Difference between Canon & Nikon

KumarP · Aug 30, 2016

Hello Guys,

I'm Kumar from India. I'm new to this forum and DSLR cameras. I'm planning to buy entry level DSLR camera. I've lot of doubts to choose which is suitable to me. Let me describe my status,

Budget : 30,000 INR - 45,000 INR
Company: Canon / Nikon (Based on near by service centers)
Usage: Outdoor, Historical places, Nature
Listed by myself: Canon 700D, 1300D, Nikon D3300, D5300 - all with duel kit lens

Now I've some questions on this,

1) Which brand is best, Canon or Nikon ? One of my friend said, Canon is good for Ourdoor photography, and Nikon good for studio effects.Is that true ?
2) Which is good for Outdoor photography and low light photography ?
3) What is auto focus, where Canon have only 9 auto focus points and Nikon have 30+
4) Which is easy to handle ?
5) Is there any photo clarity difference between Canon and Nikon cameras ?
6) What is the mager part of Maga pixels in these cameras ?

I'm waiting for your advice on this.

Thanks in advance,
Kumar P

weepete · Aug 30, 2016

Hi Kumar,

The short answer is that the Nikons you have listed have better dynamic range and less noise in the shadows than the Canons right now as they have a slightly superior sensor. This will give you a bit more leeway in outdoor shots and low light.

The biggest facor in nice sharp shots (other than the skill of the photographer) is a quality lens. Both brands are capable of nice sharp shots in the right conditions.

Personaly I prefer the ergonomics and menu system of Canon, but I may just be used to it more.

astroNikon · Aug 30, 2016

One thing to consider too is what do your photographer friends have. This can be a support system with either choice in helping understand the camera and settings and borrowing lenses and other accessories.

It is really down the personal choice if you don't look at specific line item detail variations.
I prefer the ergonomics of the Nikon, opposite of weepete above (but I'm probably just more used to it) .. so test them out yourself and determine it yourself.

1) I think either are good at those respects
2) either
3) it depends. the more points the better but don't forget the system behind it to process the focusing systems. You'll find higher end cameras are much better because all the other electronics are much better. And of course how you use the system.
4) only your hands will figure it out.
5) "clarity" has a lot to do with lenses. The beginner "consumer" lenses in those kits do not have the clarity of professional lenses. So I wouldn't worry about it so much.
6) more megapixels allows one to "crop" or zoom into a photo and maintain more clarity, generally speaking. I think Nikon has the current edge.

Many photographers go from taking photos to learning how to also post process their images to bring out "more" from the photos. This is from software such as Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. But as a beginner I wouldn't worry about that right now. Learning how to use the Canon/Nikon camera and learning the "exposure triangle" is the fundamentals of how to get the shot that you want no matter the situation.

goodguy · Aug 30, 2016

Nikon vs Canon isn't the point, both are good companies and both produce equally good product.
The question needs to be specifically for a model and compare it with the opposite company model in its level and price range and then choose the best one.

In your price range Nikon D3300 will be the best camera. It has a better sensor which has.....................

1.More resolution (more mega pixel) 18MP for the Canon vs 24MP on the Nikon
2.Better dynamic range
3.Better low light performance
I also think the Nikon is more user friendly for the novice user but that's my personal look on it

jcdeboever · Aug 30, 2016

2nd the D3300

Ido · Aug 30, 2016

KumarP said:
1) Which brand is best, Canon or Nikon ? One of my friend said, Canon is good for Ourdoor photography, and Nikon good for studio effects.Is that true ?

No, not true. They both make cameras, very good cameras at that. They're both good at things cameras are good for. There aren't huge differences directly between the two brands, and they tend to "leapfrog" each other in many aspects every few years.

Don't compare the brands, compare specific camera models.

And don't look for sweeping conclusions like "this camera is good for doing that thing, and that camera is good for doing this thing." Learn what the specs and features mean, how they affect the usage of the camera and the results, then draw your own conclusions. More often than not, especially at the entry-level, they're all pretty much the same.

KumarP said:
2) Which is good for Outdoor photography and low light photography ?

