Which is best option?

[beagle100]

look at refurbished models, same one year warranty and they look and perform as new
e.g. Canon T5i, Canon 60D
Canon Camera and Lens Deals - canonpricewatch.com

 

[Designer]

Kathy65; one more thing; if you decide on buying a used camera, ask what all is included.

Make sure you end up with a battery, a charger, and an upload cable at the very least. Anything else they throw in will be "gravy" but you will need those to start.

Then ask the sales person to throw in a decent SD card and a strap at no additional charge. (what could it hurt to ask?)

 

[Derrel]

Nikon will indeed repair 'gray market' Nikon gear.

Ummmm....I think that's not accurate....Thom Hogan did a May,2015 assessment of gray market gear buying and its risks and he states:Gray Market is Changing People s Views byThom Thom Hogan

"
Opting for a gray market product has tangible risk to it:

1. NikonUSA will not honor the warranty. The company you bought the item from generally either offered an optional warranty from a third party or provided one themselves. The problem with this is simple: with the camera industry in steep contraction, the likelihood of those entities still being in business to honor the warranty down the line is lower. There might not be someone to claim warranty service from. Moreover, there are plenty of stories circulating about people trying to get warranty service that was promised, yet not receiving it, or having a very difficult time getting it.
2. NikonUSA will not repair the product, ever (unless policies change; but they haven’t changed in the over two decades I’ve been writing about gray market gear). At the moment, a few independent Authorized Nikon Repair stations will attempt to repair gray market products. There are fewer of them today than there used to be, and given NikonUSA’s policy changes over the years regarding test equipment and parts, I think we can expect that trend to continue."

 

[Rob5589]

Kathy, welcome to TPF. I can say from experience, stay away from these "mega package deals." My first DSLR was purchased in the same way, as I too was an uneducated buyer. Fortunately, after doing some post purchase research I was able to return it all for a 100% refund.

Definitely purchase from a reputable dealer; B&H and Adorama are two good ones. KEH is great for used gear. You may even find something here in the gear for sale section.

Good luck

 

[KmH]

I was careful to note that (I'll underlined it again) Nikon USA Service is the only exception to repair of 'gray market' Nikon gear here in the USA.
Nikon is a global company and has other repair facilities.
Nikon will indeed repair 'gray market' Nikon gear.
One just has to send the gear to the appropriate Nikon repair facility.

 

[Solarflare]

I am a beginner, I am just doing my family and friends photos for some extra money on the side. I want easier cameras to learn but be able to take professional looking pictures.

A semiprofessional camera like a D7000 (or its successor D7100 or even the current D7200) would be ideal for you. It still has all auto modes, but it also has plenty of direct controls to minimize menusurfing (once you're initially set up the camera according to your personal wishes, anyway).

So you can use it easily as a beginner and you'll still be able to use it efficiently and well even as a professional.

An entry level DSLR like the D3200 or the Canon Rebell will still require lots of menusurfing, which will slow you down once you mastered the basics of photography. They also miss some important advanced features, like for example FastFP/HSS, the ability to flash even in direct sunlight, i.e. at shutter speeds faster than flash sync - an absolute standard and musthave for portrait and fashion photography.

The main reason I switched from my initial DSLR, a D5100, to a D600 was the lack of FastFP and that Nikon FX glas is just so much better than Nikon DX glas.

 

[Sirgitano]

MUCH of the stuff in those "package deals" is sheer...filler...customer-bait, if you will. What you will want is the camera body, an 18-55mm "kit zoom" from moderate wide-angle to a very slight telephoto, for the everyday, lightweight, small, carry-able zoom lens. Then, a 55-200 or 55-250 or 70-300mm, lightweight zoom lens for distance work.

The flash they have is uber-cheap...soooo uber-cheap, it's awful. THe screw-in accessory 'lenses' are junky. The 4-piece close-up filter set is worth $9 at my local pawnshop.

The battery and charger COME WITH the body; the vendor actually has the nerve to call the battery a "starter battery", so they can upsell you to a second battery, I would guess.

$500? I would go to Walmart or to BestBuy. Seriously. Walmart has a $529 or $539 Nikon package all the time. And then if there's an issue, you have a real store--AND, they sell Nikon USA warrantied, OFFICIALLY-imported items, which Nikon USA can and will repair.

In the $500 type range for brand-new gear, you will need to buy a 3000-series Nikon or an earlier-generation 5000-series Nikon that is discounted; Nikon has cameras one and two generations back that are selling at heavily discounted price points now that a third-generation model is available. And yeah, I am serious--Walmart or BestBuy. Refurbished items quality-checked by Nikon,USA are often lots cheaper than brand-new stuff. Refurbished items are quality-checked individually by Nikon,and in many cases, it seems like they are simply returned merchandise that cannot be sold as-new by ethical dealers. Today's BUY-AND-TRY-then RETURN culture is responsible for flooding the market with refurbished camera gear, bodies, lenses, flashes. It has become almost epidemic. Refurbish in camera gear is NOT like old, auto-wrecker rebuilt wrecked cars.

I bought a kit of the nikon d3300 from Sam's Club for like $750 I think it was. Had everything you need to get started. D3300 body, 18-55 lens, 55-200 lens, gear bag, and few other things. I never had a dslr before but I'm happy with this one.

 

[Romphotog]

I have I narrowed down to three cameras that I am thinking on buying and would like your opinions on them.
Canon EOS Rebel T5 1200D SLR Camera
http://www.thephotoforum.com/javascript:;

Just because I am a Canon guy, I say Canon. Though I know people love their Nikons; just as some love Pentax, Sony.
But, for same value and level you pay less for Canon and get more.

 

[table1349]

I'm a Canon guy and I say go look at the cameras that interest you. Pick them up, handle them, check out the placements of the controls, look at the available lenses for the particular brands to see if their lens line meets your needs now and in the future and then buy the camera that suits you best.

I may ask a friend how they like their car, but when I buy a car, I go kick the tires, sit in it, fiddle with the controls, look under the hood and test drive it. Camera purchase should be no different.

 

[beagle100]

look at refurbished models, same one year warranty and they look and perform as new
e.g. Canon T5i, Canon 60D
Canon Camera and Lens Deals - canonpricewatch.com

if you shoot sports or action the 60D refurbished will be better option