Best place to buy Canon DSLR

[rnorwo1]

I am hoping to take advantage of post-Christmas sales and upgrade my camera to a DSLR. I think I want either a Canon T3, T2i or T3i, and I have a couple of questions:

I am not that experienced (but I am sure I can learn how to use a "fancier" camera), but would the T3 (which is significantly cheaper) do just as well for me? I'll mostly be shooting kids and their activities. My gripe with my canon sx10is is that I often get blurred images in low light, especially with moving kids.

Any recommendations on where I may get the best deal? I've compared walmart, amazon, target, and best buy and target is slightly cheaper than Amazon if I use the red card. I see many camera sites online but am not familiar with any of them, definitely want to use a reputable site.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas!

 

[photo_chick]

Learn some about photography and your images will improve no matter what camera you use. Buying a DSLR isn't a guarantee for non-blurry images. But a DSLR with fast lenses can make shooting low light easier.

I like to shop at B&H, Adorama and Newegg. Amazon isn't my favorite place to order from for electronics like this because I like the customer service at the other places better. I avoid Walmart, Target and Best Buy unless I can inspect the items first. All three places are notorious for repacking returns (regardless of why the item was returned) and selling them as new.

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks for the response, unfortunately none of those stores around here. I will try Ritz camera though, hopefully I can get some more info there.

Any thoughts about the T3 vs the T2i or T3i?

 

[ukcatfan]

Learn some about photography and your images will improve no matter what camera you use. Buying a DSLR isn't a guarantee for non-blurry images. But a DSLR with fast lenses can make shooting low light easier.

I like to shop at B&H, Adorama and Newegg. Amazon isn't my favorite place to order from for electronics like this because I like the customer service at the other places better. I avoid Walmart, Target and Best Buy unless I can inspect the items first. All three places are notorious for repacking returns (regardless of why the item was returned) and selling them as new.

Thanks for the response, unfortunately none of those stores around here. I will try Ritz camera though, hopefully I can get some more info there.

Any thoughts about the T3 vs the T2i or T3i?

Those are websites, not necessarily physical stores. B&H and Adorama do have physical stores, but most shop them through the web and they are known as the best of the best in online camera stores.

Since the bargain seems to be important to you, maybe you should consider Pentax and Sony. They typically give more bang for the buck compared to Canon and Nikon.

 

[boBQuincy]

B&H, Amazon, Adorama. Most of the sales people at the Big Box stores know nothing about cameras and will try to sell you something you do not need or want.

 

[bob100]

B&H, Amazon, Adorama. Most of the sales people at the Big Box stores know nothing about cameras and will try to sell you something you do not need or want.

I'll second the B&H, Adorama, & Amazon recommendation. The Canon refurbished store is also good - Canon T2i (550D) with 18-55IS lens - $630

http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2010/05/camera-test-canon-eos-rebel-t2i

 

[rnorwo1]

Oops, well thanks for the website suggestions then, I'm off to go check those right now! Especially since I just found out that the only camera store in town has gone out of business. Guess I'm out of luck with finding a good sales person. Appreciate all the advice, I'm trying to compile it all now to make a decision.

 

[jillgunter]

I bought my dslr from B and H, I got free shipping and had my camera in two days. They shipped the day I ordered. The only thing is they close for all Jewish holidays, so sometimes you may have a little wait if it's a holiday.

 

[larryz]

The major differences I could find...

T3 is 12+ megapixels. If you don't expect to enlarge to huge print sizes, that should be more than adequate for household photos.

T2i and T3i are 18 mp's, and are essentially the same except the T3i has an articulating display on the back, which is great for video shoots or off-angle shooting (overheads, around corners, etc.)

Of course, that's what a point-'n-shoot is for...

When I looked at the three, I wanted the T3i, but didn't think the display was worth the extra several hundred dollars.

But then, I didn't pay cash for my T2i -- I got it as a premium by trading in a bucket load of hhonors points. That helped a lot in justifying the capability trade-off between the T2i and the T3i.