which is a good canon/nikon digital slr camera? it seems these are the leading brands...?

Answer 1

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. Nikon is now offering the D80 in a kit with a very nice 18-135 lens, although it does have a polycarbonate ("plastic") mount that might begin to wear if you buy additional lenses and change them often. 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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OR - IF YOU ARE IN THE BIG DOLLAR LEAGUE - SEE THIS:

Nikon D200 vs. Canon 5D

http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Nikon-D200-vs-Canon-EOS-5D-Head-to-Head-Review-.htm [Note the navigation menu near the top of the review]

Answer 2

For beginners on a budget: >$700
Nikon D40 Kit
Pentax K100 Kit
Sony Alpha A100 Kit

For ~$1K more or less:
Canon 400D/Rebel Xti Kit or Body only
Nikon D80 Body only
Pentax K10D Body only

For slightly more:
Canon 30D Body only

For quite a bit more, but under $2K
Nikon D200 Body only

After that you have the Canon 5D at $3K minimum then followed by the pro-level camera's. I haven't listed Olympus, Fuji and other SLR's as I'm not that familiar with them.

All in all, brand preference is relative. If you are a beginner, you are most likely going to be happy with ANY of the current DSLRs on the market.

But brand becomes more important as you learn more and you explore photography more. You might find that your chosen brand does not have a particular lens or feature you want down the road, so try to read up now and learn.

Nikon and Canon of course are the "top" brands because they offer the most lenses and third party lens manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron offer lots of lenses for their respective mounts. (more than for other mounts)

My suggestion is to read up on lenses and features then look at the different lenses and accessories offered for each 'system' and take it from there.

And most important of all, always go to the store and hold the camera's in your hand. A camera with all the bells and whistles but doesn't feel good in your hand will spend more time in your closet.

Also, dpreview.com for the best reviews online.

Answer 3

Over all the 20D will take better pictures than the XTi because it has a larger sensor than the XTi. It does handle ISO a little better than the XTi does but its not by much. I would get the 20D if you really want a semi-pro camera. But if this is your first SLR I would recommond getting the XTi because its still a great camera just that its a little bit easier to use than the 20D in terms of manuel features. Overall the 20D will take better pictures than the XTi IF you invest the money in good lens and time into editing RAW pictures.

Answer 4

Think I tried to answer that for you but the question got pulled.
There are three classes of digital cameras. The Consumer class (viewfinder type) in the under $300 class. The Prosumer DSLR's in the under $1000 class and the Professional cams in the over $1000 class. Brands are more a case of personal preference than anything else. The top three are Cannon, Nikon and Olympus, but don't under rate Pentax as you can get a lot more bang for your buck there than the over priced big names.

Answer 5

I'm really happy with my Canon Rebel XT.

They have a newer version called the XTi for about $900.

If you're a beginner and want to shave some cost, the Nikon DSLRs can be as low as $500.

Answer 6

Canon Rebel XT and Nikon D80.
Both are market leader, forget about other brand.