Reviews on the Nikon D3100 SLR? (read description)?

I want to buy a DSLR. Its either gonna be a nikon D3100 or a canon 550D. Which one is better in terms of like.lasting longer? Which battery will last longer? And also does the camera in general last longer? I bought a point and shoot (kodak) and it only lasted a month before it just decided not to turn on anymore for no reason. I know these SLR's arent kodak. But yeah, jst an example

So which one would last longer? The canon one is about $200AUD more than the nikon. So i guess i'd be willing to pay the extra price if the camera was better

With DSLR cameras it's usually the shutter that breaks. The D3100 has one rated for 100000 movements. In other words, 100000 pictures.

Batteries… 500 shots at the very least per charge.

http://www.dpreview.com/...on_eos550d

These are so close it's mainly going to be your personal preference that makes the difference

Chances are, you'll never wear your Nikon or Canon DSLR out.

I've got a Nikon D50 (made in 2005) and a Nikon D70 (made in 2004) that are still going strong, thousands of pictures later.

Choose the camera for how well it helps you take photos, not JUST for durabilty. You're buying a creative tool, not a sledgehammer.

DSLR cameras are a different ball game to 'point and shoot' cameras. They are all better made, but Nikon is better than Canon, the best is Pentax even their entry level have a stainless steel chassis, the mid range ones have a magnesium alloy shell on top of that making them very rugged and weather resistant.

My grandson is still using my old Pentax DS (2004) with well over 60, 000 shutter activations (spec says 50, 000). Take a serious look at Pentax, they use the latest sensors (important), are really well built, they have All the functions (Nikon sometimes cripple their entry level cameras, no bracketing which seriously limits HDR for example), my advise is to hold them in your hand and see if the controls fall under your fingers and if you have to go into a menu system to change settings which slows you down and does it have the functions you will need in the future.