Canon vs Nikon for plebs

Q

Quintrix

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Knowing nothing about cameras and being in the market for a basic SLR with a budget of R10K is no fun.

Is there somewhere where i can get a basic comparison table of C vs N.?

What I need is somethin along the lines of

C model 1 = N model A

This would give me a basic idea of how to identify similar products and compare prices

Thanks
 
Nikon vs canon? IMO you fit the camera to the individuals wants and needs. Dpreview does offer a side by side comparison tool if you just want to compare specs.
 
I don't need to much detail.

To explain to car terms:
I would like to be able to compare a 2013 launched 1,3 model to another instead of comparing a 2013 launched 1,3 to a 2012 luanched 1,4. Hope it makes sense.

My understanding is that Canon uses a smaller number for the better range : 600D, 60D , 6D

NIkon?
 
Snapsort is useless.
 
bwana said:
Nikon vs canon? IMO you fit the camera to the individuals wants and needs. Dpreview does offer a side by side comparison tool if you just want to compare specs.
Click to expand...
^^This...

AfricanTech said:
Yep, they are.

Either one will do the business - merc vs bmw
Click to expand...
...and ^^This
In my limited experience, cameras are very much a personal choice. To say A is better than B just to see a couple months later B brought out another camera with this new feature is going to kill you slowly. Go to a camera shop and ask the sales person for the Canon and the Nikon you are interested in. Feel what it feels like in your hands and choose one.
 
Quintrix said:
I

My understanding is that Canon uses a smaller number for the better range : 600D, 60D , 6D

NIkon?
Click to expand...

So does Nikon : Newest consumer models D7100, D5200, D3200. Pro models D800, D4.

D7100 is very nice, if you want to spend less get the D5200.

My choices : 70D for Canon, D7100 for Nikon, quite similar cameras.
 
Just from a practical point of view Canon are bigger than Nikon in South Africa and according to a local Canon source, Canon SA have been gaining even more market share in South Africa.

This means that second hand Canon equipment is generally easier to come by locally and this can really help one's budget when you start yearning for L series (professional) lenses or other expensive bits and pieces.

Nothing wrong with Nikon equipment though and Nikon's service seems to be better than Canon SA.
e.g. Nikon offer sensor cleaning for all their customers free of charge.
 
Jola said:
D7100 is very nice, if you want to spend less get the D5200.
Click to expand...

They're not quite in the same league though. The 5000 series has less dedicated buttons, meaning you'll spend more time in the menus. I'd rather get a older D7000 or D90 even simply because I'm so used to having two wheels.

But yes the best way to know for sure is to handle a few, set the ISO and AF modes and whatever else you like, and see which control layouts you prefer.
 
Both Canon and Nikon make Crop factor and Full-frame cameras. Both make entry-level crop, mid-range crop, and high-end crop cameras. Both make entry-level full-frame, mid-level full frame, and high-end full-frame cameras.

I think what OP is asking for is not whether Canon or Nikon is better, but rather for a table that lists, side-by-side, which models from each manufacturer fall into which brackets.

In other words, he wants to know that the Nikon entry-level crop is the D3000, D3100 and D3200 (newest) cameras, and that the Canon "equivalent" or competitor models are the 600D (?) etc.
And that the Nikon mid-level crop is the D5100, and it's Canon counterpart on the same level (spec and price-wise) is the..(?).
And that the Nikon high-level crop is the D7000, and it's Canon counterpart is the.. (?).

Obviously, I use Nikon, and I myself have no concept of the Canon models and which one is the counterpart of my D7000.
I'd also like to be able to see a table that lists the models in this manner (along with their predecessors and year of launch).
 
the main reason canon is market leader is magic lantern
 
Here is a table to illustrate the relative ranking of the Canon/Nikon bodies (i.e., horizontal rows indicate rough equivalence):
[table="width: 500, class: outer_border, align: left"]
[tr][td]Canon [/td]
[td]Nikon[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]1100D [/td]
[td](none, or maybe D3000)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td](none) [/td]
[td] D3200 (maybe D3100)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]xxxD (600D etc.) [/td]
[td]D5100[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]xxD (60D, etc) [/td]
[td] D5200, D7000[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]7D[/td]
[td](maybe D7100 or D300, but not really a good match)[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

.​

​










Keep in mind this is my own ranking, based roughly on functionality rather than image quality. It is no secret that Canon does not currently compete with Nikon on image quality at low ISO on APS-C DSLRs (they perform reasonably similarly at high ISO). Having said that, the difference in image quality is mostly of academic interest, and you can capture great, detailed images with either brand.

