Help! Nikon D3100 or D5000

Hello all,
I’m in a bit of a dilemma and would appreciate some input from you guys.
I am going to get back into photography (after a brief spell a few years ago) and I can’t make my mind up over which camera to buy; the Nikon D3100 or D5000. My main pointer is the auto bracketing that the D5000 has to offer over the D3100. I intend to play about with some HDR but is the extra cost for auto bracketing really worth it?

Cheers

Nikon and Canon are mainly a mystery to me, so I'm not sure I can really advise you.
Most cameras have a bracket facility, even my Olymous e510. Is extra cost for HDR worth it?

Considereing that most HDR shots will be taken on a tripod and you can shoot a number of exactly the same shots at varying exposures, I would say no. What is more important is, does the camera feel right to you? Does it come easily to the eye? Are all the controls easy for you to change intuitively?

If the answer is yes, buy it.

Dave

I can't help you where Nikon are concerned as I shoot Canon, but I have on odd occasion shot bracketed exposures in multi frame drive mode, which on the Nikon D5100 is 4 fps. If you can hold it steady enough you may get your 3 frames for HDR without the use of a tripod.

I would pay the extra for the auto bracketing otherwise you will have to alter the cameras settings and that means you could move it and the pictures then will not line up.............
there are programs around which do hdr from single shots, CS5 does it from a single picture
matrix pro 3 does it but only from a raw file

I would pay the extra too - as you said it's something you want to dabble in

Thanks everyone for your feedback – it’s much appreciated.
Auto bracketing it is!
But before I head off and invest in a D5000, has anybody had any experience with a Sony SLR? They seem to have a shed load more to offer for less money. Or do you get what you pay for?

Cheers

Sony make a lot of the sensors that go into other cameras like some Nikons - some say you get Nikon quality at Sony prices.

Be sure to check their cameras out, and if poss some photos on pbase.com taken with similar lenses.

There is no doubt about it you pay through the nose for photographic equipment although staying in the more amateur range of cameras and lenses can offer reasonable value. I'd doubt that there is particularly noticeable difference in performance between similarly priced cameras although you may notice differences in features if you have a particular useage in mind as you have highlighted. You need the bracketing feature, someone hoping to do sports photography may realise a Nikon or a Canon model has more advanced autofocus than a similarly priced competitor. There is also no doubt about it, some people may want a Nikon because they associate the brand with professional photographers and pay extra for the prestige. Further up the range though more specialised features become available, for example the Nikon D700 blew away anything Canon could offer at the time, as did the Nikon D3s, but you see more Canons at sports events. In short, at the price point you are looking, I'm sure the Sony will do a very similar job if the ergonomics and user interface suit you.

What you may have to consider is how far is your photography going? With Nikon and Canon you are buying into a system that is far more widely available and supported than Sony, Pentax, Olympus etc. Kit is available everywhere, the secondhand lens ranges are huge, third party manufacturers provide accessories for everything. If this isn't a major factor, you may save money buying into a cheaper and less popular system.

BTW, someone I know sold off their top Nikon kit to go Sony purely to take advantage of the slightly better sensor and processing for landscape work, but you are talking A900. ...and a friend has a D5000 and is over the moon with it. Yer pays yer money...

Hi guys,
I’ve taken on-board your comments and they definitely cemented my initial thoughts about buying a D5000. Needless to say, I’ve just bought a Nikon D5000 from off eBay and I’ll let you know how I get on with it in very soon.
Thanks again for your comments.

Paul

I am jealous of your flipping rotating monitor ................