Canon Rebel
T3i
 vs
Nikon
D5100

Nikon D5100

76
Winner

Nikon D5100
"Judged on its own merits the D5100 is a great camera, but we're concerned that an enthusiastic beginner might outgrow it faster than some of the competition."
dpreview.com | talking about the D5100's overall-performance
"Image quality is definitely the D5100's trump card. It offers effectively the same image quality as the higher-end D7000, at a lower cost."
dpreview.com | talking about the D5100's image-quality

Reasons to buy the Nikon D5100

Low light performance
 Low noise at high ISO
1,183 ISO
Overall image quality
 Great image quality
80.0
Color depth
 Great color depth
23.5 bits
Dynamic range
 Wide dynamic range
13 EV
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Sensor size
 Large sensor
APS-C 23.6x15.6mm
Canon Rebel T3i

57
Runner-up

Canon Rebel T3i
"Overall it's the first entry-level Canon that we've been happy to carry around one-handed for an extended session of shooting since the original 300D."
dpreview.com | talking about the T3i's feel
"The Rebel T3i / 600D is exactly the camera that we'd expect it to be - it's feature-rich, reasonably priced, enjoyable to use and, most importantly, takes great pictures."
dpreview.com | talking about the T3i's overall-performance

Reasons to buy the Canon Rebel T3i

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
Badge
 Built-in focus motor
Autofocuses with more lenses

differences

Advantages of the Canon T3i
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen 1,040k dots vs 920k dots
Help
 More than 10% higher resolution screen
Lens focus motor Has a built-in focus motor Yes vs No
Help
 Autofocuses with all autofocus lenses
True resolution Higher true resolution 17.9 MP vs 16.1 MP
Help
 Capture more than 10% more detail in your photos
Viewfinder size Slightly larger viewfinder 0.53x vs 0.51x
Help
 Around 10% larger viewfinder
Canon Rebel T3i Learn more about
the Canon T3i

Advantages of the Nikon D5100
Low light performance Significantly lower noise at high ISO 1,183 ISO vs 793 ISO
Help
 The D5100 has a slight edge (0.6 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
Overall image quality Much better image quality 80.0 vs 65.0
Help
 More than 20% better image quality
Dynamic range More dynamic range 13 EV vs 11.5 EV
Help
 1.5 f-stops more dynamic range
Color depth Better color depth 23.5 bits vs 22.1 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 1.4 more bits of color
Startup delay Much less startup delay 500 ms vs 1500 ms
Help
 3x less delay when turning on
HDR Has in-camera HDR Yes vs No
Help
 Combines multiple exposures to capture high dynamic range
Sensor size Significantly larger sensor APS-C 23.6x15.6mm vs APS-C 22.3x14.9mm
Help
 More than 10% larger sensor
Autofocus Video autofocus Contrast detection vs None
Help
 Automatically focuses shooting video
Battery life Longer battery life 660 shots vs 440 shots
Help
 50% more shots per battery charge
Light sensitivity (boost) Better boost ISO 25,600 ISO vs 12,800 ISO
Help
 The D5100's boost ISO is 1 f-stop better
Size Smaller 127x96x78 mm vs 133x99x79 mm
Help
 Around 10% smaller
Focus points More focus points 11 vs 9
Help
 Set focus accurately within the frame
Lens availability Slightly more lenses available 169 lenses vs 162 lenses
Help
 Almost the same
Shutter lag Slightly less shutter lag 273 ms vs 283 ms
Help
 Almost the same
Continuous shooting Shoots slightly faster 4 fps vs 3.7 fps
Help
 Around 10% faster continuous shooting
Lowest price Slightly cheaper $499.99 vs $618.94
Help
 The best price we've seen is $119 cheaper (around 20% less)
Thickness Slightly thinner 3.1" vs 3.1"
Help
 Almost the same
Nikon D5100 Learn more about
the Nikon D5100
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent entry-level DSLRs, and ignoring price

Canon Rebel T3i Canon Rebel T3i
57 vs 76
Explain scores
Nikon D5100 Nikon D5100
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Nikon D5100.

advice

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I am considering either the Canon T3i or the Nikon D5100,
For example: Taking photos in low light or great family photos or ability to take great photos underwater

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Are you a camera expert? Share your knowledge!
1
votes
by Betsy-Gibbons last month
Canon T3i vs Nikon D5100

I am a beginner photographer. I love photos, but that doesn't mean i am good at taking them. I nee...

One person recommends the Canon T3i:

"Betsy, these are both great choices for a beginner to learn on. I'd suggest going with whichever y..."
One person recommends the Nikon D5100:

"I would go with the D5100 because it is technically a better camera than the T3i. But if you have ..."
0
votes
by MD-Zahid-Hassan this month
Canon T3i vs Nikon D5100

I find out that this two are the best camera for the beginner. 1st I was interested in T3i but ...

