Cameras: Please HELP me Decide between a Nikon d50 and a Canon XTi
Hey all! I know some of you have been bored to death with my “Should I buy a DSLR or shouldn’t I?” dilemma. It’s been about two months now. But I promise we’ve almost reached the end.
But, it would be nice if anybody reading this would be willing to chime in with some advice. Please? Please?
I’ve been without my Canon S400 as it is being repaired by Canon. In its absence I’ve been craving a new camera. If I had it with me I could probably ignore the new toys greediness.
My sister has a Nikon Coolpix 7900 and takes food and travel pictures with it. She likes her camera but now feels the limitations. I’ve been on a campaign to get her to get a DSLR (with which I can play) as I didn’t use my camera much or enough and am probably not ready for a DSLR and am scared I would be wasting money. I don’t think she would be. So, I spent the last few months telling her why she needed a DSLR every time she said something…you know I nagged. (My last campaign for her to get an apple laptop…well that resulted in my having a powerbook…*sigh*)
She finally decided yes! DSLR!
And I’ve been doing research because she hasn’t had time (I shouldn’t have time either…like now I should be working).
I also told her if we were both to get DSLRs we should probably consider getting the same brand so we can switch lenses and stuff if we ever want to (we don’t live together but we’re only an hour plane ride away and she’s always back home anywayz…and well we’re not serious yet so….it’ll work…(Mom resented the implication that we would be spinster aunts living together with our cats…She says of course Chennette will get married. (It’s nice to note that she’s given up on me!!!))
But then I told her, don’t worry about me. I shouldn’t buy one.
Then tonight I told her…I think I can get a DSLR. I think I will make use of it.
And she said…well we should get the same brand. But it pretty much comes down to the same model, a Nikon d50 (there are still some available on bhphotovideo and amazon i think) or the canon rebel XTi.
We’re suffering from brand loyalty at the moment. She would get a Nikon (I do like the d50 and it’s pretty cheap at the moment) and I would get a Canon.
We know that since we have no investment in either it doesn’t matter and regardless of what DSLR we get it will be better than what we have now and we will be happy with it…but we have to decide what…
I also told her since she is more committed I’m willing to give her opinion/desire more weight. We need to do research.
I just don’t know what to get. We doubt we’ll be able to go to a store and try them out before we buy as we’re not in the US. She’ll be in barbados for a while and it is possible there are decent camera stores there for her to go pick ‘em up and feel ‘em and if there are, I told her go but if not…well…we’re buying blindly.
Our intention is to buy our cameras in January with kit lenses and get to know them and then we want to either go on an Orkney Island cruise (whale watching) or Alaska by railroad in April. We figure by then we should know our cameras and we could stand to invest in two lenses (at least), a wide angle and a telescopic (do i have that right? wide angle for larger area or something? and telescopic for distance?). Eventually we’ll get fixed lenses too and she a macro lens. We figure for vacation one of us will have the wide lens and one the telescopic and we can, instead of switching lenses, switch cameras with the lens attached and try to keep track of who took what picture.
But in general, she takes pictures of the food she makes or eats as she hops around the Caribbean. She also takes scenery/landscape pictures too. Me…well who knows what I take…chocolate? We also take pictures of our sister’s child (and any future children) but those aren’t posted on flickr.
We would also have to look at the controls (I guess maybe steves digicams or dpreview or somebody might have pictures). She wants variable timer settings. And well I don’t know what else.
This is my sister’s flickr and this is mine if you think looking at her pictures will help (my pictures suck).
The d50 is cheaper and will be good and will make us happy but then I think the XTi is newer. I’m guessing investing in lenses for any system is equivalently expensive. She was going to post on flickr food groups to see what foodies prefer and why.
Any advice would be seriously appreciated!
Nikon d50 review on dpreview.com
Canon XTi review on dpreview.com specs
Side by side spec comparison on dpreview.com
“Someone” read this post and noticed that we were planning an Orkney cruise…someone nearby on the North Sea…:-)
Comment by Chennette — Friday 29th, December 2006 @ 10:58 pm
\”Someone\”?
Well, why doesn\’t \”someone\” post and invite us over?
I mean, if we don\’t feel welcome, we probably won\’t go to Orkney.
We\’ll go to Alaska!
Comment by Lilandra — Friday 29th, December 2006 @ 11:37 pm
Hey, go with the Nikon D50. Try it out for a couple of days, then take it back; then take out the Cannon DLSR for a workout. Compare both, then decide. Don’t tell the camera store what you’re up to because they found on people doing this. I do this all the time when making large dollar purchase–I want to make sure I’m getting the best bang for my buck.
****I own a Nikon EA7 analog SLR, though not digital, I like them–great camera. However, I think Cannon is the bigger of the two brand-names??
Feel and accessories are the key points to SLRs: the add-ons, the better the camera: i.e, lenses, flash, case, filters, etc….If it has good weight and balance when you pick it up and shoot, then your photos are going show that; you should never have to fight the camera when taking a shot.
Alaska…….. cold this time of year! ;)
Comment by Thomasso — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 1:53 am
Disclaimer: I have a Nikon D70s.
Both Canon and Nikon have similar specs at similar price ranges. At this point, you can choose either one of them and not be bothered much about it.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_eos400d%2Cnikon_d50%2Cnikon_d80%2Cnikon_d70s&show=all
Look at the D80 instead of the D50 for comparing equivalent bodies.
PS: It’s called a zoom lens (or a telescopic zoom).
Comment by Devdas — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 3:26 am
Well, we weren’t planning on going to Alaska right this minute…(well…).
We might have to get a Canadian visa.
You Nikon lover!
