Camera Labs

Hey Experts,

I want to buy a entry level DSLR, it will be my first DSLR. As a hobby i want to explore with photography.

Simple criteria i have, want to choose the best DSLR which has most (& advanced) features with picture effects (with button or on screen doesn't matter) in the camera itself, i don't like to do after processing work on computer.

So i found following 4 options within my budget, but confused to choose one of them as m finding it difficult to compare them according to my above said criteria on internet. So Experts please advice me on this:

1. Canon 550D
2. Nikon D3200
3. Sony A37
4. Sony NEX 5k

All above DSLR's are somewhat +/- on some or other featues, but for me all 4 suited. The thing i want to know which DSLR has most in camera features and lot of options to play while clicking.

May I add the EOS 650D? It is a bit more expensive than the 550D but it really has a lot of effects and stuff you can play with.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Or maybe you could also go for the 600D, it's cheaper that the 650D and it has a lot more features that I like than the 550D, and actually I've seen that after the 650D's release, the 600D's price got to be very similar to the 550D's price.

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
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Thanks guys for your inputs, but those are out of budget for me
moreover i want comparison between these listed models, so i appreciate if you elaborate more on in the replies for model of your like

Well... don't know where you live and how different the prices are in your region but here a 550D with its kit lens costs 600€ and a 600D with its kit lens costs 604€; that can't really be called difference.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Yeah, I agree with you Jiko, actually the 650D is quite more expensive than the 600D and the 550D, but the 550D and 600D are almost the same price, maybe if you looked around a little bit for some good offers you'd confirm this yourself.

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Visit me and leave me a comment in My Flickr

If possible, have a "hold" of the cameras in your short list & see which of them feel comfortable or not in your hands. This may also help you decide which one is right for you.

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Horden Hillbilly

Canon 1000D & kit lens, 55-250 & 50mm 1.8
Canon Ixus 60

as Horden said, it would be nice if you get a chance to hold the cameras in your hand before buying.

I like to use http://snapsort.com/ to compare cameras

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Sony α580 dSLR
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Sony 18-55 kit lens, Minolta AF 50mm 1.7, Minolta 28-105mm xi zoom, Minolta 35-70mm 3.5-4.5, Minolta 75-300mm 4.5-5.6
Kata 3n1-22

My short photostream: ivandegi

While paper statistics help, you should consider the differences in the real world i.e. differences you read may be less apparent when you're actually using the camera in practice. It's going off on a tangent slightly but Atari boasted that its Jaguar console would wipe the floor with the Sega Mega Drive and the Super Nintendo because on paper it was a vastly superior system but its hardware had fatal flaws that condemned it to failure. Granted, it's an extreme example compared to contemporary DSLRs but hopefully you see my point on not solely relying on the statistics.

This is NOT meant to discourage you but you haven't said what you're looking to shoot, hence why I'm putting it forward. The Sony NEX series is comparatively limited in terms of lens choices though of course, whether or not that's a problem depends on the individual.

To be a pedant, neither of the Sony models you mentioned are, by definition, DSLRs. They all just happen to have interchangeable lenses.

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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

I am from india, and here the price diff beten 550D & 600D is of ~ 15,000 INR


As i mentioned this will be my first cam in this layer, and as hobby i want to explore. So day to day clicks on the go and on trips to anywhere everywhere to click whatever
Hence the reason, i am not looking much into statistics of these listed cams but only wanted to know which 1 gives me more in camera options/features while clicking.


I know that


Yup i done that, and NEX is not that comfortable to handle compared to others. So 1 option is less for my selection

I voted for Canon 550D. It is 2 years old now, but it's good enough for beginners. You can get 600D if you like swivel LCD and 650D if you want to use liveview mode a lot. Image quality among 550D-600D-650D are almost the same.

I don't vote for Nikon D3200 because its 24MP resolution might need high quality lens to get advantage of it.

To save money 550D is a good value for your money.

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RadiantLite - Cameras and Lenses Comparison Reviews, buying guide, photo taking techniques and other tips
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D3200 with the kit lens (or bundled with the 55-200) would be good

Or consider a 35mm f1.8G as a great value little prime lens

There's no substitute for High ISO and low noise capability

iso 100

Canon d550 great camera, Nikon equiv is also good but I'm a canon fan. Also the bracketed exposure ability of the 550 is, for me, a super tool.

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Canon 550D, Canon EFS 17-85 IS USM, Canon EF 75-300 IS USM, Canon EFS 10-22mm USM, Canon EF35mm F2.

Got some of the gear but really still no idea...