Thread: Cameras

I would consider the 1100D too Canon EOS 1100D + 18-55/3.5-5.6 -Digital system camera - Lowest price, test and reviews. I've found that DSLRs tend to hold their value pretty well so if you find you hate it you can always move it and not lose too much money. I would set a budget and find the best deal within that bracket. If you Google Canon DSLR vs Nikon you'll get more results than you would bother reading. I went with Canon and I haven't regretted that at all, the range of lenses is great and being quite popular there is a reasonable second hand market too.

I would suggest going to a camera store and handling some of them, some have more intuitive button placement, better SD card placement, even the positioning of a power switch is nicer on some than others. Things like megapixels don't necessarily equate to great photos so don't get talked into anything by any sales people. You'll be alarmed at the quality of a picture even taken on auto mode with a DSLR compared to your standard point and shoot, even on the entry level models.

It might be a good idea to start with an entry level model while you work out what settings do what and how to make them all work for the photo you're taking at any given time, and then upgrade when you know what you're doing.

One more thing, since I bought a couple of new lenses (a 50mm prime and a fisheye) I haven't once used my kit lenses. If I were starting over, I would consider buying a 'body only' which as you may have guessed doesn't come with any lenses, and buying the lenses separately. The quality of a kit lens isn't usually very close to the sort of lens you would buy on it's own. I guess it's like the house branded scope that might come with a firearm package, it'll do the job but people aren't climbing over each other to get their hands on one.