Nikon D90 or Canon 40D

[Qstero]

Hi gurus,

I used to own a canon 400d kit few years ago (for 3mths only) but after it was stolen, I had decided to give up photography. I'm still new and had barely started exploring the dslr.

Recently, my interests grew again n had decided to pour my money to take up photography again. I am taking photography as a long term hobby n hopefully some kind soul can help me to choose a system.

1) Which system is better for outdoor shooting? Looking into sceneries, buildings and stationary subjects. D90 or 40D?

2) Canon has L lenses as their top of the line lenses. What is Nikon's best lenses name as?
Cos I need to compare their prices.

Thks guys,
DC

 

[firstrazor]

My two friends who both own Canon 5DII suggested me to go Nikon, so I bought D90.

 

[rendition]

AFAIK, Nikon does not designate their lens like Canon does like 'L' means super glass used. However, I believe those with ED stamped on the lens are the top notch ones, not forgetting those with constant aperture, theoretically. Nikon also has top notch workhorse lenses similar to that of Canon's like 14-24 (16-35), 24-70 (24-70), 70-200 (70-200) and even have similar 17-55 f2.8 for their 1.6x DSLRs (DX lenses). I believe the Nikkor lenses are a little more pricey.

I'd say 40D and D90 are pretty much similar in terms of performance. The more obvious 'real life' difference is that the latter has video recording ability, a little more MP (50D), higher resolution LCD (50D) and a couple more AF points. 40D on the other hand has a more rugged chasis, 14-bit A/D for RAW files and faster burst rate of 6.5fps.

 

[Johnsoo]

You should try renting both and go play with it on a std kit lens. the canon is much heavier so on a heavy day of shooting the your body feels it. if tis for vacation shots the nikon would do nicely.
the canon is more weather sealed and feels concrete. nikon a bit more plasticy.

I think the subjective reasons r just as impt as the objective differences.

remember u need to fix some lenses on the body so factor in practicality, weight, needs and wants and your "feel good" about it.
u cant be sure until i try out both for a day or 2.

 

[Qstero]

AFAIK, Nikon does not designate their lens like Canon does like 'L' means super glass used. However, I believe those with ED stamped on the lens are the top notch ones, not forgetting those with constant aperture, theoretically. Nikon also has top notch workhorse lenses similar to that of Canon's like 14-24 (16-35), 24-70 (24-70), 70-200 (70-200) and even have similar 17-55 f2.8 for their 1.6x DSLRs (DX lenses). I believe the Nikkor lenses are a little more pricey.

I'd say 40D and D90 are pretty much similar in terms of performance. The more obvious 'real life' difference is that the latter has video recording ability, a little more MP (50D), higher resolution LCD (50D) and a couple more AF points. 40D on the other hand has a more rugged chasis, 14-bit A/D for RAW files and faster burst rate of 6.5fps.

Hi bro, thks for sharing. I am leaning towards D90 nw but I'm afraid the cost of owning a nikon. As many other threads and reviews suggested that nikon's glasses are slightly more expensive than canon.

Is nikon richer in color and canon has better skin tone?

 

[Qstero]

You should try renting both and go play with it on a std kit lens. the canon is much heavier so on a heavy day of shooting the your body feels it. if tis for vacation shots the nikon would do nicely.
the canon is more weather sealed and feels concrete. nikon a bit more plasticy.

I think the subjective reasons r just as impt as the objective differences.

remember u need to fix some lenses on the body so factor in practicality, weight, needs and wants and your "feel good" about it.
u cant be sure until i try out both for a day or 2.

Bro, is d90 inbuilt processor for jpg softer than 40d?

 

[Rashkae]

Hi bro, thks for sharing. I am leaning towards D90 nw but I'm afraid the cost of owning a nikon. As many other threads and reviews suggested that nikon's glasses are slightly more expensive than canon.

Is nikon richer in color and canon has better skin tone?

Well, you pay for quality.

Are you dead set on these 2 brands/models only?

skin tone is subjective. Quite often, People think a camera has a better "skin tone" since the camera actually had a slightly wrong whitebalance, or suffers from detail blurring at higher ISO speeds.

Realistically, I would rather have the higher amount of detail and dynamic range (especially in RAW), which then gives me the leeway to do what I want to in post processing.

 

[Rashkae]

Bro, is d90 inbuilt processor for jpg softer than 40d?

Not really, no.

But remember that these 2 cameras are actually in different leagues. The 40D was meant to be Canon's prosumer, but got clobbered by the A700 and D300, so Canon had to quickly upgrade to 50D.

