Canon Rebel XTi or Nikon D80

[pixelandy]

I've recently decided to upgrade/compliment my digital 'point and shoot' camera by purchasing a dSLR. I have now managed to narrow my choice down to two cameras (you must understand that this is quite an achievement for someone as indecisive as me :) );

Canon EOS 400D / Digital Rebel XTi or
Nikon D80

The shop that I will be buying from has packaged deals on these cameras that are quite attractive. They will 'kit' either of the body's with the appropriate 18-70; and 70-200 lens.

My biggest concerns is that the D80 does not have the "Dust Reduction" system that Canon has, and have also heard that the Canon lens Optics may be superior.

I'd like to get the general feeling of what you guys would do in my position, camera vs. camera (ie. ignoring budget concerns at this stage). If you are a user of either of these Camera's - how do you feel about your purchase?

Looking forward to your responses...

[NaturesPixel]

now you are going to start a brand war....lol


ok.. i cant say what camera is best over an other.. what i can say is.. i love my Nikon to death... i am sooooo glad i got it over the rebel.. at the time the rebel didn't have the anti dust Bunnie vibration thingy...lol not that would of won me over the Olympus has same thing.. and it didn't prompt me to buy it...

what won me over,... was the fit in my hands.. the Nikon is so comfy.. when i picked up my camera it was like my right arm was given back to me...lol

i do know the dust reduction doesn't get rid of all the dust-bunnies.. and i have read that some people think it just passes the bunnies around.. but don't quote me on that... if it was me today.... i would still get the Nikon D80 over the Canon...

have you gone in and spent and hour with each camera... How do they feel in your hands??
i know i would hate not to have the top LCD screen... does the new rebel have a top LCD??? i know my friends doesn't and it looks like a pain in the a$$ to change setting having to keep looking at the back LCD screen???

[smc1377]

Though I have Canon equipment, if I were to start today, I'd probably buy the Nikon D80. There is one thing that I run into all the time that annoys me more than anything. Highlights and shadows. The D-Lighting feature in the D80 would put it over the XTi for me. I know there are remedies to solve that like shooting in raw and photoshopping, but if the camera can do it automatically, it'll save me a ton of time.

The whole vibrating dust-be-gone thing doesn't appeal to me much. It took me 2 years in ownership before I had to clean my sensor on my current Canon, and I did it myself after much reading and buying a kit that cost less than $30 shipped.

If you haven't done so already, read about and see samples of D-Lighting in this article below...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/

Good luck!

[pixelandy]

Thanks for your input, and the dpreview.com link smc1377.

No, the 400D doesnt have the top LCD, and I must admit not having it is quite a turn-off. There really wasnt much in it in terms of how either of them felt in my hands when I played around with them in the shop.

My dad owns a Canon point & shoot, Canon SLR, and Canon 20D and who knows how many lenses. After playing with his gear I resolved to never buy anything BUT a Canon - however; as we all now resolutions tend to be broken. :)

Either way by the end of the week; I'll be part of the dSLR community...looking forward to it! Whooo ha!

[PnwGuy]

...
My dad owns a Canon point & shoot, Canon SLR, and Canon 20D and who knows how many lenses. ...

I own the Canon Rebel XTi and I love it. I'm not qualified or experiened enough to compare it to the Nikon, but something to think about is lenses. If your father has who knows how many canon lenses, and you're able to borrow them...

[Saralonde]

I own the Canon Rebel XTi and I love it. I'm not qualified or experiened enough to compare it to the Nikon, but something to think about is lenses. If your father has who knows how many canon lenses, and you're able to borrow them...

A very good point. Good glass is expensive and the chance to borrow some (if he'll let you :)) can really save your budget.
I have an XT and love it. I leaned to Canon because of the lenses (I also heard the optics were better) and the final push was a good deal on my XT. But I think Nikon makes a great product, too. Try holding them and see what feels comfortable. After you make a decision, don't second guess yourself!

[smc1377]

Though I said above that if I had to start over again now, I'd pick the D80 above, but if I had access to Canon lenses, I'd definitely go Canon then.

But to back up Naturespixel's observation, I do like the feel of the D80 much more than the feel of the XTi in my hands. The XTi just feels too small to me, almost like a toy. But I'd put up with it if I had access to lenses. :)

[Quamen]

If you're dad will let you borrow his lenses then the answer is pretty clear to me. Get the Cannon.

