Help choosing a Upgrade Dslr??

Mgriff

Looking to upgrade my Nikon D40(not x).. I have been lookin at these specific models:
Nikon D3200
Nikon D5100
Canon 550D
Canon 600D
I have purposely held off from buying any lenses as i cannot decide which system to build on. I have friends who use both Canon and Nikon and have equal liking to both. What i dont want is to build up a good selection of lenses to find they will not be compatible if i decide to upgrade the body again in the future.. Im not looking for a Nikon/Canon headbanging session just some honest feedback from users of both

Thanks,
Griff

pixbyjohn

A consideration for the future. These are all crop sensor cameras. If you go the Canon route the 600D is a lovely camera and is probably the best of those you listed. The Nikon D5100 is a very good unit also even though the 3200 has a 24 megapixel count it is an entry level camera.
The advantage of going the Nikon route means that any lens you buy will work on a full frame Nikon also if you ever upgrade to full frame.
With the Canon system full frame Canon lenses do not work with crop sensor Canons.
Now before someone tells me there are no such lenses as full frame you get the gist of what I mean.
ef-s lens = crop body only
ef lens = both crop and ff
Tough decision, good luck

dirtyghettokid

brand wise, it's down to personal preference.

i have just made the change from nikon to canon. i started off with a nikon D80 in 2008, and decided it wasn't for me after a couple of years. i have a canon 5D mark II, but i just got a 600D last week as a crop/2nd body to have. for building up lens collection, i've decided to only get EF or EF L lenses, so that they will both fit the crop and FF body.
the 600d is a lovely camera, but it is near enough entry level.

my advice, if you are staying nikon, the D7000 would be my choice, and if you go canon, the 60D would be better than the 600D.

what do you shoot? not everyone needs/wants to go full frame. full frame suits landscapes, crop sensors suits nature or sports. it all depends on your needs. if you shoot landscapes, then think about getting a D700 or D800 if you want to stay nikon.. or a 5D/6D if you want to go canon.

Adrian.Sadlier

Small couple of things. IMHO the lenses are more important than the body in the long run. Nikon lenses are just like Canon - they come in crop (DX) format and full frame. The D7000 is a great camera - I use it myself. However it is soon to be replaced. The D5100 has already been replaced with the D5200. The Canon models mentioned are good too (you don't know how much that hurt to say). A good camera body might last you 3 years - a good lense might last 10+ years!

Mgriff

Ok lads thanks for the input.. so ef for ff compatible lenses in Nikon and ef-l for canon or have I picked that up wrong? I shoot landscapes a fair bit but like close up shots also so hope invest in a decent macro at some stage. I was gonna buy the body new but wouldn't mind second hand if it meant I could get mid level body(or is this a bad idea?) If ye could recommended a good place to buy second hand that'd be great...

dirtyghettokid

Mgriff wrote: »

Ok lads thanks for the input.. so ef for ff compatible lenses in Nikon and ef-l for canon or have I picked that up wrong? I shoot landscapes a fair bit but like close up shots also so hope invest in a decent macro at some stage. I was gonna buy the body new but wouldn't mind second hand if it meant I could get mid level body(or is this a bad idea?) If ye could recommended a good place to buy second hand that'd be great...

EF-S crop canon EF/EF-L are FF canon
dx is crop nikon fx is FF nikon
(but you can put FF lenses on crop)

second hand lenses -- adverts.ie .. or berminghams in dublin city. or ebay, if you can trust the seller.

Mgriff

Ok thanks, so for Nikon I've heard there is certain body's that have no Af motor so lenses need to be manually focused unless they are a Dx lens? What body's should I avoid so I don't have to deal with this.. again I'm only a newbie so I haven't a clue what I'm talking about most of the time..direction needed. Thanks for you patience..

dirtyghettokid

Mgriff wrote: »

Ok thanks, so for Nikon I've heard there is certain body's that have no Af motor so lenses need to be manually focused unless they are a Dx lens? What body's should I avoid so I don't have to deal with this.. again I'm only a newbie so I haven't a clue what I'm talking about most of the time..direction needed. Thanks for you patience..

i know for certain that the D5100 doesn't have in body AF motor. best thing to do is google the camera you are interested in for specs. the D7000 might have an in-body motor!

PopeBuckfastXVI

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

i know for certain that the D5100 doesn't have in body AF motor. best thing to do is google the camera you are interested in for specs. the D7000 might have an in-body motor!

