# Need Help From All Of The Camera Buffs Out There



## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

The DW and I are planning to buy a new camera since they do not make the memory cards anymore for our old one. I don't know if that should make me feel old or not since technology is so fast these days. Anyway on the Cannon side we are looking at the Cannon 30D, Rebel XTi, and the 20D. On the Nikon side we are looking at the Nikon D80, and D40x. I have researched them all and to me they are all almost alike.







Which one would you buy if you were buying.







Thanks

Leon


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## bweiler (Sep 20, 2005)

How about the Pentax K10d? The shake reduction is built in - a great camera and any lens you put on will be stabilized.

Good luck - there really is no bad choice.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

I have the Nikon D-50 and couldn't be happier!
My sister just upgraded to the D-80 and she loves her camera. She uses hers professionally...
I believe that Wolfwood has the D-80 as well.

If you could find a great deal on eBay for a D-50, I would go for it









No experience with Canon...


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Leon,

Both companies build outstanding cameras and optics. Personally, I am a long time Canon fan and would heartily recommend a Canon to anyone shopping. But, the Nikon is no slouch either. If you have a pre-existing inventory of one brands lenses or the other, as I did, that may be the deciding factor. As far as which Canon, given the choice I would probably go with the 30D for it's magnesium frame (the Rebel is primarily plastic). I'm not sure if the 20D is even still available.

I would expect that Wolfie will be on here soon to do the Point-Counterpoint thing on Nikons behalf.

Canonite or Nikonian... Tough call!

Happy Shopping,
Doug


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## GeoShe (Oct 15, 2007)

I have the Canon Rebel and love it! I bought it a couple years ago for a 3 week europe trip, It was easy to use, just a little bulky! It takes great pics! I have a friend with a Nikon, and she loves that! I got mine on Ebay and got it for about 1200.00 less than any store, I was leary due to the price difference, but, it turned out great! And it wasn't used! Have fun!

Sheila


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## Campforthenight (Apr 1, 2007)

Crawfish said:


> The DW and I are planning to buy a new camera since they do not make the memory cards anymore for our old one.
> 
> Leon


Leon I've been looking for a memory card for me for a long time. It seems they don't make em for a 47 year old any more









I think I was camping ....in a creek....by a creek....with Australians.....Oh No outback .. yeah thats it I was camping in a creek by an Outback Steakhouse drinking moonshine









My little cannon powershot A60 is about shot, I need at least 6.o mega pixel for me to crop pictures with. I do like the Idea of stabilization. how much are those types of camera's? or should I go video camera?


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

We have 2 Digital Rebels, my Rebel is the older 6.4 MP and the DW's is a 10.1 MP. I love both cameras but the DW's camera takes a better picture. The Nikon is also a great camera so I doubt that you could go wrong with either one. Good luck


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

skippershe said:


> I have the Nikon D-50 and couldn't be happier!
> If you could find a great deal on eBay for a D-50, I would go for it .


I agree. Earlier this summer, I was looking to get into an entry level D-SLR without breaking the bank. I found an great deal on (of all places) eBay. The company that I purchased from was Cameta Camera. Currently, they have over 200,000 positive feedbacks. They were easy to work with, happy to answer the several questions that I had and I would recommend them to anyone. As the D50 is no longer being produced, therefore, there are many great deals to be had. The D50 that I purchased was actually a demo unit that sat in a display case and was never used, but I saved $100's over the cost of a new outfit, it came with a 30 day guarantee. I love the ease of use of the D50. Although I am far from a master of the D50, I found that the learning curve was very short.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

H2oSprayer said:


> I have the Nikon D-50 and couldn't be happier!
> If you could find a great deal on eBay for a D-50, I would go for it .


I agree. Earlier this summer, I was looking to get into an entry level D-SLR without breaking the bank. I found an great deal on (of all places) eBay. The company that I purchased from was Cameta Camera. Currently, they have over 200,000 positive feedbacks. They were easy to work with, happy to answer the several questions that I had and I would recommend them to anyone. As the D50 is no longer being produced, therefore, there are many great deals to be had. The D50 that I purchased was actually a demo unit that sat in a display case and was never used, but I saved $100's over the cost of a new outfit, it came with a 30 day guarantee. I love the ease of use of the D50. Although I am far from a master of the D50, I found that the learning curve was very short.
[/quote]

I'll second Cameta Camera...I purchased a flash and a lens for my Nikon from them on eBay and they were great to deal with


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## campingnut18 (Mar 11, 2004)

Leon

If you see us soon, you can check out ours. We have a Canon Rebel EX and it's cool. We have two different lenses for it and it takes awesome pictures even for me - the big goof. I say this because I often somehow used to blur my pics but not so much with this one. It's nice and clear. Either way, I am sure you will like. Both are pretty good quality cameras.

