Please help me decide.....

[MKhead72]

Through my search for a SLR camera, I am stuck with tossing two models around. The first is a Nikon D80, and the other is the Canon Rebel XSI. This will be my first purchase of a SLR camera, having a few of the point and shoots I'm ready to upgrade. I realize that there are Canon lovers, and also Nikon lovers that will argue that their brand is the best. Just need imput from both sides or even a medium to help me decide. Photo's I take are sports, portrait, animals, vacation time. I'm sure there will more questions I will have after I get a few comments , so if you leave one , please check back. Thanks for all your help !!!

 

[ukcatfan]

Have you actually handled them in person? If not, go do that and you will probably not have to ask us anymore. That usually decides it when you are down to that small of a list.

 

[YesDear]

Right.

Go play with each one and pick the one that feels good to you and you think you may understand.

Then buy the Nikon! LOL No actually pick the one you will use the most!

 

[Morganw42]

I was stuck between choosing the same two cameras earlier this year. As the previous poster said you should handle them both first. I was leaning towards the Canon until I picked it up. I hated the way it felt in my hands.
So that opened me up to the Nikon, which I really hadn't been considering, which I ended up buying. Also with the Nikon if you want to upgrade to a full frame D700 in the future you can still use your DX lenses with it. Granted the D700 does some in camera tricks to the image size, you still haven't wasted a lot of time and money collecting glass that you can't use anymore. If you go with the XSi and someday move up to the 5D you'll have to start from scratch with your lens collection. I've also found the Nikon speed lights to be the best on the market. Not to disparage Canon products at all. The XSi is a terrific product, it just wasn't for me. I love my D80.

 

[ukcatfan]

Also with the Nikon if you want to upgrade to a full frame D700 in the future you can still use your DX lenses with it. Granted the D700 does some in camera tricks to the image size, you still haven't wasted a lot of time and money collecting glass that you can't use anymore.

I have been wondering about this every time I see it mentioned. From what I can tell, all it is doing is cropping the image to get rid of the black vignetted area. Why can someone not use a APS-C lens on a full frame camera on any brand and just crop it themselves? It would take almost no time to apply a crop area to a whole batch. Is there something that simply makes the lens not even work?

 

[zackiedawg]

Throw me on the 'go feel them in your hands' group. Try handling them both in a shooting position, and in a carrying position, and see how the grip fits your hands and how the buttons fall to your fingers. Check the menu systems and button placement and how intuitive it feels for you. Decide which functions you are most likely to be using or changing, and see how easy it is to find those and change them. You'll probably come away with one camera that just feels more right to you, and that should be the one you get. I was considering a Canon or a Nikon, and after handling them, I came away with a Sony...so you never know what can happen!

There's not a bad brand in the bunch - so don't worry about making the 'wrong' choice - the right choice is the one that fits you best in feel and intuitive control...as well as a smidgeon of price and features thrown in.

 

[bob100]

Through my search for a SLR camera, I am stuck with tossing two models around. The first is a Nikon D80, and the other is the Canon Rebel XSI. This will be my first purchase of a SLR camera, having a few of the point and shoots I'm ready to upgrade. I realize that there are Canon lovers, and also Nikon lovers that will argue that their brand is the best. Just need imput from both sides or even a medium to help me decide. Photo's I take are sports, portrait, animals, vacation time. I'm sure there will more questions I will have after I get a few comments , so if you leave one , please check back. Thanks for all your help !!!

I agree with the others, go a check out the models, controls, etc. I went with the Canon XSi - fantastic image quality and good lineup of lens (but I've also heard Nikon cameras can take decent pics)

- and don't believe the bad advice of -

If you go with the XSi and someday move up to the 5D you'll have to start from scratch with your lens collection. .

all the tamron, sigma, tokina lens, etc. work on all the Canon models,
Canon does make a couple of special lens for so called "crop" cameras but 99.9% of the Canon lens works on ALL the Canons, unlike .... what's that other brand Nikkor?

 

[boBQuincy]

...snip... If you go with the XSi and someday move up to the 5D you'll have to start from scratch with your lens collection.

Not really.
Canon has two lines of lenses, EF and EF-S. All EF lenses fit any Canon SLR made in the last 20 years or so. EF-S lenses only fit 1.6 crop cameras but there are not that many EF-S lenses and we don't need to use them on a Xsi.

I have a Xsi and only one EF-S lens (two if you count the kit lens that was just too inexpensive to turn down) so a path to a 5D would not be much of a problem.

Some EF-S lenses extend further behind the mount flange than the EF specification and could contact the mirror on a full frame camera. Recent 1.6 crop cameras, since about the 20D and all Rebels , have a smaller mirror.

 

[MKhead72]

After the advice I received, I went to a local camera shop and asked some questions, and actually held and took a few test photos' with each camera. To tell you the truth I was totally amazed with both but, the feel is totally different. I will admit I have always been a Canon person, the two point and shoots I own are Canon. But I think I have discovered my calling, I purchased the Nikon D80 . Now I can't wait to actually get to use it!!! But want to read the book first. Get familiar with the different settings and so forth.

 

[spinetnglr]

Congratulations on two things .... first on making the plunge into the world of a DSLR and second a welcome to the family of fellow Nikon owners here on the DIS. Cant wait to see some pics showing up in the POTD and Nikon POTD threads !!!

 

[boBQuincy]

... I purchased the Nikon D80 .

[yoda] To the dark side you have turned. Strong with the force you are not. [/yoda]

 

[YesDear]

So Bob.... You say he went to the dark side and I say he saw the light!

Maybe there is still hope for YOU!!!!

 

[bob100]

But I think I have discovered my calling, I purchased the Nikon D80 . Now I can't wait to actually get to use it!!! But want to read the book first. Get familiar with the different settings and so forth.

that's right - read the book, study hard, practice every day and eventually you may be able to take some decent photos with a Nikon. if it had been a Canon - instant fantastic pics !

 

[boBQuincy]

So Bob.... You say he went to the dark side and I say he saw the light!

Maybe there is still hope for YOU!!!!

Hope for me there is not...

Although I did talk one of my coworkers into a Nikon D5000 this week (and a 55-200, and a flash, and a Crumpler $5M home, and the new Nikon 35mm...)