Canon 500D (Rebel T1i, Kiss X3)

[ukcatfan]

Actually, I purchased these after talking to the tech. support guy at Canon. He told me that the 18-55 was "Crap", and my other lens would offer more versatility. I know I had no issues whatsover using it with the old "film" camera, I don't have a need for wide angle, and didn't feel that the quality of the lens warranted the $100+ it was adding to the price of the body alone.

To see what it is going to be like, look through the film camera with the lens set at 56mm. That is as wide as you are going to be able to go on the DSLR. IMO, that is going to be difficult to even get portrait shots because you are going to be so far away from your subject that it is going to be almost impossible to keep people from walking in front of you.

 

[C&B Young]

I have never used IS, (old school). Does it make that much of a difference? This is the one I ordered:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-75-300m...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1254181891&sr=8-10

We have a good sturdy tripod (use it with the HD camcorder, we really see a need for IS there). Since I ordered Amazon, they already have it ready to ship, it'll be here tomorrow. The IS one is around $70 more, as you mentioned the 70-300 IS is way pricey.

I personally like the IS as I do a lot of handheld shooting, and I don't have a steady hand at ALL. I originally got a Sigma 70-300 APO as my primary zoom, but the lack of IS (and my lack of steadiness!) really hampered my ability to shoot anything telephoto.

 

[SrisonS]

I have a T1i, and the only lens i have so far is the 18-55mm. This is my first DSLR, so I have no experience with any other lenses; so i can't compare it to anything. But I think it takes great pics. It's an ok focal range. I would've liked a little more zoom; but I'm not complaining. To see my pics with it, you can check my Flickr stream by clicking my sig.

 

[We_love_WDW]

We want to buy a new camera and it's between the Canon Rebel T1i or the Nikon D5000...any advise would be great!

 

[creativeamanda]

We want to buy a new camera and it's between the Canon Rebel T1i or the Nikon D5000...any advise would be great!

A friend of mine has the Canon Rebel T1i. She likes it. I have played around with it and I admit, it seems much more substantial than my Nikon D60.

But honestly, I'd hate to carry the Canon around. I don't know of the size of the D5000, but it's pricing is similar to what the D60's was about 2 months before I got mine.

The question is, really, what cameras have you owned before? People who have always had a Canon swear by their Canons. People who have a Nikon always want a Nikon. I bought a Canon P&S after having owned a Nikon SLR and Nikon P&S, and of course, went back to a Nikon when I was looking for an entry level DSLR.

Of course, the Canon has a higher resolution--15.1 MP as opposed to the 12.3 on the Nikon. But honestly, the higher the megapixel, the more chance of you having images that eat up disk space and no better prints unless you are blowing them up to poster size.

The Canon and the Nikon are comparably priced--I see on Amazon, the Canon is about $80 more than the D5000. I honestly don't see the draw of the "flip down" LCD panel on the Nikon--for me it would be something I would break quite quickly.

I *personally* would buy the Nikon, though, not because the Canon is a bad camera, but because most Nikon and Canon (and probably other brand) owners previously find the same brand is more user friendly to them.

Good luck in your choice. I would personally say, if you have one brand, you probably will be happiest sticking with that brand. That's why even though I like my Canon P&S, when it came time for a DSLR, I went back to my "comfort zone", so to speak.

 

[Chikabowa]

Popular Photography just did a side-by-side comparison.

Popular Photography Review of Canon T1i

Popular Photography Review of Nikon D5000

I would definitely hold each in your hand, look through the menus and the controls, feel which system is more intuitive to you. When you buy into a brand, you are buying more than just a new camera, you are buying an entire system.

 

[Frantasmic]

http://www.bargainist.com/deals/2009/09/newegg-canon-eos-rebel-t1i-dslr-752/

Here's a good deal on that camera, lens, and shipping.

 

[charles.headlee]

I replied on the other forum, but the posts here bring up some other things I thought I'd add.

"Both run around $900. Regarding the Nikon, it is roughly a 12MP version of the D40. It has a few features of the D90, including the price. One thing that people don't always realize is that more megapixels is not always an improvement. The D40 is a 6 MP camera, but has a 1/500 second sync speed (fastest shutter speed with flash). The 10 MP Nikon D60's sync speed is 1/250, and the 12MP D5000 is 1/200 of a second. More MP means more sensors have to react to the same amount of light, and it takes a little longer.

There are still D40's on Amazon with a 18-55 lens (standard kit lens) and an additional 55-200 vibration reduction lens for $650.

Google "Ken Rockwell" for more, but he doesn't have a review of the Canon you mentioned yet. "

Also Google "nikon d5000 service advisory".

Canon vs Nikon size: I've seen some similar Canons, and they are larger than the Nikon D40/60/3000/5000. The Nikon is smaller, but not to the point that it is difficult to hold.

I've seen excellent results from my wifes' D60 and a Canon owned by another family. The biggest thing to worry about is getting to know what the settings mean and do, and practice. Also keep in mind most accessories will work on future models in the same product line. For example, the lenses in the D40 package will work on the D60, D3000, D5000. Same for flash units.
Most current Nikon cameras will use any lens made for the Nikon F mount, you just lose a feature like auto focus in some cases. Ken Rockwell has some info on lens compatibility too.

