Long story short: for someone who takes as many photos and shoots as much video as I do, it’s long past time for me to get a DSLR camera. And Erica is really supportive of this move, which is great. But I can’t decide what to get. The first big question, I guess, is Nikon or Canon. My favorite camera ever is my Nikon Nikkormat FT that my dad gave me as a teenager, but that’s not a reason to stick with Nikon. I also have a Nikon N6006 and a broken D1, so I have a couple of Nikkor AF lens, but just a 35-135mm and a Tamron 19-35mm, so neither of those would be really pricey to replace if I went Canon.

• I really like to avoid flash, so low-light performance is important, but it seems like even the mid-range cameras are all good on that these days?
• Canon was the leader in HD video on cameras, but maybe Nikon is catching up?
• The onboard mics can’t be that great on any of these bodies, so I’m probably going to have to also invest in a external recording system, like an H4 Zoom or something?
• I’m writing a lot of statements but then putting question marks at the end?

I did a whole round of endless review reading a few months ago, prepping for putting something on my Christmas list, and my mind melted and I came up with either the Nikon D3100 or the Canon Rebel T3i. But I have no idea. Anyone have a camera they love? Someone just want to give me something :-)