Carmen


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## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks for all the replies. I know it is a hard decision to make, but y'all have helped me narrow it down. I have narrowed it down to either the Cannon XTi and the Nikon D80, and I am leaning toward the Nikon. Thanks

Leon


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## wercsje (Jul 6, 2007)

I have the nikon D-50 great camera you can not go wrong. Quality and customer service are well above average.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

*NIKON !!! * I have the Nikon D70, Speedlight SB-800, 18-70 f/3.5-4.5DX lens, 24-85 f/2.8D lens and a 70-300 f/4-5.6G lens. 3 years old and absolutely love it !! I am looking to upgrade to a Nikon D200 body . *I will be selling my D70 and kit lens *or trading it in here in a few weeks but if your interested PM me and we can talk details. I have all the documentation as well. It would certainly save somebody a lot of money, especially iof your just starting out with a DSLR.

Good luck!!


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Nikon - I went thru the same thing...back and forth and finally decided to go with the D80

Outstanding camera

Thor


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

You can't go wrong with either brand! I am unfamiliar with the Canon you're considering, but can & will certainly endorse the Nikon D80. My Nikon D200 was the tool for the Africa photos and the next purchase (if not a Macro, or FishEye or longer tele or....) will be a D80 body. The capabilities are fabulous and the ease of use (while still having all the critical bells & whistles) is terrific. The image stabilizer is great and, with the new lenses, more than enough to freeze a photo taken on the back of a moving horse!!!









Now that you've got it narrowed down - find a good foto shop (a regional "Pro Shop" is best) that has them both and pick the staffs' brains. There should be at least one "expert" for each brand. See which camera body feels best in _YOUR _hands and if there is any signifi8cant difference to _YOU_ in usability, lens quality, etc. As many have said, Nikon & Canon are both outstanding companies and their products are top notch. The final decision comes back to which one fits _YOU _the best.

Have fun shopping!!!!! I think I need to go check out a new lens or 2.....


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## phxbrit (Jul 24, 2007)

If you are looking at an SLR, keep in mind you are buying a lens mount system. Both Canon and Nikon make excellent lenses and they cost roughly the same. The cost of a couple lenses will quickly outweigh the cost of the body.

The major difference between the D80 and Rebel is the sensor. With the Nikon CCD sensor you have steeper highlight curve and will get more blown highlights and somewhat flatter looking picture without any post processing. Additionally the Nikon sensor is less sensitive than the CMOS sensors that Canon uses, and Canon has better resolving power than Nikon's with CCD sensor.

Nikon has abandoned the CCD sensor. With the release of the D300 and D3 they are now using CMOS sensors. That says a lot about the technical limits of the CCD.

I'd take a hard look at Canon's 40D, Nikon's D300, and whatever Nikon replaces the D80 with. You won't be buying another SLR in the near future, so I would be leery of buying something with yesterdays technology that you will regret in a matter of months.

If you haven't already, spend some time at www.dpreview.com. They have a very comprehensive review system. For the longest time I wanted anything but Canon, but in the end I couldn't deny the numbers. And the Canon 30D ended up being the best value/dollar. Even though I liked what Fuji was doing with their Super CCD and Sigma was doing with the Foveon sensor. Had I got my camera a month later or known Nikon was moving to the CMOS sensor, I might have made a different decision. Now I have lenses, and the brand is no longer a decision.


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## Kyoutbacker (Apr 26, 2006)

I had a Nikon, but went with Canon when the Nikon c****** out. Nuff said.


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## OBcanOB (Aug 23, 2007)

We've had Nikon since our F2Photomic (years ago...film), other Nikon, Contax, and we now have the Canon 20D, and would love to own any of the big 2's SLR product. The most important part of your purchase will be the lens you buy. Buy good 'glass' as the pro's will tell you (no I not a pro). But the lens is the most important part. We chose the Canon this time because of it's wide use in National Geographic photography, and some incredible writeups when the 20D came out. Now, not sure which I would buy, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over either brand.


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## CanadaCruizin (Jul 3, 2004)

We have a Canon Rebel XT. Stayed with Canon as we can still use the lenses and flash from our Canon AE-1 from years ago. That reminds me... there's still film in the AE-1 so I'd best get it developed before that technology goes bye-bye.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

CanadaCruizin said:


> We have a Canon Rebel XT. Stayed with Canon as we can still use the lenses and flash from our Canon AE-1 from years ago. That reminds me... there's still film in the AE-1 so I'd best get it developed before that technology goes bye-bye.


No hijack intended...

It will be a longggggggg time before its not possible to get film developed. It may become more difficult for you & me to find the lab and more expensive to process, but there will be Pros using film (some using _ONLY _film) for a long time to come. There are just some applications that are better suited to film than digital, and that's likely not to change....for quite awhile, anyway.

Of course, film does have a shelflife....so it wouldn't hurt to get that film developed anyway


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

You know, it's not the camera but the photographer.

I used to earn my living shooting photos, my stuff has appeared in Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Popular Photography, Modern Photography, and I even won an award from the publishers of Penthouse. I used to travel shooting the pro golf tours, and my photos appeared in Golf and Golf Digest. But that was all in another lifetime.

I no longer shoot film cameras, it's all digital. I use an Olympus SLR with interchangeable lenses, and a Fuji SLR that has a fixed lens. I also have little point and shoot cameras from Olympus, I love its 2.5" LCD screen and small size, as well as Fuji. I keep going back to Fuji because I feel I get not only the best bang for the buck but I love the colors from a Fuji camera. And when prints are made, Fuji has a paper that will blown anything else out of the water.

