If your number one priority is image quality, especially in low-light situations, and your budget is at $800 or lower, get this camera. It has the same Sony sensor found in the Nikon D7000, and I suspect it's similar to the highly regarded ones in the Sony Alpha 580 and Nex 5N. As the reviewers at dpreview.com stated: "At low ISO settings, the D5100 is on a par with the best of the competition, but at the higher ISO settings, it produces some of the best image quality that we've ever seen from an APS-C camera." Tests from DXOMark and reviews from several other sites confirm this.I had a Canon t2i for about a week, but returned it in favor of this camera, and I'm very pleased with that decision. That's not to say that the Canon t2i and t3i (which share the same sensor and have very similar image output) are necessarily sub par. In many respects, they are superior, but it depends on what's most important to you and what you plan on doing with the camera.
Here's a comparison between the D5100 and t2i/t3i, cameras that are competing for the same customers.
D5100 ADVANTAGES
- IMAGE QUALITY, especially at higher ISO's. The camera has a larger sensor than the t3i and fewer pixels per square centimeter. And when it has noise, it's more of the grainy type (which I prefer) than the blotchy, JPG artifact kind (which what I got from the t2i). Being able to use photos taken at 3200 and even 6400 ISO means faster shutter speeds at lower lights, which is essentially for someone with me who has kids and wants to take be able to take photos indoors without using the flash.
- NICER KIT LENS. The picture quality isn't necessarily better (although the t3i's larger sensor will show more of the imperfections of a lower quality lens than the D5100's and the kit lens is definitely a low quality lens compared to the other offerings in either the Canon or Nikon line), but the build at least feels better. The movement on the zoom and focus rings were much less smooth on the t2i, especially when going from 24 to 18mm. This might not matter for functionality and durability, but it bothered me quite a bit, and that matters since I'm not planning on getting a nicer kit lens for quite some time.
- BETTER BUILD/FITS NICER IN HANDS. This is very subjective, but the t2i's body felt cheap in my hands and was harder to hold. The t3i's body has been altered just a bit to improve the ease of holding it, but the plastic is the same as the t2i. In addition, the spot on my t2i where you're supposed to put your right thumb would give a bit when I pressed on it and make a small sound. I've read accounts of the t2i surviving drops and other mishaps that would have killed off lesser cameras. I also like the feel of the rubber on the Nikon better. Now, maybe how the plastic feels and whether it gives in a spot or two don't really matter as far as durability is concerned, but if you're using the camera regularly, you want to like how it feels in your hands. I should add that many reviewers prefer the feel of the Canon over the Nikon, so on this point, you'll just have to try the cameras out yourself.
- SHUTTER DURABILITY. The D5100's shutter is tested at 100,000 cycles. That doesn't mean that every D5100 will last that long, but at least they provide evidence that it should. Canon doesn't do the same test (or at least post the results) for the t3i. They claim it's because it's not a guarantee of shutter durability, but I've found websites that allow users to enter in when their shutter stops working or if it's continuing to work, and Nikons were usually superior than Canons on these tests, especially among the lower end models.
- CUSTOMIZATION/POST-EDITING. I feel like I was able to customize many more of the settings in the D5100 than the t2i, especially settings that affected how the camera processed the JPEGs (such as the color, sharpness, contrast, etc. of the image). There are also a lot of options for editing photos in the camera after taking them, such as correcting for chromatic aberration and barrel distortion. If you mostly use shareware photography software (like Picasa and Gimp), then having these in camera editing options might be important.
- LONGER BATTERY LIFE. I didn't have both cameras long enough to really say which had better batter life, but on paper, the D5100's battery is supposed to last 50% longer.
CANON T2i/3i ADVANTAGES
- FASTER AUTO FOCUS. The auto focus was slighter faster in the t2i, especially in low light conditions. I find that the D5100 has to have one of it's auto focus points on some sort of contrasting spot in low light conditions. The D5100 does have an AF lamp, but it's so bright that it's not reasonable to use in settings with human subjects in the photo.
- QUICK ACCESS TO SETTINGS. Although the D5100 is very customizable, it can take several clicks to change the most basic settings, such as ISO, WB, etc. How I wish they would use Canon's basic menu for quick access to camera settings. It was a joy to change settings on the Canon. Not so much with the Nikon. If you set your camera to auto-ISO (and the parameters you can set on the auto-ISO are awesome), you can't override the auto-ISO without going deep into one of the menus and turning it off. ARGH!!!! How frustrating!
- BETTER INFO IN VIEWFINDER. It's nearly impossible to tell what the ISO is in the D5100 looking in your optical viewfinder. The best I can get it to do is to show me what the ISO is before I push the shutter release button half way down to auto focus. For some reason, Nikon decided that photographers would rather know how many images can fit into the buffer (this affects how many photos you can take in a row in continuous shooting mode) than what the ISO is set at. This is ridiculous, especially since there's plenty of room in the view finder to always show the ISO and the amount of space left in the buffer. It didn't need to be an either/or choice.
