Beginner Buy! Canon 550D/600D or Nikon D5100?

[hunk143]

It is written here that the D5100 has shutter-priority.

Like I said earlier don't base your decision on the body alone, in a couple of years the value of your camera will drop greatly and you will be left with an old camera and whatever lenses you accumulate.

Hey thanks David and i found AF-S lenses are cheaper than those of Canon EF-S although i compared two lens price only... But it'll first see, hold & use the two cameras and then buy. :thumbup:

 

[hunk143]

Its written here that D5100 doesn't have manual shutter speed. :O
Comparing Canon EOS 550D vs. Nikon D5100 - Six Reasons for the Canon EOS 550D - VERSUS IO

I'd say go with the D5100.... It does have shutter priority mode and in full manual mode you control everything including shutter speed. I have the D5100 and get excellent results.

These are 2 pictures from a shoot I just had a few days ago

Good work, thanks i'll see to it.

 

[BunnyHugger]

Nikon.

I have been through the same exercise as you have and I have found Nikon to be a much better spec'd camera and the kit lenses feel like they are much higher quality to me than the same Canon Lenses.

I have noticed (looking at the classifieds) that Canon are more popular so there are a lot more used cameras and lenses available. The cost of most lenses (new) in our country are the same for Canon or Nikon mount, so nothing to go by there.

All in all, I am more impressed with Nikon than Canon.

As someone said to me on a similar thread I started, you are buying into a system, once you make the choice and buy additional lenses, you are pretty much stuck with it. Make the right choice.

Personally, I think the Canon 1100D is a pretty low spec cheap entry level camera. The 550D would give you a better spec'dcamera but none of those compare to the Nikon D5100. This camera (no experience with it yet) has really impressed me from a specs perspective.

Just one thing, if you're buying a DSLR, no matter what they say about video, it's a "Stills" camera. Although the D5100 can take videos, it's not the reason I am buying one. (Next week)

I like the low noise at high ISO thing about it. Which means I can most likely get better shots in low light than with a 550D. Both using the stock lenses.

 

[BunnyHugger]

I use canon and had a 550d and loved it but at the moment nikon sensors seem to be getting more favourable reviews. Having said that both of those cameras will give good results

Well thank you but can you tell me about Auto Focus Motor? :/

All modern DSLR camera have auto focus. It depends mostly on the lenses you get as some don't have on board motors for auto focus. The D5100 is in my opinion, better than the 550D canon specs-wise.

The 600D is the same camera inside as the 550d. It just has a flip out LCD screen.

 

[hunk143]

Nikon.

I have been through the same exercise as you have and I have found Nikon to be a much better spec'd camera and the kit lenses feel like they are much higher quality to me than the same Canon Lenses.

I have noticed (looking at the classifieds) that Canon are more popular so there are a lot more used cameras and lenses available. The cost of most lenses (new) in our country are the same for Canon or Nikon mount, so nothing to go by there.

All in all, I am more impressed with Nikon than Canon.

As someone said to me on a similar thread I started, you are buying into a system, once you make the choice and buy additional lenses, you are pretty much stuck with it. Make the right choice.

Personally, I think the Canon 1100D is a pretty low spec cheap entry level camera. The 550D would give you a better spec'dcamera but none of those compare to the Nikon D5100. This camera (no experience with it yet) has really impressed me from a specs perspective.

Just one thing, if you're buying a DSLR, no matter what they say about video, it's a "Stills" camera. Although the D5100 can take videos, it's not the reason I am buying one. (Next week)

I like the low noise at high ISO thing about it. Which means I can most likely get better shots in low light than with a 550D. Both using the stock lenses.

Oh so we both are on the same path...
i had decided to buy Canon EOD 550D but its discontinued in my country, i'm trying hard to find it but if i don't then i'll go for Nikon D5100.
I actually liked the 550D but its so confusing as both these cameras are almost the same.