The lenses you use will make a far bigger difference than the camera. But don't take this as a call to get the "right" lens from the beginning; start with the kit lens, and find what you need from experience and learning.

KumarP said:
3) What is auto focus, where Canon have only 9 auto focus points and Nikon have 30+

In the viewfinder, you'll see little squares show up. With the controls on the camera, you can select between those squares, and the camera will focus on whatever is highlighted in that square.

In very general terms, having more focusing points makes it easier to pin-point the focus. But only knowing how many focusing points there are doesn't tell much of the story. It could be that they're all crunched in the middle on one camera, which means you have to use some workarounds if you want to focus on something in the outer parts of the frame; it could be that one camera, with fewer points, focuses faster than the other, or the one with more points focuses faster. Specs alone don't tell the whole story. Read reliable reviews, on sites like DPReview, Imaging Resource, and Camera Labs.

KumarP said:
4) Which is easy to handle ?

This is completely individual—what feels nice and easy to handle to me, may feel utterly uncomfortable to hold for you. The best option is to go to a store and try the cameras in your hands. It doesn't matter if they don't have the exact model in current supply as, for example, the Canon 700D is very similar in shape and operation to the 550D, 600D, 650D and 750D.

KumarP said:
5) Is there any photo clarity difference between Canon and Nikon cameras ?

Again, compare cameras, not brands. But once again, the lenses will make a bigger difference than the cameras, and they can "mask" over any differences between the cameras.

But more importantly, none of this matters if your technique doesn't measure up.

What you need to know is, there are plenty of photographers with high demands for image quality that use either brand's products. Amazing imagery can be made with both.

KumarP said:
6) What is the mager part of Maga pixels in these cameras ?

I don't exactly understand the wording here, but you are asking about megapixels, so the universal discussion is probably the answer…

The number of megapixels you need will largely depend on how large you want to print your images. But even then…

technique and lenses will usually make a lot more difference; and
the difference between 18MP of the Canon cameras and 24MP of the Nikon cameras is meaningless in practice.

Dave Colangelo · Aug 30, 2016

My vote is the D3300 as well, Im a Nikon guy and they are great cameras.

To answer the root question of Nikon or Cannon ill say, it depends, but in reality at this stage in history it no longer practically matters. In the early digital age the cameras were different, each manufacture had to do something to draw people onto the digital platform (over film and over their competitors). In today's modern 15 megapixel and up world, with photoshop and the like you can make beautiful prints well into the 8x10 size from either platform. Plenty of people will argue pros and cons of each modern maker/camera and they are not really wrong but they are generally arguing minutia that for the entry level photographer simply does not matter. If this is your first camera you will be happy with either brand and find plenty of accessories and lenses both new and used.

If you intend to use the camera in low light often I would consider the Nikon paired with the 35mm 1.8 prime (or cannon equivalent) it will be much faster than the kit lens and provide better low light performance.

I have the D3300 and have used various cannon rebels over the years, I find them both easy to use and once you get a feel for the buttons neither is really better than the other. Im currently more accustomed to the Nikon menus and buttons and find it very easy to use.

I use my Nikon for all kinds of out door photography with great results.

One thing I like about Nikon is there devotion to the F-Mount. Pretty much every Nikon lens from the mid 50's to now will work on the D3300 (in manual mode). I see this as a huge benefit as you can get all kinds of great vintage glass for cheap.

In the end of the day having and more importantly, frequently using, a camera will do more for your photography than lamenting over brand choice.

Regards
Dave

gsgary · Aug 30, 2016

Take a look at Pentax you will get more for your money

donny1963 · Aug 30, 2016

KumarP said:
Hello Guys,

I'm Kumar from India. I'm new to this forum and DSLR cameras. I'm planning to buy entry level DSLR camera. I've lot of doubts to choose which is suitable to me. Let me describe my status,

Budget : 30,000 INR - 45,000 INR
Company: Canon / Nikon (Based on near by service centers)
Usage: Outdoor, Historical places, Nature
Listed by myself: Canon 700D, 1300D, Nikon D3300, D5300 - all with duel kit lens

Now I've some questions on this,

1) Which brand is best, Canon or Nikon ? One of my friend said, Canon is good for Ourdoor photography, and Nikon good for studio effects.Is that true ?
2) Which is good for Outdoor photography and low light photography ?
3) What is auto focus, where Canon have only 9 auto focus points and Nikon have 30+
4) Which is easy to handle ?
5) Is there any photo clarity difference between Canon and Nikon cameras ?
6) What is the mager part of Maga pixels in these cameras ?

