Nikon V. Canon

[Giselle]

Alright folks, here's where you wage your camera wars

I'm just tired of my old point-and-shoot and I want a nice, decent entry-level DSLR to ease me into the world of photography. Naturally, since we have a film Canon Rebel, I thought a Canon Rebel XTi would be a perfect next-step-up. However, my photography instructor has a Nikon D40 and, while I know she's supposed to churn out beautiful pictures, I must say that the picture quality is pretty phenomenal. Plus, the D40 is considerably cheaper. Whether or not that'll bite me in the butt, I have no clue!

So now I'm stuck. Canon Rebel XTi or Nikon D40x? From what I hear, the kit lens on both cameras are sub-par, so I'm a little torn on which one to buy since I don't have an endless budget to spend on extra lenses. Tips?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Justin just got me the Canon Rebel XTi for Christmas. We decided to open it the other day rather than wait until Christmas, this way I can use it for Thanksgiving. I've only been using it for a couple days, and I'm still learning how to use it but I already love it. Right now I'm just using the lense it came with and it's just fine for around the house stuff. I love taking pictures of nature especially birds and bugs, Justin is going to get me this lense for my birthday.

[zippy-kat]

I was torn between the Nikon and Olympus; I ended up with an Olympus Evolt and I couldn't be happier.

I borrowed an older model Rebel from a friend; it was ok but I prefered the other two brands. One good thing about the Rebel is that the lenses are interchangeable (lenses for the film cameas will work with the digital cameras) so you could hit the swap/pawn shops, garage sales, etc and pick up cheaper lenses.

Both are good cameras but of the two brands my personal preference would be the Nikon.

[K9soul]

I think you can get beautiful pictures with any of them. I use a Nikon D80, but I have seen beautiful photos from E-volt and Canon as well. I do think it comes down really to price and/or the feature set you want most. Because in the end I think image quality is going to be good on any of them and dependent on the user's knowledge of photography in general and how best to use the camera. I know I haven't scratched the surface of all the ins and outs of my camera and photography. I just have had too much chaos going on with me.

[Giselle]

I had no idea lenses were interchangeable for Canons! Hmm, but, still, lenses aren't cheap and that's something else I need to consider. I may just have to stick to the kit lens until I somehow gain several hundred dollars (ha!).

So with that in mind, do you guys think the Nikon or Canon is better completely *as is* (without a separately bought lens)?

I've been hearing that the Rebel's lens really isn't good and that you're pretty much wasting time until you can buy a better glass lens (major con). I haven't heard much about the Nikon's kit lens, but if the Nikon is better in this respect, then I'm definitely going for Nikon..

Please, more advice!

[K9soul]

When I got my D80, I had a couple different choices on which kit to go with. The 18-55 mm kit lens is a really nice lens for a kit lens and for its price. Most reviews I've read say that lens in particular is a very good "bang for your buck" on a kit type lens. I read through a lot of reviews on Amazon when I was looking around.

[catnapper]

My Canon vs. Nikon experience isn't based on SLR, but I've had both cameras as regular digitals and I was happy with both. I was always happy with the photos from my Nikon. I do believe my photos are richer with the Canon, but I think its because its a newer model... because based upon the image quality of my daughter's Canon, my Nikon was far superior. Did that help at all?

I want to also mention that I had a lot of issues with Nikon where it was sent back to the factory a few times, and not one issue thus far with my Canon.

[Freedom]

Check both cameras on dpreview.com

Make a list or spreadsheet of the featurs important toyou and fill it in from the Nikon and Canon web sites, see how they compare side by side.

Hope that helps!

[sabies]

I get all Canon cameras because I've been really happy with the quality. That said I think Nikon is good quality too - once you get into the current SLRs you will have to say "I suck as a photographer" rather than "this camera sucks" if your pictures don't come out well. I would just pick the highest quality you can afford and then start saving for a new lens.

Maybe with the Nikon being cheaper you can get a new lens sooner? The lens can make all the difference. I got a higher end 28-135 lens so that I would have a nice range without needing multiple lenses. Photography can become an expensive hobby! I took a photography class too but I have yet to master anything so no more lenses for me til my skills warrant the equipment.

[Giselle]

Thank you all!

But....bypassing the long story, I'm now the owner of a Nikon D40x!

And how do I like it? Um, let's just say I have a lot of reading and testing out to do Until then, I'll be horrifying you all with my test pictures!

[Chica]

These pics were taken with pentax 8.1 mega pix.



Is this good?

[Kfamr]

I prefer Canons. I believe they are the best quality for the money.

[.sarah]

Cool, can't wait to see the pictures. Honestly, they are both great brands. I was seriously looking into Nikon before I bought my Rebel but the reason I chose Canon is because my mom already had lenses for Canon cameras. I wouldn't stray from either of these brands if you are looking to get serious about photography. I know a pro photographer who shoots Nikon and his pictures are just phenomenal. And of course I know Canon puts out phenomenal quality as well.

[Catlady711]

Sticking strictly with the Nikon/Canon debate (since the poster has already purchased the camera)....

Both cameras are the top name choices of professionals, although more professionals choose Canon more often over Nikon (never have found a study that shows exactly why though).

According to most professionals or very serious hobbiests, the kit lenses on any camera stink, although in my own opinon I don't think the kit lenses stink at all unless you are into making huge enlargements or professional pix which require a faster lense. My dad owns all Nikons (5 of them) I own all Canons (6 of them), both of us are serious hobbist/semi professional and have used the kit lenses from both cameras that have produced stunning pix. Most people will want to expand their lenses anyways to include more zoom or special use lenses. The kit lenses include the most basic wide angle and some mid range zoom for the average consumer to get started with.

D40 vs. Rebel XTi : XTI has more megapixls, D40 has higher flash sync speed beyond that they are similar. I'm told Canon's tend to have more saturation in their pix than Nikon and Nikons need less post production sharpening than Canon.

The Nikon vs. Canon debate has been going on for years and is a bit like asking what the BEST toppings on a pizza is...no clear answer.

Although I'm a Canon fan, my dad is a Nikon fan, neither of us will tell someone any ONE brand is right for everyone, it depends on what you need from a camera, how you want to use it, and how comfortable it is to operate for an individual, we just have more familiarity with the brands we are used to using.

ok that was my $.02 worth. lol

[cloverfdx]

I am a Nikon fan, so congrats on the new camera . I cannot wait to see some test photos, have fun learning.