Thoughts on Nikon D3100??

Iv been asking everyone for either money or a gift car to Ritz camera for Christmas. Iv never had a DSLR but i want to step up from my canon S3IS. I played around with it in the store and it feels really good in my hands. I like the big screen and the fact that it has a CMOS image sensor. I saw it does HD video which really isnt that important to me but a cool feature none the less(i want a Go pro for that). Im looking for any feed back on it.
thanks

 

I like the D3100, I just bought my first DSLR too and ended up going with the Canon EOS Rebel XS after reading all the reviews and support sites but I did like the Nikon. I love my purchase and couldnt be happier.

 

Check out this site, KenRockwell.com He has some very good advice on purchasing and not "overpurchasing". Great advice.

 

he seems to like the camera. Says its a good step up from the D40 which i like that camera as well.

 

have you looked into canon T2I (550D)

 

If you really want to get into photography I would also look at the lens lineups. Lenses make a big difference. If the lens line up suits your needs and budget, I would say go for it if that camera feels good in your hands. I looked at the lens line ups for both canon and nikon and what suited me was canon. I went with a canon 7D.

 

+1, but I liked Nikon's offering in lenses better, so I bought a D7000.
Back on topic, D3100 is a capable camera, I've heard the HD video is pretty useless (choppy videos), and get the 35mm f/1.8 lens if you get the D3100, it's a great lens, you won't regret buying it.

 

Oh, if you plan on shooting lots of pictures at night, maybe you should look at D7000, D7000 shoots great "stupid high ISO" pictures at night.

 

ya iv read a lot about that lense. i figured later id get that lense and maybe the 55-200mm DX lense

 

he is right, you choose lens line up first then camera that works wiht that lens (cameras get outdated, great lenses dont)