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[TinkerbellJenn99]

Just saw a commercial for a Nikon D3200. Now while it looks awesome....I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with one....

I've also head cannon is a bit more user friendly, but not sure if it's fact or fiction.

I want to get into photography not only for trips, but of nature and people too....point and shoots don't seem to have the zoom I'm looking for or for action shots....but a manual that reads like rocket science wouldn't be good for me either...

please

[LizardCop]

Nikon and Canon are both great brands and are relatively easy to use. I use both brands at work and have a number of friends that use them. I do not have any personal experience with the D3200.

As for zoom capability, that will be based on the lens you attach to the camera, the higher the zoom the more expensive the lens. The good thing (and in some cases the bad thing) is that DSLR's use interchangable lenses. Sometimes you can compromise with an intermediate lens and sometimes you need to carry (and change) multiple lenses. Of course, this will be determined by what you are photographing..

For example, I use Olympus cameras. My "walk around lens" is a 14-150mm (28-300mm 35mm full frame equivalent) and it does pretty much everything I need. I shoot nature, scenery, family, and wildlife. In my case I have 2 camera bodies and on the second body I use a 70-300mm (140-600mm 35mm full frame equivalent) and that is my wildlife/bird/distant scenery lens. Between those two lenses, I can pretty much photograph everything I want well. If I didn't have the second body, I would have to change lenses for what I was shooting.

I also carry a Nikon P-510. It is what they refer to as a prosumer camera, it's better than a point and shoot but not necessarily as complicated or fancy as a DSLR. While my Olympus cameras/lenses costs in the thousands, the P-510 was around $400. It is a high zoom camera (42X) with a range from 24-1000mm (35mm full frame equivalent), 16MP, light and easy to use. My last Disney trip, it was the only camera I carried just to see what it would do. I was very pleased with it and the photos.

There are members on the boards using all the different brands of cameras, including Sony, Nikon, Canon, Olympus and other DSLR's. There is also a new breed of "mirrorless" cameras out now, DSLR quality without the bulk and internal mirror mechanism. I have switched to the Olympus mirrorless cameras from my older DSLR's, and my granddaughter is happy because she got the old cameras and lenses.

Best advise, go to the camera store (Office Deepot/Best Buy/Sam's/Costco/etc) and touch/play with each camera you think you might be interested in. Find out what fits best in your hands and go on-line to check the specifications. There are multiple models because there are different sized people with different wants/needs in a camera body. Take your time and don't be in a hurry.

You can start out with a general system, using the provided lenses. They work well, and as you refine your inteests, you will know what specific lenses you will want/need.

When you find what you want, research prices on line and get your best deal, a little research can save you a lot of money.

And if there are any more questions, especially about specific models, feel free to ask, someone will answer

Here are a couple of sites I use for camera information/evaluations;

Steves Digicams - Digital Camera Reviews, Camera News, and Photography Information

Digital Photography Review

[TinkerbellJenn99]

SO much! That is wonderful information