The Nikon D5100 is an excellent starter camera, a do it all with many of the features of the more expensive cameras. Its image quality is stunning, a benefit of the camera's reduced noise capability. The vari-angle monitor on the Nikon D5100 is very useful when shooting from different viewpoints and helps increase visibility of the monitor when photographing in direct sunlight. Another great feature is its built in intelligent flash control which produces natural looking photos. The camera really wows in image sharpness and saturation as well. At 4 frames per second, it's a bit faster than the Canon Rebel T3i, and its battery life is also a bit better as well. I felt that the Nikon D5100 in terms of its size was satisfactory for a starter camera and I also liked the fact that it was not very heavy. It powers on quickly and shoots quickly. For the money, the camera's image quality and ease of use was a plus.
The Canon T2i is an excellent choice because of its image and video quality. Amateur photographers will enjoy its ease of use and professional looking images without the price of a professional camera. Something I thought was quite neat was the fact that you can add your copyright information onto the camera without using additional software! Like its buddy the Canon Rebel T3i, at 3.7 frames per second it's not Superman by any means, so when capturing fast moving shots, it may leave you a bit disappointed. The T2i however will appeal to you because of the many features Canon has packed into it. They have taken features from the EOS 7D, valued at $1800.00 and included them in the T2i. Things to take note of with the T2i apart from its excellent image quality are its above average LCD screen, multiple HD capture modes and Digital Photo Pro image processing software (included) to name a few.
No wireless flash
Battery life 550 shots
Shutter speed 1/4000
Continuous shooting at 3.7 frames per second
A very affordable, lightweight and compact entry level camera. A feature worth mentioning is the camera's active D-lighting capability which preserves image details when shooting in bright sunlight. This results in a better exposed image. The Nikon D3100 is well designed and fun to photograph with. It's an updated version of my Nikon D40x which I feel is an excellent camera. Any upgrades to this already stellar model would really make it a contender! Speaking about upgrades, for the the first time Nikon has added video to its entry level camera, an added feature! It incorportaes many of the must have bells and whistles of today's best entry level cameras. The Nikon D3100 comes with split second shutter release response and quick startup, its excellent image quality and saturation are also things to take note of. For the amateur photographer, this camera does not disappoint. What I took away from my experience with the D3100 was the fact that it was truly designed to guide the novice photographer... a sort of a mini tutor if you will. Select the guide mode and you are taken on a tour of the camera's basic features and how the are to be used. The Nikon D3100 is definitely worth taking a look at!
Continuous shooting at 3 frames per second
I thought I'd throw this into my line up not as an entry level camera of course, but for those of you like myself currently have an entry level DSLR camera and are looking to upgrade to a semi-professional camera to shoot more professional photos. The Canon EOS 60D is a semi-professional camera that ranks up there with some of the "top dog" cameras in terms of performance. Although its price is quite a bit more than the entry level cameras, it's well worth the investment. I enjoy the ease of the controls and the many features that increase the creativity and quality of my photos. The Canon EOS 60D challenges me to step out of my comfort zone with my entry-level camera and to take the giant step into the world of professional photography. needless to say, I am overall very impressed with this camera.
1. What's my purpose for purchasing a DSLR camera?
2. How much money am I willing to spend?
3. Which features are important to me?
4. Do I want an entry level, semi-professional or professional camera?
5. Will I be doing a lot of traveling with this camera or shooting for extended periods?
6. Do I plan to print shots? If so, how large?
When you've answered these questions you're well on your way. The important thing to do now is - do the research, narrow your selection down to 3-5 cameras and compare them to find the best match. Then visit your local camera shop to get a feel for the cameras yourself. Something I did when compiling this review was to take my SD card and an item with rich, vibrant colors with me to the camera shop to photograph. (I got their permission to do this of course!) I did this because I've found that most pictures look great on the camera's monitor, but when they are uploaded to your computer, it's a different story. That's when you really get to see the image quality of the camera. The above photos were taken with the cameras I reviewed. I was quite happy with the results even after cropping them quite a bit. I was most impressed with the Nikon D5100 because it had the many of the features of a professional camera without the price. I liked the overall look and feel of the camera, the clarity, brightness and saturation of the colors. The articulating screen was a plus as well as the 3 inch LCD screen. Purchasing the Nikon D5100 is like having the higher end D7000 but with better screen, video performance, and a smaller and lighter body. I have to say too that the Canon EOS 60D is an excellent semi-professional camera if you want a few more features than the entry level cameras and if you have a few extra bucks to spend.
Here are a few descriptions of terms discussed in the article that I thought would be helpful.
Color depth: Measures how many different colors the camera can capture. The better a camera's color depth the more colors it can distinguish. 16 bits is usually poor, larger values like 24 are excellent.
Sensor types: The camera's sensor produces the image you see. CMOS sensors are known for their image quality.
Megapixels: The more megapixels a camera has, the more detail you'll have in your images; but be careful, some cameras will boast of large megapixel values but don't deliver on image quality. There's nothing better than giving the camera a test drive before purchasing.
Focus points: Gives you a variety of options to choose from when selecting where to focus. The more focus points the more power you have over what is to be focused on in the picture.
Live View: The live view feature allows you to see the photo you're about to take on the LCD screen. YOu have the option of using both the LCD screen or the viewfinder.http://www.google.com/prdhp
This site gives a review of the top ten entry-level DSLR cameras. Visit for added information on specifications and reviews at http://entry-level-dslr-camera-review.toptenreviews.com
