Updated (April 2011): Compare the Canon EOS 600D vs Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100 vs Canon EOS 600D

Winner
Nikon D5100

205
Canon EOS 600D

166

Runner-up

Reasons to buy the Nikon D5100

Almost no delay when powering up
Startup delay
500 ms startup delay
Movie continuous focus
Movie continuous focus
Makes it easy to get in-focus movies
High resolution screen
Screen resolution
920k dots
Flip-out screen
Screen flips out
Great for movies
 

Reasons to buy the Canon EOS 600D

Screen resolution
 High resolution screen
1,040k dots
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
External mic jack
 External mic jack
Record higher quality audio with a microphone
More detailed differences and similarities →

galleries

Explore our gallery of 49 sample photos taken by the Canon EOS 600D.
Explore our gallery of 50 sample photos taken by the Nikon D5100.

competitors

Nikon D5100 Competitors

Nikon D5300

Nikon D5300

Entry-level DSLR

$397 body only

$500 - $513 with 18-55mm lens

True resolution Much higher true resolution
Movie format Lower frame rate movies
Battery life Slightly shorter battery life
Compare the D5300 vs the D5100
Nikon D3200

Nikon D3200

Entry-level DSLR

$550 body only

$329 with 18-55mm lens

True resolution Much higher true resolution
Size Smaller
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the D3200 vs the D5100
Nikon D3400

Nikon D3400

Entry-level DSLR

$313 body only

$349 with 18-55mm lens

True resolution Much higher true resolution
Movie format Lower frame rate movies
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the D3400 vs the D5100

Canon EOS 600D Competitors

Canon EOS 700D

Canon EOS 700D

Entry-level DSLR

$516 body only

Touch screen Has a touch screen
Continuous shooting Shoots significantly faster
Lowest price More expensive
Compare the EOS 700D vs the EOS 600D
Canon EOS 1200D

Canon EOS 1200D

Entry-level DSLR

$322 body only

$374 with 18-55mm lens

True resolution Significantly higher true resolution
Size Smaller
Screen resolution Much lower resolution screen
Compare the EOS 1200D vs the EOS 600D
Canon EOS 60D

Canon EOS 60D

Pro DSLR

$2,745 body only

$2,360 with 100mm lens

Viewfinder size Significantly larger viewfinder
Continuous shooting Shoots significantly faster
Lowest price Much more expensive
Compare the EOS 60D vs the EOS 600D
More detailed differences and similarities →

discussion

Nikon D5100
D5100
Nikon

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Canon EOS 600D
EOS 600D
Canon

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Showing 25 comments

Avatar for Alessandro Serravalle Alessandro Serravalle (6:51 PM, December 21, 2018)
I have and love this nikon! alessandro

duesudue-wedding
 
foobar (10:53 PM, February 23, 2015)
Again, absolutely correct.

However, as I found out the hard way, do not give that advice to your friends. They will get mad at you, because they already know they need a fancy SLR, even though they do not know what an f/ stop is, or what ISO is.
 
foobar (10:50 PM, February 23, 2015)
Absolutely correct.
 
Avatar for Frank Frank (0:44 PM, February 23, 2015)
Choose something a little more 'entry level' or cheaper if you're a newbie. You don't want to pay big bucks for one single camera yet, experiment around with others' cameras and see which best fits you then look to make a big purchase.
 
Avatar for Frank Frank (0:41 PM, February 23, 2015)
(Tourists passing by Eiffel Tower in a tour bus)


Nikon user Tourist: "My Nikon D5100 can take a better picture of the tower than your Canon 600D."


Canon user Tourist: "No it can't! My Canon 600D can take a shot better than what your D5100 would ever be able to."


Nikon user: "Mine has better boost ISO."


Canon user: "Mine has higher true resolution."


*argument continues*
Both users to innocent bystander: "Sir, whose camera do you think will take a better shot of the tower?"


Innocent bystander: "Neither, because we just passed the Eiffel Tower."
 
KIRA (8:33 PM, February 02, 2015)
Hello,
I have bouth of these camera and I found
Nikon D5100 much better quality but with good objectif you can use it as pro camera,
The Canon D700 is much better with Higth level Objectif bcz it's compatible with all the canon objctfs
anyway the body camera is not that much of importance ;) The objectif if important so Canon Win .
 
James (8:55 AM, January 25, 2015)
For the confusion about auto-focus motor in canon body, some canon models do have the motor in body itself. But not 600D.
 
Guest (5:01 PM, May 23, 2014)
I'm a color blind photographer. :|
 
Erick (7:46 PM, December 17, 2013)
Nikon CMOS sensors produces better color accuracy than Canon.. it means Canon produces images w/ more saturated colors than Nikon and it looks better sometimes.. but if your are a big fan of natural color ( or should I say color that has nearly close to what our bare eyes is seeing) then go for Nikon..
 
