Buying my first DSLR camera

[sanfong]

Hi, I have decided to get a DSLR camera recently and have been doing research. I was hoping if I can get some tips and advice on my selected models. I have a budget of about $1000 for a DSLR camera kit. I have narrowed down to the Nikon D5100 kit selling for about 945 at electronics stores. I have also considered the Canon EOS 600d or 650d but I heard that the sensor of the Nikon is better as it is similar to the D7000.

I want my camera to be able to shoot in very low light and the options of the camera must be fully customisable such as things like ISO, shutter speed etc.. Image quality is of course of up most importance.

I hope to hear the comments of owners of the Nikon D5100 or the Canon 600d or 650d. Other DSLR owners are most welcomed.

Thank you

Nikon tends to give vibrant color, Canon tends to give accurate skin tone, if you intend to shoot RAW then it doesn't matter at all. I always impressed how well Nikon cameras handled noise at high ISO. I would recommend you to pay attention on performance at ISO 6400, rarely photos shot at ISO 128000 are usable. If you shooting in low light regularly, then you might want to look for fast lenses than the kit lenses. Try look into 2nd hand forums, you could maximised your budget better.