Camera advice.

[Vlad the Fox]

Hi.

I'm looking at getting my first dslr camera and am trying to make my mind up between the Nikon d3100 or the d3200. I'll mainly be using it for taking (hopefully) good quality photos of my kids but will also take landscape pictures or anything else that interests me. I know that the d3200 has the higher spec but is it really noticeable for the extra money.

If anyone with the knowledge can help It would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Jon the Hat]

Buy the most expensive you can afford. Simple.

[Jimothy]

Go to Jessops for some advice.........oh.

[MikeyT]

Buy a Canon!!!

[GLC]

Hi.

I'm looking at getting my first dslr camera and am trying to make my mind up between the Nikon d3100 or the d3200. I'll mainly be using it for taking (hopefully) good quality photos of my kids but will also take landscape pictures or anything else that interests me. I know that the d3200 has the higher spec but is it really noticeable for the extra money.

If anyone with the knowledge can help It would be appreciated.

Thanks.

A D3200 is a great camera for beginners, I've used SLR for a while now and I've recently bought a D3200.

I'd fully recommend it to anyone,

[Trav Le Bleu]

Buy the most expensive you can afford. Simple.

True to an extent (and not just for buying cameras), but you want to factor in a couple of things. First, yes a £600 camera will better than a £400 camera, but not necessarily better than one that costs £570. Think in price bands, think about what features are important to you - one camera might have a better battery life, but another might have more settings, but then, will you use them settings. It's things like that you have to take into account. Then there's the law of diminishing returns; a £1000 camera isn't going to be twice as good as a £500 one. It probably won't even be 50% better. The higher you go, the less return you get percentage wise.

I'm sure you all think this is pretty damn obvious, but just covering all bases.

[goose2010]

Not an SLR but the Samsung Galaxy Camera is incredible, my brother works (until today!) for jessops head office and he borrowed one for when we went to Vegas at new year. It is amazing the photo quality is as good as any SLR i have seen (and i have seen a lot from what he has borrowed). People i think we put off by it for being a bit of a gimic camera but it really isn't the picture quality is fantastic.

[Vlad the Fox]

Thanks.

What I really want is the best image quality I can afford but also like the effects you can get with a dslr. My theory is usually get the most expensive I can afford but am aware that if I spent too much more on a camera I would be getting one with a lot of features I wouldn't use or know how to use. The Nikons seem to be the cheapest that offer very good quality, about £285 for the 3100 or £385 for the d3200. Is the upgrade in the 3200 worth the extra money?

My plan was to go in jessops and have a look/play and buy but unfortunately that won't happen now.

Oh and I used to have a cannon but had to get rid when I took the side wall of the neighbours house out.

[notnow john]

It is a difficult decision,that said you know what your main subjects will be. I would suggest buy a basic body , a flash

That can be used remotely and most importantly A good lens that with the scope to cover your subject choices ,

An 18 - 105 zoom would do that.

[Monk]

I have a Nickon D40x - which is the older version of the 3100. It has been superb over the past 5 years, pretty reliable too. The only think I would be wary of with Nikons is if you're planning to get extra lenses - make sure you get a camera with the focus motor in the body. The old D40x had it in the lense, which meant although it was a cheap camera, special lenses were hard to come by and even more expensive.

Depends how serious you are about photography - for the vast majority of people the entry level SLR is easily sufficient. I've had mine 5 years and haven't outgrown its capabilities.

[Vlad the Fox]

I think the d3200 has a focus motor in the body, not sure mind need to check. The difficult question is, How serious am I going to get? I guess at the moment I'd probably say not too much though i intend to use it for more than just holiday snaps. The video comes in handy as well..

[Houdini Logic]

Read a couple of articles and this one seems the best -

http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equipment/advice/534243/differences-between-the-nikon-d3100-and-d3200.html

There doesn't seem to be much in it from what I can tell, but a couple of important things I would consider -

The 3200 has a slighty better sensor and processor so if you're looking to take action shots of your kids in the summer then you'll get an extra frame per second with the 3200. Also a larger ISO range so if you were looking to use this for more of the family snaps side of life then the 3200 would work better in lower light.

The 3200's screen is far superior so if you're looking to get some nice shots of people/landscapes then this won't lead you into a false sense of security thinking you have a shot which turns out to be slightly out of focus when you get in on a big computer.

I don't think it's always true that the more expensive the better but in this case if you can afford the 3200 then I do think there is enough to make a difference. 3100 seems like a decent fallback if your budget won't stretch that far

[Vlad the Fox]

I think you're right. I've been leaning towards the d3200, however they both appear to be good cameras.

[anotherharboroughfox]

Try and get somewhere you can try them out if possible, it sounds stupid but you might like some grips and weight distributions better.

[jgtuk]

Buy a Canon!!!

This!!! (although I am biased 'cause all my glass is Canon...)

Just remember you will be buying into a system and it could be expensive to change.

It's really all about the glass though....

You mention image quality is important and holiday snaps and photos of your kids will be the main subjects of your photography. You should maybe think about a bridge camera. A DSLR is part of a toolkit really and the body is only one component. For instance, for portraiture you will require a body, half decent (50 - 100mm) lens and a flash (to start). If you then want to do some Landscape you will need a wide angle lens, a tripod and maybe some filters. Then you might want to try out some Macro - another lens.... the list goes on and it will become expensive.

If you don't understand how to use a DSLR and tend to stick to the auto settings, you will be limiting the camera's capability and might not get the results you hoped for....

Find someone who has a DSLR and have a go first - You may find it too complicated

If you decide to go ahead and buy, go into a shop and get the feel of the weight and balance as I know a lot of photographers who don't like smaller grips etc.

Sorry if this was long winded - I got carried away..

[mikey54]

Don't make the mistake of spending a lot of money on the camera if it comes with a cheap lens.

[Smudge]

I agree with Mikey, spend more on the lens than on the body, the lenses will last a long time the bodies change frequently.

[Daggers]

I've never had a Nikon I didn't rate highly.

I'm currently using a Cannon and, for me, the build quality simply doesn't match up.

[jgtuk]

I've never had a Nikon I didn't rate highly.

I'm currently using a Cannon and, for me, the build quality simply doesn't match up.

Without getting into a Canon/Nikon war, the build quality differs from one model to another. I shot with Nikon slr's years ago and they were great but moved to Canon when the digital era came about. I have since owned many different models and lots of glass and can honestly say the build quality is sufficient at worst (50mm f/1.8 mk2 for instance) and superb at the other end (dust proofing, water sealing e.t.c.). Most of the higher end modern bodies are made of a magnesium alloy.

I have never had anything fail unless I mistreated it (which I have done at times...) Canon customer service has been great for me on the odd occasion I needed it (5D recall for mirror failure to name one).

I prefer Canon glass to Nikon though...

YMMV....

[jgtuk]

Just to throw another ball into the court - Google 3rd Gen (or mirrorless) Cameras. Infant technology in some respects and predicted by some to have a huge market share in the future...