Is the Nikon D80 or Canon EOS 40D digital SLR camera a better choice?

I will soon begin doing some photography on the side and am interested in purchasing a good, quality camera. I'm new to the digital SLR cameras and need some advice on which camera is a better purchase for photographers.

A Nikon camera takes more professional pictures.

canon digital slr is way better

Nikon D80 is a best digital SLR camera for high quality photography.The pictures are more sharper than canon.The camera has a lots of features and good inbuilt quality.

I'm a Nikon shooter and have been for years. The Nikon D80 will work with any Nikon lens made since the 1960s. The fit and feel are wonderful, though that really needs to be a personal decision.

One bit of reference you must read from J.D. Power & Associates:
http://www.jdpower.com/electronics/ratin...

Notice the ratings in all five areas.

I hope this is helpful for you.

between the two, I would think that the 40D is a better one since they're both on a different class. I would think the 40D can be compared to a Nikon D300 or something like that.

However keep in mind that the camera is just a tool. A good photographer can shoot a fabulous shoot on a disposable camera while a regular one will only be able to shoot average photo on their Nikon D3 for example. The photographer is what it counts, not the camera.

They are equally very good... just about the same. I would go with the Nikon D80 because it's much cheaper (by about $400) and it's also lighter.

Everyone has their opinion on what is "best". What you want to do is compare features. Pick the camera with the highest megapixel you can afford. Also, if the camera saves the images in RAW format, thats a plus. This format stores more information than the widely used JPG format for better, clearer pictures.

Another feature you want to compare is OPTICAL zoom. Alot of cameras have digital zoom and optical zoom but you want a camera that has a high optical zoom as compared to digital. Digital zoom uses the cameras processor to "guess" zoom the image, these are usually blurry.