One person recommends the Nikon D5100:

" Unless you already have bunch of older Nikon lenses lying around, not having a autofocus motor i..."
0
votes
by Mimi-McMullen this month
Canon T3i vs Nikon D5100

Beginner.  Have heard the Nikon is easier to use but like the Canon too.  I lost my Lumix smalle...
0
votes
by Jan-Walker 2 days ago
Canon T3i vs Nikon D5100

I will be shooting out doors, moving animals.... And I need a camera for photographing my artwo...
0
votes
by fsanders 2 days ago
Canon T3i vs Nikon D5100

I am a beginner with some experience with a Nikon D40.  Shoot most of the time in auto mode.

similarities

Compared to recent entry-level DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Movie format Both shoot high resolution HD movies Help
1080p @ 30fps
Lens availability Many lenses available Help
T3i:162 lenses
D5100:169 lenses
Screen resolution High resolution screens Help
T3i:1,040k dots
D5100:920k dots
Screen flips out Flip-out screens Help
Great for movies
Supports 24p 24p support Help
For that film look
Fastest shutter speed Slow max shutter speed Help
1/4000 of a second
Storage slots Fewer storage slots Help
1
Viewfinder coverage Below average viewfinder coverage Help
95%
Image stabilization No image stabilization Help
Risk of blur
Cross type focus points Few cross-type focus points Help
1
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Shutter lag Significant shutter lag Help
T3i:283 ms
D5100:273 ms
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
6,400 ISO
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
T3i:3.7 fps
D5100:4 fps
Weather sealed Neither is weather sealed Help
Need to shelter it from weather
Viewfinder size Below average viewfinder size Help
T3i:0.53x
D5100:0.51x

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Canon Rebel T2i

Entry-level DSLR

$544 - $949 body only

$649 - $867 with 18-55mm lens
Size Is significantly smaller
Thickness Is thinner
Screen flips out Doesn't have a screen which flips out
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the Rebel T3i
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the D5100
Nikon D3200

Nikon D3200

Entry-level DSLR

$699 - $700 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes significantly higher resolution photos
Weight Is slightly lighter
Screen flips out Doesn't have a screen which flips out
Compare the D3200 vs the Rebel T3i
Compare the D3200 vs the D5100
Canon EOS 60D

Canon EOS 60D

Pro DSLR

$848 - $1,304 body only

$1,177 - $1,342 with 18-135mm lens
Viewfinder size Slightly larger viewfinder
Continuous shooting Shoots faster continuously
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Weight Is significantly heavier
Compare the EOS 60D vs the Rebel T3i
Compare the EOS 60D vs the D5100
Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100

Entry-level DSLR

$500 - $547 with 18-55mm lens
Size Is slightly smaller
Thickness Is thinner
External mic jack Lacks and external mic jack
Screen flips out Doesn't have a screen which flips out
Compare the D3100 vs the Rebel T3i
Compare the D3100 vs the D5100
Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Entry-level DSLR

$897 body only

$1,047 with 55-200mm lens
Viewfinder size Significantly larger viewfinder
Viewfinder Has higher quality type of viewfinder
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Weight Is significantly heavier
Compare the D90 vs the Rebel T3i
Compare the D90 vs the D5100
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$1,000 body only

$1,100 with 55-200mm lens
Viewfinder size Slightly larger viewfinder
Weather sealed Has a weather sealed body
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Weight Is significantly heavier
Compare the D7000 vs the Rebel T3i
Compare the D7000 vs the D5100
Canon Rebel T3

Canon Rebel T3

Entry-level DSLR

$333 body only

$489 - $500 with 18-55mm lens
Battery life Has a slightly longer battery life
Weight Is slightly lighter
Sensor cleaning Lacks a self cleaning sensor
External mic jack Lacks and external mic jack
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the Rebel T3i
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the D5100

Canon Rebel T3i Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Canon Rebel T3i.

Nikon D5100 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Nikon D5100.

appearance

Canon Rebel T3i Nikon D5100
Canon Rebel T3i Nikon D5100
Canon Rebel T3i Nikon D5100

discussion

Showing 25 comments

guest (8:26 AM, May 04, 2012)
you guys really need to fix your price of the d5100.  It's always listed as $1114 or soemthing and the link sends you to this huge kit with 2 lenses, tripod, memory card etc.  The d5100 body is 600, with kit lens 700.
 
