advice please, camera shopping

[lols]

im new and this would be my first DSLR i was wandering what to go for??

i have around 600 pounds...long time saved

i looked at the nickon D5100 but the new D3200 also looks good. or another??
i want it for wide variety of photos. and to last for a few years......

thank you for your help

[LaPistola]

Both Nikons, any reason?

If you haven't why not try handling a few Canons and other brands to see if you really want to go Nikon. When I first got into photography I wanted Nikon because I naively thought they was the best until a friend came round with a Canon which felt so much better in my hands and for more reasons other than that I decided Canon was the better camera for me.

[alexharrison101]

i went for the canon 1100D. felt good in my hands, and with a 70-300 zoom/macro alongside the kit lens i was under £600 and have a good range of shots available to me.

don't know about nikons myself, i held one when i was looking and just didn't like the feel. but that's just me

[wave01]

best to remember when you buy a DSLR you buy into a system so make sure that system fits your needs. go try the cameras out if it feels right then you are a long way to getting the right camera, dont settle for i will get used to it. good luck

[wavemachine]

I agree with the others, like LaPistola I went to buy a Nikon D40 years ago until I tried a Canon 350D which I bought, since then I have had a 40D and now a 7D I now have about 8 lenses, a battery grip, flash, remotes etc which are all canon specific so as Wave01 points out you are buying into a system.

[Jediboy]

Ditto.
But I went for Nikon as for me they felt better. It's also worth looking at others as well such as Sony, Pentax or Olympus. Then see which suits you best.
Good luck with your purchase.

[DigiDiva]

Rather than pull out the bigger money for a higher level DSLR, try an entry level one (like the Canon 1100D) or the next model up.Save the bigger money once you kow DSLR photography is for you and once your skills have outgrown the camera's capability .You can use the money you saved for equipment because, its not so much the camera itself when you are a beginner, its the accessories that help improve (I'm talking from experience here). There's nothing more frustrating than not getting the image you want because you don't have the right lens or filter....They, for me, mean more than a top end camera.

[patrickwilson86]

The brand of camera is not important. Go to your local camera dealer, with a fixed budget, and handle various different models. I think your only question need be, do I want interchangable lenses, or will a fixed lens (bridge camera) suit me better. Buy the one which you think is the best for your style of photography. Remember you want to be a photographer NOT an equipment junkie.

[arabelbrown]

In technology world develop many different type of technology will increase day by day. In camera You want some latest technology than you can search online stores because there you can easily find your favorite camera with best features , applications and reasonable price.

[keefie1]

There's not a lot to choose between modern DSLR's. They all have their own pro's and con's. Try to handle a few in a camera shop and see what feels comfortable to use for you.
Personally I use a Canon EOS 400D, but a friend of mine swears by his Nikon D3100, a nice camera, but for me, not as user friendly as my Canon. Its all down to personal preference.
Incidentally my 2 DSLR's I've owned (350D and 400D) were bought off eBay and I have had no problems at all with them. You do not always need the latest all singing and dancing model to take good pictures, if you take bad pictures, with an expensive camera all you have is expensive, bad pictures!
The main criteria is Lens quality, always use the best lenses you can afford, far more important than pixel count and a host of features that,realistically, you will never use.