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| *SoulEyes Photography>>>Digital Photography |
If I must choose between three D SLRs , the Nikon D80 the Digital Rebel Xt or Xti which should I choose? |
Best camera for nature photography The February 2007 issue of Popular Photography has an article where they compared the top 10 MP DSLR's. I took the scores and ranked the cameras similar to the way Formula 1 gives championship points. I just gave 5 for 1st place down to 1 for last place, splitting the difference when cameras tied in their catagories. They evaluated Image Quality (giving this twice as much weight as anything else), Ease of Use, Control, and System Flexibility. The final order and my scores are: Nikon D80 - 17.5 points - BEST in Image Quality, Control and System Flexibility Canon Rebel XTi (400D) - 13.5 points - Tied for best in System Flexibility Pentax K10D - 11 points - Tied for best in Ease of Use Samsung GX10 - 11 points - Tied for best in Ease of Use Sony Alpha 100 - 7 points - LAST in Image Quality, Ease of Use and System Flexibility." Then again, this is the same magazine that put the Sony Alpha 100 dead last in this comparison named it the camera of the year in the previous issue! (In a follow-up to this seeming error, Pop Photo published the explanation that only the D80 and the Sony had been tested by the end-of-year deadline for choosing the Camera of the Year. Sony won on the strength of low price and built-in image stabilization. The other 3 that beat Sony in shoot-out were not tested until after the Camera of the Year was selected, because they were not yet available.) Go to the original question and read the responses for more opinions. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;... If you want to get the "best" for the real world, consider the Nikon D200 or Canon 30D if you can afford it. For about $300-500 less, look at the results of the recent PopPhoto test and choose from that list according to your taste. Personally, I use a Nikon D200 and would recommend it without hesitation to someone who has some knowledge of photography. For someone who wants the "best," but is starting with somewhat of an "entry level" knowledge base, I'd suggest the Nikon D80. There are people out there who will state their preference for the Canon cameras and I will not argue with them. The Canon 30D and 400D are excellent cameras as well. You would have to visit a camera store or camera department and pick them up and see what you think. This review is now available online at: http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3569/10m... Here's another reference from outside the photographic press. Consumer reports compared the Nikon D80, Canon Rebel XTi and Sony Alpha. Personally, I'd say that the Nikon came out on top here, also. It beats the Sony in "noise-free ISO" with an acceptable rating at ISO 1600 (kind of optimistic, I think...) compared to the Sony's ISO 400. It beats the Canon (in my opinion) by having a spot meter that the Canon does not offer. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/elect... Here's another comparison of interest: http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content... [Note the navigation menu near the top of the review] The next thing to consider is what lens to start with and where you go from there. If you are new to this, I'd say to just get the "kit" lens, which seems to be the 18-135 lens for the D80, and get started. Once you know where you really want to go with your photography, Nikon has an almost unlimited family of lenses to choose from. When you say "nature photography," it makes me think of shooting pictures of animals with a telelphoto lens. If this is what you are talking about, I'd say the longer the lens 鈥?the better. I just got a Nikon 70-300 VR lens and I can tell that I will really get some use out of this for nature photography. I've just uploaded a couple of pictures to my Flickr site that I took with this lens. See if you think you can use 300 mm. (On the D40, this would be the "equivalent" of a 450 mm lens, exactly as it is on my D200.) Nikon 70-300 mm VR lens: 300 mm (450 mm equivalent): http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... 300 mm (450 mm equivalent): http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... Nikon 18-200 mm VR lens: 200 mm (300 mm equivalent): http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... 200 mm (300 mm equivalent): http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... 200 mm (300 mm equivalent): http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... 200 mm (300 mm equivalent): http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... 200 mm (300 mm equivalent): http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... Then again, maybe this is what you mean... Nikon 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... I personally own a rebel, just an older model I photograph a lot of military stuff like in the desert outdoors all the time so I would highly recommend canon. Hello I too am a canon person. I own several and love them all. The XT and XTi are great cameras. You can also look at the canon 30D. The key to great photography is buying a really good lense. Spend your money on lenses and just get the body that you need, don't get all the extra "bells and whistles" that you may never use. If you are shooting wildlife , then you will need a fast lense. If you are shooting flowers and foliage, then maybe a macro lense. All the cameras you list are very good cameras. Donna Canon slrs are great. The Nikon D80 is better. Are you looking at the kits or the camera alone? The canon kits are a better value. You won't go wrong with any of the cameras. Make sure to get the right lens for what you want to do. If these two are your choices, then you should know this: The D80 is a bit more advanced than the XTi and should be used by an advanced user. The D80 stands out with features like depth of field preview, wider expsure correction range (+/- 5 EV), better overall image quality, it uses the faster and more popular SD card and it is backed by the Nikon F system which includes almost any lens ever built by Nikon, the autofocus assist is done by a dedicated red lamp (which doesn't annoy human subjects). But then again, the need for most of these features will only come with experience. The XTi on the other hand has low noise on the entire ISO range, making shots at ISO 1600 useable (unlike the D80, which will require some processing before that happens), you can trust the presets to bring you very good images in most situations, has sensor cleaning function. I don't mean this to sound like a challenge but unless youll go into art or something like that, you'd make better use of the XTi. XTi is my choice |
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