What is the Best Professional Digital Camera?

Question

Which is better, Canon or Nikon?
(I know they're both good).

What does Consumer Reports say?
(I don't have a subscription).

Which cameras, specifically, are great?
(But not horribly expensive...likes less than $1000).

Answer 1

Since you say "Best" and "Great," I know you will spend more than $1,000. WIth that in mind, I am going repeat one of my standard answers on the topic. The cameras are all in the $700-1000 range, but you'll need to add a lens (about $300) and a memory card ($50), so look this over and come back with a brand in mind and we'll steer you towards the right lens to start out with.
~~~~~
I posted a "question" a short time ago to get this information out there. You may find the answers to that question helpful.

"The February 2007 issue of Popular Photography has just come out and they compared the top 10 MP DSLR's. I am posting this question for general information and so I can refer to it in future answers.

"I took the scores and ranked the cameras similar to the way Formula 1 gives championship points. I just gave 5 for 1st place down to 1 for last place, splitting the difference when cameras tied in their catagories.

"They evaluated Image Quality (giving this twice as much weight as anything else), Ease of Use, Control, and System Flexibility.

"The final order and my scores are:

Nikon D80 - 17.5 points
- BEST in Image Quality, Control and System Flexibility
Canon Rebel XTi - 13.5 points
- Tied for best in System Flexibility
Pentax K10D - 11 points
- Tied for best in Ease of Use
Samsung GX10 - 11 points
- Tied for best in Ease of Use
Sony Alpha 100 - 7 points
- LAST in Image Quality, Ease of Use and System Flexibility."

Go to the original question and read the responses for more opinions.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiG00eHyd0oq5b.X7J.jiULzy6IX?qid=20070113133139AAHWJY0

Answer 2

I shoot Nikon SLRs, but Canon is fine, too.

Consumer Reports is not where you need to be taking your camera advice from. CR is great for kitchen appliances and paint and cars, maybe, but their opinion is not too informed when it comes to cameras.

Try www.dpreview.com or stevesdigicams.com.

The Nikon D40 and D50 are within your range. Of the two, I would choose the D50. If I could spare a few more bucks, the D80.

I would suggest going to a camera shop or big box retailer and play with a few different Canons and Nikons. Choose the one that feels best in your hands. Either company makes fine cameras and you will be pleased as punch with which ever you end up choosing.

Also, do a thread search on this subject. Alan has posted a concise ranking of the major SLR cameras recently. It would be worth a look.

Any decent camera and lens will record a clear, well exposed image. You, the photographer, have to supply the instruction and the vision. The camera is just a tool, you have to be the craftsman.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Both are great. Canon has better reputation among the best paid photographers, Nikon among many, many prosumers.
Canon 20D or Rebel XTi are under $1000 and are fantastic.
you might even find a 30d under 1k, I am not sure.
I own a Canon 20d and a 5d.

I must say, do not pay attention to the: more megapixels-better comments. That is not accurate. Usually, on high end cameras, the better the lens, the best quality. Canon L-seres lenses are the best out there... but they cost a fortune. Sigmas EX are ok.

Answer 4

Thoughts to remember:
(1) You're not going to get a "professional" digital camera for under $1,000. Those cameras' bodies alone are well over $2,000, and then you have to pay for a lens.
(2) In the "prosumer" line, it really depends upon what you're looking for. Some people like Nikon; some like Canon. I like Canon's menu interfaces and their EF line of lenses.
(3) If you buy a dSLR (that is really simply, a camera with interchangeable lenses) it's the LENS that makes the most difference in your pictures. Buying a nice, $700 body and then buying $99 lenses will yield you much much worse pictures than simply buying a good compact digicam.
(4) dSLR images are not quite as "consumer ready" as many other cameras. That's because (at least up until recently) people who used dSLRs to take pictures were expected to spend time adjusting them in Photoshop or a similar program, because a computer is much better at image manipulation than a teeny, tiny chip in a camera. So they might not look as good right out of the camera. If you want something sharp, that you can download and perhaps print right away, you might still wanna look at a good consumer camera.
(5) Do you really want a dSLR? Do you know how to manipulate f-stop, shutter speed, depth of field? Do you know the basics of lighting and framing? If so, then maybe it's worth it. If not, get a good "prosumer" camera.

My favorite review site, Steves Digicams, will give you all the specs and preferences... http://www.stevesdigicams.com It can also help you find the right camera for you. There's a forum site -- http://www.stevesforums.com, that is equally helpful.
For more indepth reviews, check out http://www.dpreview.com

To answer your "which cameras are great" question, we have to know about YOUR planned uses. Will you be taking indoor pics a lot (thus need a good flash and/or low light capabilities?) Sports? (big, long lenses) Nature? (Image stabilization) Portraits? Are you an experienced user (and thus need LOTS of manual controls) or a newbie (where you will set it on "auto" most of the time)? Because one camera may be good for one thing, but not so much for another. The People on the Steve's Forums will help -- they have a "what camera should I buy" thread, and people are always helpful.

Answer 5

1) they are both good, and both have strenghts and weaknesses. You probbaly should figure out what you will use it for, and figure out which will work best for you.

2) Don't know.

3) "Pro" cameras are gonna run you more than $1000. You can get great results with a less than pro camera like a Nikon d40. Unless you need the extra build quality or are actually going to use the some of the added features of a "real" pro camera, you can probably get away with otu one. Check out the Nikon d80 as well.

Check out www.kenrockwell.com has some great info that will get you pointed in the right direction.

Answer 6

Nikon is the best (every canon owner will disagree) but as far a quality of camera goes you should get a nikon d series by far the very best in digital camera's
it is also the choice of the military.
consumer reposrts says the same thing.

Answer 7

Canon, they as I've told millions, the best digital camera company ever! My entire family owns only Canons. Not one family member as far as I know doesn't have a Canon. My cousin is into photography and he says that the Powershot G7 is a great digital camera! He owns one and I saw the pics it took and they were great! My Canon takes great pics too but it's like 5 years old so Canon doesn't sell it any more. The one I have is a Powershot.

BH Photo sells cameras cheap and sells some with kits. I also gave you the Canon site.

Answer 8

Canon Digital Rebel XTi / Canon 400D
Visite http://reviews.cnet.com/Digital_cameras/4520-7603_7-5023995-7.html for Proper Guide...

Answer 9

check out stevesdigicams.com (better than consumer reports) nikon and canon are the same quality it just depends on your usability preferences (I would suggest going to a camera store and going through all the functions in each camera in the store to see which you prefer.

Answer 10

nikon is the best u really want to focuos on the type of lens the camera has because you do not what a plastic one u want glass i don't know what the consumer reoprt says but u might look up nikon digital cameras on the nikon homepage and stuff which will be most helpful in my opinoion.