I'm waiting for your advice on this.

Thanks in advance,
Kumar P

Hey there, all these questions depend on what you want to do, And it depends on if your looking to go full frame or APS-C which means crop sensor, crop sensor means it's smaller image recording sensor then the full frame sensor.. need to know what that is all about you can watch a video on detailed information.. here

I'm going to answer these with the assumption your going for full frame given your budget you mention..
So question (1) which brand is best, Well both canon and nikon are great camera's but each one has advantages over the other in different area's depending on what you want to do.

For instance the Nikon is a much better for landscape photography, because Nikon camera's have better dynamic range which makes a difference in detail in landscape photography.
Because Nikon Uses better Sony Image Recording Sensors, your going to get better Image Quality with the lenses.. Here is an example of that..

If you compair the Canon 5Dmark III 24MP camera, Vs the Nikon D800E 36MP camera.
with the 24-70 lens the canan gets 18 P-MP but the Nikon it's 21 P-MP
With the T 24-70 for canan you get 18 P-MP Nikon it's 23 P-MP
With the 600 F4 for Canon you get 20 P-MP but Nikon you get 24 P-MP
and the Tamron 24-70 that is one of my fav lenses and there is a substantial
diference in MP 18 MP vs 23 MP

So in that perspective the Nikon with that lens is giving you about 25% more detail, and 50% more pixels with the Nikon.
So the Nikon Bodies are better, because they use better sony sensors..

Questions (2) Which is good for Outdoor photography and low light photography ?

The answer is really both, Both Nikon And Canon works great in all them situations.

Questions (3) What is auto focus, where Canon have only 9 auto focus points and Nikon have 30+
Well this all depends again on what your doing, If your shooting sports of fact action or wildlife, where you need to get a focus lock quickly, then if you have more Focus Points
to work with then that is the way to go, and yes Nikon does have a better focusing system then Canon as far as tracking and quick focus locks in fast action situations.
But if your only shooting landscape or portrait, then that will not matter you can do both of them with just one focal point..

Question (4) Which is easy to handle ?
Depends on what your use to, if you never used any of them then it won't really matter just a matter of familiarity with the controls.
How ever Nikon has some nice one touch buttons to do specific thigns, like quickly executing bracketing mode..
And both Bodies on each of them are similar

Question (5) Is there any photo clarity difference between Canon and Nikon cameras ?
Well yes Nikon that goes back to above what i said about about how much MP your getting from each brand using a specific lens.
Generally Nikon is a bit above Canon on getting the most MP out of your Lens because Nikon has slightly better Sony Image Recording sensors.

Question (6) What is the mager part of Maga pixels in these cameras ?
The mager part of Megapixels is, the more MP a camera is capable of , the larger prints you can get from your images without losing image quality.
MP it really doesn't effect how sharp your images are, because you can get just as sharp an image with a 12 MP camera as you would with a 24 MP camera.
How ever with the 24 MP camera you can create bigger prints then you could with the 12 MP camera and maintain the same quality.

Both Camera's perform very well but as i said it all depends on what type of photography your looking to do.
For weddings and portraits i would go with Canon, But for Landscape or sports (fast action) i would go with Nikon.
Nikon D5 can do 14 FPS in in continuous shooting, meaning so long you hold the shutter button down it will continue to shoot at 14 fps until it's buffer is depleted, which takes a long time because of it's large buffer size, but that camera body is about $6,000.00
Hope this helps..

Ido · Aug 31, 2016

donny1963 said:
I'm going to answer these with the assumption your going for full frame given your budget you mention..

