Canon vs. Nikon.

B

blue-eye-boy

Expert Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
2,973
Reaction score
5
This type of discussion is forbidden at outdoorphoto, so I try it here. I'm still saving for my slr, but in the meantime searching for what I want. My choices from the past few weeks was canon 350d, 400d, and if I'm lucky 450d. I like canon, but some people tell me they give problems. I'm going to buy overseas, so the problem giving bothers me. So I hear many people tell me nikon is better overall. I saw a friend's D70s, and he's impressed with it. But that one is discontinued so I saw the new one out is the D80. But hell it's very expensive. So here's what I want to know:

1. Which make is the best overall quality? (body itself)
2. Which one's image quality is the best?
3. Which one's lenses cost more?
 
You cannot expect to get objective answers to question 1 and 2 from users on a forum like this. There are far more Canon users than Nikon users (this is not due to much other than the fact that Canon was quicker to market with a consumer based DSLR than Nikon), so your response will likely always be pro-Canon. You need to go into a store and handle the products and make a determination yourself.

There is plenty of information at dpreview.com with respect to image quality, but to be honest you'd be happy with the quality from any of the major camera manufacturers be it Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax or Sony. It is better to decide based on feature requirements and lens availability.

You can easily compare lens prices online but there isn't much in it between Canon and Nikon that I can see and there are plenty of high quality third party lenses (e.g. Sigma, Tamron etc.) for both.

One thing to remember is that both Canon and Nikon use lens based image stabilization and these lenses tend to carry a big premium. Sony and Pentax use a body based system which means that all lenses are stabilized... There is a lot of debate about which is better, and the answer seems to be neither.
 
jacqvt said:
This type of discussion is forbidden at outdoorphoto, so I try it here. I'm still saving for my slr, but in the meantime searching for what I want. My choices from the past few weeks was canon 350d, 400d, and if I'm lucky 450d. I like canon, but some people tell me they give problems. I'm going to buy overseas, so the problem giving bothers me. So I hear many people tell me nikon is better overall. I saw a friend's D70s, and he's impressed with it. But that one is discontinued so I saw the new one out is the D80. But hell it's very expensive. So here's what I want to know:

1. Which make is the best overall quality? (body itself)
2. Which one's image quality is the best?
3. Which one's lenses cost more?
Click to expand...
So . . . here's what I want to know - which feels better in your hands?
 
You won't go wrong with either. Go and try them out as bwana said, and buy the one you prefer.

Also look at the Pentax range if you are not too brand conscious.

For in-depth reviews go to dpreview.com
 
Russell S said:
You won't go wrong with either. Go and try them out as bwana said, and buy the one you prefer.

Also look at the Pentax range if you are not too brand conscious.

For in-depth reviews go to dpreview.com
Click to expand...
I second this advice and suggest that you look at Sony as well. In the same price bracket as 400D and 450D there are plenty of competitors.
Pentax K10D, Nikon D40x (and soon D60), Sony A200 (soon A300, A350) are all good implementations of DSLR.
 
Canon vs Nikon

That very similar to asking BMW vs Audi vs Merc vs Volvo etc.

They are all good and guys will spend months arguing it one way or another.

Set a budget.Go into different shops, ask for advice, try different bodies. Read online. Visit the forums on dpreview for the bodies you consider.

When I last checked the Nikons felt great in my hand. Canons not. Nikon traded at too high a premium though for what you got. I went with Sony as it felt good and comfortable to handle and I had access to good Minolta lenses.

There are almost no bad cameras on the market. Some are just a bit better in one or two aspects. The market leaders by volume ie Canon an Nikon are both very good.
 
Wynsam said:
That very similar to asking BMW vs Audi vs Merc vs Volvo etc.

They are all good and guys will spend months arguing it one way or another.

Set a budget.Go into different shops, ask for advice, try different bodies. Read online. Visit the forums on dpreview for the bodies you consider.

When I last checked the Nikons felt great in my hand. Canons not. Nikon traded at too high a premium though for what you got. I went with Sony as it felt good and comfortable to handle and I had access to good Minolta lenses.

There are almost no bad cameras on the market. Some are just a bit better in one or two aspects. The market leaders by volume ie Canon an Nikon are both very good.
Click to expand...

Shop around...I got a my Nikon D70 second hand with a Sigma lens for a steal at R5K. The nikon's feel great on the hand.
 
arf9999 said:
You cannot expect to get objective answers to question 1 and 2 from users on a forum like this. There are far more Canon users than Nikon users (this is not due to much other than the fact that Canon was quicker to market with a consumer based DSLR than Nikon), so your response will likely always be pro-Canon. You need to go into a store and handle the products and make a determination yourself.

There is plenty of information at dpreview.com with respect to image quality, but to be honest you'd be happy with the quality from any of the major camera manufacturers be it Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax or Sony. It is better to decide based on feature requirements and lens availability.