Avatar for Kuldeep Sharma Kuldeep Sharma (11:25 AM, October 22, 2013)
Hey Harun, I am trying to get the Copyright info on the pictures. I have a Canon 600D. Though I have entered the info in the Camera Menu, but its not coming on pic, when I view the pics on my laptop...can you pls help...
can you write to me on advocatekuldeep@gmail.com
 
pat (5:25 PM, October 20, 2013)
does the nikon d5100 have an af motor?
 
look or quality? (11:22 PM, October 19, 2013)
please! Nikon deliver far better quality. That is what matters when you hang photos on a wall. "overall Nikon is a better camera BUT..." ?? BUT? what do you mean with BUT? seriously. I mean who cares of build-quality better screens interfaces and movie modes and remote controlling functionality. Maybe Americans...
 
Avatar for Harun Aftab Rashid Harun Aftab Rashid (5:20 AM, September 03, 2013)
Get your facts right. canon have better lenses as compared to nikon. infact canons lenses are more than 10% cheaper than nikons with better image quality than nikon. There are no competitor of canon L USM lenses.
 
Avatar for Harun Aftab Rashid Harun Aftab Rashid (5:12 AM, September 03, 2013)
nop, canon is compatible to all third party lenses (with canon mount) and nikon is compatible to all third party lenses (with nikon mount).

in wild life and birding section canon having superior and low priced lenses as compared to nikon.
 
Avatar for Harun Aftab Rashid Harun Aftab Rashid (4:46 AM, September 03, 2013)
I have canon T2i, canon 600d and D5100. i am practicing photography since 6 years.
I have entered many national and international photographic competitions. my pictures taken with canon 600d are getting good responses and reviews as compared to nikon.
If you have flickr account (globally leading photo sharing website), then go through the camera finder section. you will find more than 65% canon user there. IMO they are not fools to end up with canon.
Attached herewith picture taken with canon T2i. pls go through exif details.
 
Puuvilla (8:35 PM, July 21, 2013)
Sickcunt, is video important or taking pictures with a dslr?! I personally prefer nikon's and i'm pretty sure overall quality of d5100 pwns the 600d. As the score says .. The rest doesn't matter, the final element matters..
 
Dinosaursaur (7:56 AM, April 04, 2013)
I personally chose the D5100. But before I bough it of course I checked some reviews and the very best thing I considered it are the lenses. I found better lenses from Nikon than Canon that for me a very big thing to consider. Since you won't buy only the camera but also it's system. But true I also like the 600D because it's bigger (looks more professional XD) and it has autofocus motor and larger camera strap. :P
 
Sickcunt (10:08 AM, February 13, 2013)
I agree,where are the 60fps of the canon vs the 30fps of the nikon in video?
 
Beast (2:09 PM, January 30, 2013)
If he is color blind he can't even be a photographer. Hahaha
 
Hi (2:08 PM, January 30, 2013)
Are you kidding me D7000 and D300s is a dx camera and they are able to use fx lens. And to be hornets with you I am using a D7000 and have 2fx lens and 1dx lens. Read more on photography before coming out and give your opinion.
 
Beast (2:04 PM, January 30, 2013)
The comparison is black and white cant you see? Are you color blind??? Hahahaha !!!!
 
Avatar for Cathrine Cathrine (5:55 PM, January 29, 2013)
The conclusion is canon 600D better or Nikon D5100 for the overall :) thanks
 
Avatar for Melanie Melanie (7:17 AM, January 29, 2013)
I have read all your comments but still confused which one to buy!! Actually i'm a beginner and i can't take my decision!! Please help! Which one should i choose as a beginner??
 
BAGUS (11:06 AM, November 28, 2012)
i love photograpy than vodeograpy ,, so, I choose Nikon d5100 for my first beginner camera ^.^
 
Avatar for Him Rekhi Him Rekhi (11:43 AM, September 05, 2012)
Sayed Mohamed is right ... there is no use for Nikon vs Canon wars. One should weigh all the pros & cons but at the end of day it is your personal preference that matters. I researched quite a bit & although 60% reviewers including snapsort put Nikon D5100 ahead of Canon 600D but when I tested them in store, to me Canon outperformed Nikon. (& fact of matter is that I went to store more inclined towards Nikon.)


Factors which made me consider Canon over Nikon:


1. Better Grip & feel. Believe it or not this is a big factor. If you don't like the grip or feel then chances are that you will not enjoy your DSLR no matter good it is. I personally found that Canon 600D had a better grip. Due to Nikon being smaller & uncomfortable to my hands I had a difficult time producing good shots from Nikon. But maybe to others Nikon might have better grip.


2. The colors & contrast produced by Canon, IMHO, seemed better to my eyes till ISO 3200. I know what DP review & DXO marks says but I rather like to go by what my senses tell me. Nikon will have edge over Canon in handling chromatic aberrations, white balance but this something I don't care much about as I am not going professional, secondly quite a bit of things get sorted by better lens & better technique which I am yet to learn.


3. I personally found its menu options more intuitive & easy to go around.


You will see I never even mentioned videography because to be honest, I actually loved Nikon D5100 video features more & its a shame that Canon doesn't have them especially selective coloring applied in videos.


So, my advice to all the would be DSLR purchasers is that go to the store & feel the product, have a demo, shoot some pics & videos & then make up your mind. You will not go wrong with either Canon 600D or Nikon D5100 because honestly quality difference is not as much as snapsort or DXO are making out to be.
 
More detailed differences and similarities →