Hello from Ohio (new to this whole thing)

Hi,
My name is Jeff and I am a college student. I have always had a kind of liking to taking pictures, I just never had a good excuse to take any. I have had some OK for the time point and shoots, but my last digital camera is from like 2005, and my phone (droid Bionic) takes much better pictures than that old point and shoot Sony Cybershot :X. I have my mind set on a DSLR camera because I feel like it will get me out of the house more with my girlfriend and it will give us something to do when we are bored lol. My mindset is that if I am financially invested in this camera, it will get me to use it a lot, right? I have always envied people who take cool pictures of the sunset and the city and I have always wanted to pick it up as a hobby. I just joined this forum because I have always found forums to be the best learning tools for anything, especially electronics. I am active and a whole lot of forums regarding android stuff, so if anyone ever has any Android questions, I consider myself more familiar with Android than the average user, so feel free to ask because I am sure I will be asking a lot of questions on this forum

Now for the obvious "Which camera should I choose!" question.

I have been heavily researching a budget, user-friendly, entry/upper-level entry DSLR for a few days now and I have pretty much made up my mind between the Canon T2I and maybe (but as much) the Nikon 5100. The Nikon is a little more expensive and doesn't seem to do everything like the t2i does, but some sites say the canon is better, and some say the Nikon, so it's super hard to decide.

I like the fact that the Canon has the Magiclantern firmware (I like to hack anything I buy) and that the firmware adds cool things like HDR which I find to be really fun to take, but that isn't the main thing in deciding the camera, obviously. The Canon shoots 1080p video which is good, but I think 720 would suffice. I am sure my girlfriend's mom would love me to take video of their 8 year old's football games and to take some really cool pictures of him mid air catching a football, but I would also like a camera that takes a great picture. Like crystal clear and sharp, at least up to an 8x10 photo because I'm not sure if I would ever print anything larger. Every summer we go on some kind of vacation or trip to somewhere so I think a camera that takes a nice picture of a beach, or lighthouse in the distance would be a major plus.

The Nikon looks to take nice pictures as well. I haven't done as much research, maybe 1/10 of that of the Canon, but it looks to be a nice camera as well. Any help would be appreciated.

Oh and one more thing. As I am just starting off, I don't want a cheap camera. I figure if I am going to drop 500+ dollars, I may as well get something good now because I probably won't upgrade for a really long time.

One last thing. I have seen that the T2I comes with either the 18-55 or 18-135 lenses, both are autofocusing lenses, and I don't know what the other lingo means (yet) but I am sure you guys could help me with that. I want a lens that will take a good focused picture maybe at least a few hundred feet away for like sunsets and stuff, but i don't want to have like a huge bulky lens. I have looked at videos of the 18-55 and the 18-135 and they both look great, I just wonder what one would be better for everyday shooting. I feel like theoretically, the 18-135 would be better for shorter and medium range shots, but it may suffer indoors, whereas the 18-55 lens may be great indoors and out, but will I get enough distance out of it? I am so new to all of this and just trying to gain my footing. I don't have a lot of money to dump into this for extra lenses and whatnot. I am just looking for imput and will likely strike on the next DSLR camera deal that comes around whether it be the canon or the Nikon.

Sorry for the super long thread, I hope somebody will take the time to answer these questions. Thanks a lot! I appreciate it

-Jeff

Hi Jeff

I started typing out some things but realized it could get very lengthy given what you've said is very broad.

It sounds like you've done some good research on bodies, I can't really offer you much advice given I don't know Nikon or anything well other than the 7D.

It's really important to know 'what the numbers mean' when it comes to selecting a lens, you can't choose a lens suitable for your needs otherwise. There is plenty of reading on line which demystifies it all.

If you went with a Canon body & your lens budget is tight you can't go wrong at all buying a Canon 50mm 1.8 as your first lens. It's very cheap yet get's the job done, good in low light & a good lens to have attached when you learn how to use your camera body.

Basically I am looking for the t2i but just want to know if the 18-55 kit lens is going to be able to take good pictures of scenery for starting out or should I go straight for the kit with the 18-135mm? Ill probably use it mostly for shots of scenery maybe up to a few hundred feet at say Niagara falls being the farthest I would shoot that isn't a landscape. Also maybe some sports pictures. Would a 18-55few kit lenses be good for sports shots from the sideline of a kids football game or would it be better to get the 50-250mm lens as well right off the bat. I read a lot of people like having both the 18-55mm and 50-250mm. I guess my question is would the 18-135 cover enough that I wouldn't need anther lens or should I just get the 18-55 and 55-250 further down the road. I just don't want to make any mistakes

Welcome to POTN, Jeff.

The T2i is a very nice camera, and the 18-55 IS lens is an excellent match for it. The 18-55 IS lens is amazingly good optically for the price - the 18-135 isn't as sharp but it's more convenient.

The combination of the 18-55 IS and the 55-250 IS is very popular for a good reason - they cover a good range of focal lengths and they're both optically quite good. I have an 18-55 IS, although I don't use it much - my 17-55 f/2.8 IS is on the camera most of the time. The 18-55 sells for about $170, while the 17-55 is $1100 so you can see why the 18-55 is popular.

-js