Canon or Nikon or.......????

[zorstklamp]

Hi,
I'm hoping to buy a new DSLR soon-ish but I'm getting very confused over what make & model to seriously look at and then make a purchase.

There seems to be several manufacturers locked in battle over DSLRs and making a sensible choice is not easy.....

some local camera shop point you in one direction then you go to another and get a totally different view !

I need help !

My own ideas come down to Canon 450D or Nikon D60 or even a Sony a350 ....or maybe there are others to consider.

Price is a big factor, so to is availability of lenses that won't bankrupt me !

Is Live View worth going for, I wear glasses and hate having to remove them to look through a tiny viewfinder

Simple,intuative,easy to use menu options are a major concern so to is changing settings easily , good battery life, handling etc.

I currently have a 'bridge' camera, a Fuji FinePix S602Zoom which has done me well, but now its time to move on !

All helpfull suggestions greatfully recieved !

Thanks.

[valerius]

Out of those i'd personally go with the 450d but, I prefer Canon image quality at that end of the scale so i'm perhaps a bit biased. One option to confuse you even more .. In that price range you might also fancy checking out the Fuji S5 pro which has recently been slashed in half and accepts Nikon lenses. A very nice camera for the money http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms5pro/

[antares]

When you buy into a DSLR, what you're really buying into is the lens set up.
I would like to repeat this, you are buying into that companies older, current and future lenses.
So, besides looking at getting Brand X because it's on sale at Store Y, you have to look at how
much you will be willing to spend on lenses. Also depending on the model camera you buy,
certain lenses from the same manufacturer will not work with that model camera.

Another thing you have to look at, how does the camera feel in your hand.
Does it feel like a toy? Is it to big? Remember it has to feel comfortable,
you don't want to be fumbling over the controls.

What I'm basically telling you, the choice is really yours, its what you feel
comfortable with, what you can grow with, what you can try to master.
So go to the camera store and try them all out, it's your money and only
you can make the right choice for yourself.


As a personal choice for me, I went with Nikon.

[Keitht]

The lenses from any of the manufacturers mentioned vary between good and superb so that really isn't anything to get too worked up over.
To me, assuming all the cameras will 'do the job', the most important aspect is handling. It's no good having the best spec in the world if the camera simply isn't comfortable in use.
Don't be swayed by sales staff as they in turn may be basing their advice more on commission than suitability.

[ozzieuk]

When you buy into a DSLR, what you're really buying into is the lens set up.

This is so true.... I really wanted to move over to the Nikon D3 simply because of how amazing its ISO noise is!

But as everything goes in photography I had to stick with Canon and buy the 1d Mk III, I just couldn't part with my EF lens collection and justify buying the Nikon Alternatives.

[JamieWillmott]

When you buy into a DSLR, what you're really buying into is the lens set up

I'd like to second (or third) that.

I went for Canon because I thought they had a better range of lenses available. As well as consumer and pro end lenses they have a couple of levels in between, like the F4 L lenses.

I thought that Nikon lacked this middle ground, which is a bit of a shame because their current DSLR bodies are fantastic.

[nikkormat]

I have returned to photography after quite a few years absence and being used to SLR's I had to have a DSLR.

I bought a Pentax K200D in the summer and whilst I am very pleased with the results I wish I had bought Canon or Nikon.
Never did enough research and assumed that all the independent lens makers would provide lenses in just about any camera mount.

How things have changed. All biased towards Canon and Nikon now.

[dombower]

Canon or nikon doest matter, its the type of camera you want to be lookng at.

For more advice have a quick looky at the video review i did of what you should look for in a new DSLR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEOolfyiolY

Kind regards

Dom Bower

[happybluething]

Hi

Just get either a Nikon or a Canon entry-level SLR camera, these two will never ever let you down. I personally wouldn't buy anything else even if you paid me.

If you want to buy a Nikon dSLR, get something like D40 or D60 - they're very much the same, D60 is just a little bit fancier and a tad more expensive. I don't like entry-level Canon SLRs, such as 450D and 1000D as they feel more like plastic toys rather than real cameras, but I can assure you that their picture quality is the same or, in some cases, better than their Nikon rivals. Just go to your nearest camera shop and try all the abovementioned Canon/Nikon SLRs and get the one you liked the most. It's that simple.

Cheers, Dan

[Vomax]

I think Canon 450D is great.

[tcr18h]

I agree with the comments regarding lenses.. Both Nikon and Canon have a great range of lenses.

[D Pentney]

I started with a D60 and while the body was largely ok, lens-wise you're extremely limited because the camera doesn't have the focussing motor in the body. Most of the bargain lenses need this. You will be stuck with using only lenses that have the motor built into them (AF-S). If you're worried about getting hold of lenses I would personally avoid this aspect o the Nikon system.

[PKW]

Canon is most often the choice for professionals because of their unrivalled image quality and range of options.

[Troy]

Canon is most often the choice for professionals because of their unrivalled image quality and range of options.

This is a little bit misleading. They don't have superior image quality or a range of options over the likes of Nikon. They both have arguably similar quality in different situations, and from what i can gather they have an almost identical range of lenses/other kit.