Hi i'm Rob and I need advice.

<p>I am just beginning photography and videography, I am looking at 3 cameras right now.<br>

Sony a58<br />Nikon D3100<br />Canon EOS Rebel T3i<br>

Any ideas as to what one I should buy?</p>

<p>They are all very capable. The most important differences are going to be available lenses/accessories (with the advantage going to Nikon and Canon), feel and user interface, and compatability with what your friends have. It's always nice to be able to borrow or share lenses. </p>

<p>Nope. No Idea. What you might consider is being goal directed rather than camera directed. Make a list of the things you like to photograph (kids, dogs, sunsets, landscape, slow things, fast things, e.g.). Then compare those things and their camera requirements to available products. For example again, if you need speed for fast moving objects, some cameras are better than others. If you feel you need a wide variety of lenses, look at that. If you plan only to produce pictures for the web and snapshots for friends, then you may not need a sensor capable of a 40"x60" print. Have fun. </p>

 

<p>If video is very important to you, the Sony is probably the better choice of the three. If still photography is your main scope, go to a shop, use all three cameras for a bit and see which one fits your hands and your idea of ergonomics best - and that would then be the one to buy.</p>

<p>There is good advice here to which I will add:<br>

Check out the prices for the various lenses, batteries, accessories, etc., for each system and decide which one you want to invest in. Chances are, you will be 'married' into that company's system for a long time.</p>

<p>Wow thank you all for the great advice. As a newbe in the photo / video world I was really torn and I think you helped me decide. Video is important to me as are photos for websites. I am a web developer by trade, and I work for an ad agency. We always outsource photo shoots for clients and it gets expensive when we only needed the photos for a web project. So I am looking to start photography as a hobby as well as for work. I will deff be hanging around here as well since I got such great feedback.</p>

<p>Thank you all again.</p>

<p>If you are going to do a lot of Web Development shots, then don't be swayed by the " more megapixels is better ! " ads. Photos get shrunk down so far, when you put them on a web page, it really doesn't matter how many MP you have anymore. </p>

<p>If you are going to do "product shots " then you may want to look into the flash and lighting capabilities of each camera. Product shots are rarely done with a simple on camera pop-up flash. You may also want to get a copy of " Light: Science and Magic " or another book on lighting for photography. The book is not a fast read, but it goes into lots of detail. </p>

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<p>Rob: There are many expert photographers participating in Photo.net, and as much as their opinions are valuable, I suggest you do your own comparisons among the cameras you listed. Here is an excellent website for that very purpose. http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras </p>

<p>What an awesome website thanks for the link!</p>

<p>I would also ask, why have you narrowed it down to those three? Micro 4/3 (i.e. Olympus and Panasonic), Fuji X-Series, NEX, and Pentax are all very good. The key is ergonomics and what makes sense to you. Try them out at a camera shop.</p>

<p>Zach has an excellent point, Rob.</p>

<p>That is a very good point, they are just the 3 main brands I came across while google searching what dslr camera to buy and what a few co-workers suggested. Also they are all in my price range. I needed to narrow down the playing field so I could give my family some options as this will be a birthday gift. I don't plan to buy until August (my birthday) so I will definitely check some of these other makes and models out as well.<br /><br />I am pretty sure any of these will suit me ok, the differences seem to be subtle as long as I can shoot video and take photos for my web projects I will be pretty happy until I get more involved.</p>

<p>Yeah, if you want video, I would cross off the Fuji X-System cameras. Yes, they can shoot it, but it's far behind everyone else.</p>

<p>I would say, for video, Sony, Canon, Panasonic and Nikon are all pretty competent. Implementation and capability will vary model to model.</p>

<p>hey there, buddy you should google about all of these camera and learn about them and match your need. Every camera has their own advantages so look for the camera that matches your photography desire.</p>