Can confirm d7000 has inbody motor. It's AF-D that won't autofocus on the cheaper bodies, AF-S will autofocus on all bodies, whether FX or DX

Mgriff

So with that in mind I'm limited to upper level Nikon models to overcome the auto- focus problem.. what about canon then? What offerings there?

dirtyghettokid

Mgriff wrote: »

So with that in mind I'm limited to upper level Nikon models to overcome the auto- focus problem.. what about canon then? What offerings there?

see my post near the beginning of the thread RE: canon.
as said, i just bought a 600D (these are around €650 with kit lens)
they have in-body AF motor.

have a look at this also..
http://www.digitalphotographywriter.com/2011/04/nikon-d5100-vs-canon-rebel-t3i-600d.html

Mgriff

So in the mean time I have come across a Canon 600d with ef-s a 18-55 is ll lenses, 55-250 is ll lense and a couple of hoya filters for €499 second hand on eBay... thoughts?

dirtyghettokid

Mgriff wrote: »

So in the mean time I have come across a Canon 600d with ef-s a 18-55 is ll lenses, 55-250 is ll lense and a couple of hoya filters for €499 second hand on eBay... thoughts?

sounds good...not sure what the 55-250 is worth on it's own.
how old is the camera? how many shutter actuations?

Mgriff

Less than 5000... year and a half old.

b318isp

pixbyjohn wrote: »

With the Canon system full frame Canon lenses do not work with crop sensor Canons.

ef-s lens = crop body only
ef lens = both crop and ff

I'm sure you meant to explain this correctly, as your summary is correct...ALL Canon EF lenses work on cropped sensor bodies. EF-S lenses will hit the sensors on full frame bodies.

To be honest, if you are going full frame, it is unlikely that you will be thinking of EF-S lenses. Most good, cheaper lenses which may migrate to FF (e.g. the nifty fifty or 100mm f2.8 macro) are EF already.

dirtyghettokid

Mgriff wrote: »

Less than 5000... year and a half old.

hmm.. that's not bad, but personally i would probably look for something cheaper if you aren't going new.

secman

Harvey Norman currently have a deal on Canon 550d with standard 18-55 lens and also a 75- 300 lens. The usual 100 photos, and 3 hour tuition etc for €788.

My dilema is the 650D for €734 in Argos, (being the cheapest I can find) with standard 18-55 lens or the above.

Moving from a Fuji bridge Finpix 7000, any thouughts ?

Secman

Mgriff

So I went with the 600d.. with 18-55 is II and 55-250 is II lenses., 2x hoya uv filters, 2x batterys, 16gb class 10 sdhc, hotshoe bubble level, cleaning gear, table top tripod, and lowepro bag to carry all €450.. not bad I think...

Thanks everybody for you suggestions you were very helpful..

@secman... if I had that budget I'd be goin for the 650d .....

dirtyghettokid

good stuff, be sure to post some pics on here when you get it!

there's not much difference between the 600D & 650D. there's good deals to be had if you shop around.

LeoB

Mgriff wrote: »

So in the mean time I have come across a Canon 600d with ef-s a 18-55 is ll lenses, 55-250 is ll lense and a couple of hoya filters for €499 second hand on eBay... thoughts?

That sounds very good to me. But where is the seller from? I would like to have camera in my hand and inspect lens before parting with any cash but that would make a decent kit.

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

sounds good...not sure what the 55-250 is worth on it's own.

The 55-250 is a super lens. I have one that I bring with me if if I am out walking with kids and dont want my heavy camera bag. While its a bit plastic feel to it it is very sharp and thats a decent zoom range, new they vary €249 to €279 second hand from €190

Mgriff

Ya I priced the 55-250 in Whelans in limerick yesterday and it was coming in at €280 new.. happy out... just need to sell my d40 now..

candle_wax

Hi there,
I'm having the same sorta dilemma as the OP had, so am looking for some advice.

I've had a Nikon D40 (not X) for the last 3/4 years, and I loved it, just feel like I've outgrown it a bit. I've two lenses that came with it, (the standard 18-55 and 55-200).
They're both AF-S lenses, so that means they WILL work on a D5100, is that right? I know there's an issue with lenses that don't have a built-in auto-focus for some of the "lower" spec Nikons, but these will work fine on the D5100?

I'm leaning towards the D5100, body only, and using these two lenses, for now. There's a really good price on it on Jessops at the moment (£342 body only, but with £55 cashback from Nikon, so basically £287).

Is there any major advantage of the kit lens (18-105mm VR lens) that comes with it over the two that I have? On the same site its £525 for body and kit lens (minus £55 cashback...)

Apologies if I'm missing something really obvious. I'm not a camera techie at all at all, so sorry If I sound like an idiot :eek:

I might ask Santa for a new lens for the D5100 though - I think I'd like one that would help with low-light shots. Any recommendations, for less than €250-ish?

