Canon VS Nikon

[strikeback4]

Hi All

I'm a total noob in DSLR but I'm planning to get a DSLR maybe around Sept period and I need a few advice on the 2 major brand, Canon & Nikon(No Pentax or Sony as I'm looking for a brand that has many accessory available in the market to go along with it)

Initially I was thinking between the 550D & D90, been playing around with both DSLR at my store for bout 2 months + and can anyone correct me on the below?

1)Canon has good balancing in terms of photography & Movie mode but Nikon has superb Picture quality, true or false?

2)Canon 550D body it quite small & light make me feel like holding a toy, D90 is quite sturdy in built but I find most of the function is quite complicate which I may get used to it in the long run

3)Canon Lens are EX, espcially the USM one, Nikon VR II Lens are cheaper, but what is the major differents that make canon lens more expensive?

4)Canon is starting to make their DSLR SDXC ready but Nikon is still lacking in terms of megapixel, movie resolution etc...

My budget is around 3K+ which I'm planning to get a body + a Zoom & Macro lens so anybody have any suggestion should I go for?

 

[Senifer]

Nice sets of questions.
Sees it every now and then, but nevertheless, i'll still give my 99cents comments.

these are all in my mind a month ago when i was thinking which body to buy.
You have a good budget, as compared to me which is a sadly, half of yours.
Not too sure about Canon side as you can see i'm a Nikon user, and proud to be one.
With $3k+, you can have a D300s, with a zoom and macro lens. The grip is even better than D90.

more AF points(51 compared to 11),
higher FPS(12 for d300s if im not wrong VS d90's 4.5fps)


Alternatively, if you still wanna stick to D90 vs 550D, my vote goes to D90.

P.S: Read up the User manual and the settings in D90 shouldn't be a problem to anyone who understands English.

 

[eosandy]

Try before you buy, and get what suits you. It seems you have a bit of knowledge and most of your questions can be answered if you get into investigating with your hands. Take your own memory cards and try the different cams, then review the results at home before deciding. That way you get what YOU want.

 

[strikeback4]

actually planning to go for Nikon itself, but seeing how good nikon pricing is, and my father is a Nikon D60 user as well so I feel my view between Canon & Nikon maybe biased so I feel like asking the rest to see which is better in terms of value, accessory value as well & any other factor so the same qn again from the rest... which is better & why?

and my 3K budget is together with lenses as well so I feel if I get a D300, I may not have the budget to go for a decent Zoom & Macro Lens

so for now, if Nikon, it will be D90, if Canon, it will be the 550D...

 

[Senifer]

ah so it's 3k sharp. then maybe getting a d90 would be better to get a solid zoom + macro.
anyway, how zoom, is your 'zoom'? 18-200 enough for you?

 

[ovaltinemilo]

Hi All

I'm a total noob in DSLR but I'm planning to get a DSLR maybe around Sept period and I need a few advice on the 2 major brand, Canon & Nikon(No Pentax or Sony as I'm looking for a brand that has many accessory available in the market to go along with it)

Initially I was thinking between the 550D & D90, been playing around with both DSLR at my store for bout 2 months + and can anyone correct me on the below?

1)Canon has good balancing in terms of photography & Movie mode but Nikon has superb Picture quality, true or false?
Both have superb pic quality, depending on user.

2)Canon 550D body it quite small & light make me feel like holding a toy, D90 is quite sturdy in built but I find most of the function is quite complicate which I may get used to it in the long run
All DSLRs have more complicated function than compacts. All and all, functions that helps photography are similar for all brands not limiting to Nikon or Canon.

3)Canon Lens are EX, espcially the USM one, Nikon VR II Lens are cheaper, but what is the major differents that make canon lens more expensive?
Both are EX:bsmilie:
Some canon lens are more expensive than Nikon counterparts, some Nikon lens are more expensive than Canon counter parts. Some shops sell cheaper, some shops sell more ex:bsmilie:

4)Canon is starting to make their DSLR SDXC ready but Nikon is still lacking in terms of megapixel, movie resolution etc...
How much megapixel do you need? D90 was the first Dslr with Video. There's no replacement for D90 yet that could spell an upgrade of video resolution.

