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General discussion

Need help with DSLR choice: Canon or Sony?

Jan 3, 2012 10:08PM PST

I am looking to purchase my first DSLR. I am curious about these two as they are both on sale right now:

Canon EOS Rebel T3 12 megapixel
Sony NEX-3 DSLR-like 14 megapixel

These 2 cameras are in my budget and get decent reviews for a budget DSLR.
What are your thoughts? Do you prefer one over another? Or is there
another camera you recommend I look at?
I am looking to take really
good low-light pictures, kids/family shots, and dance/sports shots both
indoor & outdoor. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Double Check
Jan 3, 2012 11:42PM PST

It looks like the Sony NEX-3 is out of production,
BHphotovideo shows it to be "no longer available".
But I find lots of NEX-3C cameras.
There is a big difference between the 3 and the 3C (also big difference in price).
The 3C is a budget model and the 3 is not a budget model.
Make sure you are getting the 3 and not the 3C.
And make sure you are getting the 18-55mm lens and not the 16mm lens.

Since you are thinking about a mirror-less camera instead of a DSLR camera, you may want to take a look at a comparison:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8986630048/mirrorless-roundup-2011

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Sony Nex3
Jan 4, 2012 6:57AM PST
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Good Low Light Photos
Jan 4, 2012 7:50AM PST

IMO, you often need a flash for low light photography, and not the flash that is included with or built into the camera. You need a powerful unit that can bounce the light. The Sony only has one option for a flash because the NEX-3 uses a proprietary accessory port. The Canon uses a standard hot shoe so any of Canon's flashes can be used, as well as any third-party manufacturer's flash. If you do not use a flash, the Canon also has a much better selection of native wide-aperture lenses.

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Flash question
Jan 7, 2012 8:50AM PST

I have a Nikon D3000 with a hot shoe, I want to buy a good flash for it, but don't know crap anymore about what's good or not. I am disabled and on a very limited budget, so can you think of a good flash in my price range? Thanks in advance!

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Sony NEX-3
Jan 4, 2012 9:42AM PST

That ad is indeed for the NEX-3.
The price has really dropped from the original pricing.

I would not select the NEX-3C over the Canon T3.
But the NEX-3 should be acceptable if you are looking for a smaller camera.

While looking at the customer reviews on Amazon, the NEX-3 shows several complaints about short battery life.
Apparently this was corrected by a firmware release and should not be a problem now.

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TRY NIKON
Jan 7, 2012 8:43AM PST

NIKON baby! I have never in over 40 years had an issue with Nikon - Cannon is a close second choice. I found a nikoin d3000 for around $400 and it does everything I can think of for an amateur user much like myself Happy

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re: Need help with DSLR choice: Canon or Sony?
Jan 4, 2012 1:58PM PST

Note that Canon has a broader selection of lenses. e.g. for indoor dance/sports, you'd probably want a fast/bright telephoto (maybe 100mm f2.0 -ish), but Sony currently doesn't have a native e-mount lens that fits that description. Also note that (fast/bright) telephoto lenses tend to be rather large, and this will cancel out much of the NEX's size advantage.

Mark