Ltcasanova (4:06 AM, April 15, 2012)
This year my cousin and I are taking AP studio design and I recently purchased a nikon D5100 and my cousin decided to buy  the canont3i. Before buying i came across this page and saved it to my bookmark to write a review after taking advantage of my camara. Well  canon offers higher megapixels however, nikon always has that sharper resolution to their image ( thats kinda the nikon signature). Lately, everytime my cousin and I take images during family parties she always asks to "send her the pictures to upload to flickr."
I also found that nikon pictures look amazing when manipulated through photoshop cs4, canon looks geat but not a sharp. (everyone looks for something different)

Now for videos, I love the fact that my nikon auto focuses. alot of people find this a tad annoying but most of the time I set up my camara in a tripod and it does an amazing job. for example, holding up a bottle and it fo uses on the lable in seconds. I tried to do the same with the canon but it blurs a bit before it focuses ( i'm meticulous i know).

Everyone is just looks for different things in a camara. Just do  a lot of research before you buy your camara!
 
Nobody (8:42 PM, April 08, 2012)
If you want ease over picture quality (definitely there is difference if you place them side by side), you should opt for T3i.
 
Nobody (8:40 PM, April 08, 2012)
I bought the T3i and a friend of mine bought the D5100, we shot pictures during a birthday party. The pictures from D5100 were much better in low light, which they were about the same in out door shooting. The controls and menu items are easy on T3i, the D5100 menu needs some getting used to. If you want ease over quality, I would recommend D5100, having said that, the grip on T3i is much better and  feels well balanced. T3i distorts the colors slightly and D5100 is close to the natural color.
 
Gzmanus (8:18 PM, April 07, 2012)
I strongly  agree with what Winswing said about the failure rate. I never used D5100, instead I used to have a Nikon D50 - right after one year warranty, the main circuit board was totally dead, got it repaired and used for another two years, and then  the internal flash was dead and made the camera hard to use. I took less than 10,000 photos in total with my D50. Recently I bought a D90 body to replace my borken D50. used it for one and half month, the internal flash stared to not always fire under aperture priority mode when I need fill flash on the subject. Called Nikon and they said under AP mode, the internal flash should always fire and they adivce me to send it to service. I was really freaked out, and decided to return my 1.5 month old D90 to store. i am thinking about giving Canon T3i a  try for fear of the possibility of getting another Nikon lemon product.  Don't get me wrong, I like the picture quality of Nikon DSLR, I used my D50 to take many good photos for my kids. but their hardware stability is really a big concern to me. maybe I am not a lukcy buyer for Nikon, thinking about two defective camera from two purchases.
 
Manesh174 (10:49 AM, March 28, 2012)
the picture quality in nikon d5100 is far superior to canon t3i...better colour depth really outsmarts the canon and what else nikon d5100 has inbuilt HDR mode which is great..plus the effects mode in d5100 is wow, which the canon t3i lacks...if we talk about manual controls in video ..yes nikon can do that but not in real time but u have to do it in advance to shooting...plus the video has autofocus which canon lacks
 
Loregarcia (10:08 PM, March 27, 2012)
This is an incomplete comparison!!. Go for t3i, better quality and colors up to 3.200 iso (99% time), better videos, better flash, better grip and buttons, dedicated iso button (d5100 not), best sharper lcd, cheaper lens, histogram (d5100 not), faster autofocus, etc., autofocus in body (d5100 not), best viewfinder, gridlines, wireless flash (d5100 not), and faster menues. The adventages of nikon is, best pictures for >3.200 iso, effects, and noise video autofocus. So if you will take night pictures d5100 otherwise t3i. Sorry my english!
 
Chris (3:29 AM, March 18, 2012)
I cannot how no review mentions all the controls missing on D5100. In T2i and T3i with one click of button you can change white balance, shooting mode, etc etc. 

They are all missing in D5100 - you would have to go through the menu and spend at least few seconds.
 
Yuvcom (11:57 PM, March 12, 2012)
went by reviews and disappointed on the performance of D5100. As for image quality and videos, would say Canon is better.
 
Winswing (4:44 AM, March 04, 2012)
I agree. I have read so many reviews and generally people think Canon has advantage in Video. What really concerns me about the Nikon D5100 or (any entry level Nikon) is its built quality. Higher failure rate is found on Nikon D5100 and I don't think it is simply because it is made in Thailand versus Canon T3i made in Japan (still). Countries don't matter these days.
 
Blazinace35 (5:40 AM, March 02, 2012)
After much deliberation I went with the nikon because of the image quality you get. What I think some people don't realize is that picture quality translates to video quality as well. With a sharper image and more color your video comes out looking sharper as well. As far as the "full manual control" as it relates to video, when you're setting your exposure for a video the lighting situation does not change unless you're outside, once you set your lights you set your exposure as well. As far as shutter speed being changed on the fly idk why anyone would do that in the middle of shooting a video as well. Most cases that would come from doing a different take or multiple cameras. The one advantage Canon does have is audio monitoring so I give them that but outside of that its basically a toss up between the two, but if you want the best image go with nikon.
 
