Buying a new camera... need a little input.

[crismahn Profile Private message]

Hi Folks,

I am close to buying a new camera. Nothing huge or professional- but a step up from what I have been using.

I have narrowed down my search to the following two cameras:

1. Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens ($499.99)
or
2. Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens ($469.99)

I am leaning toward the Canon only because of the price and the fact that right now Amazon is including a SanDisk Ultra II CompactFlash 2GB card for a total price of $488.99.

However, my gut tells me that the Nikon may be the better camera.

Anybody have preferences between the two?

I'd appreciate any pros and cons.

Thanks,
Chris

[DickK Profile Private messageWebsite]

First, have you looked for critical reviews of both? Especially note any negatives on the lenses.

http://www.dpreview.com/ is one site I've found useful tho' he may not have an in-depth review of one or both.

Frankly DSLRs from both companies are so popular and well thought of that you could probably be just fine with either of them. Assuming I found no negatives in the reviews and keeping in mind that I own neither camera, if it were me I'd lean toward the Canon though not mainly because of the price difference. My own experience says that both companies make excellent cameras. Nikon has gotten price competitive but still seems to run a bit high compared to the others, deserved or not, I don't know. I've purchased 3 Canon digital cameras (none of them DSLRs) and I've been hugely impressed with the performance and especially the attention to human factors given on all of them. The latter is IMHO vastly under estimated in importance--if using the camera is "feels" right and it's easy to find the things you used most often, the impact is huge. It's subjective and personal so even reviews may not be crucial and it's something that's hard-to-impossible to evaluate online--best way is to visit a store or two and touch them.

Not sure that helps much but there ya are...

What ever you do -- enjoy the new camera!
Dick

[sheldonk Profile Private message]

Check www.kenrockwell.com. He reviews Canon and Nikon cameras. He is in love with the Nikon D40 and the lens that comes with it. I have a Nikon D70 and I purchased that very lens on his recommendation. It is one of the best lenses I have!

As far as build quality, I believe Nikon to be superior. Everyone I know who owned Canon's original Digital Rebel have had to move onto new cameras due to malfunction. My Nikon is still going strong over 3 years later!

Sheldon

[rkligman Profile Private messageWebsite]

Chris, a couple things.

First you mention D40. That's old news and that camera is already a year old and has been replaced with the D40x, which I think is a 10Mb model. You want the 40x at a minimum. BTW, I'm a Nikon guy (not by choice, I was given an old D70 and once you have lens'...your choices are done).

Second, the D60 has been announced and should be out in the next month or sooner? If your a newbie and already decided that the D40 is for you, get the D60. 10Mb and a I believe it has the 3" back LCD.

Like Dick said, checkout dpreview.com.

My Canon friends (at the San Diego DSLR Group) say they wish they have started with Nikon because the on body buttons are more intuitive. Funny because as a Nikon guy I see many more people using Canon and I wonder what I'm missing.

Lastly, the D40/60 can't use eevry Nikon lens. It can only use AF-S lens. That was a major bummer last year but the tide is turning. Anything Nikon puts out is AF-S now and Tamron and Sigma are producing AF-S lens' now also so it's not such a big deal. Again, as a newbie it probably won't matter for a while until you start to get lens hungry if you rally get into it.

If you want to avoid all of that (and double the amount coming out of your pocket book) then step up to the D80 (my camera) and now the world is your oyster for lens. By the end of the year though that will be replace by the D85 which should be a D300 lite if history repeats itself.

Enjoy the snow last week? Hope you got HOME and didn't get stopped.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, Fry's sells the 2Gb cards all day and night for under $20 so make sure you're not overvalueing that card.

I just checked CircuitCity. D40 is $515 D40x is $649 D60 is $749 and D80 is $1,123

The D40's. D60 and D80 all have the 2.5" LCD. Only the D300 has the 3". 10Mb is much better than 6Mb in the long run. Once you get to 10Mb, you won't pine for anymore. What 10Mb does for you is allow you to get a tighter crop and still have enough pixels for a decent picture. I would try and pry the extra $150 out of your hand to get to a 10Mb camera and then you can hang on to it for a couple of years and not cry that you wish you had a little more. BTW, the CC deals are with no interest. That's how I bought my D80 in June. Only 8 more payments!

[gus607 Profile Private message]

I Bought a D40 last weekend, a very nice camera & prices have been cut due to the release of the D60 soon. Now is the time to grab a bargain.

[MG - Admin]

You won't go wrong with Canon or Nikon. Just remember, once you commit to one or the other you're in for the long haul. It's an expensive decision to change down the road.

Like all cameras, it's not just the equipment, though. Practice, practice, practice. Good luck!

Mike

[sheldonk Profile Private message]

Hi,

Just saw this at Adorama.

http://www.adorama.com/INKD40KR.html?se ... &item_no=1

D40 with 18-55 lens refurbished for $399! I have purchased Nikon refurbished gear in the past and it looked and worked brand new. You can pickup an inexpensive warranty from Mack camera for $34.95.

http://www.adorama.com/IMXW2U.html

For $434.90 you get the camera and 27 month warranty (90 day by Nikon and 24 months by Mack).