45,000 INR is less than US$700…

DarkShadow · Aug 31, 2016

Another Canon Vs Nikon and Northrup video. :BangHead:

tecboy · Aug 31, 2016

donny1963 said:
KumarP said:

Hello Guys,

I'm Kumar from India. I'm new to this forum and DSLR cameras. I'm planning to buy entry level DSLR camera. I've lot of doubts to choose which is suitable to me. Let me describe my status,

Budget : 30,000 INR - 45,000 INR
Company: Canon / Nikon (Based on near by service centers)
Usage: Outdoor, Historical places, Nature
Listed by myself: Canon 700D, 1300D, Nikon D3300, D5300 - all with duel kit lens

Now I've some questions on this,

1) Which brand is best, Canon or Nikon ? One of my friend said, Canon is good for Ourdoor photography, and Nikon good for studio effects.Is that true ?
2) Which is good for Outdoor photography and low light photography ?
3) What is auto focus, where Canon have only 9 auto focus points and Nikon have 30+
4) Which is easy to handle ?
5) Is there any photo clarity difference between Canon and Nikon cameras ?
6) What is the mager part of Maga pixels in these cameras ?

I'm waiting for your advice on this.

Thanks in advance,
Kumar P

Click to expand...

Hey there, all these questions depend on what you want to do, And it depends on if your looking to go full frame or APS-C which means crop sensor, crop sensor means it's smaller image recording sensor then the full frame sensor.. need to know what that is all about you can watch a video on detailed information.. here

I'm going to answer these with the assumption your going for full frame given your budget you mention..
So question (1) which brand is best, Well both canon and nikon are great camera's but each one has advantages over the other in different area's depending on what you want to do.

For instance the Nikon is a much better for landscape photography, because Nikon camera's have better dynamic range which makes a difference in detail in landscape photography.
Because Nikon Uses better Sony Image Recording Sensors, your going to get better Image Quality with the lenses.. Here is an example of that..

If you compair the Canon 5Dmark III 24MP camera, Vs the Nikon D800E 36MP camera.
with the 24-70 lens the canan gets 18 P-MP but the Nikon it's 21 P-MP
With the T 24-70 for canan you get 18 P-MP Nikon it's 23 P-MP
With the 600 F4 for Canon you get 20 P-MP but Nikon you get 24 P-MP
and the Tamron 24-70 that is one of my fav lenses and there is a substantial
diference in MP 18 MP vs 23 MP

So in that perspective the Nikon with that lens is giving you about 25% more detail, and 50% more pixels with the Nikon.
So the Nikon Bodies are better, because they use better sony sensors..

Questions (2) Which is good for Outdoor photography and low light photography ?

The answer is really both, Both Nikon And Canon works great in all them situations.

Questions (3) What is auto focus, where Canon have only 9 auto focus points and Nikon have 30+
Well this all depends again on what your doing, If your shooting sports of fact action or wildlife, where you need to get a focus lock quickly, then if you have more Focus Points
to work with then that is the way to go, and yes Nikon does have a better focusing system then Canon as far as tracking and quick focus locks in fast action situations.
But if your only shooting landscape or portrait, then that will not matter you can do both of them with just one focal point..

Question (4) Which is easy to handle ?
Depends on what your use to, if you never used any of them then it won't really matter just a matter of familiarity with the controls.
How ever Nikon has some nice one touch buttons to do specific thigns, like quickly executing bracketing mode..
And both Bodies on each of them are similar

Question (5) Is there any photo clarity difference between Canon and Nikon cameras ?
Well yes Nikon that goes back to above what i said about about how much MP your getting from each brand using a specific lens.
Generally Nikon is a bit above Canon on getting the most MP out of your Lens because Nikon has slightly better Sony Image Recording sensors.

Question (6) What is the mager part of Maga pixels in these cameras ?
The mager part of Megapixels is, the more MP a camera is capable of , the larger prints you can get from your images without losing image quality.
MP it really doesn't effect how sharp your images are, because you can get just as sharp an image with a 12 MP camera as you would with a 24 MP camera.
How ever with the 24 MP camera you can create bigger prints then you could with the 12 MP camera and maintain the same quality.

