my own opinion lar, if u take d5100, if u plan to buy the 50mm prime lens f1.8d, which is the most beginner would try on, u have to use it as manual focus only.
as d5100 does not have body AF build in have to rely on lens to AF, things different in d7000, u can see the different in the mount

D5100


D7000


you would notice the small 'fella' on the bottom, which drive manual focus lens, open up more possibility to Nikkor lens,
thing is different in canon.

i guess is not wrong to go for a body with build in motor eg D90 and D7000, if u plan to go for a lens such as 50mm prime lens which everyone likes it, better get canon, as any body can power the 50mm AF due to lens build in AF..

this is what the salesman will normally tell you, as if u get nikon d3000-series or d5000-series, they will only recommend you a G lens, which is quite not fair in the 50mm case...or you may take the 50mm D lens and do it MF...D7000 never goes wrong if in nikon side

it depends on your financial status, for me overprice camera the word is a bit hurt feeling for most photographer...
but one thing reminds you, nikon and canon having the most cheap 50mm lens, but they are in the top ten best lens! mind your word...IMO

your point is true, if you take a canon 7D and 550D to compare the picture, no one can actually tell the difference, anyway, think back 5 years, you wont own a DSLR if you dun have a thicker wallet! should thank Sony for releasing a200, releasing a low price DSLR..then you now have canon 1100D and nikon D3100...

both nikon and canon 18-55 kit lens is in the top ten best lens, stick with it nothing goes wrong, if need another lens, just grab a 50mm f1.8, which i use it 80% of the time rather than any lens

sample picture with nikon D80 and 50mm f1.8 with SB-800


the worst camera is the one you bought and you left it unused at home, plan ahead and dun let the promoted bleed your wallet

This post has been edited by lamjunrong: Jul 18 2012, 09:08 AM

is not Lumix no good, in going for small camera, lumix used smaller sensor, which you will notice the big different when low light shooting, when compared to DSLR.
me myself used GF3 before and found its image to be very vivid and achieve beyond my expectation on M43 sensor camera...
if your budget is like ard 2k, get a M43 camera as in some case is better than canon nikon entry DSLR, as M43 camera having lots of filter effect...etc...summore some with full HD recording..

try sony nex-c3 or f3, you get a bigger sensor in the similar camera size as M43

erm what do you mean by "Now I looking for 1 for my GF but she will never listen."?

semi pro is able to compete with canon 1100D nikon D3200 level DSLR, but when comes to canon 600D and nikon D5100 and above, you have to consider for semi pro, as you need a very expensive semi pro for rm4k plus and for 4k you get nikon D7000, which is a all round winner in performance and specs (not mentioning bigger build size...)

but in the end, IMO, M43 body would not last quite long, think of 3-4 years back, olympus release the pen-1 (EP-1), selling ard 3k, now, do you still want to use it? it changes the perspective of ppl about M43, but the body spec is too slow, think twice if you buy M43...generally you get better camera control on DSLR..

if budget allowed, put in rm4k for a nikon d7000 or canon 60D, dun think of speed lite, other lens, etc. the 18-105 lens is just superb and cover most angle normal photographer needs...me using D7000 and just bought a 50mm f1.8 for sharp portraits image...

D7000+50mm f1.8D+SB 800 (f7,ISO400, 1/50sec)

think nothing but the only you need for shooting, not the stuff that you want..thx (spaming too much de...XD)

This post has been edited by lamjunrong: Jul 24 2012, 08:49 AM

IMO, is better if both of you choose the same brand, take it as investment, if you use nikon, ur GF uses canon, then big problem lol, in term of buying additional lens, accessories...but is not a really big problem lar, as i think you will stick to the 18-55 lens for quite some time, but i suggest you wait for canon newer 1100D replacement model, canon cannot lens nikon one step ahead of them...(hate to say this as i a nikon user, nikon been i a downwind under canon)...

hope this posting wont cause problem btwn you and your GF, if she fix her mind to canon, just get it, but you might want to wait for upcoming model then consider buying 1100D, as said canon cant let nikon D3200 take the beginner camera market, dun fool by the megapixes, but on the price, weight, fps (if you shooting sports quite often)
i can even add in sony alpha and tell you they have one of the fastest fps camera currently, straight buy wha is in your mind and take it as an investment...

IMO, if you want to compare, do take D3200 to compare with d7000 then you onli see the difference...but d3200 is a new model, d5100 is a worth buy also, as its class is above d3xxx series, since both around the same price, just go for any model will do, but both dun have build in motor as d7000 and d90 does...dun get brainwash by the 24mp on the d3200, do you really need the 24mp picture, or you need a 5meter by 5meter picture print?

if you have budget around 3k, get a d7000, you wont regret it...