nikon questions

March 14, 2010 | By Digital Camera Reviews In Uncategorized |

Canon vs. Nikon questions from a BEGINNER?

i am passionate about photography and want to go pro eventually. i finally have enough to buy a decent dslr and i would like some advice/answers..

People have told me that you can tell the difference between a Nikon photo and a Canon photo. Is that true? are there any differences in pictures taken with a nikon and pictures taken with a canon? If so i would like to know.

Canon seems to be more popular, why is that so, what is the reason?

i guess i would like to know what the key differences between Nikon and Canon are.

I am looking to buy a camera around 1000-1500$(max) and i am confused whether to invest in Canon or in Nikon.

I have held and played around with BOTH Nikons and Canons and I like the feel and everything of both, the only issue is to decide between the two brands. which would be a better choice in the long term?

ANY pros and cons, differences and similarities in pictures, etc…

I really doubt that you could find a difference in the images they produce. At least, you could not find any that are meaningful in the real world.

This becomes a very emotional issue with people defending “their” brand the same way you would see in a Ford vs. Chevy argument and it’s all nonsense.

The most important thing is how the camera feels to you, but you said that you like them both.

The next thing that YOU have to consider is how the camera is to use.

Personally, after about 40 years of film photography, I prefer the Nikon approach. Even if we ignore that your budget will not include a spot meter in a Canon camera, I am very strongly in favor of the Nikon “two wheel” approach in the under-$1,000 class. This makes it much easier to move along and get the shot. The front wheel controls the aperture and the rear wheel controls the shutter speed. This makes perfect sense to me. They each have multiple functions when used in combination with other buttons and this is always logical. My wife has a Nikon D50, which only has one command dial. I find that I am constantly having to stop and figure out how to get the camera to do what I want it to, because this forces you to rely on menus more than a two-dial system. I have never actually USED a Canon in the real world, but playing with them in stores kind of turned me off.

In your price range, you are looking at a Nikon D80 or a Canon XTi and maybe the new XSi. This allows enough for the basic 18-55 lens (a good choice in either brand) and a decent memory card.

Just because I have not posted it for a week or two, I’ll show you my stock answer on the Nikon D80 vs the rest of the pack. The Canon Rebel XSi (450D) is not in this review, but neither is whatever Nikon has up their sleeve for the next couple of months…

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I wrote this almost a year ago, but there has not been much change in this segment of the market. Everyone has introduced higher level cameras (Nikon D300, Canon 30D, Sony a700, etc), but this price range has remained fairly stable.

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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I added a star, because the answers are getting pretty interesting.

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