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Soon-to-be dad and camera newb needs new camera

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I am surprised that no one mentioned the oly xz1, f1.8-2.5, 4x zoom on(I think) 28mm wide, super easy oly auto settings to simulate slow/fast shutter, saturation, cool picture effects and more. Decent 10mp ccd sensor with average 720p video. could be purchased cheap now that the xz2 is out...although amazon has it listed ~$350.
 
So I like the D5100, D3100 and the T3i depending on price. If I decide not to go DSLR I like the DMC-LX7 and the Powershot G15. So I can cover my bases here, what are some M43 cameras I should look at?
 
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Refurb D3100 will probably be what you want. For baby shots you need a portrait lens. In fact you may wish to consider refub body only, and used or refurb lenses.
You could maybe keep it all under 500 bucks.

Also a flash, learn how to bounce it off the ceiling.

Actually, come to think of it you have a good camera. Maybe instead what you should get is an umbrella light fixture. If you actually wanna take pics in low light, you will need something that goes high up in ISO (around 12000) and takes good pics at the 3200-6400 range. I think that would be the D3200 actually.
Also a portrait lens with a wide aperture, but 1.4 lenses cost a lot more than 1.8 lenses.
 
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I would go for one of those Nikon DSLRs, based mainly the price of the kit with one or two lenses. For pictures, unless you are pixel peeping - the Canon and Nikon will be very close. But the Nikon has better focus for videos which you might use. The T3 feels quite cheap to me when I handled it - I would pay a bit more for one of the three you mentioned.

IMO, you have to spend much more to get a comparable M4/3 camera.

I have a Nikon V1, which is a smaller mirrorless, but the picture quality in low light isn't as good as any of the DSLRs. IMO, I'd just assume carry around a DSLR as the V1 - either is too big to have in your pocket like a compact, and either fits in a small camera bag with two lenses, and both are a bit of a bother but not a big deal.
 
Definitely leaning towards a refurbed D3100. Seems $379 is about the best price.

Oh, also going to pick up Understand Exposure to help us along. Any other good books to pick up?
 
trmiv said:
Definitely leaning towards a refurbed D3100. Seems $379 is about the best price.

Oh, also going to pick up Understand Exposure to help us along. Any other good books to pick up?
Click to expand...

You dont need to spend money on any books.
Theres plenty of online guides.
 
Ditto what shorty posted. I bought Understanding Exposure. It's a good book, but there wasn't anything in it that you can't find online or through a forum.
 
I do prefer thumbing through books, marking pages, reading in the throne room though so I'll probably pick up Understanding Exposure at least.
 
trmiv said:
So I like the D5100, D3100 and the T3i depending on price. If I decide not to go DSLR I like the DMC-LX7 and the Powershot G15. So I can cover my bases here, what are some M43 cameras I should look at?
Click to expand...

The only M43 cameras you should consider are the 16MP ones; the 12MP ones are using ancient tech and aren't that great in low light. The Panasonic-made 16MP sensors are okay (G5, GX1, etc.), but the Sony-made ones in the E-M5 and GH3 and E-PL5 are better and on par with Canon APS-C DSLRs.
 
Adorama sells official nikon refurbs.
Many on this forum tout that nikon refurbs are better than nikon new, since nikon checks each refurb thoroughly before returning it, whereas new cameras only get randomly sampled.
 
trmiv said:
Thoughts/experience buying refurbished from Adorama?

http://www.adorama.com/INKD5100KR.html
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If you have a Adorama VIP account maybe, because then you have a 1-year Adorama warranty. But Cameta Camera (cameta.com) has a 90 day Nikon warranty and they cover the rest up to a year and are usually similarly priced to Adorama. I would stick to refurbs and not used, as refurbs go through factory inspection before being shipped back to the store.
 
So I ended up going a totally different route, and order a Lumix DMC-G5. It had all the features we wanted, and the size we liked as well. Can't wait to try it out.
 
Just got it today, charging the battery now. Hadn't seen it in person since I couldn't find one locally, but I'm very happy with the size. Much smaller than a DSLR, but not really tiny like the Sony NEX series. I actually really liked the NEX, but my wife shot it down quickly after handling one. The G5 feels really good in the hand.
 
Love this camera so far. Pretty amazed the pictures it can take out of the box just messing around in Aperture Priority mode. Just need to get a few more lenses and a tripod.
 
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