Nikon-Canon Debate?

Question

I still can't decide which one will be best for me. I'm leaning toward the Nikon D80 over the Canon Rebel XTi but I don't want to end up making the wrong decision. I know a con for the Nikon is that there is no RAW conversion software included, but I will most likely be shooting in jpg-at least for awhile. I have heard that the Canon sometimes shuts off when in burst mode-I will be doing infant shoots so I don't want the camera to shut down when I'm firing away trying to capture the shot. If you own either of these could you please give me your opinion-
quality of photos
battery life
ease of use
problems with memory cards (sd vs cf)
is the dust reduction in the Canon a true deciding factor
which brand is easier to upgrade with
what is your lens of choice

I know most will say it's a personal choice and it depends on which feels more comfortable in your hand, but I would like to get as many opinions as possible to try to help me decide.

Thanks in advance.

~Christen

Answer 1

I have a D50 and have always gotten great battery life. In fact the only time I've come close to running it down is when I've had the 80-200 f/2.8 mounted and the little D50 is having to drive the autofocus on that big lens. Even with that I've shot hundreds of pics before the battery became a concern. With the kit lens I've shot as many as 300 shots in a session and the battery was still showing full charge. Let me add a little tidbit, I was in a camera store checking out a D80 and the battery wasn't in the camera, it was in the Canon case. It seems there is some interchangability between batteries so I'm going to assume that battery life between the two brands is very similar.

The D80 has a spot meter and that can come in handy if you are trying to nail a correct exposure in a difficult lighting situation. I have used that mode a good bit.

If you have used a digital SLR then you know that the viewfinder has several autofocus points. In this comparison the D80 has more points and, IMO, a better layout of those points. That can really be handy when you are doing a portrait and want the eyes to be the sharpest focus point. I'm not saying that the Canon's arrangement is bad, just that I think the Nikon has the upper hand between these two cameras.

You will not lose no matter which camera you buy but in my biased opinion I'd go for the D80.

One last thing, my D50 uses SD cards and I've not had any problems. I doubt the CF really has an advantage, maybe a little bit in extreme durability but it is more likely they are still used because a lot of serious photogs have a lot of money tied up in their CF cards.

Answer 2

I recently went through this, except with the D70s, or the Rebel XT, I personally would have chosen the D70s because Nikon cameras have always reigned supreme in my mind, but due to
availability, I bought the Rebel XT,, Both are great cameras though

Nikon- Opinion: Great overall brand that has always provided the pro or serious photographer great bodies, and glass to help them in their journey

Quality of photos 9/10

Battery life-7/10

ease of use: depending on mode, on full auto, super easy, on Manual, requires some photography literacy, but still doable.

Memory Cards, I am assuming the D80 uses CF cards, which are remarkable, I've seen them come up to 16 Gigabyte!

The Dust reduction on the canon is great. But I clean my sensor on a regular basis. So dust should never have a chance to accumulate

Opinion of Canon- Great cameras with amazing quality that I personally feel Canon tries to appeal more to the beginners hoping to become professional photographers, than trying to appeal to Pros alone, like Nikon does

Quality of photos- 8/10

Battery life-8/10

ease of use- again, depends on mode, Full auto, so easy, a child could do it. Manual, a bit confusing, but if you read the book, it becomes second nature....after a while

Memory card:Again assuming that the Digital Rebel series still take CF cards, your good to go. CF cards are amazing.

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The brand that I have heard is easier to upgrade with, is Canon, because of their "some of the time", cheaper body prices, you can upgrade to a better body, and still use the same glass. But again, the Nikon bodies are compatible with all of the Nikkor glass, excluding the D40 of course, so, maybe more people will help ya out with that one.

My lens of choice is the Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM. Great lens

But, I know you are going to hate me for saying this, but, it's a personal choice, you know, go to a camera store, and pick them up and see how they feel in your hand. ;-). But, if I were in your position, I would choose the Nikon, just because I really like Nikon.

And about the RAW processing software, I have the RAW processing software that came with the XT, I hope by now they upgraded, but anyway, I wasn't that impressed with it,. And I haven't heard about the cameras shutting off while in burst mode. I will have to research that.

but anyway,
GOOD luck!

Answer 3

To answer your questions:
1) quality of photos - same quality
2) battery life - same
3) ease of use - same
4) problems with memory cards (sd vs cf) - There are CF cards with higher memory
5) is the dust reduction in the Canon a true deciding factor - No
6) which brand is easier to upgrade with - both
7) what is your lens of choice - any new lens with ED (extra low dispersion elements) to reduce chromatic aberation) of the same brand. DO NOT get third party lenses. Get the Nikon 18-200VR lens.

If you serach through CNET.com, they did a comparison between the D80 and Xti and Nikon won with flying colors - but only because its sexier, easier to use, and user friendly. But the quality of the fotos are essentially the same.

