Camera Labs

Hello peeps!

I've capped my budget at £400 for a new DSLR...considering the Sony SLT-A33, Canon EOS550D or Nikon D3100 which can all be found within budget.

I'm liking the A33 with it's small size, flip down screen (A35 too much and has lost this feature anyway) and it's impressive feature set. Feel perhaps as a long term investment, the 550D might be better and should have a better image quality than the other two, but is it so much better that I should go without some of the features it misses when compared to the A33 and D3100?

General use really...family, friends, wildlife, etc...and possibly some astro-photography (just bought a telescope!).

Any advice welcome!

With those three cameras, the image quality is far more dependent on the lens you're using. The 550D with a soft lens will give you far inferior pictures than either the a33 or the D3100 with a sharp lens. The 550D in my view isn't a clear winner over the other two if you look solely at image quality.

If you feel features absent in the 550D give the a33 and D3100 advantages then perhaps those are the two you should look at...

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control