Help on choosing my first DSLR?
I wanted to purchase a new DSLR under $1000, I've had my eye on mostly the Cannon T6, T6S as well as the Nikon D3300. I'm still a bit confused on when people say the lense is more important than the megapixels (aside from user skill) because I'm so used to using cell phone cameras and what not. The main things I want to use it for is landscape and night time shooting. I always just assumed if there are more megapixels there would be more detail. I have some existing lenses from my dad for Cannon, but since this is my first time buying i'm not sure for the price if its better to stick with cannon or jump ship if Nikon is the better route for the price.
Lenses have what is known as resolving power, the smallest detail they can resolve clearly and this depends on the type of glass or plastic that is used in the optical elements in the lens. Different materials have different optical qualities. Ultimately, a camera sensor can have a higher resolution than the lens so just having more pixels won't make the image any better because of optical limitations in the lens. So people pay lots of money for higher quality lenses to get the most detail. Check the link if you want some of the physics behind it.
In many cases people put photos online so they don't need 20 megapixel images if the final images are less than 1 megapixel, for example, because resizing images smaller can disguise some of the imperfections in lenses. And many people take excellent photos with an 18-55 kit lens.
The sensor is also important in terms of sensitivity at lower light levels.
Nikon has better sensors which means you can use a higher ISO before noise (graininess) becomes obvious. If you're picky this may be an issue, if not then it may not be so important.
1) It's CANON - anyone who can't spell it has no business owning a DSLR.
2) If you own lenses (and/or a flashgun), it makes sense to buy a body that takes them.
3) There are other manufacturers - while sticking with Canon makes sense in your situation, I'd take Pentax over either.
Look at the Nikon D5*** series if you want to match the Canons with their fully articulating LCDs. Canon is better for video control and emulating settings changes. Nikon is better for low light shooting.
The more megapixels you cram onto a small sensor the worse the signal to noise ratio and the more processing power is needed to remove it. On the 35mm sensors the photo sites are bigger and further apart offering much wider dynamic range between black and white, and the bigger lenses catch more light. This is why they are used by pros.
Megapixels only tell picture size. It's not important if you don't print to bus sizes.
The D3300 is bottom of the barrel model. The T6 and T6S are just a half-rung higher, not significantly better than the D3300. Buy the highest level model you can afford for more shooting satisfaction. Entry-level refers to budget, not skill level.
If your dad has EOS lenses, buying Canon is better.
Pentax!