Should i save up for a macbook air laptop or a nikon d3100 camera?
So i want something that i can save up for. I'm 13 and i want one of these things, they are both pretty expensive and i'm really into dancing and theatre so i was thinking the camera would be good for pictures to bring to auditions but that laptop would be good for school. What would be better to get?
As a heavy computer user, I have to upgrade my computer every two to three years.
Why?
Digital image files are getting larger and large, so processing takes longer and longer unless you are using the latest high speed CPU (Intel i7 at this time), have at least 8 gb of RAM and a huge hard drive operating in tandem with an SSD drive.
If you buy a dSLR, you will be able to use it for many years before you have to upgrade it at all.
Most pros only upgrade their dSLR's every four or five years, maybe longer.
As a new photographer, just learning how to use a fully adjustable camera, it may take two or more years before you are getting brilliant images each time you press the shutter release.
If you have any computer at all right now, I would go for the camera and spend your time learning how to use it. Since the Nikon D3100 is selling for under $450, you could afford a $400 PC and still not spend as much as you would buying the MacBook Air Notebook $1, 000 for a tiny 11 inch screen.
As a photographer, you need at least a 15 inch screen on any notebook you use and a 15 inch MacBook Pro will cost you $1, 800.
Just do more research and decide what you want and start saving your pennies
Yes I agree with fotoace. I'm 15 and I have a computer with 2 gb ram and intel Pentium. I had to spend much money to by a graphic card to play games but still i need a good ram and a good chipset to make my pc awesome. Indeed It will take a lot of money.
Buying a camera is better than buying a MacBook. Check fotoace for reasons. You wanna a laptop for school you mean for powerpoint etc. You don't need to go for a macbook you can buy some inexpensive laptop. If you want for gaming and stuff then you need agood laptop by hp or dell.
As fotoace said that will make you upgrade you laptop every two years because you will feel it's old and not fast enough ( by using some latest program or game). On the other hand a dslr camera can be used for a long time taking pictures will make you have the same experience as before.
I'd save up for the D3100 as well. A D3100 will last you ten years or longer if taken care of. I have the D3100 its a fantastic little camera. I take it with me almost everywhere I go.
I also have two old Nikon D70's. They are almost ten years old and still work perfectly. They still take amazing photo's, though not as good as the D3100. But the point is that you'll get your moneys worth out of a DSLR over a new computer.
Computers need to be updated every three or four years realistically. They need to be upgraded even sooner if your the type that does allot of demanding tasks.
The D3100's RAW and JPEG files aren't that big, so if you have a recent model computer with at least a duel core CPU and 4gb of ram at home you should be fine.
All of Nikon's more recent 24mp DX DSLR's have much larger and more detailed files so it's almost a must to have something decent to process the files from those cameras.