# Confused between Nikon D5100, Canon EOS 550D , Nikon D3200



## santanu.034 (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi,

Please help me buy a new DSLR. I am shortlisted 3 cameras 
1. Nikon D5100
2. Nikon D3200
3. Canon EOS 550D

Please help.

Thanks and Regards,
Santanu


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## sujoyp (Aug 6, 2012)

Technically D5100 is the best of three.

whats ur need?? give more details about ur lens plans, ur photography needs etc ...also tell us ur level of knowledge...have u used manual settings before?


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## maxtor (Aug 6, 2012)

Choose Nikon hands down because they are much better than Canon. D5100 is the best out of the three. Of course also depends on what you are looking for in a camera and your budget


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## pulkitpopli2004 (Aug 6, 2012)

D5100 is best.... 
my frnd who own canon SLR.. they say canon lens are pretty good in quality and sumwht cheaper too.. they are more VFM...


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## Knightlover (Aug 6, 2012)

Canon EOS 550D is quite good if you are looking for a budget dslr.But if you can increase your budget a bit then Nikon D5100 will be the best.Technically none is inferior to other.Only major differences are the later have Low noise at high ISO & Large sensor.


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## santanu.034 (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi,

Thanks for all the comments.

Let me tell I have been clicking for past 1.5 yrs but its only on Nikon L120. Haven't used manual controls before.


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## sujoyp (Aug 6, 2012)

knightlover sensor size can be neglected....but yes D5100 have less noise in low light


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## santanu.034 (Aug 6, 2012)

I am not good in technical terms related to camera. Can anybody suggest in layman's language. Whatever I get upto now is that D5100 is better.
Many of my frnds who r into photography was telling D550 is a better one.

Ok now if i go with Nikon then 3200 or 5100?? I think 3200 has more megapixel.. Will that come into consideration?

Kindly advise.


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## bongboy (Aug 6, 2012)

Hi,

I'm a beginner and planning to buy my first DSLR. I have narrowed down my choices to Canon 550D, Nikon D5100 and Sony A57.
Now how to select one from these?

Budget is around 45K and will like to shoot portrait, nature and wild life.

Also any idea is Nikon will be launching any upgrade for Nikon D5100?? I hear canon/nikon are on a 4 year cycle for launching new models but it launched D5100 upgrade of D5000 in 2 years times.

Also can you please explain how Nikon D5100 not having an AF motor effect the video shooting?? Are DX series lens not equipped with AF Motors???


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## sujoyp (Aug 6, 2012)

@bongboy suggested you in ur thread...

@shantanu ....in layman terms more megapixel does not matter...D5100 is higher level then D3XX series soo its better to get D5100
also 550D was a very good DSLR...but now its 3.5 years old...canon is lowering the price of 600D to replace 550D


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## blackpearl (Sep 14, 2012)

I'm in a similar dilemma  between nikon d5100 and canon 550d. I want to go for nikon because of low-noise. I want to do night photography with low light, so low noise is important. But nikon lenses are costly.

What do you suggest? Which will cost me more in the long run, a nikon or canon?

P.S: I didn't want to create a new thread and start the discussion all over again.


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## sujoyp (Sep 15, 2012)

@blackperl right now after the canon increased the prices by huge margines...I think canon lost the price advantage


U should get D5100..

Price of 500D have decreased to 27k now on ebay...but prices of all lenses r gone out of range...just basic ones r purchasable...remaining u have to depend on tamron sigma


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## Advait (Sep 15, 2012)

Hi everyone im new to this forum ...... Like many of the members here i too am planning to buy my first dslr i have been using the Canon IXUS 100IS camera for the past 2 yrs n now i need to move on to a dslr . So i have shortlisted the Canon EOS 550D 18-55mm kit. I want guidance on which lens i should buy for zooming purposes as i believe the 18-55mm range is too short . I have shortlisted the following lenses :

1) Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 DG Macro
2) Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 
3) Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II 
4) Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM
5) Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro 

I would like to know one should i go for . Plz let me know the differences between them . Any suggestions are welcome


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## sujoyp (Sep 15, 2012)

@advait welcome to our forum 

nice that u have already selected 550D+kit ...now among all these choices get Canon 55-250IS its the best among these.

Difference is none of the other lenses have IS ....the other canon 75-300 is a big flop...sigma tamron u menstioned have slow focus speed


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## drsubhadip (Sep 15, 2012)

Advait said:


> Hi everyone im new to this forum ...... Like many of the members here i too am planning to buy my first dslr i have been using the Canon IXUS 100IS camera for the past 2 yrs n now i need to move on to a dslr . So i have shortlisted the Canon EOS 550D 18-55mm kit. I want guidance on which lens i should buy for zooming purposes as i believe the 18-55mm range is too short . I have shortlisted the following lenses :
> 
> 1) Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 DG Macro
> 2) Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro
> ...





sujoyp said:


> @advait welcome to our forum
> 
> nice that u have already selected 550D+kit ...now among all these choices get Canon 55-250IS its the best among these.
> 
> Difference is none of the other lenses have IS ....the other canon 75-300 is a big flop...sigma tamron u menstioned have slow focus speed




Ya right said ..Sujoy..


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## Advait (Sep 15, 2012)

sujoyp said:


> @advait welcome to our forum
> 
> nice that u have already selected 550D+kit ...now among all these choices get Canon 55-250IS its the best among these.
> 
> Difference is none of the other lenses have IS ....the other canon 75-300 is a big flop...sigma tamron u menstioned have slow focus speed



Thanks for your suggestion , I will certainly take it into consideration . One more thing ... About the slow autofocus u mentioned , does it really affect the image alot , and is it worth trading the zoom of sigma 300mm for the canon250 IS ?


