Looking mostly at: Olympus, Nikon, Cannon Smallbluepickles wrote a nice answer about what to look for and here's an answer telling you where to find those things in abundance. You'll see that they pretty much evaluated these cameras based on his list of what to look for.
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. You're welcome and good luck with your new camera!
You can catch smallpickles next time around. Report It
1) ergonomics: what good is a camera that doesn't fit your hands. You always should find a camera with a good grip and also feels not too heavy in your hands.
2) Dust Protection: since SLRs allows you to change lens and are not sealed completely, dust from the outside will find a way to get into the camera sensor. Olympus and Canon have exclusive technology which "shakes" the dust from the sensor by vibrating it a ultra high frequencies.
3) Lens, Flash, accessories: when you buy a camera you are also putting your loyalty for many years into the lens system and the accessories. That being said, the three companies you mention all have very good lens and accessories.
4) White Balance: allows users to fine tune the white balance to match the light source. This means you can shoot indoors and still get the pictures that don't have unnatural tones.
5) DOF preview: for advanced photographers, the depth of field preview is essential to composing the picture and knowing how the picture will turn out.
6) Viewfinder: since most of the time you are looking through the tiny hole in the camera, you should pick the camera that offers the brightest and most intuitive viewfinder. Most viewfinders display information and settings about shutter speed and ISO. See if you like the way the information is displayed. Also some viewfinders only display less than 100% of the scene as what is captured by the sensor. Choose one which offers the largest viewfinder area, so that your compositions will match what the image turns out to be.
7) LCD: you should consider the size and the resolution of the LCD. A larger size means you can see more detail of the picture you captured. It also means it can suck the battery quicker. The normal size of the LCD is from 2" to 2.5" in diameter.
8) Battery life: obviously more is better.
9) Price: a given. |
