Nikon Cameras

[Boxter]

I have been searching for my fist dslr camera to buy and i have narrowed it down to two cameras but which is better?
Nikon D5000 £464 or
Nikon D3100 £499
Thanks
Will

[amk1977]

Hi Will,

The D3100 replaces the D3000 but also renders the D5000 pretty redundant. Of the two, the D3100 would be my choice.

Neither camera has AF motors on the body, so you are stuck to using AF-S lenses. You can use the older D type lenses but, only in manual focus. The D3100 also has the new exspeed 2 processing engine, and 14.2mp CMOS sensor. It also has autofocus on the video mode too, which is a nice feature. Something the D5000 doesn't.

Spend the extra £30 and get the 3100. Jessops are doing it for £499 with an 18-55mm VR kit lens. It looks to be an excellent bit of kit and for a first DSLR, I should imaging it will serve you very well.

[silversnapper1]

Hi Will,

The D3100 is the brand new entry level camera from Nikon and the D5000 is an older model which I suspect is due for replacement. I would suspect that the D5000 is slightly higher spec even though the D3100 has more mp and a newer sensor.

Best advice would be to pop in to your local camera shop and ask if you can handle them both. Have a look to see what they offer and then, and only then, make your decision. Don't be afraid to tell the camera shop that you want more time to make up your mind.

If they were both new models, I would say go to the D5000 as it would be an upgrade on the old equivalent of the D3000 (the predecessor of the D3100).

My son has a D5000 and it takes some cracking pics.

Hope that this helps.

Steve.

[ianpinion]

Originally Posted by Boxter

I have been searching for my fist dslr camera to buy and i have narrowed it down to two cameras but which is better?
Nikon D5000 £464 or
Nikon D3100 £499
Thanks
Will

Will, your question should be, which is best for you? Answer: Go and try them both for yourself and tell us which one you prefer. It's the only way you're ever going to find out.

They're both great cameras in their own right. One might be slightly newer to the market than the other and have a few new features, but are these really going to be of benefit to you? If the answer is yes, then subject to you liking the feel of the D3100 then this will be the camera you should choose. However, if they're not that important compared with some of the other features available on the D5000, then I guess you'll be choosing it instead.

[Sue Allen]

Handling wise there's not a vast difference but the D3100 is certainly small - the addition of a rubber handgrip is welcome as it really does make it feel secure and comfortable. Have'nt had a chance to properly test mine as it only arrived yesterday and the weather was naturally rubbish but I'm attending an indoor dog show tomorrow so should have a better idea of how good it is after that. First impressions on its much vaunted good high ISO is that it seems pretty impressive - a tad better than the D300s with noise reduction on - they seem to have improved that function and there's less loss of detail and smearing than you often get. Even boosting to ISO12800, whilst not perhaps in D3s territory is'nt the total rubbish you might expect and could be useable with care. Low light focussing [using a Sigma HSM] is well up to Nikons usual standard. Nothing wrong with the D5000 and it is theoretically the next model up. In practical terms, unless the articulating screen is a major plus [and like all evf/lcd displays it's not brilliant in sunlight] the D3100 will do everything the D5000 does and probably a bit better. The one thing that disappointed me about the D5000 was the high ISO which reviews really rated but I found not quite as good as the D300 or D90 - user error no doubt. Only downside of these little Nikons is the lack of in body lens motor [and no top lcd - but there is'nt room!] - if you can live with that then you can't go wrong really. Just hang on for a bit - as I've just bought one the price of a D3100 is bound to drop in the next couple of weeks!