My budget is around 3K+ which I'm planning to get a body + a Zoom & Macro lens so anybody have any suggestion should I go for?

Everyone has different needs. Probably you need to research what you like to shoot and exactly what equipment you need.

 

[strikeback4]

Try before you buy, and get what suits you. It seems you have a bit of knowledge and most of your questions can be answered if you get into investigating with your hands. Take your own memory cards and try the different cams, then review the results at home before deciding. That way you get what YOU want.

problem is although I'm working in a camera shop, my shops doesn't have the most lenses to play around & my main concern is the macro & zoom lens, 2nd thing is my shop don't allow us to just wander outside with the DSLR taking photo so the only picture I can take is indoor photo but I'm more of a out door person, read many review, dpreview state Nikon image quality is better, Canon has better movie quality but what about both brand lens? is there any good website that compare DSLR lens as well?

 

[Pinoy]

I think you shouldn't look at just the body (it easily gets outdated) but the system as a whole. Specifically, look at the lens line up and see which brand attracts you the most, factoring in what's needed for your style (or what you want to achieve) as well as the cost of the lenses. Also factor in the flash and 3rd party support (i.e. pocketwizard etc).

:Later,

 

[Senifer]

problem is although I'm working in a camera shop, my shops doesn't have the most lenses to play around & my main concern is the macro & zoom lens, 2nd thing is my shop don't allow us to just wander outside with the DSLR taking photo so the only picture I can take is indoor photo but I'm more of a out door person, read many review, dpreview state Nikon image quality is better, Canon has better movie quality but what about both brand lens? is there any good website that compare DSLR lens as well?

dpreview would be a good website. Anyway, how much do you expect a dslr to perform in movie quality. i bought my d90 and so far, i haven't started using the video recording function. in fact, i don't even know how to press for the video! :embrass:
Oh well, time to turn to my User Manual. ;p

 

[strikeback4]

dpreview would be a good website. Anyway, how much do you expect a dslr to perform in movie quality. i bought my d90 and so far, i haven't started using the video recording function. in fact, i don't even know how to press for the video! :embrass:
Oh well, time to turn to my User Manual. ;p

press the center button(if i rmb is the OK button) for the movie mode, and it start recording movie

 

[ovaltinemilo]

problem is although I'm working in a camera shop, my shops doesn't have the most lenses to play around & my main concern is the macro & zoom lens, 2nd thing is my shop don't allow us to just wander outside with the DSLR taking photo so the only picture I can take is indoor photo but I'm more of a out door person, read many review, dpreview state Nikon image quality is better, Canon has better movie quality but what about both brand lens? is there any good website that compare DSLR lens as well?

Nikon has all along great reputation for optical system and durability. Canon too has highly acclaimed L lenses used for professional work. One makes good wide lens, while the other makes good long focal length. There's no way to say which is better. It depends on how much you have in your pocket to own the good lens.

 

[strikeback4]

Nikon has all along great reputation for optical system and durability. Canon too has highly acclaimed L lenses used for professional work. One makes good wide lens, while the other makes good long focal length. There's no way to say which is better. It depends on how much you have in your pocket to own the good lens.

sorry but what is focal length?

 

[Jed]

I'm a total noob in DSLR but I'm planning to get a DSLR maybe around Sept period and I need a few advice on the 2 major brand, Canon & Nikon(No Pentax or Sony as I'm looking for a brand that has many accessory available in the market to go along with it)

Quite a lot can change between now and September!

And it's not true, Pentax and Sony probably have as many accessories as 99% of the people on this forum are going to need.

1)Canon has good balancing in terms of photography & Movie mode but Nikon has superb Picture quality, true or false?

At the moment Canon has better video technology. Both have superb picture quality and if the picture isn't good enough then it's not the camera's fault.

2)Canon 550D body it quite small & light make me feel like holding a toy, D90 is quite sturdy in built but I find most of the function is quite complicate which I may get used to it in the long run

This is generally a personal thing; I feel it's the other way around and not just because I use the other brand, but I find two button combinations somewhat counter-intuitive.

