Camera Confused between Canon EOS 550D and Nikon D5100... Please help..!

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amneetahluwalia

Recruit
Hello everyone,

I am a complete newbie in the world of photography and dslrs. However, I recently made up my mind of buying a new camera for my personal use. I am in a deep fix between two cameras, both being good according to the minimum amount of knowledge that I have.

I am thinking of buying the Canon EOS 550D Kit II (EF S18-135IS) or the Nikon D5100. I will be able to replace the lens that comes with the Nikon D5100 (i.e. AF-S 18-55mm VR) with a better lens, AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR.. The cost of both the cameras after the lens change of Nikon comes to an almost same level.

I should tell you all that I have no technical knowledge of photography and camera functions. For me the sole purpose of buying the camera would be personal home use of portraits and landscapes and holidays as well, as I keep travelling to different countries. Very basic usage.

I seek your valuable advice on this situation. I really hope that you people will be able to help me out in buying the best product.

Thank you
 
Personally, I'd go and hold those cameras in my hand. Canon for some reason felt strange to me; Both are market leaders and you can't go wrong with either.

I can speak for Nikon ;D5100 does not have a focus motor , so you need to get lens which have it built-in. Nikon has a brilliant range of affordable & good lenses available.

Good luck!
 
I can vouch for the D5100. Great cam.

Offtopic but if you all you are going to use it for is basic stuff like holiday photography , landscapes.. you really don't need a DSLR. Get a good P&S , easier to carry around.. good image quality for home use , easier to toss around in the bag.
 
Dont buy either one. Very bad for your usage.

Get a Bridge cam like the Canon SX40. for 25k, paisa vasool. For normal use, no one can say they are bad. The DSLR craze is the result of low price deals.
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U will be wanting a easy to use, long zoom cam. DSLR wont cut it for you.

If still DSLR, both cams are just awesome. Just pick one. Remember, buying DSLR means you are buying into their system also. So check the accessories, lens and stuff cost. Either way, you wont loose.

I pick Canon between the 2. just coz lenses are more cheaper to get and 550D has inbody AF motor.
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. It will auto with any lens. D5100 doesnt.

ps. by any chance, you in DFI? and posted the same there?
 
that is true..although the dslr do offer spectacular images, lot of options and formats to choose from, lot of creativity to play around with, you will definitely not have a high optical zoom as you would in some semi DSLR cam or just an expensive point and shoot cam.

make sure that the kind of photography you are looking at doesnt require lot of zooming.. coz to have high zoom in DSLRS you will end up spending amounts even in lakhs.to get that kind of telescopic lens..
 
I think the 600D is more of a comparison for the Nikon 5100. The Nikon has a faster focus speed in real world scenarios. Canon has an advantage as the lenses are cheaper. A 50mm f1.8 with autofocus(which is considered as the best entry point lens) is a lot cheaper for canon than nikon. The nikon model with manual focus is cheap, but the one with autofocus is almost the price of as the canon 50mm f1.4 USM model.

Canon RAW files are larger in size, thus the buffer fills up quicker when your doing continuous shooting. Nikon would be better for action/sports photography.
 
^^^ I beg to differ on your opinion of Nikon is better than Canon for Sports/Action photography...well most of the times...I have seen cameras with "White Lens" shooting sport events like cricket...and we all know those are Canon L series lenses...hence IMHO Canon is preferred for Action/Sports photography.

On the topic...both are fantastic cameras...you won't go wrong with any of those...
 
Lots of valid and pertintent points. Both are great cameras and you can't go wrong with any of them. Just choose which feels best in your hands.

However do consider m-jeri's advice of choosing a bridge camera. I have seen lots of people buying expensive DSLRs and then keeping them in a box for long stretches as they only shoot at family vacations and at parties.
 
I vote for canon. Lot of cheaper lens to choose. I have canon 600d with the same 18-135 and I really like it apart from the size and weight. AF speed is superb and the sensor is very much capable. 550d has same sensor, but different body design and almost similar features. go with 550d and 18-135 IS.
 