Yes, both Canon and Nikon make good cameras, and it's very impressive to be walking around with one of these icons strapped around your neck. I am fortunate, I can afford any camera, but I chose the Olympus because it has a unique way of cleaning itself (the mirror) to remove dust, which requires a trip back to a service center for a Nikon - a hassle at best. It's an 8-megapixel camera which I feel is big enough for any photos I'm shooting today. Heck, my first Fuji digital shot a 1.5 megapixel frame and I had 20x24" enlargements made that that blew folks away. They couldn't believe that those shots came from such a small camera. The trick as that Fuji developed a way to make a different shaped pixel and was equivalent to most cameras twice as high resolution.

I also used to race cars. And folks wondered that it would take to make their cars as fast as mine. It wasn't the car, it was the driver! I went to all the driving schools I could to become fast. Same thing. . .it's not the equipment. . .it's the operator -- always is always will be.

Stick with a camera you can afford. One that feels comfortable in your hands and up to your eye. One that isn't overly complex. One that allows you to operate it without always having the manual open in front of you. I don't want to say a camera you can grow into, because in this day an age, digital cameras are evolving with light speed.

Remember it's not the brand, it's the photographer.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

raynardo said:


> You know, it's not the camera but the photographer.........


PERFECTLY spoken!!


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## GoVols (Oct 7, 2005)

Leon,

I'm partial to Canon, but both companies make fine cameras. Check out this guy's site for a lot of good practical info and reviews: Ken Rockwell. He is an incredible photographer, he uses them all, and is partial to big Nikons and little Canons.


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

The photographer has a lot to do with the quality of the shot, but the equipment has a little to do with it as well! For most folks, just about anything out there in the consumer DSLR market will do the trick, and quite nicely too. Those who want to step up to a slightly better camera can buy in the "prosumer" range, and then those who want all the bells and whistles can literally break the bank.

I've been a longtime Canon user, but when I got into astrophotography, I couldn't even consider Nikon since all they used was a CCD chip. Way too much digital noise for extreme long exposure photography. I also already had Canon lenses, so the choice was pretty easy for me.

Both Nikon and Canon make good products, but I think Canon has the edge when it comes to lenses (see all the white one's at major events?), and things like full-frame CMOS sensors (nice to not have a crop factor). The good lenses aren't cheap though, and will most likely end up costing more than the camera.

My wife says Costco has piles of Canon Rebel XTi's and Nikon DX40's for about the same price - somewhere in the low $900 range!


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## bentpixel (Sep 2, 2006)

If both cameras have the feature you deem important and are equally appointed for your needs, 
then it must come down to the most subjective of test. 
How does it feel? Does the camera fit your hand? Are frequently used switches in the right place. 
Do the menus make sense to you? These are some of the things I've been considering while 
searching for a replacement for my Canon A-1 35mm film camera I bought over twenty years ago. 
(It still take great pictures.)

Good Luck,
Scott

p. s. happy picture taking, too.


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

bentpixel said:


> If both cameras have the feature you deem important and are equally appointed for your needs,
> then it must come down to the most subjective of test.
> How does it feel? Does the camera fit your hand? Are frequently used switches in the right place.
> Do the menus make sense to you? These are some of the things I've been considering while
> ...


My son has the Canon A-1 35 mm camera that was purchased before he was born to take professional-quality pics of his birth, etc. It still takes great pics over 23 yrs. later!! Now, though, we generally use digital cameras, as you can view the "finished product" and know whether you need a retake or not. I just purchased a bigger memory card for mine. Sure comes in handy when on trips!!
Darlene


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## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

I want to thank everybody for their input and advice. We have decided of the camera we plan to purchase. We have picked the Cannon 40D because it has everything we wanted on it and from the reviews it produces the best images of all the cameras out there. Since I am retired I plan to really get serious with photography and learn all I can. Again thanks for all your knowledge.

Leon


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Great choice, Leon!








But then I'm a little biased in the matter. I think you will be very happy with that model, it's a sweet camera.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Congrats on the decision and enjoy. Learning to use a DSLR has been one of the most tedious things i have done but the rewards are well worth the learning curve!! I learned a lot from this....Fred Parker Exposure Link. Im sure that there are many more good links and books that the experts can suggest to help get you started. Take a lot of pictures and practice!! Good Luck, have fun.


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

OK Leon, we now expect to see plenty of Rally pictures, as well as pictures of the ever-elusive Elvis, Big Foot, UFO's, and, of course, Gilligan.









Bob


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## ALASKA PFLOCK (Jun 24, 2007)

Crawfish said:


> The DW and I are planning to buy a new camera since they do not make the memory cards anymore for our old one. I don't know if that should make me feel old or not since technology is so fast these days. Anyway on the Cannon side we are looking at the Cannon 30D, Rebel XTi, and the 20D. On the Nikon side we are looking at the Nikon D80, and D40x. I have researched them all and to me they are all almost alike.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Crawfish- Cannon Rebel XTi, the only way to go.


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