Nikon D5100 Great Simple DSLR

I've only had the Nikon D5100 for a few days, and I love it. I loved it out of the box. Before buying it, I'd been considering the more expensive Nikon D7000 and the Canon EOS 60D. But being the type of guy who is in general very technology/gadget challenged, I knew I'd never use 90% of the available features on either camera, so I couldn't really justify the extra expense.

What I love immediately about the Nikon D5100 is how easy it is to use right out of the box. Pictures are of course phenomenal, and in particular I've enjoyed using the "Night Vision" effect setting to capture some excellent black & white images of my pets in poor lighting without having to irritate them with a flash. Video is terrific and very easy to use. I expect I'll have a ton of fun with this camera.

Cons? It's a bit plasticky feeling, but do I really care? No. I won't be lugging this camera to the top of Mt. Everest, nor shooting action pics in the rain. One issue is that it is virtually impossible to find a compatible fast fixed focal length 85mm+ portrait lens unless you want to spend significantly more than you paid for the camera itself - which I do not.

For this camera's motor to drive the lens in AF, you will need to use AF-S/AF-I lenses only, and there are not a lot of great [fast] affordable portrait lens options in that class, IMHO. But being at most a very casual photo kind of guy, I can live with that shortcoming. The kit lens takes wonderful shots.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased and I expect that anyone wanting a good camera for casual photo/video use will be as well.