Everything You Need to Know to Buy Your First DSLR

Posted 08/22/2011 at 2:03pm | by Loyd Case

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Nikon D3100

BIG ON FEATURES, LOW ON COST

The D3100 is a welcome update to earlier entry-level DSLRs from Nikon, which offered aging sensor technology and limited feature sets. The D3100 sports a 14.1MP CMOS APS-C sensor with very good low-light capabilities for a camera in its class.

At a shade over a pound for the body, it’s also the lightest of the DSLRs in our roundup. The light weight and compact size make it easy to throw in a backpack or large purse. The 18–55mm kit lens adds another 12 ounces. The kit lens offers limited speed and isn’t the sharpest lens we’ve tested, but at appropriate f/stop and lighting conditions, it gets the job done.

Minimalist controls and a nonarticulating LCD clearly mark this as an entry-level DSLR.

Due to its relatively light weight and small size, the D3100 feels a little unbalanced in the hand. Anyone graduating from a point-and-shoot camera might want to avoid trying to grab the left side, as there’s little to grab. Attaching any lens larger than the kit lens tends to tilt the balance toward the lens.

The user interface is classic Nikon. It’s easy to rotate the command dial while simultaneously depressing the shutter button. The menu structure is a little daunting, however, with many lists scrolling down below the screen bottom, although there is a scroll bar that informs you where you are in the menu.

The pop‑up flash is useful for fill and occasional use. The camera can’t be used to command Nikon’s remote CLS flash units without having an external CLS-capable flash attached.

Continuous shooting is limited to 3fps, and the buffer fills at 12 shots in raw mode. It takes about seven seconds for the buffer to empty. Noise levels are pretty minimal up through ISO 1600. At ISO 3200 and 6400, luminance noise is visible, and when you push to H mode (ISO 12800), luminance noise kills a lot of detail. However, chroma (color) noise is noticeably absent. Auto white-balance was sometimes fooled by fluorescent lighting flicker at a range of shutter speeds, giving images a yellowish cast.

The D3100 is a no-frills DSLR with a good user interface, but it feels slightly unbalanced in y our hand.

HD movie modes max out at 1080p/24fps; 1080/30 isn’t supported, nor is 720/60. Other supported video modes include 720/30, 720/24, and 640/24. The D3100 uses contrast focus when capturing video, so don’t expect fast autofocus performance when shooting video. We shot some video at 1080/24 using maximum quality settings and got a bit rate of about 20Mb/s. Quality looked fairly good in daylight.

Overall, the D3100 is a fine entry-level DSLR but is marred a little by awkward body balance. Like earlier entry-level Nikon DSLRs, some older lenses that lack built-in motors won’t work with the camera. The unit feels plasticky in hand, and you should be careful in wet weather, as it’s not well-sealed. Video settings are limited, but this camera is a good foray into the DSLR world.

Canon EOS Rebel T3i

RICH IN FEATURES AND NO SLOUCH IN PERFORMANCE

Canon’s latest Rebel T3i offers a robust feature set, a staggering 18MP APS-C sensor, good control over your photography, and an impressive array of movie modes.

At just a little more than 18 ounces, the T3i feels very good in your hand. The body design is balanced and textured rubber coats both front and back. If you attach a lens larger than the 18–55mm kit lens, the balance does tilt forward, but the body still feels natural while using it.

The back of the Rebel T3i is cluttered with small icons, but the articulating LCD is neat.

Autofocus seems a touch slower than on the Nikon D3100 in dimly lit conditions, but overall focus speed is good in most lighting. Auto white-balance works well, even in flickering fluorescent light, until you start pushing to higher ISOs and shutter speeds, where that familiar yellowish cast will occasionally creep in. Fluorescent lights are often a problem with auto white-balance schemes, but Canon seems to handle it a bit better than most. There’s also a nifty “intelligent auto” that sets most of the exposure but lets you play around a bit with depth of field and also control the flash.

At its maximum shooting speed of 3.7fps in raw image mode, the buffer filled after six shots and took about seven seconds to empty. That’s about average for a unit of this class, but you will want to manage your continuous shooting carefully or risk losing some of the action.

Video settings are very flexible and include both 1080/30 and 720/60 HD modes, plus a plethora of others. At 1080/30, the T3i generates large files with high bit rates—in excess of 40Mb/s—which is a testament to the video capture abilities of the unit.

Where the T3i falls down a bit is in the user interface. Take ISO settings, for example. If you want to push the ISO beyond the maximum 6400, you need to navigate to one of the top menu tabs, select Custom functions, click through to the second custom function, and then enable ISO Expansion. If Nikon menus are too long vertically, Canon menus have too many tabs, some of which contain nested functions. Also, rotating the main dial while simultaneously pressing other buttons can be an interesting exercise in frustration.

Well-balanced for its size, the Rebel is a pleasure in the hand.

Once you’ve figured it all out, however, the T3i is a pleasure to use. Image quality is generally quite good, though the T3i suffers from serious luminance and color noise at its highest ISO setting (12800). Even at both ISO 3200 and 6400, luminance noise is still somewhat distracting (although no worse than the D3100 at ISO 3200), but color noise is minimal at ISO 6400 and below.

The built-in flash can act as a master unit if you own Canon external flash units, offering great flexibility in lighting. On its own, it’s a typical pop-up flash, mostly useful for fill or when you’ve got nothing else.

In the end, the EOS Rebel T3i is a terrific value at about $850 with the 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6 image-stabilized kit lens. And Canon’s rich array of lens choices gives you tremendous options as you explore your own photographic inclinations.