Nikon D3100 or Sony A33

[graemelee]

I am in the market to buy a new DSLR. Anyone have any experience with use of these two cameras? I am leaning towards Nikon as it has option of Hi Def 1080 video capture which may be handy although I have heard the Sony can do 7fps continuous shoot?
Nikon seems to be quality stuff and I may even go for the Tamron PZD 18 - 270 all in one lens which seems a great idea? Any opinions on this?
cheers
Graeme

[Nikkie]

Hi Graeme I am very new to DSLR I was in the same place your at right now only a few weeks ago Ive always wanted an SLR cam but anyway life went on so now I got one deciding is the hardest thing but thanks for narrowing it done for us. I don't know anything about Sony A33 I do have a Nikon D3100 I was having a hard time to pick one out of the Nikon D3100 and Canon something can't remember but they were both entry cameras and recommended for beginners like me why did I decide on the Nikon it came down to reading reviews and the more I read the more it seemed like the best one for me was the Nikon. You sound like you have already done that I Love the nikon and I feel I got the right one for me. If its video features your looking for I can't tell you as I have not done any vids with my Nikon. If you have not done so already do your home work and read reviews and see what one is right for you.

[nightbringer]

Another one for the D3100. I actually picked that over the Canon 500D as my first DSLR for its weight, since it was mainly because I was going on a trip soon. It is a very newbie friendly camera, with a guide mode that will help you out by telling you how the various camera functions work. You should consider more about the system you're buying into - whether it's Nikon or Sony or whatever brand you are looking at. I'm not too familiar with Sony's selection of lenses and flashes, but I know the Nikon ones are great quality. The question you have to ask yourself is how far you think you're going to go with photography. If you're not sure and you're just dipping your toes in, then go ahead and get something like the D3100, even though it does lack several features you'll really feel later on down the track.

So let me list out the D3100 benefits as I see it
- Guide mode - great for the beginner
- Weight - extremely light
- Video capabilities - can do 1080p

Disadvantages
- No focus motor - some older lenses which need a screw drive will be manual focus only (or unusable in the case of old lenses like the Ai ones)
- No infra-red sensor for the remote - the remote release on the D3100 is cable only, unless you can get a 3rd party radio trigger
- No battery grip - even the D3000 had a battery grip, but unfortunately there is no official battery grip for the D3100, you need to get a 3rd party one for that (it makes holding the camera for portrait orientation a LOT easier)
- No commander mode for the CLS system (if you ever wanted to experiment with remotely triggering flashes), you need to get a flash like the SB-700 or the SB-900 to do that

That said, it's still a great little camera. I've actually done paid work with it to great results. If the video features were a big factor in your decision you might want to consider the D5100 instead, it's more designed for video than the D3100. The mic is very close to the camera, so it easily picks up the sound of your lens focusing.

Some of my frustrations stem from the fact that I think I've hit some of the limits of the camera and want to upgrade to a new body but have no money to. And if you plan to get into photography seriously, I would suggest something like a D90, with more features and allowing you to grow more before having to upgrade to a new body.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, you can probably also rustle up an 18-105mm lens with your camera by asking the right questions or shopping at the right place. A friend got one with his D7000 along with a 55-300mm and he uses the 18-105mm all the time