Which DSLR camera should an entry level guy with a narrow budget go for?
I'm planning to purchase a DSLR for entry level photography as a hobby. I was considering the following by Nikon D3100, D3200 or D5100, the Canon Rebel T2i or T3i and my budget for a lens is $350. I would like the ability to zoom and crop out portions of the photo and the wireless function on the d3200 wouldn't be used by me. I plan to use the camera for taking candid shots, portrait shots and animal shots as well as landscape like shots when I go on my east coast to west coast train trip heading to San Diego. So far I don't think I will be doing any long distance telephoto shooting or macro photography. An example of my usage would be me walking through main street taking photos of just about anything a typical day would present, dog walkers, passing cars, people and businesses, surfers, bike riders all while playing with composition and learning to use the different more manual settings. Since I'm just getting into this I'm sure I would snapshot anything that peaks my interest. I don't mind getting close up and I have heard that prime lenses produce better detail than zoom ones at the same distance. Which DSLR would you recommend as well as lenses and why?
Added (1). As per fhotoace's suggestion I checked out the website and actually found a few lenses in my budget that I liked:
18-105 f3.5 vr for $399
24mm f2.8 for $395
28mm f2.8 for $289
35mm f1.8 for $199
and one not on that list a 50mm f1.8 G for $215 ballpark the local shop suggested.
As long as the lens isn't over $350-$400 which of those would you suggest for walk around usage like I mentioned before. As to the dslr, $350 is my budget on the lens not the camera thankfully I'm a little more flexible.
Added (2). Andrew would you mind telling me what camera you use? Also do you have any suggestions for other cameras, anything is a step up from my phone but I would love to find out if I really can get into photography. The local dealer is Nikon and Olympus oriented so I don't have many options in terms of picking up and getting a good "feel" for anything besides those two companies, his Olympus cameras are what he calls "Pen" cameras.
Prime lenses are good, but not good enough to justify the extortionate prices they change hands for these days.
The best way to start out is with body and 18-55mm lens. Tell your local dealer what you want do do and how much you want to pay and he'll let you handle a couple of candidates. There are other manufacturers besides Canon and Nikon.
Cropping is generally done in the computer afterwards - like my avatar, shot on a Casio, tinted B/W, cropped to remove the background (the camera was mounted on a tripod with delayed action, and was a little off-centre) and reduced to uploadable size in less than a minute.
At present, the most bang for the buck is the Nikon D3200. Its sensor out performs even the Canon 7D which costs much more.
You will be spending more money on lenses than the camera.
For instance a good wide angle zoom can cost more than the camera.
At $350, you really have no real choice when it comes to buying a dSLR. Maybe a used one, but again your wanting to shoot animals (need a long lens), landscapes (need a wide angle lens) and shooting candid shots of people (a 50 mm f/1.8 lens) you are already way outside your budget.
While recommend the $700 Nikon D3200 with 18-55 mm lens, you really need more lenses to do what you want.
Here is a link to the available lenses for the D3200 (all the AF-S lenses listed). Http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Camera-Lenses/All-Lenses/index.page
And this link shows you what each focal length "sees".
Don't just limit yourself to a local dealer, you can get anything online. Look at all brands, not just canon/nikon as the best price-performance ratio can often be elsewhere. I'm amazed at how often when looking at photos, I think… "that's great, great tones, great image", then when I check it out it was taken on a Pentax. I don't know much about them, but based on performance, if I were buying right now, I'd check out their range.
Pen cameras are Micro 4/3 mirrorless, so not a true DSLR but offer much the same performance in a smaller form. I wouldn't discount these either.
Read plenty of reviews before laying out cash. These are some great sites when looking at cameras:
http://www.dpreview.com/...eview.com/
http://snapsort.com/...psort.com/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/