Both Camera's perform very well but as i said it all depends on what type of photography your looking to do.
For weddings and portraits i would go with Canon, But for Landscape or sports (fast action) i would go with Nikon.
Nikon D5 can do 14 FPS in in continuous shooting, meaning so long you hold the shutter button down it will continue to shoot at 14 fps until it's buffer is depleted, which takes a long time because of it's large buffer size, but that camera body is about $6,000.00
Hope this helps..

You and Tony Northrup are giving inaccurated and misleading information.

ruifo · Aug 31, 2016

You have great answers above, already.

Canon or Nikon, both will do very well. Nikon has the edge in image quality nowadays, but that changes from time to time. So either brand will be an excellent choice.

You are correct to choose a DSLR camera, high is always my recommendation (any of them). DSLR means "Digital Single-Lens Reflex" camera.

With them, you can have full control of the traditional photography settings (aperture + shutter speed + ISO sensitivity). The freedom to control these settings is key for great pictures. The vast majority of the small automatic digital pocket cameras, and cell phones, don't let you exercise control over the lens aperture, the camera shutter speed, and the sensor ISO sensitivity.

Moreover, all DSLRs allow you interchangeable lenses. That means you can change the lens, allowing you to have a versatile array of lens options, from ultra-wide angles to super-telefoto range. Cell phones and pokect cameras do not share this feature. This is as much important as the controls over these settings mentioned above. Rule #1 for serious photographers: the lens is always more important that the camera body. You will always get better image quality with a "high-end pro level lens + low-end entry level DSLR", than with a "low-end entry level lens + high-end pro level DSLR" combination.

I always recommend either Nikon or Canon. But Pentax is also doing excellent cameras nowadays. They all do really good DSLR, from a beginners level to pro level. I went with Nikon myself, once I believe Nikon offers the better system out there today (system = combination of DSLR camera capabilities and a variaty of lenses able to deliver high end image quality at a better price point).

The DSLR current models for beginners, as offered by Nikon, are:

Nikon D3400 or Nikon D3300: 24 megapixel sensor, entry level DSLR. Aimed for photographers buying a DSLR for the very first time. It's very user friendly, with self-explanatory menus for beginners. USD $450-500, with a Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (3x zoom lens, from wide to normal range).
Nikon D5300 or Nikon D5500: 24 megapixel sensor, intermediary entry level + camera, with an articulated/flip screen for better angles, for video, and for selfies. It's very user friendly, with easy menus for most fast learning beginners. USD $750-850, with a Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (3x zoom lens, from wide to normal range). USD $950-1050, with a Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (7.7x zoom lens, from wide to telephoto range).
Nikon 7100 or Nikon D7200: 24 megapixel sensor, high end entry level camera. You should get this one if you already have some previous knowledge on how to control a DSLR camera, once it's aimed for more advanced users. But any fast learning beginners can catch up with it easily. USD $1200-1500, with a Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (7.7x zoom lens, from wide to telephoto range).
Other Nikon DSLR models, like the D500, D610, D750, DF, D810, D4s/D5 are much more expensive models, once they are (but the D500) full frame models (that means they have a larger sensor inside, generating even better image quality, but much more expensive as well). The D810 and the D4s/D5 are the two more pro level DSLR cameras offered by Nikon. Don't venture yourself with them, if you don't have any previous good knowledge of SLR or DSLR photography.
Here is Nikon's DSLR camera map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templat...n_DSLR_cameras
And here is Canon's DSLR camera map as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templat...igital_cameras

My recommendation would be:

If you're not experienced with SLR/DSLR photography, and you think you're not a fast learner user, get either a D3400, or a D3300, with the Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. They're both excellent cameras. Here sample shots produced by them: D3200 & D3300.
If you're not experienced with SLR/DSLR photography, but you believe you're a fast learner user, get a D5300, or a D5500, either with the Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, or with a Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. The 18-140mm is a bit better, and more flexible. Here sample shots made with them: D5300 & D5500.
If you want to learn enough to become a future professional in photography, get either a D7100 or a D7200, with the Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. Here are sample shots taken with them: D7100 & D7200.