I'm not sure how I feel about the D5000 and the flip down display. It looks like it would be useful where you were releasing the shutter with a remote, but wouldn't the tripod block the view of the display?

 

[SrisonS]

I have one, and I absolutely love it!!!! This is my first DSLR, so I don't have anything "equal" to compare it with (i had a Canon powershot s3 is before this). But it's a good size... so nice fit in medium hands. Pretty easy to make camera adjustments on the fly (i.e. menus, button layout)... i do it constantly. Beautiful LCD screen. Great battery life... auto-off is amazing... especially since I keep leaving it "on" for days. And most importantly, it takes great pics!!!! You can check my shots on Flickr. Most of them were taken with the T1i. But is there anything particular you wanted to know about it????

 

[ukcatfan]

No offense to you Charles, but I would not place any weight on Ken Rockwell's site. He is so arrogant and opinionated that it ruins his usefulness.

As for the pick, between those two I would go with the Nikon. I just think their models feel in my hands better than any Rebel model I have held. Have you considered any other brands? There are some very nice cameras from Pentax, Sony, Olympus, etc. and many of them give you IS in the body. Remember that if it does not feel good in your hands, it is more likely to sit in the closet collecting dust.

 

[VVFF]

No offense to you Charles, but I would not place any weight on Ken Rockwell's site. He is so arrogant and opinionated that it ruins his usefulness.

As for the pick, between those two I would go with the Nikon. I just think their models feel in my hands better than any Rebel model I have held. Have you considered any other brands? There are some very nice cameras from Pentax, Sony, Olympus, etc. and many of them give you IS in the body. Remember that if it does not feel good in your hands, it is more likely to sit in the closet collecting dust.

I agree that he should go to the store and try as many as possible. The Nikon and Canon should be the easiest to find with the sony in a close third. All those should be pretty easy to get to play with.

Just a note, I agree its important to pick up the camera that you are looking at before you buy it. I bought my 50D vs. the D90 because of that. I enjoyed the larger grip. Also I went to the store the other day and I was checking out the latest models and while I don't necessarily find the rebel's comfortable in my hands I found the D5000 even less so. Sometimes a SLR can be TOO small in my opinion.

I would pick up the D5000, D90, T1i and maybe even a 50D(you can get a 40D for fairly cheap). See which works best for you. I find once people hold them most people like the D90 but the smaller models(D5000, T1i) are often mixed in reaction.

 

[charles.headlee]

Absolutely no offense taken. I was wondering if someone else was picking that up. I guess I've become use to it.

 

[Iwant2BAprincess]

I have only had it for a couple of weeks but so far so good. But like PP said-get hands on because you are buying into a system-mine was an upgrade from an XT. I have shot with my bosses Nikon and have no complaints about it-that is what my BIL has too-just depends on how much you want to expand beyond the kit and which system will suit your needs.

that being said the view screen ROCKS!

 

[jpeka65844]

"loose" in a Bagallini messenger bag? Most of the time it's around my neck but I do put it away for rides, meals, etc......Not sure what lens I'll be using; either my 18-55 or my 55-250 (if I get it for Xmas....)

We'll be taking DS in January and I'll need to tote a little more gear to the parks than usual. I'd like to get it all in one bag.....

 

[annnewjerz]

I don't know what a Baggalini is, but I would definitely not hesitate to carry my D90 loose in my purse. Sometimes when I don't feel like lugging all of my camera stuff and just want my camera and one lens, I toss it in my purse and it's never been a problem. The only thing to be sure of is to not drop/smack or slam your bag into anything. Most normal purses/park bags aren't made with any additional padding and sometimes I forget I'm not using a bag with a little more protection.

 

[Groucho]

My wife is thinking about the same thing... she has a Crumpler $5mill bag that really doesn't get used because she also has to carry kid (and now kid + baby!) stuff. The current thought is to just toss the camera in the bag, but we may go for one of the various camera foam "sleeves" - something like this Op/Tech one. Not sure what yet, but something with basic padding that can be removed quickly and easily.

Really, the only real concern is for things like keys that may be able to scratch the camera, especially the LCD.

 

[tekoa]

I have carried my Canon dslr loose so to speak in my sling bag at the parks. I did buy a neoprene cover for it that fits tightly, adds no extra weight and does protect it somewhat. It wont protect it if you drop the bag, it protects it from getting scuffed up and bumping into other stuff in your bag. I bought this cover from Adorama, it was a reasonable price.

 

[Jayely1]

BobQuincy takes amazing pictures

 

[manning]

the body is plastic but mine looked like new still ( except a few scraps where the tripod plate slipped on the very bottom and the hot shoe was painted black, the chrome was showing in a few places there but minor)

Plastic can be just as strong as metal or stronger depending on how it is made. I used to work for Amoco when it was around and we had a Indy race car with a plastic engine in it. Yes, plastic. It was experimental to show what we can do with plastic.

 

[dpmfloyd]

Hey Folks, here are my shots from my trip at the end of January. I'm not sure how to post the link directly, but if you want to copy and paste, have a look! Comment! ...or find a new desktop wallpaper i'm fond of my spaceship earth shots

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpmfloyd/sets/72157623212748989/

i'd also like to thank this board, because of your tips i was able to get a good grasp on my new camera. this was my first trip with my first dslr, how'd i do?