Thanks in advance for any tips. I also feel out of my depth when I start looking at different options, and reading about spec that I don't really understand...

brokenarms

candle_wax wrote: »

Hi there,
I'm having the same sorta dilemma as the OP had, so am looking for some advice.

I've had a Nikon D40 (not X) for the last 3/4 years, and I loved it, just feel like I've outgrown it a bit. I've two lenses that came with it, (the standard 18-55 and 55-200).
They're both AF-S lenses, so that means they WILL work on a D5100, is that right? I know there's an issue with lenses that don't have a built-in auto-focus for some of the "lower" spec Nikons, but these will work fine on the D5100?

I'm leaning towards the D5100, body only, and using these two lenses, for now. There's a really good price on it on Jessops at the moment (£342 body only, but with £55 cashback from Nikon, so basically £287).

Is there any major advantage of the kit lens (18-105mm VR lens) that comes with it over the two that I have? On the same site its £525 for body and kit lens (minus £55 cashback...)

Apologies if I'm missing something really obvious. I'm not a camera techie at all at all, so sorry If I sound like an idiot :eek:

I might ask Santa for a new lens for the D5100 though - I think I'd like one that would help with low-light shots. Any recommendations, for less than €250-ish?

Thanks in advance for any tips. I also feel out of my depth when I start looking at different options, and reading about spec that I don't really understand...

Hi. I recently upgraded from a canon 1000d to the Nikon 3100. The 3100 is still entry level but being a few years more modern , it is leaps and bounds in front of the older canon with regards picture quality and processing power.
After my research I found the differences to be subtle between the 3100 and 5100 . Both are specked better than the d90 .

After a few days with the 3100 I have however found a few niggles I dont like.
Generally , the canon is easier to use it think. But the nikon kit lens is better i feel.

There is no ISO button(i have to navigate poxy menus for it).
The lack of the flip out screen which I find to be very useful if taking pics at ground level.
And the screen resolution is a bit pants.

I saved a couple of hundred in the price though which I put to a lens upgrade instead. Niggles smiggles. Im having a great time with it.

A small tip to save a little more money. Use the big super stores price promise to your advantage. They will meet the Argos and better it as well. Just make sure you print out the cheapest price to hand to them.

candle_wax

brokenarms wrote: »

Hi. I recently upgraded from a canon 1000d to the Nikon 3100. The 3100 is still entry level but being a few years more modern , it is leaps and bounds in front of the older canon with regards picture quality and processing power.
After my research I found the differences to be subtle between the 3100 and 5100 . Both are specked better than the d90 .

After a few days with the 3100 I have however found a few niggles I dont like.
Generally , the canon is easier to use it think. But the nikon kit lens is better i feel.

There is no ISO button(i have to navigate poxy menus for it).
The lack of the flip out screen which I find to be very useful if taking pics at ground level.
And the screen resolution is a bit pants.

I saved a couple of hundred in the price though which I put to a lens upgrade instead. Niggles smiggles. Im having a great time with it.

A small tip to save a little more money. Use the big super stores price promise to your advantage. They will meet the Argos and better it as well. Just make sure you print out the cheapest price to hand to them.

Hey,
Thanks for your response.

How much was your D3100?
I've been looking at it, and it does seem pretty similar to the D5100. I'm keen to have the flip out screen, and am humming 'n hawing over whether I'd do without. I'm used to having to navigate the menus for ISO, so that wouldn't bother me too much - the D5100 doesn't have one either I don't think.

I'm keen to stick with Nikon at the moment, just because I can use the lenses I have and save a bit by buying the body only.

Thanks again

brokenarms

candle_wax wrote: »

Hey,
Thanks for your response.

How much was your D3100?
I've been looking at it, and it does seem pretty similar to the D5100. I'm keen to have the flip out screen, and am humming 'n hawing over whether I'd do without. I'm used to having to navigate the menus for ISO, so that wouldn't bother me too much - the D5100 doesn't have one either I don't think.

I'm keen to stick with Nikon at the moment, just because I can use the lenses I have and save a bit by buying the body only.

Thanks again

I took this print to PCworld http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10152&catalogId=14551&langId=111&searchTerms=D3100&authToken=

They took 6 euro of it again. Plus you get another 30 or 40 cash back from Nikon when you send your receipt to them. think the whole thing came to 320 euro .

Blows ebay, amazon and the second hand market away. Plus you should get around 70 sterling on ebay if you sell your kit 18-55vr lens.
Bargain. You will also get the cash back on most new Nikon gear though. Including the d5100


Another little thing I found that the 3100 does not have. Auto Exposure bracketing .. Ye can do it manually , but its a dam shame Nikon cant add it as its only a soft ware thing.