 

[hunk143]

I use canon and had a 550d and loved it but at the moment nikon sensors seem to be getting more favourable reviews. Having said that both of those cameras will give good results

Well thank you but can you tell me about Auto Focus Motor? :/

All modern DSLR camera have auto focus. It depends mostly on the lenses you get as some don't have on board motors for auto focus. The D5100 is in my opinion, better than the 550D canon specs-wise.

The 600D is the same camera inside as the 550d. It just has a flip out LCD screen.

Yeah D5100 is definitely better specs wise but when i was using the 550D in the shop its was very easy to change settings using the scroll button just on the screen... it was neat and fast.
But i really dunno which one i would buy.

 

[hunk143]

Hey Guys, Thanks for your help, i've got a Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens kit... Now i'm just fiddling with it.
Please suggest me great tips or provide me a link to a thread if already posted regarding beginner DSLR guide. Thank you so much!

 

[TCampbell]

Hey Guys, Thanks for your help, i've got a Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens kit... Now i'm just fiddling with it.
Please suggest me great tips or provide me a link to a thread if already posted regarding beginner DSLR guide. Thank you so much!

Definitely start by reading the manual so you're aware of what each button, dial, or menu option does. You can buy books which are specific to your camera model which are sometimes easier to understand and/or give better examples than the product manual. Here's an example of one David Busch's Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (David Busch Camera Guides): David D. Busch: 9781435460287: Amazon.com: Books (but there are lots of others.)

At it's core, the camera is capturing exposures. Exposures are essentially just about getting the camera to collect the correct amount of light needed for the image, but it turns out you have some control over the camera's sensitivity to light and also the rate and amount of time that the camera spends collecting light. These might seem like unnecessary details, but it turns out adjusting these can make a big impact on the resulting image (even if ultimately the camera collects the same total amount of light, the image you get if it collect light very gradually over a long period of time vs. collecting light very rapidly over a short period of time -- the two resulting images can look radically different.)

Brian Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" as well as the Scott Kelby series (originally 3 volumes but I think he's up to 4 now) are a great starting point for these basics.

Upping the ante just a little more, you'll want to learn about composition... how you place your subject within the frame has a big effect. Michael Freeman's "The Photographer's Eye" is a good book for this.

 

[hunk143]

Hey Guys, Thanks for your help, i've got a Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens kit... Now i'm just fiddling with it. Please suggest me great tips or provide me a link to a thread if already posted regarding beginner DSLR guide. Thank you so much!

Definitely start by reading the manual so you're aware of what each button, dial, or menu option does. You can buy books which are specific to your camera model which are sometimes easier to understand and/or give better examples than the product manual. Here's an example of one David Busch's Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (David Busch Camera Guides): David D. Busch: 9781435460287: Amazon.com: Books (but there are lots of others.) At it's core, the camera is capturing exposures. Exposures are essentially just about getting the camera to collect the correct amount of light needed for the image, but it turns out you have some control over the camera's sensitivity to light and also the rate and amount of time that the camera spends collecting light. These might seem like unnecessary details, but it turns out adjusting these can make a big impact on the resulting image (even if ultimately the camera collects the same total amount of light, the image you get if it collect light very gradually over a long period of time vs. collecting light very rapidly over a short period of time -- the two resulting images can look radically different.) Brian Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" as well as the Scott Kelby series (originally 3 volumes but I think he's up to 4 now) are a great starting point for these basics. Upping the ante just a little more, you'll want to learn about composition... how you place your subject within the frame has a big effect. Michael Freeman's "The Photographer's Eye" is a good book for this.

Thank you, yes i did read the manual and i knew about the shutter, iso, aperture settings as i had used EOS110D but i am having trouble in setting the exposure in manual mode, the marker doesn't move but instead divides into three and there's written, automatically shoots image at three different exposures!

 

[nonamexx]

I recently bought the 550D with the 18-135 kit lens, rather than 18-55 and not regretted it. Wonderful camera. I think 600D is almost the same, except for flip out screen and wireless flash going by the specifications.

If the camera is shooting at 3 different exposures, maybe you accidentally set it to exposure bracketing.

