Which one? cannon EOS series or the Nikon D series of digital cameras?

Question

I am seeking a camera with the same reliability and speed of a good ole EOS or Nikon F4.. I have both and lenses to go with either, although more for the cannon mount. I am interested in the cycling and return of the camera in taking shots close together and not loosing power after the first "roll" or 30 to 50 shots. Which camera has proven to be the best and friendliest for this type of shooting...? Prefer Sd over Compact but thats just because I have the cards and readers already... Not wanting to spend any more than I have to .. prefferably under $1k... Any one with some advise for me with some use actually under their belts on either of these two cameras? Which models? Thanks for the input!

Answer 1

For under $1000 you will not find anything that comes CLOSE to your F4.

Your options are the entry level models: the Canon Rebel XTi (a.k.a. 400D) and the Nikon D80. The Nikon is a better camera - it has a larger viewfinder, larger grip, and it has a spot meter. The Nikon is also about $200 more expensive.
These two cameras provide pretty much identical image quality. They both have 10 megapixels, and they both do 3 frames per second with a limited buffer: the Canon can nominally shoot 50 jpg or 12 RAW, and the Nikon can do 40 jpg or 7 RAW. This is fairly optimistic however - things usually get sluggish well before that. They both take CF cards - whoops, no, the D80 takes SD cards.

If you increase your budget to $1400, your options include the Canon 30D and the Nikon D200. Once again, the Nikon is about $200 more expensive and it's a better all around camera. These models can both do 5 frames per second. With the Nikon, the buffer is about 25 jpgs or 21 RAW and with the Canon you can shoot 10 RAW images before things get sluggish. I use a D200 myself and I can vouch for 20+ high rez jpg images.
These models both use CF cards.

These numbers are for continuous shooting mode. If you pause for a moment between short bursts, the buffer will never fill up and you´re only limited by the size of your memory card.

Please note that all four of these models have a crop factor that will screw up your wide angle lenses and standard zooms. With these two Canon bodies, all of your lenses are magnified by a factor 1.6 and with all Nikon bodies your lenses are magnified by a factor 1.5. So a 50mm lens effectivey becomes 80mm on a Canon 400D or 20D and 75mm on any digital Nikon. (Great news if you shoot mostly wildlife, of course. Free reach.)
The only bodies that don´t have a crop factor are high end Canons. The cheapest is the 5D at $2500. This camera is a step above all of the the models I mentioned previously in terms of image quality and resolution, but it only does 3 frames per second. The 5D basically offers a fantastic sensor in a cheap body.
For a straight replacement of your F4, you´ll also need to spend +$2500. The D2Xs or possibly the D2H for sports.

Here´s a side/by/side of the specs. You can click on all of them for an in-depth review
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_eos400d%2Cnikon_d80%2Ccanon_eos30d%2Cnikon_d200&show=all

Answer 2

My approach would be to consider the glass carefully. If your greater value is in Canon lenses then go Canon. If Nikon then buy a Nikon.

You didn't mention your use so that makes it a little harder to recommend a model. I landed in the DSLR world with a Nikon AF lens so I went Nikon. To me the Nikon D50 felt better in my hand than the 300D at the time. I was so happy with the D50 that I then went on to a D80. This is a wonderful camera.

For battery usage, I doubt there is much difference between them, they both use a solid Lithium Ion battery in the hand grip. Combine this with the fact that they do not rely constantly on the review screen, and the battery lasts a while. I seriously doubt you could use a full charge in a day.

The Nikon uses SD in the D50 and D80, from memory the D200 uses CF but don't quote me. Memory is so cheap now that I wouldn't let the memory sway my decision.

Go to a reputable camera store and hold both cameras in your hand, ergonomics will pay a part in your decision seeing as the feature sets are so close.