Furthermore, if you can, I highly recommend you also buying at least one second lens to your DSLR, so you can start to practice and understand the difference among lenses. Some recommendations are:

Nikkor AF-S 35mm f/1.8G DX (USD $200): No zoom here, but it is a very fast lens (given the low f/#: f/1.8). That means it's able to take photos at very low light levels, like during night time, much more easy, and without flash, than the slow lenses (the ones with higher f/#, like f/3.5-5.6). For a zoom lens to be able to achieve f/1.8, it will be a very expensi lens, like this one here. Being a fixed 35mm lens, means that you will have a wide to normal perspective, which is ideal for pictures taken outdoors, like vacation shots, group of few people, etc. Here are sample pictures with this lens.
Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G (USD $220): No zoom here, but it is a very fast lens (given the low f/#: f/1.8). So great for low light situations. Being a fixed 50mm lens, means that you will have a normal eye level perspective. It is great as a portraiture lens, specially for head shot portraits. Here are sample pictures with this lens.
Nikkor AF-S 40mm f/2.8G Micro (USD $280): No zoom here, but it is a reasonably fast lens (given the low f/#: f/2.8). Good for low light situations. But this one is a Micro lens, that means you can do macro photography, or very close focus photography, amplifying your subject greatly (in case you want to do very close up photos). Being a fixed 40mm lens, means that you will have a wide to normal perspective. The other two options shown before are faster (f/1.8), but they don't do close-up/macro work as this one. That's the trade off. Here are sample pictures with this lens.
Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD telephoto zoom lens for Nikon (USD $350-450): This is an economical zoom telephoto lens, among the best for entry level users. It features a 4.3x zoom at the telephoto end. That means the lens will be a great magnifier for far away subjects, from 70mm to 300mm, which are great focal lengths for real zoomed in perspectives of far away subjects. Tamron is a third party lens manufacturer, producing lenses for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and other. Make you get one that macthes your DSLR camera maker model. Here are sample pictures with this lens.

These are all entry level lenses, but very very much capable, with excellent image quality. No question about that. The ultra pro level lenses for DSLR are very much expensive, like these ones, for example:

I'm sharing more the Nikon side of DSLRs here, once I'm a Nikon user, and am more familiarized with Nikon myself. But Nikon is not all there is out there. Canon and Pentax are also great brands, and they all have great DSLR products for beginners (and pros) as well.

Good luck with your choice.

tecboy · Aug 31, 2016

ruifo said:
You have great answers above, already.

Canon or Nikon, both will do very well. Nikon has the edge in image quality nowadays, but that changes from time to time. So either brand will be an excellent choice.

You are correct to choose a DSLR camera, high is always my recommendation (any of them). DSLR means "Digital Single-Lens Reflex" camera.

With them, you can have full control of the traditional photography settings (aperture + shutter speed + ISO sensitivity). The freedom to control these settings is key for great pictures. The vast majority of the small automatic digital pocket cameras, and cell phones, don't let you exercise control over the lens aperture, the camera shutter speed, and the sensor ISO sensitivity.

Moreover, all DSLRs allow you interchangeable lenses. That means you can change the lens, allowing you to have a versatile array of lens options, from ultra-wide angles to super-telefoto range. Cell phones and pokect cameras do not share this feature. This is as much important as the controls over these settings mentioned above. Rule #1 for serious photographers: the lens is always more important that the camera body. You will always get better image quality with a "high-end pro level lens + low-end entry level DSLR", than with a "low-end entry level lens + high-end pro level DSLR" combination.

I always recommend either Nikon or Canon. But Pentax is also doing excellent cameras nowadays. They all do really good DSLR, from a beginners level to pro level. I went with Nikon myself, once I believe Nikon offers the better system out there today (system = combination of DSLR camera capabilities and a variaty of lenses able to deliver high end image quality at a better price point).

The DSLR current models for beginners, as offered by Nikon, are:

Nikon D3400 or Nikon D3300: 24 megapixel sensor, entry level DSLR. Aimed for photographers buying a DSLR for the very first time. It's very user friendly, with self-explanatory menus for beginners. USD $450-500, with a Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (3x zoom lens, from wide to normal range).

Nikon D5300 or Nikon D5500: 24 megapixel sensor, intermediary entry level + camera, with an articulated/flip screen for better angles, for video, and for selfies. It's very user friendly, with easy menus for most fast learning beginners. USD $750-850, with a Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (3x zoom lens, from wide to normal range). USD $950-1050, with a Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (7.7x zoom lens, from wide to telephoto range).