Jerrywielo (0:05 PM, February 20, 2012)
Numbers numbers... Here is 77 to 58 for Nikon when you go to http://www.dpreview.com/ there is 77 to 76 for Canon :| I think I'm going to wait for iPhone 5
 
rs21 (6:49 PM, January 30, 2012)
After going through extensive reviews on different places (dpreview, Amazon, NewEgg, BH etc...), I come below conclusion:
Nikon D5100 has slightly better ImageQuality, LoWLightPerformance, LowNoise on high ISO compared to T3i.

Canon T3i has less failure (came died) rate, Better Video Quality & better Customer support compared to D5100.
 
Rfgthyujhygtfr (5:04 AM, January 30, 2012)
does t3i have the auto display sensor like the t1i and t2i where u put eye on viewfinder display auto off?
 
Asdfghj (3:27 AM, January 26, 2012)
im probably gonna get the t3i i mean cmon, d5100 seems really entry level look at the menu and keys, much more basic canon, if not im probably going to get the t4i since it will come out this year before fall and might buy it for black friday.
 
Alex (3:30 AM, January 12, 2012)
Nah, the D5100 video is still very nice.
 
Alex (3:20 AM, January 12, 2012)
I own the T3i and the D5100. My main purpose for both is video. I agree
with those who say Canon is superior for
video. It doesn't totally blow the D5100 out of the water, but the
advantages are there. The Nikon has a little more noise with the exact
same ISO, shutter and F settings. Maybe for photos this isn't the case, I
don't know... Also, as others have mentioned, the control
on the Canon can be completely manual.



One big difference is the full
HD digital zoom. That is awesome!! And I really like the
60fps option at 720 the Canon offers. If I need to get more frames for
slow motion, this is nice. I wish it were at full HD, but at least it's
there at all!





That's my two cents. Good Luck!
 
whichone (1:30 AM, January 10, 2012)
snapsort, d5100 or t3i? the d5100 video isn't that bad right? 
 
RobBnTX (10:58 PM, December 31, 2011)
Canon puts all their focus motors in the lens not the camera, no matter the model.  Smaller is not better for most of us, and the T3i is the largest of the Rebel models. Canon markets a grip for the T3i, Nikon does not for the D5100.  The T3i features a built-in pop-up master flash to control wireless flash.  Image wise, comparisons I have seen I would give the nod to the Canon. 

Now having said all that, I covet higher end Nikon models so I am thinking of getting a refurbished or used D90 just to get my foot in the Nikon door, but would probably be happy with a D5100.
 
AQuick (3:35 PM, December 30, 2011)
Also one more thing I forgot to mention. If you are a first time DSLR Owner and are beginning in the DSLR Camera field the Canon T3i has a Full Auto Shooting Mode and also a Guide to help explain what each function does,... Like- ISO,Aperture, Shutter Speed,...ect. It will walk you through a quick explanation so you better understand what each feature does on the camera. I don't think the Nikon D5100 does. It may have a Auto Mode but I don't think it helps explain on camera what each function does. Correct me if im wrong though. So very helpful for a Beginner starting out with a DSLR Camera.
 
AQuick (2:11 PM, December 30, 2011)
I Recently purchased the Canon EOS T3i over the Nikon D5100. I did ALOT of research before doing so. And every forum I went to and every you tube video review I watched said that image quality between the two is near identical yes the D5100 has a slight advantage in image quality but the Canon is just as comparable. Now in Video is were the Canon really outshines the D5100. The Canon has FULL Manuel Control in video mode were as the Nikon does not. And any Videotographer would know you want FULL manual control. The Nikon has auto focus in video but that not always good because (1) its slow and constantly changing focus looking for a focal point. And (2) Its Loud and you will hear it in your video. All the reviews I researched specified those problems with the nikons movie capability and that was the turn off for me. I would much rather have a camera that would take quality pictures in comparison to Nikon But able to take much better high def videos since I will be owning this camera for a long period of time and don't plan on upgrading any time soon the Canon EOS T3i was the wise choose for me.
 
Steve (7:34 AM, December 30, 2011)
Doesn't limit you because Nikon re-leased all the popular lenses with AF-S.
 
Suretybrad (6:27 AM, December 29, 2011)
Smaller s NOT better. Edge to Canon.
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (4:06 PM, December 27, 2011)
Hey Drew
Snapsort strives to be non biased, the D5100 is your best bet if you are looking for better image quality, you can see how well it ranks on our score page. Hope that helps.
 
Dreww04 (4:29 AM, December 27, 2011)
I would really appreciate it if someone would reply in a non-biased way! All i really care about it the photo quality. I do not shoot a specific type of photos so all i really want to know is which camera has better photo quality and really brings out the colours. If they are the same, then overall, taking into account all the details that make a photo good, which camera would you suggest. Any help please?