Brendon said:
Lots of valid and pertintent points. Both are great cameras and you can't go wrong with any of them. Just choose which feels best in your hands.

However do consider m-jeri's advice of choosing a bridge camera. I have seen lots of people buying expensive DSLRs and then keeping them in a box for long stretches as they only shoot at family vacations and at parties.
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+1 I know some people who have a 5dmk2 gathering dust .
 
Lat year (April'May' 2011), D5100 and 550D were price same (+/- 1-2k). Then D5100 was a slightly better option.

Keeping in the mind the current price difference because of Thai floods, I'ld suggest 550D.
 
Doubt anyone would use a mid end body for sports photography.

OP you cannot go wrong with either of them, D5100 has a slightly better low light performance, but cannot AF on the cheaper primes. So take your pick.
 
Friend recently got the SX40 amazing VFM cam.... We went to a airshow and had a 7D, SX110, SX130 and the SX40... SX40 turned out great pics compared to the 7d as it was in the hands of a amateur learner... DSLR takes a lot of time to adjust to and take good pictures... With the user friendly options a ultra zoom is a much better choice...
 
Actually nowadays the Auto mode in a DSLR is far more functional than in older bodies. The limitation is the kit lens as its doesn't have a large zoom range and changing lenses can be daunting initially.

@Aces - Compelely OT but if you wanna do sports on a budget you can choose a Sony A55. I think 10 fps is fast enough for sports !
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Three months back I was in a similar dilemma, had to choose between Canon600D/Nikon D5100 both the cameras are just awesome and there was very less difference between them. After going through this comparison, I finally made my mind for Nikon D5100 and no regrets till now
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http://www.digitalre...kon-D5100.shtml

Hopefully this might be helpful.
 
D5100 hands down.

Personal experience after using the 7D, 60D , D7000.

Best VFM cam out there.

Or the Sony A55 if you dont mind being branded the outcast. The accessories are expensive yes, but way cheaper than Canon.
 
dhruvrock2000 said:
I can vouch for the D5100. Great cam.

Offtopic but if you all you are going to use it for is basic stuff like holiday photography , landscapes.. you really don't need a DSLR. Get a good P&S , easier to carry around.. good image quality for home use , easier to toss around in the bag.
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You need only a good Point and Shoot. Nothing else. And remember no mobile camera can replace a a separate camera.

so get a camera.
 
ViKiD said:
D5100 hands down.

Personal experience after using the 7D, 60D , D7000.

Best VFM cam out there.

Or the Sony A55 if you dont mind being branded the outcast. The accessories are expensive yes, but way cheaper than Canon.
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Errrr... I don't know what your on but the Canon 7D & the D7000 is in another league compared to the Nikon 5100.

Brendon said:
Actually nowadays the Auto mode in a DSLR is far more functional than in older bodies. The limitation is the kit lens as its doesn't have a large zoom range and changing lenses can be daunting initially.

@Aces - Compelely OT but if you wanna do sports on a budget you can choose a Sony A55. I think 10 fps is fast enough for sports !
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Completely agree with brendon. The auto mode has improved and is good on dslrs for new users.You can also use the program modes as well which are like the ones on P&S cameras. The trend is moving towards adding manual controls on P&S's these days so it wouldn't hurt to know how manual controls like Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority work.

From what I think is if you buy a camera for 25k and use it for one year you won't even get 10k for it if your not happy with the performance of a P&S and decide to sell it.

You would end up buying a dslr after that and shell out an extra 25k after adding whatever you'd get after selling your P&S. Ultimately you end up spending 50k(25k on P&S + 25k for upgrading to Dslr) in a span of 1-2years on a camera. And since dslrs don't get updated that frequently your more likely to pick up almost the same camera/sensor that you SHOULD have picked up initially.

With Dslrs you know that atleast for the next 3-5 years, no P&S will be able to match up to the image quality(maybe micro four thirds but not P&S). So its worth it, contrary to what people above are saying! Unless your not interested in good IQ or cannot afford it.
 
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