Suggest me my first DSLR

H

hatter

Skilled
After spending over a year with Canon A590 I have made up my mind to get a SLR. The choices are following:

* Nikon D3100

- It's cheap (relatively).
- Nikon brand
- Good all-round performance for price (from reviews)
- Optical Viewfinder

Canon 550D

- Considered best mid-segment prosumer DSLR (from reviews)
- Great image quality (from reviews)
- Canon brand
- Optical Viewfinder
- Butalmost Rs 10000 more expensive than Sony A33

Sony A33

- Smaller than 550D and D3100... will fit well in my mid-sized hands
- Good HD video performance (from reviews)
- Good image quality though not as good as the one from 550D (from reviews)
- SLT has its advantages (because I haven't used one so I need more inputs)
- Features like panorama mode
- In-built image stabilization

I have almost made up my mind to get A33... unless somebody can convince me otherwise here.

Also I will probably buy cam from dubai so if anyone has idea of prices and cam market in Dubai, please pitch in.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Vow, this forum is going great guns!
 
I personally have Canon 550D and the 1000D I would leave the Sony out coz with a DSLR you need to buy lenses and with Canon and Nikon you can all the lenses you want, but I am not that sure about Sony.

If you are just into photography and not interested into video then 1000D is a good option and its relatively cheap you can buy some good additional lens with the money saved, but if video is important then go with 550D it has awesome video recording with manual control.
 
buy good camera (body) and later you can keep buying lenses and filters.
I think you should start with 550D

If your budget permits, the buy a good camera(w/o lens) and the lens separately.
eg Cannon 550D and 18-200 lens
 
I would suggest you wait for a bit, CP+ in Japan is just around the corner, and there are rumours of the 1100D and 600D surfacing, which would hopefully reduce the price of a 550D.
 
Well the Sony A33 has a few advantages over the 550D and 1000D but lenses and service are something you will not find in India. The main advantage is the articulating LCD screen and live view which is FAR faster than either the 1000D or 550D. So if you like to try out a lot of different angles the A33 will run circles around the other two. The viewfinder is also significantly bigger but not necessarily better as some people dont like an EVF.

If you are willing to risk it or if people travel abroad often (in case any problem with the camera) then you can try the A33 (or the better A55) with a dual lens kit (18-55mm + 55-200mm lens) and get a Minolta 50mm f1.7 locally here in India for 2500 bucks.

However if you want to upgrade to better lenses then its best if you pick up Canon as lens availability for Sony in India is non existent.
 
Hi,

I was watching this thread for a couple of days. So here I jump into it.

I am also considering buying a new DSLR ( As Im going to join job ).
Have literally no idea about the DSLR's and related technology.
Was wondering if I can find sites to brush up on my basics a bit.

Nikon D90 and Canon 550 D ...Can these two cams be compared ?
 
Powersurge said:
I would suggest you wait for a bit, CP+ in Japan is just around the corner, and there are rumours of the 1100D and 600D surfacing, which would hopefully reduce the price of a 550D.
Click to expand...

I would not give too much thought to rumours, I bought my 1000D in Jan10, and there were strong rumours about a 1500D. I waited for a month, nothing materialized. Its been more then a year since then, nothing has materialized. There is currently no competition for 1000D at its price range so no real incentive for Canon to come up with a product quickly.

550D is less then a year old, so definitely no product refresh there.. 1000D on the other hand is nearly 3 years old.
 
I would suggest to go for Canon 550D.

Nikon D3100 is a great cam for it's price. It's a new model so there are less chances of refreshing this model by Nikon. Only problem is that it's doesn't has in built motor for auto focus. So you can't use cheap Nikon lenses and later on you would end up spending more on lenses.

Canon 550D is a really nice cam. You can use almost all Canon lenses with it without any problems. Viewfinder is bright and image quality is quite good due to newer generation Digic 4 processor.

Sony A33 is also a good cam. But as pointed out by Brendon, getting lens and service in India is a huge PITA. If you are okay with it, then go for it.

If you can source a cam from US, then do consider Pentax k-x. It's also a nice cam and low light performance is brilliant (even better than 550D).

And if by chance you are considering Canon 1000D then I will say, don't go for it. You will outgrow this cam very soon and would want to upgrade soon just like me ;). Btw this cam is total VFM and I am happy with it's performance.
 
Even IF Canon upgrades the 1000D, for sure it wont be at the 1000D's price point. It will in all probability retail at around the 30k price point where the 1000D started at when it just launched.
 
Hi,

I want to purchase a DSLR. I Basically need it for nature photography and macro shots with the occasional motion shots.

I really have not much idea of which models to go for.

I have been spending some time on this thread to grab some primers but still cant decide what's good for me.

My budget is 30k but can stretch it 35k. I dont want to invest a lot as this is going to be my 1st purchase of a DSLR.

Also if I buy from Grey Market will there be manufacture warranty.
 
Just got the news that canon 1100D and 600D has been released...... 1100D adds 720p video recording to the mix and 600D is nothing but a 550D with flexi LCD display like the 60D......... pricing and availability not yet confirmed but they have launched....... now lets see how much time will it take for them to come in India.

http://www.tech2buzz.com/hardware/canon-launches-eos-600d-1100-dslr-cameras

On a side note I just purchase my 550D just a week back at 43K......... ouch!
 
^^ Your 550D is a better camera to the 1100D and the 600D which is expected to sell for around 50k adds very little to the already good amount of features to the 550D so dont worry.
 
Now that the A33 and A55 are officially available in India, will that change the response to the OP's query?
 
^^ The cameras are available but only the A33 is priced right.

And lens availability is still a PITA and I dont foresee any improvement in that in the near future at least.

If someone is happy with a 18-55mm + 55-200mm + 50mm f1.7 lens solution then its a good deal but if one wishes to get better lenses like a 10-20mm, 100mm macro or long lenses like 150-500mm lenses or so he will be disappointed.
 
^^ For an average Joe, that combination of lenses should be more than sufficient, right? I know we cannot foresee things, but lens availability should not be a problem in the next 2 to 3 years, if Sony gains a market share in DSLRs in India, I believe.
 
^^ Sony lenses ARE available but the pricing is simply absurd ! They cost around 100 - 150% more than US prices. :p

IF someone is fine with the three lenses mentioned then it should be fine but those who really love photography will always want something better !
 
Not sure if pentax is available in your reach. Kx/Kr are decent options as well.

Which ever you choose , make sure you try it out first. Some cameras just feel wrong.. I have a thing about cannons , they are not for me.
 
^^ Yeah even I feel the same way about them. Something just doesn't feel right. (Talking only about the Rebel series).

Pentax suffers from the same problem as Sony. No lens availability or support in India.

Sony at least offers Camera bodies with a 3 year local warranty while Pentax offers you no support whatsoever within India.
 
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