Quote Originally Posted by KG4NEL View Post
In the dark ages, I used to be kind of a photography geek (started out with a Canon A-1, moved to a Contax RTSII, etc). Loved that until I didn't have access to a darkroom anymore.

I've never had a DSLR - always kept telling myself I'd wait until full-frame sensors came down in price - but my last point & shoot finally bit it and I don't see the point in paying $250+ for one that lets me have any kind of manual control (want to stick with Canon, and their lower lines don't offer any kind of aperture priority modes at all).

I'm looking at getting something like a Rebel T3 kit and slapping a 50mm/f1.4 on it when funds allow...I'm looking at used prices on Craigslist now and laughing, people seem to think their 2 year old used camera is worth a $50 premium over Amazon. Sorry.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what's worked for them? Things to stay away from?

Thanks.
Plain and simple the EOS system works better. Many years ago Nikon decided to add auto focus to their cameras without changing the mounting system. The thinking was a Nikon lens will fit a Nikon body period. In the short term this did them well as any old customers with significant investment in lens could use their old manual focus lens with the newer bodies. The down side was the mount compromised the auto focus performance. Compared to EOS, they focus slower and they don't do as good a job of keeping focus on a moving subject. Canon took the other road and developed a new mount with the introduction of the EOS system which quickly gave them the edge in auto focus performance. Nikon has been playing catchup ever since. My best friend/evil twin brother is a photographer at a major paper in Ohio. After 30 years of using Nikon and sizable investment in lens, the paper switched to EOS about 6 - 7 years ago.

This is not to say that Nikon makes a bad camera. Their optics are first rate as are Canons. The critical thing with either is DON"T BUY CHEAP THIRD PARTY LENS! I've also found dealing with NEF files from Nikon to be a pain in the rear. Both are good cameras. Either way you go you will get a quality product. The best system to have is the which ever one your friends have so you can borrow their lens if you need to. While I've been a Canon guy for close to thirty years but,I always kept a Nikon body around so I could borrow lens from my freinds

Just my two cents

Archie N8OBM