You can easily compare lens prices online but there isn't much in it between Canon and Nikon that I can see and there are plenty of high quality third party lenses (e.g. Sigma, Tamron etc.) for both.

One thing to remember is that both Canon and Nikon use lens based image stabilization and these lenses tend to carry a big premium. Sony and Pentax use a body based system which means that all lenses are stabilized... There is a lot of debate about which is better, and the answer seems to be neither.
Click to expand...

Well said.... The one that feels the best in your hands is the one you should buy.
 
Thanks guys for all the input. So I must choose my camera like I choose my ladies? the one that feels good in my hands....
 
Nikon and Canon are top of the list.
I'd look at the features like (but not limited to) auto ISO which is found in only some of the Nikon and Canon's, and then make a decision on looks and feel in the hand.
My 30D feels much better in my big hands than the 350D, but my wife enjoys the feel of her 350D in her small hands - she wishes it had the superior user interface like the 30D.
I found Nikon's that felt as good in my hands as do the Canon, so could not base my decision on this.

I've heard that the Canon are marginally better dealing with low light high ISO, resulting in less noise.
 
Frankie said:
Nikon and Canon are top of the list.
I'd look at the features like (but not limited to) auto ISO which is found in only some of the Nikon and Canon's, and then make a decision on looks and feel in the hand.
My 30D feels much better in my big hands than the 350D, but my wife enjoys the feel of her 350D in her small hands - she wishes it had the superior user interface like the 30D.
I found Nikon's that felt as good in my hands as do the Canon, so could not base my decision on this.

I've heard that the Canon are marginally better dealing with low light high ISO, resulting in less noise.
Click to expand...
Really? I use ISO just like I do aperture or shutterspeed.
 
Auto Iso or lack therof is hardly a deal breaker. Its very easy to compensate for a lack thereof, and not at all costly to do so. Try compensating for a lack of build in IS, you can but it sure costs.
 
Wynsam said:
Auto Iso or lack therof is hardly a deal breaker. Its very easy to compensate for a lack thereof, and not at all costly to do so. Try compensating for a lack of build in IS, you can but it sure costs.
Click to expand...
Yeah - about r10 in parts :D

IMG00218.jpg
 
Wynsam said:
Auto Iso or lack therof is hardly a deal breaker.
Click to expand...
I agree, if this is the most important feature to you, a DSLR is probably not the ideal solution. Most photographers like to use a specific ISO in order to be able to judge the noise levels in the final output.
 
koffiejunkie said:
They still make DSLRs without Auto ISO??? Heck, even the now discontinued £300 Pentax K100D has Auto ISO (although mine is disabled).
Click to expand...
Auto ISO is disabled on my camera unless you're in basic or auto mode.
 
I cannot imagine why they do that - why not enable you to switch things to automatic or manual as you please (except obviously for greenbox mode). I also don't understand why on earth Canon decided to disable RAW when you're shooting in one of the auto modes - what's the point?

Not that it bothers me - I have never seen an SLR as a very fancy point&shoot. Although from what I've read on the dpreview and other forums, I'd say 9 out of 10 people who purchase a (D)SLR use it as such, and sadly this includes many who call themselves professional photographers.

The photography mags I've bought over the last couple of months (I'm trying them all) also paint a rather worrying picture. I just finished paging through this month's Photo Plus (a magazine dedicated to Canon EOS cameras). Out of 130+ pages, 20 pages - two articles - in total are dedicated to using the camera to take good pictures. The rest is all about fixing bad pictures in Photoshop, and of course, advertising. And most of what's written in those two articles are complete common sense if you have even the vaguest idea of how a camera works. Disappointing, really.
 
Last edited:
koffiejunkie said:
I cannot imagine why they do that - why not enable you to switch things to automatic or manual as you please (except obviously for greenbox mode).
Click to expand...
They do its the dial on the top. AV and TV let you prioritise (ie fix) one aspect of the shot - aperture or shutter speed respectively. Manual gives you full manual and P fully auto with the exception of ISO. I cant think of why I would want the camera deciding the ISO though.

I listen to a couple of podcasts but I dont read any photography mags - any that you can recommend?
 
bwana said:
They do its the dial on the top. AV and TV let you prioritise (ie fix) one aspect of the shot - aperture or shutter speed respectively. Manual gives you full manual and P fully auto with the exception of ISO. I cant think of why I would want the camera deciding the ISO though.

I listen to a couple of podcasts but I dont read any photography mags - any that you can recommend?
Click to expand...

I like "Digital Photo" and "Digital Photographer" in that order. Each comes with a CD rom that usually has great photo editing tutorial video's.
I've seen both available here in SA.

I use Av most of the time - this way the shutter speed is automatically adjusted to lighting changes etc - great for indoors and parties etc.

I know the new 40D has an auto ISO function (following Nikon on this), but have not looked into how this works.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X