I'm interested in learning about photography. What camera should I start with?

I'm going to school in January for photography. I'm planning on becoming a wedding photographer at the end of the program.
I have been doing a lot of research on cameras and I have narrowed it down to three choices. I'm considering the Canon Rebel T3i, the Nikon D5100 and the D7000.

Any suggestions on which camera would be best to start my career with.

Added (1). MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Digital

•DSLR
•aperture priority mode
•shutter priority mode
•program mode
•manual mode
•minimum 4 megapixels

Start with a point and shoot or bridge camera…

A skilled photographer can sometimes click beautiful images from even a cellphone camera. All 3 cameras mentioned by you are good ones. How skillfully you use them will decide the quality of the pictures you take.

You will be using a DSLR professionally if you are shooting weddings. At least for 'street cred' but also for practicality you will need a better lens than the 'kit' lens supplied with any of those cameras, something like a 17 to 55mmf2.8 (slightly shorter for the Canon). And don't forget a good flashgun, powerful and with bounce facilities. If you get any of those models you will want to update to a near-professional model within a year or so, if only because many of the wedding guests will have camera models at least as advanced as yours, some will have more advanced models.

It's best to start out with a simpler camera. I started out with the Nikon Coolpix, it was perfect and easy to use. Then once your use to it you slowly upgrade. But if you want to jump right into the high tech stuff then i would invest in the Nikon D7000.It's an AMAZING camera, bu ti would advise alot of manual reading and keep it with you! Its easy to get lost haha.

My friend you are on the road to doom

But a cheap DSLR is the Canon 1000D at 10.1MPX Digic III image proccesor
quite a deal i once saw one for about 600$ with 2 lenses
Though A Powershot G12 could do for you

Personally, I would go for D7000, if you have the budget for it, that is. It's an upgrade from Nikon D90. You have mentioned you want to become a wedding photographer. If you want to pursue that dream, you have to read a lot of photography tips as early as now. You can read an article I found to help you get started.

Any of the three cameras you mentioned will fit the requirements of the class. Go to a store and play with the different models to decide what fits you best.

HOWEVER, those cameras are really not appropriate for professional wedding photography. You will need to SLR's like the Canon 5Dmkii ($2, 700 each) or the Nikon D7000 ($1, 300 each,) not to mention about $10, 000 worth of lenses.

Please keep in mind that it costs about $20, 000 to start up a successful wedding photography business. Not only that, but most photographers will continue to lose about $10, 000 to $20, 000 a year for the first several years they are in business.

Starting a wedding photography business is a tremendous financial investment, and many people aren't aware of how much it will cost them until it is too late.