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## Rishi Jain (Oct 9, 2012)

hi 
i m going to buy a dslr camera for the photography club of our college and hv shortlisted the d3200,d5100 and 550d.
but then somebody told me that nikon dslr's use only nikkorr lenses.is that true ?
then would u suggest the 550d ?
also as this camera will be used for a long time ,i would prefer the camera which is more robust.
could u suggest some lenses also for beginners as the bundled lenses are usually not very useful (acc to most of the forums.)
thanks


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## nac (Oct 9, 2012)

^
Nikkor lenses are in-house lens made for Nikon DSLRs. There are other third party manufacturers (Tamron, Sigma among others) who produce lenses for Nikon DSLRs.

Both D5100 and 550D are good. You can pick one between these two...


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## mastervk (Oct 9, 2012)

Rishi Jain said:


> hi
> i m going to buy a dslr camera for the photography club of our college and hv shortlisted the d3200,d5100 and 550d.
> but then somebody told me that nikon dslr's use only nikkorr lenses.is that true ?
> then would u suggest the 550d ?
> ...



kit lens is good enough for all general purpose(both 18-55 and 50-250)..if you have money then you can buy equivalent lens of better quality...but they will cost as much as your dslr or more..


replacement  for  18-55 : tamron lens 17-55 or canon 17-55 f/2.8 or canon 17-85 IS
50-250 mm - 70-300 mm IS


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## sujoyp (Oct 9, 2012)

bro even canon can use lenses made for canon only...just like nikon does

practically there is no difference in number of lenses for a beginner 

Now that price of lenses are almost same I would go for Nikon D5100 

what lenses you want to began with ?? And that is a totally wrong comment that bundled lenses are not good...actually the people who use them are newbies and dont know how to use them...later when they replace them with 4 times costly lenses...they are automatically satisfied with that coz of the money spent and experience with bundled lens  

Kit lens
nikon 18-55 AFS VR (bundled lens)
Nikon 18-105 mm AFS VR
Tamron 17-50 f2.8 Di Non VC

zoom lens
Nikon 55-200 AFS VR (not recommended with 18-105mm)
Nikon 55-300 AFS VR
Nikon 70-300 AFS VR
Tamron 70-300 VC USD

get one kit lens and one zoom lens to began with...later buy as per your requirement


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## mastervk (Oct 9, 2012)

@sujoy

i read at many sites that nikon lens work with canon..

for eg check ken rockwell site Using Nikon lenses on Canon cameras © 2005 KenRockwell.com

@OP
you should buy canon/nikon 50 mm also...


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## sujoyp (Oct 10, 2012)

mastervk its not a good idea to confuse a newbie when buying 1st DSLR ....there are almost all to all adapters ....I can fit sony in nikon ,nikon on nex,f-mount on Q-mount ....but its better for advance user....its just like changing ROMS in android, its buggy but will work 

The adapter cost 250$ +  for nikon f mount to canon mount ...and it wont provide autofocus but will provide metering


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## choudang (Oct 17, 2012)

i will not say much but my humble request, pl do not get into megapix or Dxxxx/xxxxD *dilemma*, as you are not going to shoot huge film posters or 6x6 feet poster; 10 mpx will be enough for you. i have searched lot about the same, until i found the line "learn the basics of SLR with a good body & lens" and finally got D3100 over Canon 550D (nikon has easy menu and the color tone is little sharp over canon). its on you OP, what to choose.

secondly, i would suggest to go for only body and opt 35mm prime lens (assuming you have D3100 which is DX format and 35mm will give you 50mm on 1.5x crop factor). whether its canon or nikon, if you have only 18-55 or 18-105 or vis, you will not enjoy the bokeh with f/1.8 as those lenses has f/3.5 @ 18mm. dont get confused why 18-55mm wont work at 35mm, cause 35mm prime has only one focal length where you have the control on f stops.

i will not recommend to by a 50mm prime on DX SLR cause which will give you near around 80mm on 1.5x crop factor [you may google it, from where i have got all those lines 

learn the basics over Aperture/Exposure/shutter etc and go forward for a high end body. [you may noticed that high end bodies has 10/12 mpx, so mpx does not matter]

I am having D3100 with 35mm (which is mounted 5 months back and still mounted for every occasion) with Simpex 333 tripod and going really good.


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## sujoyp (Oct 17, 2012)

^^you r right

but prices have fallen...at the cost of D3100 5 months back now we can get D5100 ....soo its not a bad idea to go for better body...D5100 have many nice features which I would have liked in my DSLR


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## choudang (Oct 17, 2012)

agreed, but i wont mind to grab D3100 without HDR (can be done with Photoshop @ RAW file), does not bother 14 or 16 mpx, FHD (i want still, not video) considering they both have same:
- APS-C sensor
- 11 AF Points 
- No in-body focus motor
- Video auto-focus
- SDXC card compability
- CLS compatibility, but no commander mode
- Plastic bodies

if you give me an option to choose, i will opt D3100 body only with 35mm (will get 50mm on crop factor).

PS: later you can sell out the body . i am selling out my body very soon with bundled lens, may be going towards D90 or D7000 cause both DX format and will have 55-300mm/40mm macro/(fish-eye too perhaps) in coming future.


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## sujoyp (Oct 17, 2012)

shhh dont say this openly  even I am goona change my DSLR body to maybe D300s in 3-4 months   I love birding and wildlife more soo full weatherproofing and faster buffer is very important


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## choudang (Oct 17, 2012)

i am trying abstract shooting like droplets/splash/product etc, need a flashgun cause my CFL is not able to fulfill the needs


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