A Buyer’s Guide: DSLR Cameras
January 9, 2012 
45 Comments
Beauty. Pure beauty.
It is very difficult to recommend a DSLR camera without knowing exactly what kind of photography you’re going to do, your budget, and if you have already invested in lenses from a specific manufacturer. However, I do want to provide some VERY GENERAL principles on what camera you might consider.
If you’re shopping for a camera and you aren’t “up” on the current models available, I think the following table will be helpful for you to decide what to buy. This table was most recently updated on April 4, 2012.
| PRICE | NIKON DSLRs | CANON DSLRs | Which DSLR do I recommend? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $600 | Nikon D3100 (Will be replaced soon) | Canon T3 | Nikon D3100 for its low-noise abilities for low-light situations, but this camera is going to be updated SOON. |
| Under $950 | Nikon D5100 | Canon T3i (Will be replaced soon) | Nikon D5100 wins for low light capabilities, but that LCD on the T3i is fantastic! |
| Under $1,500 | Nikon D7000 (Fantastic!) | Canon 60D | Nikon D7000 for low light capabilities, but 60D is great for video. |
| Under $2,000 | Nikon D300s (VERY old) | Canon 7D (Getting old) | Canon 7D is the CLEAR winner–even though it’s getting old. Both cameras will be replaced in Summer 2012. |
| Under $3,000 | Nikon D800 (Brand New) | 5D Mark III (Brand new) | Depends on what you shoot. D800 for studio work and most portraits, 5DIII for video, sports, and wildlife. |
| Your left kidney | Nikon D4 (Brand new) | 1DX (Brand new) | Depends on what you’re using it for. |
UPDATE: Some readers have commented that they wish this article would talk about brands other than Canon and Nikon as well. There are MANY good cameras other than the Nikons and Canons. Sony and Pentax also make great cameras (as well as other manufacturers). I fully believe that in the next few years, they will become mainstream and see wide adoption. Often they are cheaper camera bodies right now, but Sony and Pentax simply don’t have the selection of lenses nor the cheaper third-party accessories available. The reason I don’t recommend them right now is simply that there isn’t much room to grow into the selection of lenses and accessories like you can with a Canon or Nikon. If you keep your photography simple and don’t plan on going pro or needing a bunch of lenses or accessories, then you’d be happy with virtually any Sony or Pentax Camera.
Further Reading:
- Cleaning and Protection for Your DSLR
- Canon vs. Nikon: What’s the difference? (Updated for 2012)
- What Gear Does a Wedding Photographer Need?
- The Difference Between Full-Frame and Crop Sensor DSLR Cameras
Hi Jim,
I am planning to buy my first DSLR n i am totally confused between the Canon 600d and the canon 60d.I hear rumours about an upgrade for 600d,should i wait till then?
Basically i intend to do a lot of street,nature and landscape photography.
Request u to also kindly let me know ur take on Nikon d5100 with the Canon 600d!
I’ve said that least 2709106 times. SCK was here
We can see you have place in certain fantastic exertion for the web site right here and thanks for the great facts you’ve got shared. You are going to unquestionably be rewarded
Good info here, I have linked to your weblog on my blogroll, please return the favour! There desires to be far more of this valuable information about around the world wide web, I think that with continued effort you will be incredibly successful inside your business enterprise.
That is absolutely pretty accurate although I dont normally use that process myself. I guess its like anything in life; you will discover extra than a single ways to acquire the identical result. Probably the most critical point is just to keep moving towards your aim.
Hmm is anyone else having problems with the pictures on this blog loading? I’m trying to figure out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
塔羅牌
Very interesting details you have mentioned , thankyou for putting up. “I’ve made a couple of mistakes I’d like to do over.” by Jerry Coleman.
Wonder history over Informations the experts would not like one to discover. One particular travel your partners is talking about. Whoa, astounding item. People gotta go look at holidays immediately whilst it’s still in stock ! ! !
Just curious, if there is a reason why Nikon 90D is not in the list of camera’s here? Is that something you would recommend for a photographer with a budget higher than for Nikon5100 but lower than for nikon d7000
If someone is looking at getting into photography as a serious hobby or vocation it is not the camera but the camera system that is important. Anything will work for a portrait studio but for sports, wildlife, product, commercial, fashion, wedding, T&I, macro, and nature photography the camera is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg in generating quality images on a reliable and consistent basis. For example the Canon cameras and lenses have been notoriouly bad in terms of autofocus accuracy. Anyone wanting to incorporate flash is going to have many more options with Nikon than Canon and get much more consistently accurate mixed light exposures and white balance. I started with Pentax but switched to Nikon to do underwater photography as all the underwater strobes had a Nikon only connection. I used both Nikon and Canon pro gear for wedding photography as each new generation of cameras would favor one system over the other and I all cared about (and my clients) was results.