Nikon or Canon?

[Jedda]

Which general purpose digital bearing in mind I have a range of predigital nikon glass from 16mm to 2K mirror lense sitting in the cupboard?
Do I just grab a canon S3 or do I go for something better in either brand?
Have 2 nikon F3 bodies and a film scanner. So can come at any quality work that way.
Have had a dodgy bros digital for email pix but it's gone tits up and I can't decide what to replace it with.
Any ideas?

[YukonTrooper]

Some of Nikon's cameras are better and some of Canon's are better depending on the price range. Lots of options out there. What is your price range?

[Jedda]

Picked up a Canon for the purpose. Think I'll get a nikon body too but will take my time and wait 'till I can visit the Oz distributor. Want my mirror lenses to work with it.

[JadeFalcon]

Picked up a Canon for the purpose. Think I'll get a nikon body too but will take my time and wait 'till I can visit the Oz distributor. Want my mirror lenses to work with it.

The general belief if Canon glass is slightly more expensive than Nikon. They both make good DSLR's. Canon's (imho) seem to have less noise at higher ISO's - but I'm a Nikon man myself.

[charlie]

How bout

D40x vs. XTi?????????/

[hieuhef]

meh. people, there are other camera manufacturers around..

[Fujimitsu]

How bout

D40x vs. XTi?????????/

D40x isn't really worth it over the d40, unless you have lenses that dont have the drive motor in them that you want to keep.

That said I prefer the nikon cams, having used both here and there I bought a d40 for my girlfriend and she loved it. I've been using it quite a bit, couldn't be happier, insanely durable, great battery life, awesome kit lens.

The canons are really nice, I just think they feel cheaper. The plastic their made out of seems the same as the plastic used on the compact cams, whereas Nikon uses a harder (but a bit heavier) plastic.

If you don't have any lenses to carry over, and thus no reason to pick a brand off the bat. Go to the store and play with them, as far as quality goes they're pretty even, just comes down to personal preference & how it fits your hands. Both companies make a great line of entry/mid level cams.

[Sparky]

The canons are really nice, I just think they feel cheaper. The plastic their made out of seems the same as the plastic used on the compact cams, whereas Nikon uses a harder (but a bit heavier) plastic.

Not always. I have a Canon Rebel XT and I held someone's Nikon (not sure which model) and it just felt cheaper than my Canon did.

[Grinch]

grab a Canon 40D.....thats a freaking nice camera...*-)


when I was in the market for a DSLR for the 1st time....I payed close attention to sporting events...and I kept seeing ALOT of these giant white lenses...I figured if there are that many on the sidelines and what not there must be alot of them for a reason.....

[Vapor]

Well, yeah...L-series are the best lenses for sports (and when shooting sports, glass is the most important thing). Most options, most availability, awesome quality, good pricing (considering the quality of the glass), and that 'it' factor as well lead to them being so popular.

Best camera though? Depends on budget/required-features/sensor/etc.

K10D can be found for $550 AR right now and if you exclusively shoot RAW, that's an insanely good camera for the price. The extra shooting modes (all DSLRs should have them) are awesome too. It also has sensor-shift anti-shake (not as good as lens-shift [usually], but considering the price of lens-shift AS glass, it's a bargain). Pentax lens options aren't *great* but they have enough options/quality for most situations/photographers.

D80 is still expensive, but has no real flaws (it doesn't have class-leading ISO performance though...has a film-grain look at high ISO). It takes very good pics (even with JPEG) and is very comfortable to use. It has a great viewfinder. The lens selection for it is damned good too. D40x is just a little worse and less flexible all around, doesn't have AF (unless the lens is AF-S/AF-I), but it's still really fast, takes good pics, and comfortable for big hands.

400D is an overall solid camera...the 'standard' for many. It's sensor/processor are very, very strong and lens compatibility is awesome as well. It's pretty affordable but it is notorious for being fairly uncomfortable for big(ger) hands. The D80 has very comparable image quality, so between those two, I'd say it comes down ergonomics/viewfinder/fanboyism/lenses/price.

[Grinch]

If you get a battery grip for the 400D it feels 10X's better...*-)

[JadeFalcon]

Not always. I have a Canon Rebel XT and I held someone's Nikon (not sure which model) and it just felt cheaper than my Canon did.