The range you want to consider depends on the type of photography you are interested in. For macro, still life, landscapes and portraits, just about anything will be fine (though I would avoid the Canon 1100D and Nikon D3000; they are very old).

If you want to photograph action (kids, sports, wildlife), you move up in the range (e.g., 60D, 7D, or D7000, D7100).
 
mmmig said:
the main reason canon is market leader is magic lantern
Click to expand...

Of all the Canon users running entry level to mid range DSLR's, I've yet to meet one who has installed Magic Lantern.
The vast majority of Canon users I've spoken to don't even know about it.
I just don't see people asking the sales people at photography shops, Makro, etc. questions like "can I hack the firmware to add custom functionality".

Canon's marketing and brand visibility leading to higher sales figures would make more sense to me but maybe I'm wrong.
 
mmmig said:
the main reason canon is market leader is magic lantern
Click to expand...

Actually, it's for 2 reasons.

1. Canon started out in a garage making consumer cameras using Nikon equipment. They started at the low end and worked their way up. Nikon, before being a camera manufacturer, was a military company that made targeting reticles and such for war machines. After Pearl Harbour when Japan lost WW2, they had to find another industry and moved to camera making. Because of their background, they focused on making high quality professional equipment.

Nikon was expensive and pro-only, so the masses went for Canon consumer products, cheap and entry-level. This built a large support base for Canon.

2. Over the years, Nikon worked their way downwards from Pro while Canon worked their way upwards from Consumer. Around the 1980s, Canon brought out a pro camera that had much faster auto-focus than Nikon cameras. Pro photographers who shot sports ditched Nikon and moved over to Canon in hordes, giving Canon the edge they were looking for in the Pro market. Nikon couldn't compete against the fast auto-focus and it took them several decades to get up to par. They never quite entirely recovered from that.

Their consumer products were (and still are) a little more expensive than Canon, despite Canon being made in Japan and Taiwan (higher cost and quality) while Nikon outsources to China and Thailand extensively (cheaper, lower quality). This also makes more people (such as new buyers) gravitate towards Canon, and we all know how once you're in a specific ecosystem, it is expensive and hard to switch over. :)

------------
ALSO: To fvdbergh, thanks for the table. I think this is already more along the lines of what we were looking for. Obviously those rankings could change completely depending on what factors you were using for the comparison.

Price would probably be the foremost I would use, then general functionality. First-time buyers are going to be most concerned about what they can afford :)
 
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AnibugZA said:
Actually, it's for 2 reasons.

1. Canon started out in a garage making consumer cameras using Nikon equipment. They started at the low end and worked their way up. Nikon, before being a camera manufacturer, was a military company that made targeting reticles and such for war machines. After Pearl Harbour when Japan lost WW2, they had to find another industry and moved to camera making. Because of their background, they focused on making high quality professional equipment.

Nikon was expensive and pro-only, so the masses went for Canon consumer products, cheap and entry-level. This built a large support base for Canon.

2. Over the years, Nikon worked their way downwards from Pro while Canon worked their way upwards from Consumer. Around the 1980s, Canon brought out a pro camera that had much faster auto-focus than Nikon cameras. Pro photographers who shot sports ditched Nikon and moved over to Canon in hordes, giving Canon the edge they were looking for in the Pro market. Nikon couldn't compete against the fast auto-focus and it took them several decades to get up to par. They never quite entirely recovered from that.

Their consumer products were (and still are) a little more expensive than Canon, despite Canon being made in Japan and Taiwan (higher cost and quality) while Nikon outsources to China and Thailand extensively (cheaper, lower quality). This also makes more people (such as new buyers) gravitate towards Canon, and we all know how once you're in a specific ecosystem, it is expensive and hard to switch over. :)

------------
ALSO: To fvdbergh, thanks for the table. I think this is already more along the lines of what we were looking for. Obviously those rankings could change completely depending on what factors you were using for the comparison.

Price would probably be the foremost I would use, then general functionality. First-time buyers are going to be most concerned about what they can afford :)
Click to expand...
I see, so thats why modders chose canon over nikon for magic lantern, i was mixing up chickens and eggs
 
OP I am very new to the camera thing and i don't have $$ to go get a nice DSLR. I had the same questions like you but in the end this http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK pushed me to go Canon. So with my "mik-en-druk" i can hack the shutter speed, take RAW and so much more.
 
Thanks for all the replies - it leaves me with a lot of homework and some direction

bwana said:
Snapsort is useless.
Click to expand...

Why do you say this?

PS: I assumed the sight scores a camera and this score slots into a range but then i noticed the same cam with different scores when being compared to two different cams
 
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