Sony a55 vs Nikon d3100?
I don't know anything about cameras. I'm looking for something under 1000$. Plain and simple. Which one is better?
Added (1). Ok I shouldn't have said I don't know anything about cameras. I have some knowledge of dslr cameras and am not interested in buying a point and shoot.
If you don't know anything about cameras a DSLR will be a complete waste of money. Buy one of the nice new advanced point and shoots like the Canon s95.
The a55 is not a dSLR but it does have an interchangeable lens system. It's more of a hybrid than anything else, far from a point-and-shoot if that's what you're worried about.
Both Sony a55 and the Nikon d3100 are DSLRs and for people with some knowledge about photography. I'm not saying that you can't operate the camera… You can definitely!
If you are willing to spend $1000 and wanting some interest to learn photography you should think of the Sony a55 as this camera is of the newest technology with a translucent mirror tech APS-C type CMOS sensor, 16.2MP (mega pixel), 10fps (frames per second) shooting mode, panorama (you will love this), Full HD video recording (never need a video camera) and a host of other features. You can always start to learn from scratch.
Nikon d3100 - small sensor (bigger the better), 14.2 MP (bigger the better), 3fps shooting mode (bigger the better) and other specific Nikon features.
But if you do not want a DSLR then you can buy a simple point-and-shoot camera which would fulfill your requirements. Sony is the leader in P&S cameras. Some of them you may try are Sony DSC-W570 or the latest DSC-HX100v 30x zoom 16.2 MP (to be launched in May 2011).
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@Jens --- in reply to ---
Just wanted to say that what I mentioned above is after reading the accurate specs from the respective websites of the 2 companies.
The Sony a55 sensor size is 23.5 x 15.6mm (APS-C SENSOR) (Bigger Sensor)
The Nikon d3100 sensor size is 23.1 x 15.4 mm (DX FORMAT also known as APS-C Sensor. Nikon uses its own term as "DX Format") (Smaller Sensor)
The more MP (in bigger sensor) the higher the crop factor you get in photos.
The a55 has a more comprehensive feature set, as it's supposed to be the upper level SLT in Sony's lineup, while the D3100 is the lower entry level camera.
These are two entirely different cameras, especially since the a55 does not have an optical but an electronic viewfinder. Therefore i'd advise that you try them both out at a store. I'd choose the D3100 myself as i care much about an optical viewfinder, high ISO performance and not at all about video (which the D3100 too is good at) or FPS.
@saket358:
The D3100 has the bigger sensor out of the two (DX vs APS-C), and more MP are not necessarily better either - they reduce the high ISO performance, and exactly there's a weak spot of the a55 anyway, as it loses about a stop of light due to the SLT design.
Edit: I stand corrected on the sensor size - apparently Sony uses yet another measure for what it calls APS-C then. I had Canon's APS-C of 22, 5 mm × 15, 0 mm in mind and assumed it to be the same.
The crop factor has nothing to do with the MP though (unlike the ability to crop), and a bigger sensor will result in a smaller crop factor. That's why e.g. The small Canon sensors have a crop factor of 1.6, while the bigger Nikon and Sony ones of approximately 1.5.