Beginner's Digital SLR

[Westside guy]

I was wondering what are the pros and cons of the Nikon and Canons?
They seem to be almost as controversial as the Mac vs PC thing.
Why would you choose one over the other?

Oh man...

You are right; with some people especially it is controversial. It was a much easier call with the first round of dSLRs (which is when I bought my Nikon D70); but both Nikon and Canon make great cameras and great lenses.

Why would you pick one over the other?

• If one company or the other just released a new model that beat the pants off what had come before;
• If you have a photo buddy that owned a particular brand;
• If there were particular features of one or the other that really mattered to you;
• If you'd already made the choice with a film SLR, and wanted to use your old lenses (in addition to new ones);
• If one or the other makes a particular lens you really really really want/need

I tend to think the Nikon kits come with a better kit lens, for the most part; so that might matter to you. There's no reason to buy the kit though - just buy the body and add a lens of your choice.

 

[Aperture]

Thanks, I was looking in to take close up pictures of animals such as, frogs, snakes ETC. I like to take pictures of wildlife.

Have you ever tried taken these kind of pics on your current camera? A bunch of P&S are very capable of taking great pics. Also, you mentioned close ups. I don't know how close you mean, but close ups, or "macros", is at the high end of photography price-wise.

Also, if you *really* want these kinda pics, I suggest saving up for a true dSLR whilst practicing photography on your current camera. (if you have one)

 

[Clix Pix]

From what I'm reading here, you are not ready for a DSLR at this point, in terms of skill set, knowledge or finances. Go with a good "prosumer" P&S that also includes manual controls and a good macro mode and work with that for a while before you decide to move into a DSLR.

 

[Cameront9]

When you buy an SLR, you're not buying a camera...you're buying a SYSTEM. Which system you choose, be it Canon, Nikon, Sony/Minolta, or Olympus (I'm sure there are others, too) is ultimately going to be based on what you want to shoot.

IMO, Canon has the broadest selection of lenses. But ulitmatley, you need to study the selection of lenses to determine what system you want to buy into. Camera bodies will come and go, but your lenses will last a Long, long time...

 

[Clix Pix]

When you buy an SLR, you're not buying a camera...you're buying a SYSTEM.

Exactly so! And lenses cost, especially the specialty lenses such as macros.... Since the OP is asking about the possibility of getting a DSLR for $200, he's clearly not really understanding the whole concept and probably is not financially prepared to buy a DSLR and even a kit lens.... In order to shoot macro he would need a macro lens, which can range anywhere from $400 - $1000+..... If he buys a good P&S that has a good macro mode he would be much better off.

 

[compuwar]

I was just about to start a new thread almost exactly like this one.
Weird.

I was wondering what are the pros and cons of the Nikon and Canons?
They seem to be almost as controversial as the Mac vs PC thing.
Why would you choose one over the other?

Pros: They're the market leaders.
Cons: They're priced and featured like market leaders.

Short answer: If you're not going to be buying lenses that are over the $1500 range, then mostly go based upon what feels better in your hands. If you're going to be getting anything better than the Canon 100-400IS or Nikkor 80-400VR, then you need to look at what you're going to shoot, the lens line, flash systems and all the associated stuff. If you're going to shoot weddings, pro sports, or sports for money, then you'll have a lot more criteria.

At the low end, Nikon's currently kicking Canon's butt, and at the high end Canon's currently kicking Nikon's butt. Both companies offer bodies at both ends, and can mostly satisfy their respective customers at both ends, so image-quality-wise anyone who doesn't do billboards for a living isn't going to really make any signiciantly different images with either camera system.

It's a system though- once you start spending real money it's a pain in the butt to switch (though more and more folks seem to be ending up with bodies from both systems, and an unnervingly large sampling of "pro" photographers seem to be switching back and forth (quotes for emphasis- just because you make money with a camera doesn't make you a good photographer.)

In my experince, about 65% of folks prefer how Nikons handle and about 35% prefer how Canons handle, even though there's a large variation in body sizes and weights in each system. Canon's current lens line is a little better than Nikon's at the pro end, and I think a little worse at the pro-sumer end. Nikon's flash system tends to be a bit better, both systems do well with metering.

In the end though, it's really about the pictures, and even a marginally good photographer can get great results out of any current body from either manufacturer (and most of the other manufacturer's DSLRs too.) Look at your budget, decide which models fit there (especially with lenses- that's where you spend your long-term money anyway) and then if you live somewhere that has a camera store or retailer with those modles, go try them out. Avoid camera store salesween bias if you can, just take some snaps with your favorites, and see what the results are like, then make your choice.

 

[srf4real]

Just get the Kodak. You'll love it.

 

[ChrisA]

what about THIS one? http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=8994&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=7290

The easyshare one? Does Kodak work with mac?

I thought you were looking for a DSLR? Any camera can work with iPhoto. It would be hard to find one that could not be made to work,

I was wondering what are the pros and cons of the Nikon and Canons?
They seem to be almost as controversial as the Mac vs PC thing.
Why would you choose one over the other?

Once you buy either camera you then need to buy a lens. The camera is usless without a lens. And then you will buy another lens. In the long run lenses cost a lot more then the body does. Some day you will need to updae or replace the camera body. You will likely buy one that fits the lenses you have. SO if you buy a (say) Canon you are commiting to being a Canon customer for a long, long time. You want to look at the company and decide if you want to buy that replacment camera that is not yet even designed. Switching brands is expensive because it required that you sell everything and start over. I say it is like being married to the company and getting unmared is never pleasant or cheap.

People will argue which isbest Nikon or Canon but in the end the only dumb move is decide based on triveal stuff that does not matter much. Don't look at the small differences on the bodies. Look at the total system and the lenses you would like to buy down the road in 3 or 5 years

 

[bluewire]

Thanks, I was looking in to take close up pictures of animals such as, frogs, snakes ETC. I like to take pictures of wildlife.

You need a p/s with a good zoom. Zoom lens for SLR are very expensive, it can be many times the purchase price of a SLR body.