I was about to get the Canon T3, but decided to wait for Nikon D5100 to come out - it was well worth the wait.
Overall, it is the perfect balance of tech-nerd features and amateur ease-of-use. Every day I learn a new trick, technique, and feature. I will note that the paper manual is pretty slim, but the disk is better. Nikon's website is the best.
For example, nowhere in the manual does it explain how to use HDR mode - it was grayed out for me and I could not turn it on - it turned out the camera was smarter than me. Because I was in the wrong mode, and inside a dark house, there was no way HDR would work, so it wasn't going to let me bother trying! One you learn to navigate the menus, it becomes second nature.
Effects - the effects modes were what initially caught my eye - I had seen the Dpreview.com "preview" and was intrigued by the "miniature" and "selective color" effects. They work great, with practice (especially selective color - it took me a few tries to figure it out) but now they are second nature. The results are spectacular. The other effects are cool, too - they function as advertised and are pleasing and easy.
Scenes - I had "scene" modes on other point-and-shoots, and was never pleased. The opposite is true here. Nikon D5100 has a TON of scene modes, and all have been phenomenal. I try to avoid using the flash as much as possible, but certain photos require it - Nikon D5100 scene modes consistently help to create balanced and sharp photos regardless of the circumstances.
Video - all I can say is "wow"... at first I didn't "get" the quality of video...then I watched some raw video on my 50" 1080p tv...so good. The focus works well, it is fast and accurate. I have not used all the shooting modes, but I was impressed by the cinematographic quality of the images when using a large aperture and manual focus. I did not expect to have the urge to make movies, but I find myself playing with it more and more, then editing on iMovie.
Overall, I would recommend this to any amateur photographer looking for a tool that offers amazing flexibility and limitless creative options.
Effects - the effects modes were what initially caught my eye - I had seen the Dpreview.com "preview" and was intrigued by the "miniature" and "selective color" effects. They work great, with practice (especially selective color - it took me a few tries to figure it out) but now they are second nature. The results are spectacular. The other effects are cool, too - they function as advertised and are pleasing and easy.
Scenes - I had "scene" modes on other point-and-shoots, and was never pleased. The opposite is true here. Nikon D5100 has a TON of scene modes, and all have been phenomenal. I try to avoid using the flash as much as possible, but certain photos require it - Nikon D5100 scene modes consistently help to create balanced and sharp photos regardless of the circumstances.
Video - all I can say is "wow"... at first I didn't "get" the quality of video...then I watched some raw video on my 50" 1080p tv...so good. The focus works well, it is fast and accurate. I have not used all the shooting modes, but I was impressed by the cinematographic quality of the images when using a large aperture and manual focus. I did not expect to have the urge to make movies, but I find myself playing with it more and more, then editing on iMovie.
Overall, I would recommend this to any amateur photographer looking for a tool that offers amazing flexibility and limitless creative options.
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