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To address Design7, I should have made myself a little clearer. This isn't my first camera. I currently have a cheap Canon PowerShot that I've had for a few years that I use to "play" around with, but I feel like I'm now ready to get serious about photography.
When I said I had no prior experience or knowledge in photography, I was referring strictly to photography with an SLR camera. When I was testing out some of the SLRs in BestBuy, they felt somewhat overwhelming with all the features and whatnot compared to the simple camera that I'm accustomed to using. It also didn't help that the sales associate I had was practically worthless. He knew about as much as me about the cameras!
Sorry for getting the wrong impression! I would recommend the D3100. It has an excellent sensor, and very good kit lens. Plus, it has a guide built into the camera that helps you to understand the various features of the camera. Honestly, at the budget DSLR level, all of the camera brands have very good offerings. If you are the sort of person that likes to buy from your local mall, Nikon and Canon are sold just about everywhere. However, if you like bargain hunting for older lenses that you can use with your camera online, I would highly recommend Pentax, you can get some excellent older lenses that are fully compatible with modern Pentax DSLR's for 'pennies' on the used market.
Can be had for pennies. Literally, my FE2 was free. Will teach you a lot. You'll probably need it for your photo class. And you can use the lenses on almost what ever camera you pick up next.
*Cough* Olympus E-300 or E500! *Cough* Older used Olympus manual lens are dirt cheap, but are highly sought after by the Nikon and Canon guys for a reason. They're also very fun to play with!
The Zuiko 4:3rd series is still considered top of the line in many circles. You can pick up used models of both Cameras for fairly cheap. Both are a generation out of date, with the E-3 and E-30s (I have the 30) being some decent, yet cheap pro-grade equipment.
The other nice thing about Olympus in general is that the cameras are significantly lighter then Nikon or Canon, but there is not discernible difference in build quality.
The downside of Olympus vs. Nikon or Canon, is that they're a bit more of a pain to deal with in low light conditions.
My previous job had me using various models of Nikon, Canon, and Reds for day to day work, but the Olympus remains my go to for personal shoots.
I like the Panasonic micro 4/3 G3. The electronic viewfinder is good because what you see is what you get, and it allows you to shoot into the sun without damaging your retina. Smaller than an SLR too.
I got my Pentax K-r just last month and I LOVE it! I'm a newbie too and just started shooting some photos for my friends. They've loved them so much they are now paying me for the photo shoots! It's so easy to use. I highly recommend reading the user's manual on any camera and practice, practice, practice, practice!
I like the Panasonic micro 4/3 G3. The electronic viewfinder is good because what you see is what you get, and it allows you to shoot into the sun without damaging your retina. Smaller than an SLR too.
And that too! I saw an amazing deal on a new G2 couple of days ago, for under $300 complete with kit lens.
I like the Panasonic micro 4/3 G3. The electronic viewfinder is good because what you see is what you get, and it allows you to shoot into the sun without damaging your retina. Smaller than an SLR too.
I've heard nothing but good about those and the Olympus version. I'm seriously considering picking up one to use with my current 4/3rds lenses.
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