need advice on buying my next camera.......?

Question

I am a photographer and i need to buy a new camera for my business. I currently have a 35mm slr Canon 300v, which i bought for my college course but i now need to get a digital slr as my business is growing. I need to know which camera would be a best buy; the Canon 400d or the Nikon 40dx. Any help would be great. thanks

Answer 1

Dont waste you time asking here. Go to a store like Jessops for full proffessional advice.

Good luck................
ps. I said that, because, and not being nasty to anyone, how can you take advice from someone on here, when you get a person asking a question like ' I live in London, where can I get a 35mm film developed' Hope you understand.
YA is the LAST place i would go for advice on something like what you are asking.

Answer 2

Consumer Reports, November 2007, lists the following digital SLR camera as a "Best Buy": Nikon D40 @ $600. Although it has virtually the same overall rating score, the Pentax K100D at $600 is not given a "Best Buy" rating because the Pentax brand is not as reliable as Nikon.

The Nikon D40X is listed at $800, and has almost exactly the same overall score as the D40. The only difference is that its ISO setting goes down to 100, whereas the D40 only goes to 200. Also, the D40X is 10 megapixels, and the D40 is only six.

The Canon 400D was not tested. The Canon Digital Rebel Xti at $800 has the same rating as the Nikon D40X, but the Nikon has a longer flash range by two feet, and its ISO setting goes up to 3200 as opposed to the Canon's 1600.

If I were choosing between these two models, I would go for the Nikon D40X. (It is also rated as a Quick Pick by CU; the Canon wasn't.) In the December CU Reports, the price of the Nikon was down to $750.

Answer 3

Things are always changing in the digital world, but I don't think there is a significant new entry at your price point, so this is still valid for you:

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 article is 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 of 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.
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See XTi, D40, D40x, XT, D80,: http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/4584/top-selling-digital-slrs-for-july.html

Answer 4

Depending how many lenses you already have the question I'd ask is can they be used on the Canon 400D. If so that should make the choice easier.