Camera Suggestions?
 

Ok;

so the wife and I are in the market for a camera. We previously had a Sony digital camera for about 10 years but the wife dropped it and now it won't hold any settings etc.

So, it's time for another one. I'm by no means a professional photographer; but I also don't want some little $100 POS either. I'd like to have one that I could 'grow' into if I wanted to so to speak.

I think My budget is about $400-$600. I was looking at the Nikon D3200 DSLR....though, admittedly, I'm not 100% what "DSLR" is.
I like the design of it; I've held a few like it and they're much easier to hold IMO.

Suggestions?

Canon Rebel TIs are awesome.

I have a 3100 I haven't gotten to use very much. IMHO, you still want a small P&S to carry around for "good but quick" shots. Stuff you want better than a cell phone pic, but don't want to lug the camera bag.

agree there.

for this more $ one, we want it for vacations, kids parties etc; photo opprotunistic type envrionments.

We bought this camera recently and love it. It seems like a really nice high end camera from the middle tier price range. It comes with the standard 18-55 mm lens. But Best Buy has a deal on Canon cameras where you can by another lens such as zoom one at half off. The best part was that the offer for the half off lens last two weeks so you don't have spend the extra money all at once.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Canon+-+...&skuId=1980124

I've been researching that recently also. I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on this deal - http://www.samsclub.com/sams/d3200-b...prod8540017.ip

From all the reviews I've read, the Nikon 3*00 series beat the comparable Canon Rebels across the board. And this deal gives you a extra lens (zoom).

I imagine you can't go wrong either way. We obviously were considering a Nikon as well but when we held it, it just didn't seem quite as comfortable. But that looks like a heck of a deal.

I have a Nikon D5000 and love it. I bought it for my international travels and have had excellent performance in Israel, France, Spain, and Peru.

When purchasing I was deciding between Nikon & Canon. Purchased both and tried them out for a week. I was happier with the Nikon picture quality and color.

Hmmmm.
sounds like I'd be in a good spot to choose to go with the Nikon.

I wasn't very happy with our Sony. Not very intuitive at all. Took lots of prep work just to get a shot. of course, that was 10 years ago so I'm sure things have evolved a bit.

For entry-level, it's tough to beat the Nikon D3200. When you go in the mid-high range, then the gap narrows between Nikon and Canon (more Coke vs Pepsi debate than anything).

The only real downside with the entry-level DSLR cameras is that if you end up using them a lot, you outgrow them pretty quickly.

Pocket camera that gives great images. Very popular with photographers.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DSC-RX100...330742&sr=1-15

You can't go wrong with a Nikon d3200 or Canon rebel t3i (or t4i), but they're bigger, more complex systems that you will want to purchase extra, more expensive lenses for. Very fun if you plan to go that route.

Yeah...I imagine for amateurs like us, there probably isn't much difference.

Does that body have an auto focus motor? I know the D3200 doesn't, so the lenses are more expensive because they have the motor built in.

A DSLR is a Digital Single-lens reflex camera. Meaning that what you see through the viewfinder is basically what you will see on the picture you take. Wikipedia will give you lots more information on this than you probably care to know.

I'm taking the plunge to a DSLR myself and am really excited for it. Just ordered a Nikon D7100 yesterday and can hardly wait for it to get here. I decided on a Nikon after reading reviews on dpreview.com. I highly recommend checking out their reviews. It's hard to find a more complete investigation and evaluation of a given camera anywhere.

Yeah I agree. And I don't see how there could be unless I got really specific and some settings were better on one over the other. Heck ours already has so many functions and settings that I have no idea how to use.

One thing I did read was that it has the setting to make the flowing water of a water fall look blurred like paint brush strokes. I want to try that out sometime.

The setting that does this:

http://stevenahill.com/wp-content/up.../waterfall.jpg