Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera and DIGIC 4 Imaging with EF-S 18-135mm IS f/3.5-5.6 Standard Zoom Lens

I'm a Nikon owner for many years now trying to switch to Canon. After receiving this camera a few days, I can give now a list of differences between this T3i and Nikon counterpart D5100.

1st T3i has four buttons on the back is defined to be used to control the "AF", "White Balance", "Drive" and "Picture Control", plus a dedicated ISO button on the shoulder, and a focus point selector on the top right corner of the back, which is good, and also the main reason why I try to switch to Canon. For the D5100, you need to go deep into the menu.

2nd T3i can trigger an external flash, the D5100 can not.

3rd T3i has white balance shift with Custom white balance Nikon D5100 Customer Balance is a one-shot setup.

4th T3i picture quality seems to be little better than the D5100. The LCD screen is brighter and looks good.

5th T3i can work with all Canon lenses, D5100 works only with AF-S lenses because of the lack of a body motor.

6th D5100 has Distortion Control, before and after shooting, T3i not.

7th D5100 is adjusting the color balance after the shot T3i not.

8th D5100 has the right function T3i not.

9th D5100 has Perspectives adjustment T3i not.

10th D5100 make smarter decisions when shooting in P, A, S modes while T3i often do you shoot at a fixed combination of "1 / 320, ISO3200, F22" ...

Common problems:

First when you are in bright sunlight, both of which have a tendency to produce yellow images, it is more like a common concern of the CMOS sensor. I've never had problems with CCD cameras, but I have experienced the same problem with all CMOS cameras, including Nikon D7000, Nikon D90, Nikon D300s.

2nd Live Mode focus very slow on both (Nikon is slightly better).


* The 18-135 lens is quite sharp IS lenses, it works as good as Nikon's VR does. But this is only 18-135 and 20-135, compared with the Nikon 18-200 VR.

All in all, both are good entry level cameras. T3i will be a better choice for a more advanced user.

Update on July 13, 2011:

11 D5100 battery lasts much longer, almost 50% longer. T3i battery is small and looks cheap.

12 T3i is WB bracketing is both ways. D5100 is only for the Amber and Blue.

13 D5100 has the HDR function, perhaps sometimes useful.

14th D5100 switch is located in an ideal location. T3i is a bit awkward.