- SLIGHTLY BIGGER VIEWFINDER. The t2i's viewfinder is slightly bigger, but it's not enough of a difference for me to really be able to tell like you can when going from the t3 (small viewfinder) to the t2i/3i or D5100.
- SCREEN. The screen on the t2i has more pixels and is slightly more sharper. Plus, it's the same ratio as the sensor so when you review your photos, the photo fills the entire screen. I'm not sure why other cameras don't also do this. Also, I'm less worried about the t2i's screen getting scuffed up. Part of his is because I own a Canon G10, which has a similar screen as the t2i, and it hardly has any scratches (and none that affect what you see on the screen) even though I never used a cover on it.
- VIDEO CONTROLS. You can change the aperture while the video is recording. The way the D5100 chooses the aperture is based on what it was set at in the last photo you took, which is odd. Also, the D5100's microphone is too close to the lens, so in quiet videos, you hear every movement of the lens. If video isn't that important to you, then this doesn't matter at all.
- BETTER PLACEMENT OF SPIN DIAL or control wheel or whatever you call it. If you're going to only have one spin dial, it should be by the shutter release button where you can turn it with your forefinger (as in the Canons) and not on the back for your thumb (as in the Nikons). The reason for this is that there's much more room for buttons on the back, so with the spin dial by the shutter release button, you can hold down a bunch of different buttons on the back with your thumb while spinning the spin dial with your forefinger. The reverse isn't true when the spin dial is on the back (there's room for only so many buttons on the top plate of the camera). In other words, Canon has put their spin dial in the more optimal location.
- The combination of quicker access to common shooting parameters, more useful info in the viewfinder, and a better placed spin dial mean that you're more easily able to change settings without ever taking your eye away from the viewfinder. That's a very nice feature.
- AUTO FOCUS MOTOR/LENS COMPATIBILITY. Because the t2i has a built in auto focus motor, it can auto focus with lenses that don't have their own motors. The same isn't true of the Nikon D5100. However, many of the most common Nikon lenses have built in auto focus motors (they're the AF-S kind). And their prices aren't that much different from those of Canon. Another thing to consider is whether you plan on buying more lenses during the life of your camera. At most, I think I'll get one of the cheaper 50mm lenses ($200 for the AF-S one, $120 for the non-AF-S, which means manual focus on the D5100), so this didn't concern me too much.
WHAT'S NOT ON THE LIST?
- MEGAPIXELS. Anything above 8 megapixels is plenty big for even 8X10 photos. I'm not planning on doing shoots for magazine spreads, so having 16 or 18 megapixels only matters to me to the extent that it affects image quality. If cramming more pixels means lower image quality, especially in low light situations, then I don't want those extra megapixels.
- FLIP OUT SCREEN. I almost consider this a gimmick. I realize it's useful for video work and there's a convenience factor to it when taking photos of objects down low or from up above, but it seems like it could be more of a liability than a benefit--by having the flip out screen, you've just added an additional joint to your machine that could easily break if pressure were applied the wrong way when the screen is extended out. On the other hand, maybe being able to store your camera with the screen facing in might protect it, but the screen is most vulnerable when you're using the camera, and usually, you'll have the screen facing out when using it. In sum, I'd rather pay $100 less than have the screen.
- LIVE VIEW. It's a wash. The D5100 focuses faster, but takes much longer to actually take the photo after you push the shutter release button all the way down. The t2i, on the other hand, takes forever to focus, but it at least takes the photo more quickly once your push the button. In some ways, that gives the t2i the advantage, but I don't care that much for Live View, except in scenarios where I want to zoom in ten times and auto focus, but in those scenarios, speed of auto focus and shutter lag don't really matter.
THE TOUGH CHOICE
The harder question to answer is whether the Nikon D5100 is preferable to the Canon t2i, which one can get new for $150 to $200 less. You might think I would say yes, but I bought the D5100 refurbished with a 1 year warranty that covers damage from normal use. The price was reduced to the point that it was close to that of the Canon t2i, so it made sense for me to go with the D5100, especially since I give a lot of weight to image quality in low light situations, and I like how the D5100 felt in my hands. It took weeks for me to come to a decision, and I suppose it might take just as long or longer for you.
On the bright side, both cameras are capable machines and surpass the top of the line DSLR's from not too long ago. Both are going to produce quality images. Both are part of a system with a large range of lenses at comparable prices. It's just a matter of taste and weighing trade-offs. One thing I have noticed in comparing Canon and Nikon is that Canon seems to fault on the side of higher megapixels while Nikon has been more concerned with image quality. The difference isn't much, but I do think it's a difference.
Well, best of luck in your decision!
WHY 5 STARS INSTEAD OF 4?
Even though the Nikon D5100 has several features that aggravate me, it produces the best images at this price point. Now, do I wish that it had all of its advantages plus those of the t2i? Of course, but such a camera does not exist at this price point. Thus, for its class, the D5100 is at the top and deserves 5 stars (but compared to the D7000, it would get 4 stars, at most).
MORE REVIEWS
For other comparisons of these two cameras, check out DigitalReview.ca, SnapSport, and DXOMark
Review by Mr. Dynes
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