looking at cannon rebel xti and Nikon D80?

Question

The Rebel xti (with the lens kit) is between $800-900. BUT, Costco has Nikon D80 with 2 lenses (18-55 and 55-200) for $1299 including case. This is probably more camera than I need, but it seems like a fantastic deal.

Also, I know I'll need a bigger memory card if I'm shooting with 10 megapixils. What size card should I get?
I am a novice, and finally want to upgrade from my disappointing point and shoot digital camera. So, I need much advice.
Thanks, Amy

Answer 1

http://www.dpreview.com

Answer 2

The Rebel XTi and the Nikon D80 are both fantastic cameras. The reviews generally rate them both top notch and agree that the D80 is worth the slightly higher price. For me, the larger viewfinder of the D80, and the tiny grip on the Rebel XTi would sway me towards Nikon. The main attraction of the Canon XTi is that it has a built-in sensor cleaner... but it doesn't work that well. The image quality and ease of use is about the same (great with both).
But you have other options, too. Other 10-megapixel dSLR cameras in this price range are the Pentax K10D and the Sony A100. And then there's the discontinued Canon 20D (with 8 megapixels). The 20D was a $1300 camera until Canon replaced it with the 30D this Spring. By now, the remaining 20D's can also be found for under $1000. So that makes a total of 5 cameras.
Out of this bunch, the Canon 20D is the most pro-orientated. It can shoot at 5 frames per second, for example - all the other models top out at 3 FPS. If you shoot a lot of sports, don't bother reading the rest, just get the Canon 20D. The 20D's down side is that it's pretty heavy and bulky compared to the rest (or maybe you consider that a bonus) and it lacks a few consumer-firendly settings.
Nikon and Canon are your best options if you view photography as a long term hobby. If you're thinking about adding a few quality lenses over the years, or if you want to upgrade the camera itself in 5 years time, or even if you just want to leave those options open, stick with Canon or Nikon. These two brands have an incredible upgrade path. For the reasons I started with, if you don't want the Canon 20D, get the Nikon D80.
If you just want to buy a camera and 1 or 2 basic lenses, and if you have no intention of ever upgrading, the Pentax K10D makes the most sense - it's very well made and it has built-in image stabilization. (With Nikon and Canon, you'd have to buy relatively expensive lenses to get image stabilization.)
I also mentioned a Sony. The Sony A100 also has built-in image stabilization, but the Pentax is a better all around camera and better value for money. Compared to the rest, the Sony doesn't have a lot going for it.
About those lenses you mentioned...
The Canon and the Nikon versions of the 18-55mm zoom are very poor 'kit lenses'. They really don't do a 10 megapixel sensor justice. If you can afford it, get the Canon with their 17-85mm zoom, or the Nikon with their 18-70mm zoom. Nikon also makes a truly beautifull all-in-one lens: the 18-200mm zoom (with image stabilization).
For memory, I can recommend a 2 GB, Sandisk Extreme lll. (I use a 10-megapixel Nikon D200, and high quality jpg's are around 5MB each. Medium quality is around 3MB.)
And finally, somebody mentioned a few budget options. Whatever you do, don't get a Nikon D40 - they're brand new and horribly overpriced. The D50 is a better camera and it actually costs less! (Around $500 for the body.) For about $630, you can pick up a Nikon D70s or a Canon Rebel XT. Both were discontinued this year, but still in stock at most places.

Answer 3

Comparing the Nikon D80 vs. Canon 400D/Rebel XTi

Check this page:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/page21.asp

The first thing I notice is that the Canon does not have a spot meter. I thought they added that in the XTi, but I guess past criticism was not heard at Canon.

The Nikon user-definable Auto-ISO is an interesting feature that lets you define a couple of parameters about what's acceptable to you and what's not. I don't think this would be the tie-breaker, though, if you can't decide between cameras.

The D80 has a pentaprism and the Canon uses mirrors. "They" say that mirrors are getting pretty good, but I would expect the pentaprism to be a brighter viewfinder.

The Nikon lets you do actual multiple exposures in the camera and some people think this is pretty cool.

Click "next" and move to page 22 and you'll see some image comparisons. Click "next" a couple more times to see more direct comparisons on page 25. Click "next" a couple more times to see some noise level comparisons on page 27. It looks to me like the D80 has actually tamed the noise better than the XTi, but read the comments about image softness.

Click one more time and see that the D80 is clearly the winner in image sharpness. Go on to the next page and read the conclusions.

You can go to the side-by-side at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_eos400d%2Cnikon_d80&show=all and also click on "Our in depth review" and "Read owner opinions" for each camera.

The last line in the Nikon D80 review reads, "If you're a more discerning photographer who can see the advantages offered by the 'all round' D80 you may well consider the extra money well spent."

The last line in the Canon 400D/XTi review reads, "Thanks to its blood line and low price the EOS 400D will no doubt be a huge success for Canon. However unlike the EOS 350D, for me it's no longer the first or obvious choice, so before jumping on the bandwagon make sure you've weighed up the competition."

In other words, you've selected with the two best cameras in their price class. Canon is probably saving a little money using their CMOS sensor and this will bring them some market share. Whether the sensor and images are better or not is open to wild debate based on personal preferences. Whether one camera feels better in your hands might just be the determining factor. You have got to go to a real camera store and handle them both. I guess Costco, Circuit City or Best Buy would also have actual samples on display, but you may not get as much help from the staff.

As far as lens choice, I'd rather see you start with one decent lens instead of the kit lens, although Nikon's kit lens (18-55) has actually tested pretty will. (Canon's has not.) For Nikon, I like the Nikkor AF-S 18-70 f/3.5-4.5G ED DX. This costs about $300. I bought this for my wife on her D50 and liked it so much (for the money) that I bought it as a backup for one of my cameras. For Canon, one of our best answerers (Panacea) recommends the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. This costs about $500, so there goes the $200 price difference.

Of course, you'll need a decent memory card and I recommend a genuine Sandisk Ultra II (60X) or Extreme III (133X) of at least 1GB - preferable 2 GB - for either camera. Lexar is another excellent card supplier and they have the "Professional" 133X as well as the Platinum 80X to choose from. Both Lexar and Sandisk come with image recovery software and limited lifetime warranties.

Answer 4

Amy, i could truly go on and on about the D80, but to be fair I don't need to. Go over to http://www.dpreview.com this is a great place for beginners and experts alike. Great forums and more useful to you, fantastic reviews of hardware. Including the D80 and Rebel.

In short I would always recommend a Nikon over a canon (like for like). But the D80 may be too much for a complete novice. Try looking at the D50 or D40 too

Answer 5

Amy go with the D80 it's the better of the two and the lenses that come with the kit will cover a broad range. I have a D200 and use a 2gb card and get 240 images. If you live near a CompUSA they will have a Sandisk 2gb card on sale tomorrow evening for $30 after rebates starting at 9pm. I'm going to pick one or two of them up for spares. Check out this link .... it's the Nikonians D80 users group http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=list&forum=DCForumID236&conf=DCConfID3 which ever camera you get enjoy !!! Also check out www.pbase.com

Answer 6

I 'll go for Canon Rebel XTi with Canon EF 17-85mm IS USM lens (NOT the standard lens from the kit) + SD 2Gbytes 150x (the card speed) + Kenko circular polarizer filter + Kenko UV filter (just for lens protection) + extra battery + DSLR bag (Roots has one in triangle shape) + tripod.

Always buy from stores which offer full return satisfaction guarantee policy.

Answer 7

D80 I own one and Loooovvvveeee it..read outdoor Photography latest issue says Nikon D80 review on the cover...

Answer 8

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