Calling Shutterbugs: D40/D50 or EOS/Rebel ?

[ohgood]

I need (want) a new camera. I enjoy shooting panoramas, kids, and super macros. I have non-DSLR's for the point n shoot things. What I really want is a good all around body with a 55-70 and 55-200mm to capture PRETTY things.

I'm getting better about composition and knowing when the lighting is begging to be captured. I don't usually plan shots, but things go well if/when I do.

I likely won't be on the professional side of things for another 3-5 years, if ever. That doesn't mean I can't commit some resources to the hobby though. I -love- a good shot.

So, I've been looking at the Canon xsi's around 6-8Mp and the Nikon D40/D60's. The price range I have is around 5-700, and lenses will be down the road and absolutely included stabilization for the long range ones.

So, what do you like, Canon or Nikon, and why ? I know the autofocus issues with the entry level nikons, and can live with not being able to produce a 40x50" print

Give me a little guidance please.

Thanks !

[darb85]

check out the sonys.  they are pretty sweet, unless you already have lences for a canon or a rebel, I find the sonys which use Minolta lenses are very feature happy.

Brad

[theUBS]

I wish I knew more about it.  I'd be helping you as well as myself!  I don't have a lot of time to take pictures, but I seem to be a blessed with a bit of an ability to get some good shots.  I love when the lighting is just right, and you can use the zoom lens and just sort of snap away at a distance without flash! I have a semi-crappy Kodak.  I will say I've heard good things about Canons though.

[TheGoodGuy]

The XSi is fine, but you can get the old XT and XTi for cheap these days. THe Nikon D40 is not bad but the D50 is better. Personally with DSLR's its not the body but teh lenses.

I own a Canon EOS40D and my lenses and accessories are almost as expensive. Remember unless you get a full frame, most of the cameras are crop bodies, so you need to multiply the lens number by a crop number. For most canon bodies its 1.6, for nikon i believe its 1.5

So in my case my EFS 18-55 IS is actually a 28-80 on the old 35mm format. My 28-135 IS is 44-200 on the 35mm ..

My lenses are all image stablizied for the kind of work I do. I am meaning to buy a few L glass or f2.8 lenses but those are expensive. The lens I have that is teh fastest is the EF 50mm f1.8 which retails for about 80. Its a plastic body lens, but wickedly fast and a narrow DOF.

The problem is that the lenses on DSLR's are expensive, sometimes you can spend 500 for just one lens. My external flash is 500 bucks almost.

Its an expensive hobby.

[mkrasavin]

My dad has the Nikon D50, its a great camera, the super macros are amazing.

He got it for a pretty good deal last December. Usually Best Buy or Circuit City will have a good deal on some high-end camera on Black Friday. I know the Nikon D90 just came out so I'm sure the price on the D40/D50 will drop.
www.slickdeals.net & fatwallet.com are good places to start looking for deals once you pick a camera, good luck.

[jdanna]

nikon optics are the best. nikkor lenses are great, and even the old ones fit the new bodys (though the electronics dont always line up)

[psyber_0ptix]

i have an xti and like it. the lenses really make the shot but i like the lower noise of the cmos for wide field long exposures ; although most cameras have noise reduction capabilities; i just end up stacking multiple images anyways and time isnt always on my side.

although the nikons are pretty nice. i'm still happy with the canon as my first dslr

[ohgood]

thanks everyone. i decided on a d40 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses. apparently i'll need to tote a bi/tri-pod with me for any distance shooting, as the 200mm lense doesn't have fantastic stabilization. we'll see what i can come up with.

i did play with both the d50, d40, and d80 (holy smokes) along with the xsi / xti canons. the canons seemed to be the fastest to recover from multiple shots, but the nikon edged it out on feel and quickness of everything else.

going from a nikon sl1 to my first D-SLR ! I'm so excited to finally have a decent camera that will capture my sons eyes OPEN instead of partially closed or miss the shot entirely !

did I mention my first D-SLR ? WOOHOO !

[theUBS]

Congrats!    Hope you get to enjoy a lot of good shots!

[astroaru]

Have you made up your mind on a D40  I would recommend that you stay from that. You will soon outgrow the "3 af points", no DOF preview and a pathetic buffer for continuous shooting. However if you already placed the order - ignore those lines and read below.

Congrats on the DSLR buy. Have fun.   

[ohgood]

Have you made up your mind on a D40  I would recommend that you stay from that. You will soon outgrow the "3 af points", no DOF preview and a pathetic buffer for continuous shooting. However if you already placed the order - ignore those lines and read below.

Congrats on the DSLR buy. Have fun.   

yes, the d40 is  a done deal. the 3 points for AF aren't really an issue since i'll do most things manually. the point/shoot portion will be for motorcycles/stuff moving fast anyway.

DOF would have been nice, but hopefully I'll see things beforehand. Hopefully

[bikejunkie223]

I'm partial to Nikons myself- they just seem to have better lenses than the Cannons. Of course I'm no authority whatsoever in photography other than my fiddling about with a Nikon N65 film Slr.