Which is a better digital camera, the Canon Rebel XTi or the Nikon D80?

Question

Which camera takes a better picture in low light situations?

Answer 1

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 2

My choice is the Xti (400D). Its cheaper the the D80 and it takes about the same quality picutres as the D80. The D80 does have more professional features on it such as the spot meter, but most of the features on the D80 I didnt need like trimming, red eye reduction, small picture, etc. The D80 is a great camera but for the price, I could get the 30D, but I do a lot of sport shots so the 30D isnt the most appealing camera if you dont need the fast FPS. The Canon cameras do take better JPEG files, which are great if you do not want ot do any post production after wards. But at the RAW level, both the D80 and the XTi are evenly matched, from there it depends on your skills and the type of lenses you get. For Canon get their red ringed lenses, I tried one and I couldnt go without one, any Canon with a red ring should have xx-xx mm f/x L <--- the L stands for Luxury which is Canons pro line. For Nikon their gold rings are the best ones they have (I do not know the name for their pro lenses). The D80 has the same imagine quality as Canon, why pay $300-400 more when you can get it for $700 with the XTi? Unless you already have glass invest in Nikon. The reasons why I didnt choice the D80 over the XTi for myself. 1) Nikon does not have as fast auto focus as Canon lenses do. I needed all the help I can get since I do a lot of indoor sport shots. 2) More IS lenses, although I only have one it helps alittle bit in low light situations, other wise I just leave it off to conserve energy. 3) Full frame sensors at the end of their line (Mk-II's and the 5D) Nikon vs Canon, this agrument can go on forever with flame wars. Nikon has better optics in my opinion (my dad owns a film Nikon) and Canon seems to have better in camera firmware than Nikon ( I own the XTi so I am a little biased to my camera). The D80 if your going with Nikon, all lenses work for it and it will blow your mind with the imagine quality. Just remember 80% of chocing a SLR is based on personal opinion (rough est.). If you have used a Canon use a Canon, if you have used a Nikon use a Nikon. Go to a local camera store and try one out yourself and see which one you like.

Answer 3

Between those two the Nikon is the better choice. The D80 has better features cheif among them is a better autofocus sensor array. The D80 would compare to some of the higher level Canons.

Getting good pictures in low light will have more to do with lens selection than with which of those cameras you choose. You will need a fast lens and both Nikon and Canon make good glass with wide openings. For those of us on a budget, both make f/1.8 50mm lenses that are good in low light and sell for around $100.

If I were buying and had to choose between those two I'd go with the D80.

Disclaimer - I've had a D50 for over a year and love the camera.

Answer 4

Just my personal preference I own a Nikon D80 my 5th Nikon always been happy with product /image derived from all cameras...

Answer 5

That'd be the Cannon Rebel XTi

Answer 6

betweeen your choices I like the D80, but the best camera in that range is neither. It's the Pentax K10D.

http://neocamera.com/feature_compare_10mp_dslr.html
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-02-05-02.shtml

Conclusion - Pros
Smooth clean images with good color and tone, not as crisp as we would like
Robust body with dust and weather seals, high build quality
Accurate and fast auto-focus
Unique exposure modes; sensitivity, shutter/aperture priority, hyper program
Selectable program lines; Normal, Hi speed, Depth and MTF (lens sharpness)
Good range of image parameter adjustment (-5 to +5 for each)
Dedicated RAW button a useful addition
Selectable RAW format (PEF or DNG)
Unlimited continuous shooting in JPEG mode
Occasionally useful 'digital preview' allows you to take a test shot which isn't saved
User definable Auto ISO (set minimum and maximum ISO)
Good built-in flash metering
Large and bright Pentaprism viewfinder (0.95x magnification)
In-camera Shake Reduction system offers some advantage in low light
Dust reduction by anti-static coating and optional sensor 'shake'
Mirror lock-up implemented as part of the self-timer
Function menu for quick access to important settings (although hard buttons are better)
Large, bright and high resolution LCD monitor
Good battery life from high capacity Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Proper hinged doors covering the connectors (not the cheap rubber bungs)
In-camera RAW development and image retouching (B&W, Sepia, Soft etc.)
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface (with mass storage device driver)
Value for money
Conclusion - Cons
In-camera image processor unable to deliver crisp sharp edges, better to shoot RAW
About a third of a stop less highlight dynamic range than the competition
Slightly inconsistent continuous shooting rate (although always around 3.1 fps)
Would have been nice to have hard buttons for White Balance and ISO sensitivity
Turning up sharpness setting doesn't deliver crisper edges
Average automatic white balance performance, still very poor under incandescent light
Flash must be raised for AF assist (although AF works even in very low light)
Color space selection buried in custom menu

Answer 7

digital camra, there better