Nikon or Canon; Canon 500D, good buy?; Nikon Alternative?

[anti-microsoft]

Hey guys,

I'm a keen photographer and would like to buy my first DSLR. I'm looking into buying the Canon 500D, by looking at the specs and comparing, it is very similar to the 450D apart from Movie mode. Is the extra money worth it? And I also was wondering which is better option for a beginner and for the long term: Canon or Nikon.

Thanks,

Ams.

 

[Ruahrc]

The better system is the one that you find works better for you. Both Canon and Nikon are good systems and neither is really "better" than the other, just different. You need to choose the system that you feel more comfortable using.

Ideally, this involves going to a camera store and physically handling the cameras, operating the controls and menus, and changing the settings as you would be when actually shooting. Each camera operates a little differently and you may find that one is more logical or comfortable to you. Even better would be to be able to borrow a DSLR from a friend so that you can actually go out shooting with it for an extended time, vs just messing around at a camera store. I'd say renting is an option but probably only really feasable or worthwhile for high end bodies that cost a few thousand dollars. With entry level stuff the cost to rent would be better put towards the actual purchase itself.

For example, the grips on the smaller Canon bodies are smaller than the grips on the Nikons. You may find that the Canon bodies are too small to hold comfortably and that you would get better results with the Nikon. Or, (to make the Canon shooters happy) maybe you find the menus and controls of the Nikons unintuitive and confusing vs. the Canons. Then you may want to pick Canon because the menus and controls come more naturally to you.

 

[MDiddy]

I just bought my first DSLR a couple months back and chose the 500D over the 450D mostly because of the video option. I just took it on vacation and it was great to be able to toggle between HD video and large photos in one device. A couple of friends with older EOS models were impressed with the larger screen and faster response times when shooting bursts but I don't know if that makes a huge difference.