Nikon D80 (or D40) or Canon Rebel Xti?

[janko kajtez]

The only camera I have ever had is Sony Cybershot compact camera. I just

finished high school, started college and during the summer I became really

interested in digital photography. I have read many review about cameras and

shopping advices and pretty much I have narrowed my choice to these two camera:

Nikon D80 and Canon Rebel XTi. My first pick is Nikon because I read a lot of

good reviews about it and the only thing that boders me is price. I know that I

need to buy good lens and with budget of around 1500$ I am not sure if Nikon D80

is right choice. Is D80 worth the money? If not is Rebel XTi good choice? What

about Nikon D40? What kind of lens would I need to buy as a beginner with no

experience and no preference in what kind of photography I would like to

practice (ex. portrait, nature, night...)?

[colinsouthern]

Swings and round-abouts between the two cameras - but it's indesputable that Canon has the better lens selection which is, ultimately, what prevents most users from changing camps later on in life (too many $$$ invested in lenses).

 

The Rebel XTi is a great little camera - however if you can stretch the budget, the new 40D is much better.

[sam_thompson2]

The D80 is worth it for the the wireless flash feature alone.

 

I would get the D80 over the XTI. There are lots of good third party and Nikon lenses you can buy and use on the D80 that you cannot auto focus on the D40(x).

 

But if you want to shoot action. I would stretch the budget a little and get the 40D.

[Rene11664880918]

When the XTi and D80 came out on sale, same as Sony Alfa 100, they were around the same

price. After a year the Canon and the Sony camera went down on price, a lot! What does it

tell you? Canon got better lenses, at least until now but unless you will become a pro and

make a career out of it you don't have to worry about what system is better. The camera in

my own opinion I think D80 is better and you can get very good lenses at a good price, new

and used.

[michael s.]

<< ... but it's indesputable that Canon has the better lens selection ... >>

 

Oh, no, it's actually very disputable ! But for Janko, at this stage, it's also very much beside the point. :-)

 

Rebel XTi, Nikon D40 or D80 -- all are capable of making superb photos. And I'd say the same about the Pentax K100D, which has image stabilization built into the body, so that *every lens* benefits from that feature. Olympus is also making some good entry-level cameras, and Sony offers one. I'm personally less familiar w/ Olympus and Sony.

 

I'd strongly suggest handling the cameras yourself if at all possible, as the biases and opinions of others can take you only so far. While all of them are capable, they most certainly do not handle/feel/weigh the same.

 

Not so many years ago, I went to the camera store with the firm intention of buying the original Digital Rebel, the first of the series, and really the first 'budget' dslr. I even had a couple Canon lenses for an autofocus 35mm Canon camera I owned and liked a great deal. But the little Rebel just didn't fit comfortably in my (large) hands. So I passed on that one, and I waited.

 

In the above group, the D80 would stand out for me in one respect -- a much better viewfinder. That may or may not be significant to you. And the D80 does cost more.

 

First lens: perhaps start with a kit lens with the idea of changing/adding as your interests become clearer. (Of the so-called kit lenses Nikon offers, the one I like is the 18 - 70mm.)

 

Given that you're just starting in photography, and just starting college, the main thing is to get out there and begin taking photos.

 

Good luck.

[calarrick]

for a budget up to $1500 you could get the D80 (certainly the best camera of those you list) with one of the kit lenses, and still have money left over for a nice fast prime lens (or possibly even two, if you buy them used, or a nice fast lens and also the SB-600 flash). But it is quite true that you won't go far wrong with any of these options. (I just checked the B&H price to make sure of what I just said, and yup... you could do it... It is remarkable that the D80 has come down only about $100 from its launch price a year ago, while the once similarly-priced a100 and (to a lesser extent) the XTi have come down in price so much more. As the consumer, that must be frustrating when looking at the D80 but on the other hand it is also a real seal of approval from the market.)

 

It also might be very worthwhile to look at Pentax.

