brands. I personally found Sony better for me.



(awaits comments about lens choice and so on)

 

[modchild]

Best bet is to go into a local shop and see which feels better in the hand. I'm personally biased towards the Canon because I know more about it as I have them. As mentioned above, the 550D (which was my first dslr) is a brilliant camera for a beginner and the 2 kit lenses. 18-55 IS and 55-250 IS are very capable lenses and give good IQ. I'm sure the Nikon is equally capable as a beginner setup and there is some great lenses available to both makes from the originals to the 3rd party manufacturers.

 

[bensambrook]

Let's say it again. This is the best advice on this thread.

When I bought my first DSLR I tried out the comparable Canon and Nikon models in a shop. Although I'd never owned any equipment from either manufacturer before, I found that the Canon did everything the way I intuitively expected it to and the Nikon was bizarrely unintuitive. Even down to little things like the position of the main aperture/shutter dial - Canon's is right (for me) and Nikon's is wrong (for me).

BUT - and this is the KEY point - I know people who made exactly the same comparison and reached exactly the opposite conclusion! It's a very personal thing.

Your first DSLR is unlikely to be your last, and as they acquire lenses, flashes etc most people tend upgrade within the same system rather than switching. So the choice of system matters. Don't worry too much about whether one camera has more features than another, because in 5 years time all that will have changed anyway. But do pay attention to the ergonomics, layout, menu design etc. because these things are baked into the manufacturers' DNA and will persist for many generations of equipment.

Couldn't agree with this more, it's what I did and I now have a 500D with a few lenses and absolutely love it.