Well, that's a first. I have about 20 fellow photographers, and not one of them has ever said the Nikon felt cheaper than their Canon. Almost every Canon photographer agrees the Nikons are larger, easier to handle, and feel much more solid. And my own personal opinion doesn't different from that either. This is ironic since the Canon's have metal cases, while most of the Nikon's are in fact polycarb cases - but if you ask anyone holding them, they would think the Canon is plastic, and the Nikon is the metal one.

As for the other posters mentioning that their are other manufacturers... true there are.. but if you're going to get serious in photography, you better make a choice between Nikon and Canon, i'll leave it at that.

As for which camera, the XTi or the D40... they are both great cameras. I myself like the D40 because of the big screen, but I'm not a fan of the fact it has no internal motor to drive older non-dx lenses - it lowers the amount of lenses you can run. I would only recommend a D80, or D200 if you were serious about getting into photography and looking at Nikon. If money isn't an option, there's no camera that holds a flame to the new D3.

[Fujimitsu]

The material quality on the canons for the most part scales with their price, but in my experience the Nikon ones feel a lot sturdier. Wasn't meant to be a plug for either brand, but I really have never heard anyone go the other way.

As far as the lens compatibility with the d40 goes, most people won't care. IF you're buying an entry-level DSLR you probably don't have any old lenses anyway, so there's no problem. If you do the d40x is still a good choice, the extra $100 saves you the cost of re-buying a lens or two. Basically, no one with the lenses to care about this is going to be buying in this price range anyway.

[Soulburner]

Does anyone really need the D40X over the D40? For that much extra money I would just go XTi.

[Vapor]

D40x can be found for less than D40....by like $75 typically.

[Fujimitsu]

Does anyone really need the D40X over the D40? For that much extra money I would just go XTi.

Only if you have lenses that require it, and even then you would just have to manual focus when using them. XTi is a whole different camp :p:

[Soulburner]

D40x can be found for less than D40....by like $75 typically.
Ok, that's odd...at release I remember the X being quite a premium over the regular version.

Why is it cheaper?

[Fuji]

I was looking for a DSLR and was bent on a Nikon series camera.

My friend told me about the 40D and it's supposed to be a lot better than the D80. I went to bestbuy and messed around with the 40D and the burst is pretty impressive.

My friend has an XTi and i must say i wasn't impressed. I used it for about a week with the stock lens, and to get clear shots indoors, we had to crank the ISO up to 1600. Granted, they were indoor shots, but it was the kind of shot that my point and shoot could do.

I also really like the D70

[Vapor]

Ok, that's odd...at release I remember the X being quite a premium over the regular version.

Why is it cheaper?Oh at release the D40x definitely cost more....not sure why the price went up for the D40, but it did. :shrug:

Maybe the D40 was just an effort to clear out the 6MP sensors?

D40x is much better camera, IMO. There's more to it than just a 6->10MP increase. It's not huge, huge stuff, but it's still a pretty decent step up from the D40.

[hieuhef]

I was looking for a DSLR and was bent on a Nikon series camera.

My friend told me about the 40D and it's supposed to be a lot better than the D80. I went to bestbuy and messed around with the 40D and the burst is pretty impressive.

My friend has an XTi and i must say i wasn't impressed. I used it for about a week with the stock lens, and to get clear shots indoors, we had to crank the ISO up to 1600. Granted, they were indoor shots, but it was the kind of shot that my point and shoot could do.

I also really like the D70

those cameras are in different classes entirely. and iso1600 to get a clear shot? it sound like you need to figure out how aperture and shutter speed work, not to mention the kit lens is very, very soft and considered one of the weaker kit lenses available.

d70 is no longer manufactured, replaced by an awesome d80, and a 40d is again in a different class than the d80 is.

[Fujimitsu]

Oh at release the D40x definitely cost more....not sure why the price went up for the D40, but it did. :shrug:

Maybe the D40 was just an effort to clear out the 6MP sensors?

D40x is much better camera, IMO. There's more to it than just a 6->10MP increase. It's not huge, huge stuff, but it's still a pretty decent step up from the D40.

Where are you seeing this price? I shopped all over a few months ago and the d40x was never less than $75 more for the kit.

Looking around quickly right now the d40 kit is $480-550 everywhere, while I cant find the d40x kit for under $600.

