Which one should I buy, the Nikon D40x or the Canon Rebel XTi?

Question

I'm an amateur photographer and I want something that I can keep for 2-4 years at least and use when I start taking photography class. I can't make up my mind which one I should get.

Answer 1

Try this camera selector. It lets you select the features that are most important to YOU (including price ranges) and gives you lots of information on models that have the features you want.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare....

This is much better than just getting people to tell which cameras THEY like.

Answer 2

I'm a professional and I own 2 Canon 5Ds and the new 1d MkIII. I wanted something that would take good enough photos on my trip to Hawaii in 3 weeks without having to take such expensive cameras. So I brought the XTi and found it to have excellent quality with images good enough to do pro jobs. Forget about the argument about Nikon being able to take lenses made 25-45 years ago. Who has lenses that old anyway can you imagine the improvement made in that period of time?? There was a vey important reason why Canon changed its lens mount, in 1987. Canon realized that a good auto focus system requires a motor in the lens and in order to accomodate the motors they needed a larger lens mount. This resulted in the world's most accurate an fastest autofocus system in the world. I went the Nikon route for a short period and came running back to Canon because I missed the exellent focusing.Also Canon invented Image Stabilization, which Nikon calls Vibration reduction. Canon also invented Ultrsonic enses which Nikon now calls silent wave. Another good thing about Canon's larger lens mount is that it enables them to make faster lenses. Canon has lenses as fast as f1.2 and has had an f1.0 lens before. These f stops, Nikon has never had due to the limitations of its lens mount.

Answer 3

I will add one more thing on this subject that nobody else mentioned. Since I work with Nikon equipment and Nikon has stayed with the "F" mount for a couple of decades now, you can use lenses that are 25 years old and they will still work. These lenses will not be autofocus but they still work and with the newer camera like the Nikon D200 you can put information in the camera what lens is on the camera. You can still use these lenses on a Nikon D40x also.

This also goes with Nikons dedicated flashes, they have never changed the shoe mount over the years like other camera manufactures have in the past. This is also one of the reasons I had switched to Nikon many years ago.

This is may source for when I buy photo equipment.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com

Hope this helps,
Kevin

Answer 4

I just bought the Rebel XTI and I LOVE it. I got it at best buy with the full 4 year warrenty. The different lens options are great. The quality is amazing. The battery life is far better then any sony i have ever bought. Comsumer reports just did a report on these this month and the Rebel got GREAT ratings. Look for a deal, i know in my area right now at best buy you can get the Rebel, the 50m to 300m lens and the camera bag which comes with an extra battery and a UV filter for under $1000.

Answer 5

Well to be honest the Nikon and Canon camera lines are quite similar. I like the canon equipment better, I have the 5D and a bunch of lenses.
I don't know much about the d40x, but both of these cameras have a 1.6 crop factor. If you don't know what that is, don't worry, I'm just trying to say they're about the same.
In general, Canon cameras seem to have better low light (high ISO) capability.
Check out www.dpreview.com and read the forums. There are lots of product data there too.

Answer 6

The Nikon SB800 and the Nikon SB600 flashes will only work on the D200, D2x, D70, D80, D50, D2Hs & D40. No other Nikon flash will work on these cameras. Which means that if you brought a Nikon flash previously to the release of the D2Hs and the D70, it will not work on Nikon cameras made now, Not even theSB80, SB28DX or SB60 which were made for digital. Also Nikon's DX lenses will fit all Nikon cameras but they won't work correctly on full frame cameras, (they vignette extremely) so what good is not changing the mount if the lens is not going to work?

Answer 7

i feel the biggest difference is the following: as an entry level DSLR, the Nikon D40x (and D40) will only autofocus using lenses with internal focus motors. i.e. the lens designated AF-I and AF-S. the lenses designated AF, AF-D, AF-G, or AF-N can only be used in manual focus mode. there isn't such a limitation with the Canon Rebel XTi though.

Answer 8

I'd go for the Canon. I may be biased but Rebel has a great rep and the XTi pretty much has everything you could need.

Answer 9

it's kindof a personal preferance. Some people like Nikon while others like Canon. I PERSONALLY like Nikon mainly cause that's what I've used so far

Answer 10

I'd take Pentax over either, and the older Sony models aren't to be sneezed at either.

Choose the camera that feels best in your hands, but take your blinkers off first.