DSLR help?

Go to M&A forum.

right sorry

It depends what you want to use it for, if video is what you are wanting then a better option would be the canon 550d. As it offers faster frame rates and costs about 50$ less. The sensor size is also 18mp compared to the 14.2 on the Nikon. What you want to invest in more for DSLR is good lenses. A good lens will last you 10 years, a body will last only a few years. Canon offers a deal with the 550d sometimes to where it will come with two starter lenses. I would suggest the Canon 550d over the Nikon d3100 as a good starter camera.

The 550d is a great DSLR for any level of HDDSLR filming and a great basic DSLR for photogs. Check my sig for samples. Basically everything is shot on T2i (550d).

if you are interested in shooting video, the 550D is great. But, for photos, i like the 3100 a little better. Even though it is lower megapixels, It takes as good or better images than the 550D. Also, with the 550D packing that many megapixels on that sensor can lead to more noise at higher ISO. The 3100 is a much better lowlight camera because of this. But, the 3100 lacks an internal focus motor so older lenses wont autofocus with it. I also like the 3100's handling better, but that is a personal preference, so try to hold them both at the store. You can't go wrong with either, and its really a personal preference, so go to store and hold them both and go through the menus and see what you like better.

yeah i was debating between these two cameras for a while and ive decided that im mostly going to be using them for photos so im gonna stick to the D3100.

I have a D3100 and all the photos on my flickr account (Signature) were taken with it. If you have any questions let me know.

If you only want to do photos, get a 5d mk I or a 1ds mk I. The learning curve will be steep but these cameras will open up lots of extra options in photography. Both run around $900 on the used market (see b&h) if your more interested in sports photography, get a 1d mkii. If you don't plan on doing a lot of progression with photo and don't plan on spending a lot of time on it, disregard this advice

Assuming OP's budget isn't that high, that would leave no money for lenses