The D90 is meant to be more of a competitor to the 500D, the Canon lower-end model.

 

[Titan10k]

Hi bro, thks for sharing. I am leaning towards D90 nw but I'm afraid the cost of owning a nikon. As many other threads and reviews suggested that nikon's glasses are slightly more expensive than canon.

Is nikon richer in color and canon has better skin tone?

1. Nikon high end lenses are of newer design and are slightly sharper than Canon counterparts.

2. No. Richer / better tonal color depends on your PP skill lots.

Bro, is d90 inbuilt processor for jpg softer than 40d?

Not sure about this, but even if it's true, it's a non-issue. You can always tune up sharpening level.

Return to your original question, between the 2 bodies, I'd pick the 40D, since it's a semi-pro while the D90 is more of an upper entry level. System as a whole, I'd pick neither Canon or Nikon. No in body anti shake is a no go for myself.

 

[masandisyah]

hey bro i'm also confused whether to get nikon d90 or (for me) canon 50d... like wat they said, these 2 are of different leagues.. but it's like, if u're gettin d90, it's the best for mid-range.. and canon 50d, is like quite lower end of semi-pros... dats wat i think... i think u shld read reviews on both cameras... see which 1 suits ur needs..

 

[NewbieInCS]

Either way you will be happy.:bsmilie:

I was in the same dilemma. Tried the D90 and 50D and ended up with the 50D because...

The d90 does not have autofocus microadjustment. The D90 that I tried with two different lens(18-55 kit and tamron 17-50) was consistently backfocusing. I thought it is a problem with me, but when I try the 50D, no such problem. I never thought of this as an important function, until I finally found a sharp copy of the tamron after testing out 4 copies...and it suffered from backfocus problem with that D90 body.

The D90 body is lighter and gives a more balanced feel. It is amazing how that marginal weight increase of the 50D seems to make my hand shake more. Nonetheless, got used to it after a while. Now I am happily carrying my 50D around in my hand.

Honestly, both of them are quite decent for high iso and the 50D is not as noisy as what many claim and the D90 is not as clean as what many claim. They are like on par. AWB and AF wise, the 50D seems to have an edge. Not sure if the D90 body I tried was not good, but the AWB was WORST than my compact. Was told by the younger brother at J3:16 that it is normal and usually happens for 1 in 5 D90 they recevie, not sure how true though:dunno: My friend's D90 does not appear to have that problem though.

User interface wise, I like the D90 menu better when I first started trying, but the joystick and rotary dial position of the 50D won me over. On second thought, I will say the D90 menu is much easier to use for someone like one coming over from a compact because it is looks similar. The button positions of the 50D are a lot more handy for me. On/Off switch of the d90 is in a better position. Might not apply to you though.

Viewfinder between the two is similarly, but on the 50D one I had to adjust the diopter to the max of one end to get the clearest view of the af points.

As for lens...L or no L doesn't matter as long as the lens is good. It just happens that L lens are usually very good optically.

 

[Ouverture]

Hi gurus,

I used to own a canon 400d kit few years ago (for 3mths only) but after it was stolen, I had decided to give up photography. I'm still new and had barely started exploring the dslr.

Recently, my interests grew again n had decided to pour my money to take up photography again. I am taking photography as a long term hobby n hopefully some kind soul can help me to choose a system.

1) Which system is better for outdoor shooting? Looking into sceneries, buildings and stationary subjects. D90 or 40D?

2) Canon has L lenses as their top of the line lenses. What is Nikon's best lenses name as?
Cos I need to compare their prices.

Thks guys,
DC

If you are shooting more into outdoor stuff, A700 with CZ1680 is quite unmatched for it's optical performance at that price range.

If you are only choosing 40D and D90, I would pick D90 and the 18-105 kit lens is already quite good to start with.

 

[ProMushr00m]

Hi gurus,

I used to own a canon 400d kit few years ago (for 3mths only) but after it was stolen, I had decided to give up photography. I'm still new and had barely started exploring the dslr.

DC

this might be off topic.. but TS how did ur camera got stolen?

 

[wenwei]

hi,

I think you might wan to try it out like what the others have mentioned.

the feel of using a canon and nikon is quite different.
Things like the on/off switch and how the aperture and shuttle is controlled are different. different user will like different feel. As some may say that its just about getting use it, but personally I feel its qutie important.

Having said that.. the design is part of a reasons why i choosed nikon over canon.

Anyway.. both are good. In the end is about how you feel when it is in your hand.

hope this help. =)