We have to buy online and from the US which might make returning difficult! :-(
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 5:48 am
Devdas: thank you! :)
I tried to make her look at the D80 (or even the D70s as there are some available) but I have to say the “cheapness” of the D50 right now makes it highly appealing.
So, which are the wide angle ones?
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 5:51 am
I’m sorry. You ended up with a free computer, courtesy of your sister, and you grumbled about it?
I won’t be surprised if you never get to see the new camera! ;-)
Comment by ewe_are_here — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 9:48 am
I copy/pasted the comment thread from the LJ side since said they wouldn’t save.
pjvj
2006-12-30 12:36 am
Here is my unprofessional opinion: Get the cheaper one. 1) it is cheaper. 2) the features do not seem to be downgraded a lot for the price for what you’ll be using them for. 3) The Nikon has the option of an “auto” ISO rating if you’re feeling lazy. The only downside I see to it is that it does not have the option of “auto” flash. It does however have red-eye slow which would be an asset (I’m guessing it controls red-eye even at slower shutter speeds) and since I hate red-eye (Die! Red-eye! DIE!) that is one thing that tips that camera to the yes side.
—————————
silly_lilly
I think someone here hates auto-flash.
But the thing about cheaper cameras…if we’re going to spend oodles on lenses…they keep telling us don’t just buy for the camera but for the system because if we replace the body we will still have the other pieces. It’s such a headache…and…which lenses are cheaper and that Canon has so much more lenses available.
*sigh*
My sister likes Nikon.
You traitor :-p
——————————
pjvj
2006-12-30 09:25 am
Here is an interesting page on the Nikon: http://www.outbackphoto.com/reviews/equipment/nikon_d50/Nikon_d50.html
It says do not go for cheap lenses or you will degrade your pictures. It says you do not have to go for the most expensive lens, but weight of the lens and price *do* make a difference.
And I am not a traitor, you asked for an opinion even though you always reach for the most expensive toy. :P~
Comment by PJ — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 10:40 am
Actually, I was looking at the D80 last night…
Comment by Chennette — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 11:19 am
@ PJ Thanks for that review - now I am back to cheaper camera, good lens :-)Variety of lenses with Canon may not matter if we only ever need 2-3 lenses. I am sure we can find them with Nikon. We’re not setting up as pros. Good prime. Zoom. And much later down the line, macro.
I looked at the side by side comparison, and the views of the controls etc, and the Canon doesn’t actually win out on all counts - I still like the Nikon D50.
Comment by Chennette — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 11:28 am
PJ: PAMELA IS EBIL!
But you’re right…I do always seem to crave expense.
But this time it’s cuz it’s Canon and I love Canon and I already have a spare compact flash card :-)
Maybe Chennette can get the d70s and use my compact flash card!
Chennette: If we’re going Nikon I think we should definitely get the d50 as it’s much cheaper than the d80 and we will be buying the same lenses and it’s a very sweet deal. We don’t need a d80.
And, I am very tempted by the price but I think we should really research. What if we do get tempted into loads of lenses. Also, we should compare the cost of good lenses for Nikon and Canon.
ewe_are_here: Yes she did get a free computer because of me. She could at least have stood by me and got an iBook!
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 1:52 pm
Lookie
http://www.outbackphoto.com/reviews/equipment/canon_400D/Canon_400D_review.html
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 2:28 pm
Read about their
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 2:30 pm
Lily:
They sell adapters for differing types of cards, you could look into that. My kids bought me a digital picture frame for the holiday and I have a smart media card for my camera which does not work so I purchased an adapter. The adapter was only US$30 so I think it was cheap for the value I will be getting.
Comment by PJ — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 2:37 pm
Luminous Landscapes
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/pentax-10D.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/rebel%20xti.shtml
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 2:38 pm
But the Compact Flash are huge squares and the SD cards are less than half their size, I think
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 2:38 pm
I haven’t found an adapter that goes CF–>SD, only SD—>CF so you are probably right. Buy an adapter for CF to be used as an extra drive for your PC and you won’t feel the card is wasted.
Comment by PJ — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 2:58 pm
I have one of those card readers (and I still have my canon s400 for which i have a 32mb card, 256mb card and the 1gb new card).
It’s the only usb flash drive i haven’t lost yet cuz it’s SOOOO BIG!
:)
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 3:02 pm
On bhphotovideo.com
D50 costs $450
with 2gb SD card $500
with Nikon 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 G Autofocus Lens (kit lens?) $500
with both $550
so for just $50 more for the kit lens I would get the kit lens. Unless of course they bundle the camera with a better, almost equivalent range lens for a good deal.
with 18-55mm DX Zoom Nikkor Lens (is this the kit?) $600
with Nikon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D IF Autofocus Lens $700
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 3:09 pm
On bhphotovideo.com
Silver XTi costs $690
with Canon 18-55mm EF-S Lens $765
Black XTi costs $695
with Canon 18-55mm EF-S Lens $780
with Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Autofocus Lens $1180
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 3:12 pm
Nikon Lenses:
Nikon Normal AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D Autofocus Lens $115
Nikon Normal AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D Autofocus Lens $280
Canon Lenses:
Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens $70
Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Autofocus Lens $310
And I didn’t provide links to anything.
Also, I don’t know about any other lensees but I figure these are what we can start with…probably…and then read more.
There may be 50mm f/1.2 for oodles of money. I’m thinking if you’re doing a lot of food etc maybe one 50mm which needs less light might be good? I think I understand that enough.
There are 50mm macro lenses but I don’t quite understand that yet.
And I have no clue what zooms we might want yet.
Comment by Lilandra — Saturday 30th, December 2006 @ 3:21 pm
[...] So, we’ve pretty much decided… [...]
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