 

[Benco]

I use canon and had a 550d and loved it but at the moment nikon sensors seem to be getting more favourable reviews. Having said that both of those cameras will give good results

Well thank you but can you tell me about Auto Focus Motor? :/

All modern DSLR camera have auto focus. It depends mostly on the lenses you get as some don't have on board motors for auto focus. The D5100 is in my opinion, better than the 550D canon specs-wise.

The 600D is the same camera inside as the 550d. It just has a flip out LCD screen.

All Canon EOS cameras use lenses that have built in AF motors. Older, screw drive AF Canon lenses cannot be used on them so no Canon bodies have or need a built in AF motor. That's how the EOS system works.

Nikon uses an older mount design so screw drive Nikon AF lenses can still be used (and are still made), the catch is that on cheaper models (like the 3XXX and 5XXX) they don't include an AF drive motor in the body so screw drive AF lenses (like the 50mm 1.8D for instance) will work but are manual focus only.

It's not a huge problem, you just need to be aware of it when choosing lenses for your D5100, if you want autofocus you need lenses that are AF-S rather than AF.

 

[Benco]

All Canon EOS cameras use lenses that have built in AF motors. Older, screw drive AF Canon lenses cannot be used on them so no Canon bodies have or need a built in AF motor. That's how the EOS system works.

There has never been a screw drive Canon AF lens. Canon AF lenses have always had focusing motors in them including the few FD mount lenses that had AF.

Well you learn something every day, I'd assumed that in the pre-EOS days Canon used screw drive AF...and that's the trouble with assumption eh?

Thanks for putting me straight.

 

[TCampbell]

It is written here that the D5100 has shutter-priority.

Like I said earlier don't base your decision on the body alone, in a couple of years the value of your camera will drop greatly and you will be left with an old camera and whatever lenses you accumulate.

Hey thanks David and i found AF-S lenses are cheaper than those of Canon EF-S although i compared two lens price only... But it'll first see, hold & use the two cameras and then buy. :thumbup:

These are not the same thing. AF-S and EF-S are talking about different things.

On Canon, an EF-S lens means it was designed for an APS-C crop-frame body DSLR. Nikon has the same concept, but they use the letters "DX" to refer to a crop-frame lens. Canon uses the letters "EF" (without the "-S" suffix) to indicate that the lens was designed for full-frame bodies, but any full-frame lens can also be used on a crop-frame body. Nikon's designation for a lens designed for full-frame (which also works on any of their crop-frame bodies) is "FX".

On Nikon, AF-S means the lens has a built-in focusing motor. An AF lens does not have a built-in motor and relies on the camera body to have a focus motor. Entry level Nikon bodies don't have motors in the body. None of the D3xxx or D5xxx series have motors. A D90 or D7000 (or above) does have a focus motor in the body. The concept doesn't relate to Canon because _all_ Canon auto-focusing lenses do so by using a motor in the lens ... it doesn't matter which body you have.

To make another example, Canon's "nifty fifty" is the EF 50mm f/1.8. It's just a bit over $100 (usually about $120) and works on all Canon EOS camera bodies. It has a built-in auto-focus motor. On Nikon, there are two different 50mm f/1.8 lenses... there's an "AF" 50mm f/1.8 and an "AF-S" 50mm f/1.8. The AF is priced about the same as Canon's nifty-fifty, but the AF-S costs a bit more... about $200-220.

If a person selects a Nikon entry-level body (anything in the D3xxx to D5xxx range) then they'd really want to make sure they're getting "AF-S" lenses for it. "AF" lenses will attach but will not auto-focus.

 

[hunk143]

I recently bought the 550D with the 18-135 kit lens, rather than 18-55 and not regretted it. Wonderful camera. I think 600D is almost the same, except for flip out screen and wireless flash going by the specifications.

If the camera is shooting at 3 different exposures, maybe you accidentally set it to exposure bracketing.

Hello, Can you tell me how to turn it off?

 

[hunk143]

Hey Guys, i'm traveling right now... On my trip to Malaysia and Singapore, thats why i couldn't reply back.
i want tips for Beach & Sunset photography, Please reply back. You guys have been awesome.
Regards.