Go for the D80. Nikon is superior in its creative flash photography. Check-out the www.nikondigital.com

Answer 4

I am a Canon owner, but would lean in the camp that says 'both are great'. I find it hard to believe that Nikon would not have RAW conversion software included, but if you end up with Photoshop, you should be able to read RAW from either brand whether it came with its own software or not...I would not let that be a con against Nikon.

I tend to believe that Canon is a little farther ahead in terms of technology, but not by much. Currently, Nikon has the edge in terms of high res low-end dSLRs, but Canon is about to respond. Canon offers the highest resolution with the 1DS Mk II, which has been out for about 5 years (it's due for an upgrade).

Also, I don't think you need to worry about making the 'wrong' decision at this stage because the camera body will eventually be seen as your 'expendable' portion of your investment. Your real investment will be in the lenses...this, along with your photographic technique and printing is what will contribute to the quality of the photos. The worst case is you buy a lot of NEW lenses, change your mind (i.e. switch from Nikon to Canon or vice-versa), then need to buy a new set of lenses. You will pay a premium for new lenses, and its resale value will be about 20-30 percent lower if kept in good condition. But the good news is, unlike camera bodies, lenses will keep their value pretty well at that point. If you are on a budget, the best bet is to buy good lenses used...if you decide to resell, you will get back close to the same amount. If you buy new, it is an instant loss if you resell.

Battery Life: As a Canon user, I have always been impressed with the battery life...never disappointed. I would imagine the same on the Nikon side.

Memory Cards: Never had any problems with the CF card with the exception on an earlier microdrive made by IBM (a long time ago).

I don't consider dust reduction a major factor. If you are changing out your lens in dusty conditions, it might be a factor for you. Photojournalists run into this problem. I use a Giotto Rocket to clear my sensor when needed (see link below).

As for upgrading, if you are referring to the OS within the camera, I would imagine both are easy, but I have never done this.

My lens of choice (for Canon) would be the L series...they have great edge-to-edge sharpness. This is a factor if you are into landscape photography, but not so much if you are a portrait photographer. Both Canon and Nikon have equivalent lens offerings at competitive prices, but I lean towards Canon because they offer Tilt-and-Shift lenses. But this should not be a major pro for Canon because there are less expensive 3rd party makers of tilt/shift lenses for both Canon and Nikon. Take a look at the lens offering for both sides and decide which set will serve you in the long term. I would agree with the other writer that you should avoid lenses that come in the kit.

Again, if you invested in good used lenses, you can eventually switch brands without paying too much for it...you are never 'stuck' with one particular brand. You are more likely to stay with one brand out of comfort and familiarity (or loyalty). I think the differences that you find between the two brands are marginal. Ultimately, it's the photographer and not the camera that makes good photos.

Answer 5

I've owned the Digital Rebel XT for two years now. It’s a great camera.

Pros: Sharp images, 8 megapixel, sturdy handgrip (better than the XTi's), and a main advantage is having the expandability of Canon's lens lineup. I have two of their lenses. Uhh..the controls are all easy to master, the viewfinder is good, nice and bright, yah, it's pretty much a great camera

Cons: I feel it is a little small for a professional camera, but I don't hold that against it - it's not all that small. Other than that, I love it

If you want to see some picture's I've taken with it, go to my website here:

http://ajsellarole.pink-pistol.net/Nature/Nature.html

Thanks good luck

btw..........I know YOU!! lol :) hi again, I liked those pictures, I'll get back to you with more soon

Answer 6

I have a D50- and am in no way a serious photograher, but love it. Easy to use, excellent photo quality, battery life has been much better than I would have thought, no issues with lens upgrading, 1 GB sd cards are pretty cheap... cf is on the way out, or so I've heard. anyway, a vote in the nikon camp!

Answer 7

No debate. Pick the one YOU like the best, not the one we prefer You can do research on the Nikon and Canon websites as well as visit camera stores and hold each in your hands. Between physically holding them in your hands and comparing their specifications, YOU will soon know which system suits your needs

Answer 8

I myself own a Nikon so you'll find my opinion a bit biased. I've worked with Canon's before but I find my Nikon camera has the best clarity. Nikon's really do have fantastic lenses that any other camera I've worked with hasn't been able to live up to. I'd say choose a Nikon.

Answer 9

Buy the Nikon. Here's why.

The February 2007 issue of Popular Photography has an article where they compared the top 10 MP DSLR's.

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 (400D) - 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."

Then again, this is the same magazine that put the Sony Alpha 100 dead last in this comparison named it the camera of the year in the previous issue!

This review is now available online at:

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3569/10mp-dslr-shootout.html
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Nikon D80 vs. Canon 400D/Rebel XTi

One of my boilerplate answers......

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 well. Canon's new 18-55 Series II lens is okay, also. 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.

Nikon D80 vs. Canon Rebel XTi (400D) vs. Sony Alpha A100

http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Canon-Rebel-XTi-vs-Nikon-D80-vs-Sony-Alpha-A100-Head-to-Head-to-Head-Digital-Camera-Review-.htm [Note the neavigation menu near the top of the review]