Which is better... Canon Digital Rebel XTI or the Nikon D80?

Question

Im getting a new camera and these two are both great but Im not sure which one is the better one...

Answer 1

Just for fun, I'll send you to do some detective work. This member spent about 3 weeks deciding which camera to buy and he left a ctber-trail of all of his research. After consulting with us for all that time, he chose the Nikon D80.

Go to http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnEsGtT.HwC0MQb5ygctC6UAAAAA?qid=20070317123347AAVbc7N&show=7#profile-info-AA10172206 and click on kirr's avatar. Then scroll down and click on the "Questions" tab. You'll find about 10-12 questions on the topic of choosing his camera and there are half a dozen answers to most questions. Read them and see what you think.

If you want my "easy way out" answer, though, here's my stock reply to this question. It will become clear that I'm a Nikon guy, but some of my best friends own Canon's and I still speak to them. As you will read below, I prefer the Nikon, but what YOU prefer is more important.
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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.
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The February 2007 issue of Popular Photography has an article where they compared the top 10 MP DSLR's, including the D80 and XTi. The Nikon D80 was BEST in Image Quality, Control and System Flexibility and the Canon Rebel XTi (400D) tied with the D80 for best in System Flexibility, but won no other categories.

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3569/10mp-dslr-shootout.html
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Here's another reference from outside the photographic press. Consumer reports compared the Nikon D80, Canon Rebel XTi and Sony Alpha. Personally, I'd say that the Nikon came out on top here, also. It beats the Sony in "noise-free ISO" with an acceptable rating at ISO 1600 (kind of optimistic, I think...) compared to the Sony's ISO 400. It beats the Canon (in my opinion) by having a spot meter that the Canon does not offer.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/news-electronics-computers/november-2006/shootout-10-megapixel-digital-slr-cameras-11-06/overview/0611_digital-slr-shoot-out.htm
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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 navigation menu near the top of the review]
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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

they are in fact for different market section and purpose.

(1) canon xti is for entry level while d80 is for those who are more into photography; megapixel is never a consideration here since they make no big difference. it's about the build quality and functions.

(2) canon xti is a more compact SLR while D80 is much heavier and larger--let me put is this way--xti is good for travel and more flexible while for d80, if you are into photography, you will love the solid build and its professional functions.

i had an xt (350d) before and i upgraded to 30d over the xti and i am very happy with it.

hope this helps.

Answer 4

Canon is a better brand and has better image quality. Feature wise the D80 is probably a little better but a lot more expensive.

Consider the 30D, it's currently very nicely priced and has much nicer features than the D80.

Hope this helps!

Ignacio

Answer 5

The Nikon is LARGER in physical size.

The Nikon diffuses the image to smooth out the color, but it makes the edges less sharp, but the colors more uniform.

The Nikon uses SD cards

The Canon sharpens the edges, so the picture looks sharper, but the colors mottle a little

The Canon is smaller in size.

The Canon uses Compact Flash cards, which are a tad more expensive and larger in size and harder to find.

Answer 6

the Nikon D80 i think would be better for you.

Answer 7

my boyfriend just got a rebel and loves it very much