[Vapor]

Was going off of these:
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/8499/picture1co4.pnghttp://img57.imageshack.us/img57/8372/picture2cb4.png

Actually going into the stores says otherwise though...D40 is definitely cheaper. Not sure why these price tables are off, they're usually pretty good.

[pcsky3]

Hey this is a really difficult choice , both of them are very good at cameras.

[Stratman]

If you already have Nikon glass , the choice is a no brainer !!

[dccmadams]

i have a older canon 20d, the battery charge lasts forever. great pics. shoots 5 frames per second. does it all with right glass. expensive hobby......

[Jimmer411]

Go canon. I love my XTi

[deepsilver]

Go canon. I love my XTi

I also love my XTi (in Europe: 400D), that's a great cam. :up:

BTW: I make over 27.800 pictures with her (since October 2006). :D

[Avman]

I finally went DSLR a couple of weeks (and thousand dollars) ago.

A Canon 40D Kit w/28-135 IS lens + the excellent EF-S 17-55 IS/F2.8 lens.

I've never had so much fun with a camera and it simply takes amazing shots. I will agree with most peoples opinions that the Nikons 'feel' sturdier, but I found the canons much easier to use (I've been using canon Powershot cameras for years) and for some reason I've just never been comfortable with the results I got from the Nikons I've tried.:shrug:

[Grinch]

This is what I am currently using....I can tell you this if you think computer stuff is exspensive...try photography equipment....sheesh...*-)

***Avman***
The 40D is a kickass camera....you are going to love it..(you probably already do)...and the glass (lenses) makes the MOST difference....*-)...the 17-55 is some good glass....


Body:
40D

Lenses:
Canon 50mm f/1.4
Canon 85mm f/1.8
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4

Misc:
580EX..Better Beamer..4 & 8gb Ridata 150X CF..Opteka Battery Grips..Kenko 1.4 TC..UV Filters..Lowepro Slingshot..Tripod

[charlie]

I've decided to go D40x... it's local @ $650 with the kit lens.

I like the menu and interface of Nikon.

I have an extensive collection of 35mm pics I wish I could share with y'all. I'm pretty "good" behind the glass. :D
This will be my first DSLR.

[MaxxxRacer]

Based on the fact that you have a bunch of old Nikon lenses you should get a Nikon D80. If you can wait, Nikon will be releasing an update to the D80 (D90 maybe?) and the D80 will be cheaper or you could get the updated model.

The D40 and D40x, while being great cameras, dont support older Nikon lenses that dont have autofocus motors on them. The D80 on the other hand, supports every Nikon lens dating back to the 1960's.

[The_Beast]

canon

[smopoim86]

The D80 on the other hand, supports every Nikon lens dating back to the 1960's.

Almost. The pre AI lenses can damage a d80.
All the autofocus lenses work though

[ineedaname]

The problem with just asking regular people is that most of they time they've probably only had 1 brand of camera and will stick to the first brand they've bought. Its hard not to be bias and some people would probably swear by their camera even when looking at pictures side by side. I'm hope I don't offend someone but that's just what I've noticed. Obviously not everyone is biased but everyone always thinks they're the exception.

If you're comparing cameras within the same class they're bound to be very similar so my only advice is to try it out and choose whatever u think has a better feel.

[MaxxxRacer]

whats funny is that pretty much everyone here must not have read the first post, because he mentions that he has a lare number of Nikon lenses. Since lenses are generally the biggest investment when purchasing a SLR.

And so long as you go with a D80 or above, the pre-digital lenses work great. And, the best part is, they all work on the awesome D3.

[nitteo]

whats funny is that pretty much everyone here must not have read the first post, because he mentions that he has a lare number of Nikon lenses. Since lenses are generally the biggest investment when purchasing a SLR.

And so long as you go with a D80 or above, the pre-digital lenses work great. And, the best part is, they all work on the awesome D3.

Agreed, If you have Nikon Lenses already, stay with Nikon. Pre-Digital Lenses still work well with ALL Nikon DSLRs. Thats the reason I started with a d70, I had a hand me down 17-35mm from my dad and have never looked back. I sold the 17-35 in favor of the 17-55 for my d200, and now that the d3 takes FULL FRAME, I am looking for a 17-35!!! I also have a 60mm and a 20mm predigital Nikon lenses and they work great on the d200.