If you are lucky a gentleman named "Dr Sam" will also answer this question with a more thorough comparison between the Nikon and Canon models, if he does his points would be well worth consideration as he has spent a great deal of time on research. (he ended up with Nikon by the way)

I don't by any means think that Canons are rubbish, I just prefer Nikon ergonomics and features, so that's what I own and recommend.

Either way you will like your new camera. All the best with it!

Answer 3

Canon

Answer 4

nikon all the way

Answer 5

canon is my first choice

Answer 6

I actually have a Nikon D70s and D200 and have had them for over a year now. Although it is hardly a reason to choose Nikon over Canon, the Nikon D80 uses SD memory cards. There are better reasons to choose the D80 than that. I will post a couple of my stock answers that no longer require any effort on my part, so please feel free to choose (so far) either teef or OMG as the best answer, as they have given you a custom answer.

Before I get to that, though, I'll add one comment. With your experience and taste in equipment, I'd highly recommend that you read my argument in favor of the D80 and then take a leap of faith and move up to a D200 if you can possibly extend your budget just a little bit. It does away with all the cute icons on the mode dial and just does what YOU expect a camera to do and it does it all very well. Not that there is anything great shakes over there, but I invite you to click on my avatar (that little x-ray to the left of this answer) and see my Flickr gallery, where about half the shots are with a D200. View them full sized to really evaluate the camera.

Stock Answer Number One:

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! (In a follow-up to this seeming error, Pop Photo published the explanation that only the D80 and the Sony had been tested by the end-of-year deadline for choosing the Camera of the Year. Sony won on the strength of low price and built-in image stabilization. The other 3 that beat Sony in shoot-out were not tested until after the Camera of the Year was selected, because they were not yet available.)

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

If you want to get the "best" for the real world, consider the Nikon D200 or Canon 30D if you can afford it. For about $300-500 less, look at the results of the recent PopPhoto test and choose from that list according to your taste.

Personally, I use a Nikon D200 and would recommend it without hesitation to someone who has some knowledge of photography. For someone who wants the "best," but is starting with somewhat of an "entry level" knowledge base, I'd suggest the Nikon D80.

There are people out there who will state their preference for the Canon cameras and I will not argue with them. The Canon 30D and 400D are excellent cameras as well. You would have to visit a camera store or camera department and pick them up and see what you think.

This review is now available online at:

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3569/10mp-dslr-shootout.html

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

Here's another comparison or interest:

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]

The next thing to consider is what lens to start with and where you go from there. If you are new to this, I'd say to just get the "kit" lens, which seems to be the 18-135 lens for the D80, and get started. Once you know where you really want to go with your photography, Nikon has an almost unlimited family of lenses to choose from. Of course, you already have a few. OMG has qualified this matter, though, with regard to lens crop factor of 1.5X. You will want something down in the sub-20 mm focal length if you are looking for a decent wide angle lens. We both love the 17-55, but that costs more than the camera!

Stock Answer Number Two:

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
.....
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
.....
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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Stock Answer Number Three, taking you from the D80 to the D200:

Comparison between the Nikon D80 and the Nikon D200:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d80%2Cnikon_d200&show=all

If you want to compare current models, compare the D80 to the D200. This is a tough call. Here is the recent Popular Photography review of the D80. They make comparisons with the D200 throughout the article. They also have capsule summaries comparing the D80 to the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi (400D), the Pentax K10D, and the Sony Alpha 100. In the conclusion, they suggest that Nikon has "gone crazy" releasing this camera for $700 less than the D200, stating that the D80 is nearly the same camera without a few features and without the industrial strength of the D200.

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3231/camera-test-nikon-d80.html

I own a D200 and a D70s, which should feel quite a bit like the D80. The D70s by no means feels "cheap," but it is lighter and somewhat smaller than the D200. If I had all of the image quality of the D200 available in the D70s, I doubt I would have spent the money for the D200. In other words, if you are looking to move up from a point and shoot, the additional price is probably not worth the difference unless you need the superior construction and all the subtle features of the D200.