so i've decided to invest in a new camera, but idk which one to get..
i have about ($500) to spent... any ideas???

T3 or T3i

Nikon d3100

Nikon D3200

100 more for the Nikon D5100

trust me, its worth it

If you are thinking about a D3200, I suggest going with the D3100 with the 55-200mm lens. Much better deal. If you want to spend a little more and get a better camera I definitely recommend the D5100.

I would go with a D3200 over a D5100. More megapixels, better image quality, more color depth.
CLICK THIS

Megapixels don't mean much unless you are cropping a lot or doing large prints. There are cameras that are 2 grand with only 12mp. It is all about what sensor the camera has and I believe the D5100 has a better sensor.

The sensor on the D5100 is .4x.2 bigger which doesn't add up much (i really do mean it's almost the same). But the D3200's megapixel count allows you to zoom in way farther than you can on a D5100. I've cropped my photos sooo much before, i've got a shot from over a mile away. It was a Porsche 911 and the admins wont let me upload it but i still got the shot. If my megapixels were any lower, the porsche would've been super blurry but how i had it, the quality was just as good as a phone photo (which many people still post). The cameras that cost $2000 but only have 12MP are full frame cameras which is a significant difference.