Upgrading to a newer camera?

Caty1113 · May 3, 2012

Hi everyone! I am pretty new to photography. (ie, talk like you're talking to a five year old please! LOL).

I currently have a Sony A330 camera that I love- I got it two years ago and it got me into the hobby. I just feel it's time to upgrade to something better- I am not a professional photographer by any means, I just enjoy it as a hobby. Mostly do pet action/portraits but I kind of want to get into micro photography and landscapes too!

There's a couple cameras that I am looking at- the Nikon D3200
Nikon D3200 24.2MP DSLR Camera with AF-S DX 18-55mm VR Lens Kit - Black : DSLR Cameras - Best Buy Canada
Or the Canon Rebel t3i:
Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18MP DSLR w/ 18-55mm & EF-S 55-250 IS Lens, Init Case, and PNY 8GB SDHC : DSLR Packages - Best Buy Canadar even the Nikon D7000 though I'd prefer not to spend quite that much- lol.

Are all of these an upgrade from mine? Any other suggestions would be great, too!

StandingBear1983 · May 3, 2012

I would go with the Nikon D3200 - i have a question though, do you feel that the Sony A330 limits you in any way?. if so, how? - it will help me give you better advice about what you need.

Designer · May 3, 2012

Hi, Caty1113. Photography can get expensive, can't it? Either of these DSLRs that you mentioned are excellent, and will give you plenty of options. You should go to a store in which you can hold each. Do you know anyone with something similar who will allow you "try it out"? (Bring your own card, please)

Most "kit lenses" are fairly good, but don't be surprised if at some time in the future you will want to "upgrade" to some other lens or start building a lens collection. For action pics, you will probably want a "faster" lens, and that is where the prices increase dramatically.

If I were looking right now, I would either get the D3200 with an "upgrade" lens, or find a new D3100 heavily discounted.

DiskoJoe · May 3, 2012

You could stick with sony and upgrade to the a55. Under $600 for the body and you get the same sensor technology as the Nikon d7000 and the pentax k-5 for much less. For macro you really just need macro lenses. A tamron 90mm f2.8 would be a good start. You can do macro plus it could double for portraits of a shorter telephoto lens. The two cameras you listed arent really upgrades. I would consider them to just be better entry level cameras. But the d3200 does come in red.

Caty1113 · May 3, 2012

Well.. screw the budget. Went for the D7000, LOL. Now hurry up, battery charger!

StandingBear1983 · May 4, 2012

Congrats Caty its a fine machine, now GO SHOOT until it disintegrates

- what lens did you go for?

LizardKing · May 4, 2012

Congratulations on the new camera! Now let's speed-up that learning and take advantage of everything the D7000 has to offer!!
Did you get it with the kit lens? Which one?

Caty1113 · May 4, 2012

It came with the 18-105mm, as well as I bought the 50mm 1.4G and the 55-300mm zoom lens. :lmao: I'm going to also buy a flash, but will probably get that secondhand. Thinking about the 70-200 f2.8 one too :smile:

gryffinwings · May 4, 2012

I hear that the Yongnuo flashes are pretty good, you can get the YN-468 II and that has the TTL that Nikon flashes come with and it's just around $110.