3)Canon Lens are EX, espcially the USM one, Nikon VR II Lens are cheaper, but what is the major differents that make canon lens more expensive?

There are a whole bunch of different lenses at different levels, and I think it's false to say that Canon is universally (or even generally) more expensive than Nikon. And if you don't know a lot about equipment at the minute, then you might not know the nuisances that make one lens more expensive than another. No disrespect intended.

4)Canon is starting to make their DSLR SDXC ready but Nikon is still lacking in terms of megapixel, movie resolution etc...

You do not need more megapixels. Anything current, now, is again, more pixels than 99% of the users on this forum need. Canon is ahead in the video stakes, if you want a video camera then definitely go with Canon for now unless Nikon comes up with something else.

 

[ovaltinemilo]

sorry but what is focal length?

Focal length means the amount of "reach" you can get with a lens.
Eg, Canon is reputable for long focal length lens for shooting birds etc.

 

[DarkPa1adin]

sorry but what is focal length?

Focal length is the mm stated on the lens. basically it speaks of the "zoom" from a user point of view... i do not know much in terms of technically what is focal length... but more mm means longer zoom, less mm means wider coverage. Not to mention that 550d and d90 are crop sensors... x1.5(nikon's dx), x1.6(canon APS-C) iirc, at the end of the day the mm stated on ur lens times the crop factor to give you the equivalent full-frame FOV?

in my broadest sense, nikon is king of ISO/lowlight/51point AF technology... btw is canon the king of sensor technology?

 

[strikeback4]

Focal length means the amount of "reach" you can get with a lens.
Eg, Canon is reputable for long focal length lens for shooting birds etc.

to what extent does this affect the image quality? any website that is more indepth about it and pic sample?

 

[ovaltinemilo]

to what extent does this affect the image quality? any website that is more indepth about it and pic sample?

It's similar to using a compact camera. If a compact camera can zoom say 20 times...then that means it has long focal length as compared to a compact camera that can zoom only 5 times.

Image quality wise...you will need to read up and find out what is aperture and F number

 

[DarkPa1adin]

3)Canon Lens are EX, espcially the USM one, Nikon VR II Lens are cheaper, but what is the major differents that make canon lens more expensive?

My honest opinion is that i find in terms of pricing, Nikon is slightly more of a "premium" than Canon, in terms of equivalent bodies/same grade lenses.

 

[DarkPa1adin]

to what extent does this affect the image quality? any website that is more indepth about it and pic sample?

For characteristics (not image quality)
A simple example would be vignetting (means the shadow circle at the edge), sometimes at maximum or close to max zoom range, it is noticeable, sometimes at the widest(smallest mm) you can see. Of course the aperture (F/#) players a part.

Distortion sometimes it is a subtle version of fisheye known as barrel distortion, sometimes pincushion (curved inward).

For image quality (not sure how to define that)
Sharpness wise, u have to identify the sweetspot(setting) for the lens + the amount of light in the shot.
Colour wise, is it more of the body or the lens?
Aberrations wise, lens and smaller F/#

Question you may ask is, sharpness for central or both central and corner? in terms of lens.

 

[Ah_K]

since you work at a camera shop, best is to test drive the cameras n make a direct comparison. Lens wise, I think it's pretty competitive between nikon and canon so you won't go wrong either way.

Make sure u r comfortable with the handling, which i think is more critical than anything else.

Image quality wise, I don't think most can really tell the images apart. In fact, I don't think pentax or sony are doing much worse in that area. The only difference is (direct off camera) image color rendition, which depends alot on preference. Some might like Nikon color more, some likes Canon color more. But honestly, even different cameras from the same brand might sport different color. So a test drive is important.

Probably you should be thinking a little more about ISO range, which nikon is winning very slightly at the moment (but that is probably limited to only the higher end cams like d700 or the d3), but canon was the leader in this field for a long time and I wouldn't bet against them comin up with something better again in the future.

End of the day, you really wouldn't go wrong with either brand. Just go with your instinct and stick to it. I made my choice long ago, before nikon came up with their kickass sensors but I have no regrets and am very happy with my canon rigs. Remember, it's the man behind the camera that counts.