Which entry level DSLR???

[stancho_75]

Hi all skilled and helpful.
I have a niece of 14 years. She attended two years of workshop for photo enthusiasts. During this time, has appeared with my personal camera Canon PowerShot S3 IS. Her friend has a Canon 400D, so there is an idea and work with him. Must choose a DSLR camera from lower class and the necessary accessories for the beginner - bag, memory cards, filters, possibly extra battery, remote trigger, and what a find it necessary. I stopped on the Canon 1100D, Canon 600D or may be Nikon D3100. As every child loves to shoot whatever comes along and still is headed for something specific, perhaps portraits, sports / basketball / macro and landscape. I would be grateful to all who offer specific brands, models and possible links. Limit for the whole story is 500 pounds. Orders will be made in ebay.co.uk. Will be delivered in London.

[bigben6]

if she is going to be shooting along side a cannon owner, then i would say buy a cannon, just so she can try out and swap glass, i think the d3100 is a great camera, but it does not make sense for her to be using a different camera than the person teaching her. If she already had a nikon fine, but i would look to the EOS Rebel T3 for the most basic model, but i think it is prolly WELL worth the money to step up to the t2i: Canon T3 vs T2i

it is better in every regard that really matters, some significantly, some only slightly....

Just for comparisons sake Canon T2i vs Nikon D3100

I think they compare favorably, and the nikon wins in more categories that are important TO ME, but again, the ability for her to try out other lenses with people she is shooting with IMO trumps any received advantage the nikon MAY have

[stancho_75]

I think it would be one of thеsе . Help me to select which to be.

[jwmrks]

Originally Posted by stancho_75

I think it would be one of thеsе . Help me to select which to be.

These are always tough questions because there are sooo many variables, so based on the link you provided, it seems that the bundles for the 1100D in your price range have three main components:

1100D with 18-55mm lens
70-300mm lens
50mm lens.

The extra stuff (filters, bags, etc) in those kind of packages are usually cheap. Nice to get them thrown in for free, but shouldn't get you to decide what to get because they have filters or bags. They are usually cheap enough that she may be able to buy them herself if you don't get them now. Or, if she's serious, may want to spend a small bit of extra money to get a nicer bag or better filters.

In general, the 18-55 is a good starter lens and can cover most things fairly well and is the middle of the road for image quality. If she is going to be more into sports/activity type of photography, then the 70-300mm would be a good lens to have as she could get closer to the action, but that lens is not a great quality lens. The 50mm lens is a better quality lens so she will be able to get higher quality pictures with it, however, without any zoom she will need to do lots of walking to get the images she wants. None of these lenses are considered quality lenses, but they should all be good enough to start out on.

If she is taking pictures mostly for the enjoyment of learning and having fun, I'd say go with the Canon EOS 1100D Mega Bundle (1100D, 18-55, 70-300) as it's the most versatile bundle and may give the widest range for the types of pictures she can take.

If she really likes showing off her pictures and does more artistic type of photos than action pictures, I'd say go with the Canon EOS 1100D 50mm Mega Bundle - Black (1100D, 18-55, 50) as the 50mm will allow her to get some good quality images and the 18-55 will still be fairly versatile for most things.

If she is truly interested in photography (as opposed to just having fun taking pictures) I'd suggest the Canon EOS 550D with 18-55 IS Lens. It's a few pounds short of your budget on that site (though after a rebate). She might actually be able to take better quality pictures with the 1100D and the 50mm lens out of the box, but she may appreciate some of the features of the higher quality camera body over the small image quality gain that the 50mm lens will get her. If she is serious, 89 pounds to get the 50mm lens at a later time truly is an extremely cheap upgrade for a DSLR.

[stancho_75]

We made the choice for better or worse. We stopped on the 1100D with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II and 50mm/f1.8. Furthermore, remained at 90 pounds for accessories. Now we have to read, take pictures and learn. Anyway after a while if the benefit can go a more serious lens. Thanks to all who answered with an opinion.
And if you can advise me on the SD memory card - how many GB you think is optimal and what class is like speed.

[bigben6]

Originally Posted by stancho_75

We made the choice for better or worse. We stopped on the 1100D with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II and 50mm/f1.8. Furthermore, remained at 90 pounds for accessories. Now we have to read, take pictures and learn. Anyway after a while if the benefit can go a more serious lens. Thanks to all who answered with an opinion.
And if you can advise me on the SD memory card - how many GB you think is optimal and what class is like speed.

I'm gonna say good choice.... the 50mm f/1.8 you will love, i love my 35mm f/1.8 and i have only had it a few hours. 18-55 is a fine base lens.

Go with at least 2GB but not more than 8GB is my opinion, if it were be 2x4GB cards would be perfect.