[calarrick]

...as for your "what kind of lens" question, all I'd say is get at least one 'fast' (wide maximum aperture) one. This will open up control over the depth of field for you in a way that the (rather slow) kit zooms don't -- and also allow you to use lower ISO settings more often (f2.0 lets in four times as much light (two stops) compared to the maximum aperture of f4 on a lot of kit zooms). Fast zooms are expensive, so this will mean getting 'primes' (lenses that have only one focal length). You might also find you learn a lot about framing and perspective from using a prime lens.

 

For Nikon, I'd recommend either the 50mm f1.4 lens, the 50mm f1.8 lens (also very inexpensive) or the 35mm f2 as affordable primes in moderate, familiar, focal-length ranges. The 35mm, given the so-called digital crop factor, is actually functionally closest to the standard 50mm lenses that came bundled in all the 35mm SLR kits back in the day when zooms were lower quality and not so commonly used. The 50mm f1.8, however, is the most spectacularly good buy of the bunch. (and Canon's equivalent, if you went that route, is even cheaper)

[colinsouthern]

Michael S Wrote: "Oh, no, it's actually very disputable"

 

I just did a quick talley-up in the review section at

 

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

 

Canon Lenses = 71; Nikon Lenses = 45

 

Seems like a better selection to me :)

[Allen Herbert]

I would like to practice (ex. portrait, nature, night...)?

 

You said it. Try not to be carried away with the best cam thing.They are all much the sameness.

 

Of course the marketing dudes,all over news groups,will tell you to forget about photos. Hey, it's about having the latest cam.

 

Just a thought.<div></div>

[leopoldstotch]

Perhaps use of the term "Larger AF lens selection" instead of "better lens selection" would settle this?:)

[colinsouthern]

I heard that larger was better, somewhere! ;)

[tim_knight]

Janko, Here we go again with who is the best? Only you can decide which is best. Go to a camera shop that has Nikon, Canon, and Pentax

DSLR cameras. Take your time and handle each one and see which one feels the best in your hands. Play with the controls and look at available options in the menu and see which one you feel you can grow the most with. When you decide which DSLR you want come back to this site and ask which lens or lenses you should get.

[nickc1]

I'm with Tim here. I love my film cameras, and have only just added a digital SLR to them - I went into the local store and tried several. The particular models don't matter, but the smallest one fitted my hands and grip better than one of the others which was actually physically larger. Strange but true, and I am very happy with my choice - but yours may well be different. IMHO the lens issue is not the most important, but a camera that can become part of you is.

[User_503771]

One other thought: Can you enroll in a photography class? I ask because I don't know what your program will be as you start college....

 

Anyway, it might be a good idea. Try to find a class that starts out with regular film cameras, maybe even a little bit of darkroom work, because that's where the foundation of the subject is.

 

You might even find a career option there, who knows? (Although, even if you have your career plan wrapped up at this point, photography could still be a lifelong serious pursuit!)

 

Anyway, if you're getting good pictures right now with your Sony, why switch before you have more knowledge and experience?

 

On the other hand, this might be the ideal time "make the jump" -- only you can decide those things.

 

Just thought I'd throw this thought out there for you to consider, and I hope it helps.

 

Above all, have a great time with your new interest, and I hope all goes well!

[steve_solomon2]

IMHO, EITHER Nikon or Canon has more than enough lenses, bodies, accessories, etc., to satisfy anybody in this forum, including myself. Time spent debating which system has the most lenses would probably be better used in determining what you want to photograph, doing a little online research, and then taking a CF card to a local dealer and testing the IQ and ergonomics of both Canon and Nikon bodies, process the images at your leisure, and then making an informed decision. Having said that, personally, I am also on the fence between Canon and Nikon, and am waiting on test results from the new Nikon D300 and the Canon 40D. I'm better at giving advice thank taking my own! :-)

Have fun,

Steve

[bfscott]

ARGH - All this stupid talk of who has the best/most lenses. What a lot of nonsense.

Of course Nikon was the original parent of Canon, in case you didn't know. And,

anyone serious owns Nikon equipment. The lenses Nikon produce are far superior for

the money. Get the Nikon D80 and you won't be sorr! Nuf said.