Nikon 7100 or Nikon D7200: 24 megapixel sensor, high end entry level camera. You should get this one if you already have some previous knowledge on how to control a DSLR camera, once it's aimed for more advanced users. But any fast learning beginners can catch up with it easily. USD $1200-1500, with a Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens (7.7x zoom lens, from wide to telephoto range).

Other Nikon DSLR models, like the D500, D610, D750, DF, D810, D4s/D5 are much more expensive models, once they are (but the D500) full frame models (that means they have a larger sensor inside, generating even better image quality, but much more expensive as well). The D810 and the D4s/D5 are the two more pro level DSLR cameras offered by Nikon. Don't venture yourself with them, if you don't have any previous good knowledge of SLR or DSLR photography.

Here is Nikon's DSLR camera map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templat...n_DSLR_cameras

And here is Canon's DSLR camera map as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templat...igital_cameras

My recommendation would be:

If you're not experienced with SLR/DSLR photography, and you think you're not a fast learner user, get either a D3400, or a D3300, with the Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. They're both excellent cameras. Here sample shots produced by them: D3200 & D3300.

If you're not experienced with SLR/DSLR photography, but you believe you're a fast learner user, get a D5300, or a D5500, either with the Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, or with a Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. The 18-140mm is a bit better, and more flexible. Here sample shots made with them: D5300 & D5500.

If you want to learn enough to become a future professional in photography, get either a D7100 or a D7200, with the Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. Here are sample shots taken with them: D7100 & D7200.

Furthermore, if you can, I highly recommend you also buying at least one second lens to your DSLR, so you can start to practice and understand the difference among lenses. Some recommendations are:

Nikkor AF-S 35mm f/1.8G DX (USD $200): No zoom here, but it is a very fast lens (given the low f/#: f/1.8). That means it's able to take photos at very low light levels, like during night time, much more easy, and without flash, than the slow lenses (the ones with higher f/#, like f/3.5-5.6). For a zoom lens to be able to achieve f/1.8, it will be a very expensi lens, like this one here. Being a fixed 35mm lens, means that you will have a wide to normal perspective, which is ideal for pictures taken outdoors, like vacation shots, group of few people, etc. Here are sample pictures with this lens.

Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G (USD $220): No zoom here, but it is a very fast lens (given the low f/#: f/1.8). So great for low light situations. Being a fixed 50mm lens, means that you will have a normal eye level perspective. It is great as a portraiture lens, specially for head shot portraits. Here are sample pictures with this lens.

Nikkor AF-S 40mm f/2.8G Micro (USD $280): No zoom here, but it is a reasonably fast lens (given the low f/#: f/2.8). Good for low light situations. But this one is a Micro lens, that means you can do macro photography, or very close focus photography, amplifying your subject greatly (in case you want to do very close up photos). Being a fixed 40mm lens, means that you will have a wide to normal perspective. The other two options shown before are faster (f/1.8), but they don't do close-up/macro work as this one. That's the trade off. Here are sample pictures with this lens.

Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD telephoto zoom lens for Nikon (USD $350-450): This is an economical zoom telephoto lens, among the best for entry level users. It features a 4.3x zoom at the telephoto end. That means the lens will be a great magnifier for far away subjects, from 70mm to 300mm, which are great focal lengths for real zoomed in perspectives of far away subjects. Tamron is a third party lens manufacturer, producing lenses for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax and other. Make you get one that macthes your DSLR camera maker model. Here are sample pictures with this lens.

These are all entry level lenses, but very very much capable, with excellent image quality. No question about that. The ultra pro level lenses for DSLR are very much expensive, like these ones, for example:

Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 EX DG APO IF Autofocus Lens

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR Lens

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR Lens

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR Lens

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200mm f/2G ED VR II Lens

I'm sharing more the Nikon side of DSLRs here, once I'm a Nikon user, and am more familiarized with Nikon myself. But Nikon is not all there is out there. Canon and Pentax are also great brands, and they all have great DSLR products for beginners (and pros) as well.

Good luck with your choice.