Which Camera?

[Stephane]

So, lots of different advices here.

I want a new one too and save some money for it.

I still wonder if a Canon 350D (a little cheaper) or a 400D is "a better choice" than a Nikon D40 (both are the same price).

The choice between both brands is a matter of marketing I suppose...

Any preferences?

[crick0234]

So, lots of different advices here.

I want a new one too and save some money for it.

I still wonder if a Canon 350D (a little cheaper) or a 400D is "a better choice" than a Nikon D40 (both are the same price).

The choice between both brands is a matter of marketing I suppose...

Any preferences?

We have both at work... actually we have a D70 and a canon 10D but everyone just grabs the 10D because the user interface is easier to navigate.

I used the canon's primarily, but for 1 year, i was stuck with the d70. it's a nice camera, but i still like the ease of use on teh canons'. I had a great lens on the nikon tho - one of them 18-35mm lenses - nice and heavy grade 1500 dollar lens, shoots so clear and fast!

Dont get me wrong, the D70 (or d40) are great cameras... and if you already have a stock of Nikon lenses, then its a no-brainer. But for people new to teh SLR's, i have to say the canon's user friendliness wins.

Go check out a rebel and a nikon. see where u can navigate to change ISO's or set manual features or white balance or just browse the menus in general. see which ones u prefer? for me shooting outside during split second decisions, i need to know where all my camera functions are.

In terms of grip, if you have larger hands, the d40 wins over canon rebels - that is if you are ok with the menu system on nikon. Otherwise, both cameras with good lens setups shoot pretty much the same. some little minor contrasts here and there and saturations blah blah blah...

not to spam the boards with images all the time, but these were taken at an aquarium with real low light. Shot with that F4 lens but with image stabilizer. Those things do wonders...

Edited March 25, 2008 by crick0234

[highoeyazmuhudee]

When not going for an SLR you might want to consider the compact has

macro

manual exposure(for lumeshots)

Aperturesetting

I use a Canon 1D MKIII with L lenses, 24-70L2.8.24-105L4,70-200L2.8IS but for my macroshots I use a $50 macrotubesset with a 50mm or 85mm because I couldn't afford a macrolens

Check this out: www.dpreview.com

so wait... you have an $8,000 dollar canon with maybe $5,000 worth of L lenses and you couldnt afford an $800 canon macro lens?!? it seems like it would be the cheapest part of your kit

dont just look at dpreview. a lot of these review sites are biased, read actual reviews on forums

i made a light box out of a cardboard box and paper... the pic in my avatar was taken with it. ill upload some pics of the simple box later ; )

why did i choose canon over nikon. personally i didnt like the fact that nikon used sony sensors. canon engineered and created their own. also build quality of the camera. the canon to nikon in my price range had my canon made out of magnesium and the nikon polycarbonate (plastic) also canon is made in japan, says so right on the body. nikons are made in thailand, says so right on the body. also low night noise canon proved to be better. recently tho new things have developed, and since the d300 came out id pay some attention to nikon. even the d40 is being replaced with the d60. dont let the higher sensor size (i.e MP) fool you. its mostly marketing, and anything over 3mp is actually better than film quality. in fact on a seonsr with a crop of 1.6X anything over 10mp youll start to see more noise interference. on full frame cameras they shouldnt really surpass 12-16mp any more is unecessary until they change the format size. hasselblad makes larger format 35mp and up cameras (used exclusively by nasa, and commercial photographers. any picture in outter space was taken with a hasselblad even on the moon landing) but their cameras start at $30,000.

so look at the rebel XTI (400D) or XSI (450D)

nikon D40X or D60

these new offerings from nikon (D60,D300,D3)are direct competition with canon and finally for the first time in the digital era VERY worthy and maybe even hard to beat competition.

i find canon images look a bit warmer (white =more orange)in terms of color, Nikon a bit cooler (white =more blue. which i actually prefer). its preference tho to which you like better. you cant wrong with either camera choice. theyre both solid performers with pros and ocns over each other, but all you need to know is the image quality on either choice is top notch

Edited March 26, 2008 by highoeyazmuhudee

[stilty]

I'm looking for an DSLR right now. I heard the wife talking with her friends yesterday, and one of her friends has taken a DSLR course and loved it. Now I heard her talking with her friend that they should do it together. With Mother's Day coming up, I think I'm going to get her a camera. We've talked about it before, and we already have 2 point and shoots, but we are finding we are missing photo op's of our daughter as the start up time on the point and shoots is too long and we miss some great shots.

