Hi everyone,

I want to buy a slr for my girlfriend for x-mas, but I don't know much about these cameras. I was hoping you guys could give me some pointers.
From what I understand Canon/Nikon are the leading brands, so I'm guessing this is a good place to start looking.

One of the questions here are whether to buy a mid-high end model, or to go for a cheaper "beginner model". My gf has no real experience with photography, but she wants to learn and have fun. There's no guarantee she will keep it up though, so I'm not really sure what to look for.

What sort of price ranges are we talking about? How much is a decent begginers camera compared to a more professional one? What are the main differences and functions to look for?

Thanks in advance for any help I can get

if you want it to have video capabilities they cost a bit more. I think anything d3100 or below does not have video. but now that the d7000 was released the d90 is quite a bit cheaper and it is a nice camera. I guess it really depends on what you want to spend.. if you want a higher end amateur camera then you're looking at around 1200-2000 for everything you might need, if you want to spend a bit less the minimum you will spend on a body and a basic lens or two is like 700-900. I prefer Nikon and they cost a bit less than Canon counterparts.

Edit: also shop around on eebay for packages.. i got my first nikon and a bunch of equipment worth like 1800 for 1200

This post was edited by TokenWhite on Nov 17 2011 09:52am

Nikon D3100 She'll be limited in her shooting in 3 months.
Nikon D5100 She'll be limited in her shooting in 6 months.

Canon T2i Limited in 4 months.
Canon T3i Limited in 4 months.

Nikon D7000 Limited in a year.
Canon 60D Limited in a year.



/Thread.

Buy now, I was only able to order 2 x D7000's for my store this week, stock is limited as fuck to 2 per shipment (Thursdays, Today...) because of tsunami's / earthquakes and shit.
http://www.thecamerastore.com

This post was edited by TheBlackRose66 on Nov 17 2011 10:51pm

Doesn't that completely depend on what you shoot/what lenses you have?

Beginner, decent ISO, megapixels crammed onto smaller 1.6x crop sensor means image quality suffers, but still greater than any point and shoot.
Decent fps shooting, D5100 has swivel screen, bitches love the swivel...
Nikon D3100 She'll be limited in her shooting in 3 months.
Nikon D5100 She'll be limited in her shooting in 6 months.


CANON EQUIVALENT. Beginner, decent ISO, megapixels crammed onto smaller 1.6x crop sensor means image quality suffers, but still greater than any point and shoot.
Decent fps shooting, T3i has swivel screen, bitches love the swivel...
Canon T2i Limited in 4 months.
Canon T3i Limited in 4 months.


Step before full frame professional, same 1.6x crop, 60D has swivel, D7000 does not have swivel. Higher ISO ranges, better in low light situations, faster FPS, more AF-points, Newer (VR II or Canon II) Lenses,
Feel more solid, faster, bigger, better, obviously.
Nikon D7000 Limited in a year.
Canon 60D Limited in a year.

This post was edited by TheBlackRose66 on Nov 17 2011 11:03pm

D3100 http://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/slrs/nikon_d3100
D5100 http://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/slrs/nikon_d5100

T2i http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/slrs/canon_eos550d
T3i http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/slrs/canon_eos600d

D7000 http://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/slrs/nikon_d7000
60D http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/slrs/canon_eos60d

Limited how? They stop working after said time? You gearheads ...

Thanks for all the input guys!

I've been doing a bit of reading, and I'm leaning towards a D3100.
It seems to be the best bang for buck for beginners, and there's plenty of packs available online where you can get lots of extras (camera bag, memory card, extra lense etc).

The prices I'm looking at are from $650-750 it seems. I'm hoping to keep it under $850 in total.

Any input on this would be highly appreciated!

Ehm, how can it be limited? Isn't the T2i already limit because of 5D2 and Nikon D3100 limited because of D3? What you said makes no sense because as he said himself