Considering Nikon D3200 or Canon EOS Rebel T3i

[jentzschman]

So, Im going back to school, yea! Anyway, one of the options for a fine arts credit is intro to photography which requires a SLR camera.

So far I have been looking at these two cameras and wanted to get some feedback on them. I am VERY new to SLR cameras and don't know a thing about them. I know that will change over time so a good camera that I can grow into is welcome.

From the very limited research I have done on them so far, the Nikon seems to beat out the Cannon by a slight margin. Seems the Nikon offers a larger CMOS sensor and faster shutter speeds. Overall better image quality also goes to the Nikon.

This is based off very limited research on the two. However, overall user ratings have the Cannon as a favorite.

What are your thoughts between these two, or do you have another option. Price MUST be below ~800

Thank you.

 

[Caleb]

Not sure if you've already looked at this, but it's useful:

http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=canon_eos600d&products=nikon_d3200

http://dpreview.com has great info on these as well. For the most part, you're going to run in to the Ford vs. Chevy debate. If you're a Canon guy, then the Canon would be a better choice, Nikon, same thing. They're generally religious sides Something to consider, if you've got a family member, friend, etc that you can swap lenses with, then get what they have (Nikon or Canon). Although, I didi that years ago (bought a Nikon D40x) and then my brother sold his Nikon shortly after. I wanted the Canon, only because everything else I had (P&S, Camcorder, etc) were all Canon.

 

[UFAB]

Nikon here

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jentzschman]

Awesome, thanks Caleb.

 

[wheelewagon]

I have A canon and Skippy's wife, Skippy's mom, and Skippy's bro have Nikons. Both great cameras. Very comparable. If I remember right, the Nikon has faster shutter speed, but the Canon has faster picture speed, if that makes sense. The Nikon uses Canons lenses. Taking the same pic at the same time and everything (knowing from experience) the Canon takes A nicer quality pic. Colors and clarity always look better to me from the Canon. But I think the Nikon is cheaper. And you can do filtering changes and micro lensing with both (when you get more noligable in it). My vote is still the Canon. I think it's A better camera.

 

[EB101]

I have a T3i and love it.... but a full frame camera is on my list because there are no good options for wide angle lenses without it. So even though I love my Ford... I'd go with the Nikon if they are similar prices just for the full frame.

 

[DAA]

I have a T3i and love it.... but a full frame camera is on my list because there are no good options for wide angle lenses without it.

How wide do you want to go? I love the EF-S 10-22 on my crop body Canon.

I'm into my Canon mount lenses just deep enough that I don't think I'll ever be switching. But if I were starting today, looking to buy my DSLR today, I'm really not sure which one I'd get. Heck, I'm not even sure I'd get a DSLR, I'd give mirrorless a very thorough look before leaping on the DSLR wagon, these days.

I really don't know too much about this stuff, so take anything I say with a large grain of salt. But I think within five years the DSLR is going to be pretty marginalized as mirrorless pretty much takes over the market. And actually, if I were buying today, I'd give real serious consideration to a Sony - the A7R uses the same sensor as the Nikon D800 (which is head and shoulders better than ANY sensor in ANY Canon camera...). And the A7R can be adapted to my Canon mount lenses. It is pretty spendy though...

But, anyway... To me, the whole point of a DSLR is the interchangeable lenses. Bodies come and bodies go. If I had the money, I'd be replacing my Canon body with another one now and I've only had mine about two years. I WILL be replacing it before another two years goes by. But I'll still be using mostly the same lenses (crop vs. full frame muddies those waters slightly...).

So, me, if I'm starting over and have decided to go DSLR, I'd start looking at what lenses I want right away and which ones I might aspire to down the road. Both companies make fantastic lenses and there are good affordable third party lenses well worth considering for both. But there are some differences. If you have a fairly specific type of lens or lenses in mind, you may find a notable difference in price/features/availability between the two and that could well be the decidign factor. But I'd decide whether I want Canon mount lenses or Nikon mount lenses, then choose a body to go with the lenses I decide on.

- DAA

 

[EB101]

Oh I do get burned by stating in absolutes.. The old 10 mm on a crop is about equal to a 16 on the full frame thing again.
My intentions with wide angles are about the same as with most people here.
The 10-22 is where I like to be but I'd sure rather have it on the full frame for shooting at car shows and for close in pics wheeling.

-Steve

 

[sixstringsteve]

I've got a t3i and a mirrorless. I'm using my mirrorless more and more these days, though my t3i is a bit more flexible and has a longer battery life.

Both Canon and Nikon rock. My favorite thing about canon is the ability to add magic lantern. It's free software you put on your sd card, and it unlocks all sorts of cool functions for your camera. I'm surprised Magic Lantern doesn't have anything for the Nikons.

 

[jentzschman]

I have a T3i and love it.... but a full frame camera is on my list because there are no good options for wide angle lenses without it. So even though I love my Ford... I'd go with the Nikon if they are similar prices just for the full frame.

Full frame camera... Could you help me understand what that means exactly?

 

[jentzschman]

I've got a t3i and a mirrorless. I'm using my mirrorless more and more these days, though my t3i is a bit more flexible and has a longer battery life.

Both Canon and Nikon rock. My favorite thing about canon is the ability to add magic lantern. It's free software you put on your sd card, and it unlocks all sorts of cool functions for your camera. I'm surprised Magic Lantern doesn't have anything for the Nikons.

Mirrorless...Are they better at capturing images or...

Here is my dilemma: I will be required to get a SLR camera for one of my classes. I have always wanted too get a nicer camera anyway so it's a good reason to get one, with school and all. Granted, I do not have to take this class, but it does appeal to me anyway, and again, I can kill tow birds with one stone as it were.

Also, I am trying to find that balance in price vs features and longevity of the camera i.e. being able to grow into the camera as my knowledge and skill increase.

So basically I do not want to under buyer or overbuy. Finding that balance is tricky, but I do know for a fact I want one that can do time lapse.

 

[DAA]

Full frame... One of those phrases that should be in quotation marks or put as "so-called full frame". Anyway... It's just a sensor size that correlates to the old 35mm film format.

Crop sensor... That's a camera sensor smaller than "full frame". The smaller sensor captures a narrower FOV (field of view), hence the "crop" moniker. There are various crop sensors but the most common size and what is in both the cameras you are considering is an APS-C, which has a crop factor of 1.6. Meaning, that a 100mm lens will show the FOV of a 160mm lens. The crop sensor does not actually make your lenses longer, but it makes them appear to be so.

If your budget is T3i country, you'll be getting a crop sensor DSLR, not a full frame. I wouldn't sweat it.

One thing though, I don't know about Nikon, but with Canon, they make some lenses specifically for crop bodies and those lenses won't work on a full frame body. But you can use any lens from a full frame on a cropper.

- DAA

 

[Houndoc]

While I personally have always shot Nikon (little old school, still film) our high school yearbook uses Cannon. They seem to hold-up very well to use by teens who don't own the camera (if you know what I am getting at.)

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'm researching a new camera for work, and we're deciding between the EOS M, t3i, t4i, t5i, and 70d. I think we're going to go with the t4i or the EOS M.

If you're doing a lot of video work, the t4i has a few handy features that the t3i doesn't (but the t3i is fine for video too).