pablomatsumoto

<p>Let me give you a short and straight answer. Both cameras are very similar from a technical perspetive, don't let minor details blind you.<br /><br /> I<strong>f your dauther seems to be serious about learning photography, I would recommend the t3i.</strong> It has a larger body which is more suitable to hold medium to larger lenses, and also is more ergonomical. It can also be attached to a grip. Once you growth from amateur to enthusiast or even beginner professional, things like ergonomics began to matter more than convenience.<br /><br /> In addition, if video is part of the equation (we are talking about doing some sort of serious video, not point and shoot birthday parties), the t3i's articulated LCD would proved to be very usefull. The autofocus the SL1 claims to have is not ready yet for serious work, so is not a real advantage.<br /><br /> On the other hand, <strong>if your daugther plans to study photography just to know a little bit more and sees photography as a hobby, and also like to take her camera everywhere all the time or plan to travel a lot, the SL1's small size and convenience prevails.</strong></p>

<p>Of course this could be biased due to the kind of source, but this Panasonic article gives good information regarding the use of Bluray for archiving.<br /> http://panasonic.net/avc/blu-ray_disc/biz_ideal_media.html</p> <p>After researching a little, Bluray seems a better choice than HDD in terms of reliability. In my personal experience, I have seen 2 Western Digital Passport refused to power on (have to admit that were never store in ideal conditions).</p> <p> </p>