Two that I am looking at is Nikon's D80 with a 18-135 lens and 70-300 lens. And the Canon XSi with 18-55 lens and 55-250 lens. Price difference is about $400, with the Nikon being more expensive. I was at a big box retailer, and they were pushing me on the more expensive. and I really don't think they know that much about them. I may just go to an actual camera store, get some good advise, and hope they price match the flyer price of the big box.

Personally, I'm thinking Canon. The package price for body and two lenses is $1149.

Any thoughts or opinions? crick0234's post has me thinking Canon as well for ease of use. I have big hands, but the wife will probably be using it more... and I'll probably only use it for watch shots!

[dvn]

i have a D40 with two lenses and it is very good camera. But i don't use it very much.

PM me if you are interested.

[Pugwash]

I just bought a Canon D400. I did plenty of research and realised it's a coin toss between Nikon and Canon, but I prefer the Canon's aesthetics ad friends have Canons so I can nick their lenses.

[stilty]

Well, visited an actual camera store instead of the big blue box. No offence if anyone who reads this works for a Big Box, but the quality of service and knowledge I received from the camera store was excellent. The salesman had no problem spending over an hour with me to help me with my decision rather than try to sell me the most expensive camera.

Anyway, I pulled the trigger on the Nikon D80. Skipped on the package deal, and opted for a better quality lens and body. I could have got the body and two lenses for $40 more in a kit, but figured I would get the better lens, and if I needed the zoom, I could always get it later. It was a toss up between the Nikon D80 and Canon 40D, but in the end the Nikon won out. It was smaller, lighter, and the build felt a lot better. A step up from the Nikon D40 with room to grow. Since my wife is interested in a photography course, I figured I would get her something more than entry level. I'm sure she will be happy.

[highoeyazmuhudee]

REALLY? the D80 FELT of BETTER build? thats the first person ive ever heard say that. the d80 is polycarbonate, where as the 40D is magnesium alloy. ive heard of the plastic bodies warping when people shoot f1 at pit level due to the extreme heat all day. dont get me wrong its a fine camera, its just ive never heard anyone choose a nikon over a canon at the prosumer level due to build quality. Still im sure itll serve you very well for many years to come, and youll be very pelased with it.

ENJOY.

[stilty]

REALLY? the D80 FELT of BETTER build? thats the first person ive ever heard say that. the d80 is polycarbonate, where as the 40D is magnesium alloy. ive heard of the plastic bodies warping when people shoot f1 at pit level due to the extreme heat all day. dont get me wrong its a fine camera, its just ive never heard anyone choose a nikon over a canon at the prosumer level due to build quality. Still im sure itll serve you very well for many years to come, and youll be very pelased with it.

ENJOY.

Yeah, it felt more solid, and was just way more comfortable. I had four cameras in front of me that I narrowed it down to. The D40, D80, 40D and Xsi. In the end, it was the D80 as it just seemed like the better camera for the $$$. The 40D is definitely a step up, but was a lot heavier and bulkier. The 40D is better, sealed case, etc, but I was trying to picture my wife lugging a big camera around.

Also, I liked the set up of the command dial and sub dial on the Nikon better, it seemed better thought out and easier to change settings with one hand.

Anyway, it was big hit with the wife! She took something like 300 pictures yesterday as we hung out with our little on on mother's day. I tried to take a few watch shots, but that didn't go over very well. haha.