Sheldon

[iromero Profile Private message]

I've been in the market as well for some time. I almost picked up the Nikon D80 a few weeks ago. Luckily I came to my senses before making a $1200 impulse by. I have however been watching the D40X prices drop. I have also been watching the previews on the D60. I believe the release date for the D60 is 2/24. I intend to be at circuit city first thing in the morning to get it. I will also probably splurge for a vr zoom lens as well....

Ivan

[rkligman Profile Private messageWebsite]

I'm pretty sure that the D80 or Canon's 40D is out of your price range BUT let me mention one other really strange difference. The D40/60 will give you about 300-500 shots per battery charge. The D80 will give you about 2,500. I can verify that the 2,500 is not exact but's not all that far off. The point being, if you think that you might routinely go on shoots where you're taking 700 or 1,000 pics and/or your gone for a couple of days, 1 battery is all you need for the D80. Kind of an expensive upgrade just for a $50 battery but again, I'll mention it. It's not uncommon for me to go out for a shoot and in 2-3 hours burn through 400 shots.

[TinaJ Profile Private messageYIM]

I've been watching this thread and while I know you have your heart set on Canon or Nikon, I did too, but got to looking at my PC Photo mag, it doesn't look like either has image stabilization, which I need for any lens bigger than the basic. I'm looking at the Sony K200 at 699 as opposed to the K700 at about 1400. I also read that the battery life for the 700 was good for about 750 pics, not really an issue for me, but may be for some.
Tina

[crismahn Profile Private message]

Wow! Great infomation!! Thanks very much everyone!

Yes, budget-wise I was trying to get the best camera available in the $500 price range. However, there is some wiggle room there.

Tina, thanks for bringing up the subject of image stabilization. I was wondering about that. And although I have never owned a camera that has it - other than that "shakey hand" mode thingy- I was thinking that for me it might come in handy.

I am no professional phographer. It would take me several hikes or weekend trips to shoot 200, much less 400 shots. What I do enjoy doing though is working with the images myself and cropping and printing etc..

The point that the more MPs you get the more pixels you have left over when cropping is a good point. I do a lot of recomposing of pictures via the cropping method.

This is lot of good info. And yep, I have been to the review sites. That is pretty much how I narrowed down my choices- along with reading the reviews that people had posted in response to the "official" reviews. These were many times very much at odds with the opinions of the reviewers!

Anyway, thanks everyone for the great input. It is just what I was hoping for!

Chris

[gpsmikey Profile Private message]

Definitely check out the features of both (often, you will see something that
you didn't even know you needed but when you see it Ah Ha!!). Pick them
up and try them - make sure which feels comfortable in your hands. For
the image stabilization, consider my favorite toy - a monopod - you can
get them for about $30 or less, they do a wonderful job of helping take motion
out of that 300 mm lens. You can also get hiking sticks with a ball mount
camera fitting on the end so they double as a monopod AND a hiking stick.

Whichever you get, LEARN to use it - film was expensive (relatively), required
careful note taking to learn from the mistakes to correct exposure etc. Digital
is great that way - basically free and it records all the shot information and it
is easy to shoot LOTS and experiment. Best way to learn. Learn to use the
features - for example, my Nikon D70s defaults on the autofocus to closest
object in 1 of the 5 sensors (picks whichever is closest) and does single focus -
when you press the shutter 1/2 way, it focuses then stays there. If you are
shooting sports with a lot of motion, you will miss most of the shots using a
long lens. You switch to continuous focus and lock it on the center one.
Practice practice practice !!

mikey

[DanMac Profile Private message]

Chris,

I have used Canon for years and like the results they give me. I currently use a Canon 40D (10.1 mp) and still carry my Canon D60 (6.1 mp) for backup. I have used both the Canon XT and the Nikon D40, and both provide great results. Both are excellent cameras. Like others have said make your choice by looking at the reviews of those who put them through the ringer. Look at all the features your interested in and what is said about both, then go from there. I don't think you can wrong with either, just some functions and controls a little different.

Another review site.......http://www.steves-digicams.com/


Dan

[Ron Profile Private messageWebsite]

Well here's my 2 cents - I just purchased a lens and the advice given to me here was sound...i believe the same advice pertains to your camera purchase............I reccomend that you go to your local camera store and test drive both of them - since both cameras are somewhat comparable - you need to get the sense of feel - which are you more comfortable using - are the features easily understood on one better than the other - how it feels in your hand is very important - hope you get my drift...

good luck
Ron

[rkligman Profile Private messageWebsite]

Well here's my 2 cents - I just purchased a lens and the advice given to me here was sound...i believe the same advice pertains to your camera purchase............I reccomend that you go to your local camera store and test drive both of them - since both cameras are somewhat comparable - you need to get the sense of feel - which are you more comfortable using - are the features easily understood on one better than the other - how it feels in your hand is very important - hope you get my drift...

good luck
Ron

And in your comments lies something that rakes my coals to no end (not that you did it, I just want to express an opinion). If you go to a store to hold it, feel it, and then go to the internet and buy it at the cheapest place then you are doing the whole world a disservice. I will buy from the internet frequently for price reasons based on reviews etc. But if I have to go to brick and mortar to actually see something, then I must also agree to buy it at a brick and mortar. If I don't then B&M goes away. Usually it's a few dollars more to buy there but they exist for a variety of reasons. One of them is not to be a sales outlet for Joe's Cheap Shop on the internet. Just my two cents.