Looking for a new digital camera

[reinko]

Any thoughts?  

Like to keep south of $400, will be used for family stuff, vacations, a little hobbying...

Currently looking at Nikon D3100 and Canon T3

Thanks!

[mu_hilltopper]

Not to give you a specific model, but I bought a camera a couple years ago that has a feature I love: HDR Photo "mode". 

I use HDR for a good chunk of my photos now.  (If you don't know) .. HDR basically rapid fires 3-5 photos using different exposures, -1, 0, +1, etc.   Two major effects .. one is that colors are generally richer.  If you've ever taken a regular photo outdoors with a bright blue sky, then found your picture to be a bland blue .. you know what I mean.  HDR will make that sky actually blue.

The other bonus is that areas that were too dark will turn out OK.   Often you'll snap a pic of an area and some of it is super well lit, other areas are dark.  HDR evens that all out, so you can see all areas better. -- If you want to take a pic of jack-o-lanterns at night, this works fantastic. No flash, no holding it steady for 5 seconds, just HDR mode and whammo.

The downside to HDR is your results won't be great for stuff that's moving around much, since it goes take a burst of photos.  Sometimes it'll work out, sometimes not.

[akmarq]

Generally happy with my Nikon D5000 as an entry level DSLR. The quality jump in moving to an SLR can't be overstated if you're used to point and shoot cameras.

I know retail is closer to $600 but a quick google search shows that older models/versions can be found for your price range. I'm sure Canon has something similar as well.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Any thoughts?  

Like to keep south of $400, will be used for family stuff, vacations, a little hobbying...

Currently looking at Nikon D3100 and Canon T3

Thanks!

Lots of good stuff out there.  I've been using the T2i for a number of years, no issues at all.  I want to get the 70D, but holding off at this moment.  At the end of the day, the lenses matter and that's where you will ultimately sink the dollars into.   

Some very good camera comparison sites.  Family to family comparisons  (T2i vs T4 or whatever) or brand comparisons by model  (D3100 vs T3). 

I think Camera Labs does a decent job.   http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_Rebel_T3_1100D/verdict.shtml

Snapsort does an ok job on this from a high level, but I don't think they get into the nitty gritty as much as they should.

There are other sites as well. 

[reinko]

Lots of good stuff out there.  I've been using the T2i for a number of years, no issues at all.  I want to get the 70D, but holding off at this moment.  At the end of the day, the lenses matter and that's where you will ultimately sink the dollars into.   

Some very good camera comparison sites.  Family to family comparisons  (T2i vs T4 or whatever) or brand comparisons by model  (D3100 vs T3). 

I think Camera Labs does a decent job.   http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_Rebel_T3_1100D/verdict.shtml

Snapsort does an ok job on this from a high level, but I don't think they get into the nitty gritty as much as they should.

There are other sites as well. 

Thanks!

[Coleman]

iPhone 5S

[MUBillsTil2017]

Panasonic DMC LX7 series is cost effective and priced right.  So well designed it is the basis for the German Leica brand cameras.  You could spend a life time figuring out all the options and get nice pictures along the way.  Amazon prices start at $244.

[Freeport Warrior]

Agree with much that has been said here. I would hold off until you could buy an SLR. I have a 6-year old Nikon D300, which is heavy, but takes great shots. There are newer lighter versions out there, but as Chicos said -- it's all about the lenses. And lenses are dependent upon what you are looking to do. I have two main lenses -- one I use for indoor basketball and one for everything else. For SLRs there are two camps, Nikon or Canon. You can't go wrong either way, but know that you have to commit. I chose Nikon because the agency I work for and all my friends shoot with Nikon. We can share lenses for the weekend and it lets you experiment cheaply. Nikon and Canon lenses are not interchangeable.

The best site to gather info in a simple and straightforward manner is kenrockwell.com -- this guys gets all of the cameras and lenses, reviews them and keeps his site up-to-date based on the newest models. I bought a cheap bounce flash (flash tilts to the ceiling and bounces the light to fill the room) based on his recommendations and it was life-changing.