I was in the same situation when I got my 350D, dad already had a few Canon lenses from his film SLR and that meant I had access to more varied glass, which is the half the point of an SLR.

[pixelandy]

Thanks!

I should have added to the fact that my dad has Canon gear, by also saying that he lives in India, and I live in South Africa. Haha! :o

Even so, he won't be over there forever, so it is still a big factor in the decision. I feel now, that I didnt spend enough time with the cameras in the shop. So, I'll go back and decide after playing with them a bit more.

Thanks again guys!

[stuart]

its pretty much a personal thingie they are both brillant cameras im sure you will be happy with either GET THE CANON GET THE CANON

[googlit]

GET THE CANON GET THE CANON

lol... it's always good to have honest, unbiased responses. :D

[hitkaiser]

I too was deciding between these 2 a couple of months ago (I went with canon) for the following reasons:

· Canon was smaller (I was upgrading from point and shoot, i wasn't looking forward to adding bulk)

· I read reviews about noise being worse on nikon (as in picture noise) in low light conditions (night photography is something i would like to get into more seriously)

· Anti dust thing.. Im new to slrs, and the last thing i want to do is worry about the delicacies of sensor cleaning etc.. the less i have to worry about it, all the better for me

· The simple fact that it was cheaper, it meant I was more willing to shell out bucks in getting accesories... filters, camera bag, shutter release cable etc...

There is a thing to be said brand wise though... Canon is great and awesome... but Nikon says ure cool... sorta like Apple in the world of computing, so if ure joining the Nikon ranks, be ready to join a select group of pple! Do tell us what you end up choosing!

[leight]

There is a thing to be said brand wise though... Canon is great and awesome... but Nikon says ure cool... sorta like Apple in the world of computing, so if ure joining the Nikon ranks, be ready to join a select group of pple! Do tell us what you end up choosing!
In that case I should go for the Nikon! Haha, but seriously I have been thinking the exact same thing! From purely off the net, with the dpreview (http://www.dpreview.com) website, I've nailed it down to the two same cameras. The Nikon D80, and the Canon 400D.

Currently I own a Fujifilm FinePix S9500 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms9000/), it's a 'prosumer' Point & Shoot camera. I bought it last September, because I wanted a pretty good camera and being my first ever camera, I didn't want to go all out and buy some fancy DSLR that most of you have here. However, now I am getting more and more into photography - I'm loving it! - and the flexibility with lenses is awesome (Macro - Telephoto) with the DSLR, something that is lacking with my Fuji. I think I'll stick with my little one for a while longer though. It's not as if I need a new one, I just want one! *Unless I can find a buyer - Relatives*

Sometimes I think, stuff it - just go out and buy the damn camera! I can always keep my Fuji as a second one (a mighty good second one!), but then would it be a waste of money spending a couple of grand on a new dslr, when I've spent about $1.1k with my Fuji (including 2gb card, lowepro case, charger (both car/wall) with 2 sets of batteries, mini tri-pod and a wide angle attachment) Now that's a lot of money to me! *anyone interested ;)*

What would u use a second one for anyway? Like sure, if it was just a normal point & shoot camera then I can understand - but this Fuji thing isn't that small really... I think my best option would be to find a buyer and go get a dslr! Could sell the package for about $850 - $900 :)

From what I get from you guys and the net, the D80 and the 400D are pretty similar in quality. Canon's lenses are better? Is that just a personal opinion, or is it actually a fact? I like the little things that I've read from the Nikon (the lcd cover!), it's those little design things that make Apple Apple, maybe they make Nikon Nikon.

I've been checking out the photographic tests (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/page18.asp) from dpreview, and the noise seems to affect the image a bit more than the 400D? I think the top screen would be very handy - mind you, I've never actually used a film slr or a dslr before, so I don't know what I'm missing! From DPReview: "Having removed the camera's image processing from the equation is very revealing, there really is no difference in the underlying images, both ten megapixel sensors (CCD in the D80 and CMOS in the EOS 400D) capturing the same levels of detail." - That's good, because I like RAW!

- leighton

*Just looked at my Fuji... "I can't get rid of you, can I? :("

[caseycroucher]

I have never tried a nikon camera so i cannot give you the right choice. From they way the look, the Rebel XTi looks more comfy to hold. And i allways thought that Canon had the best color quality. A big plus for the canon is the automatic sensor cleaning. Im not sure for the Nikon, but in the rebel XTi, if you shoot black and white, you can go into the settings and choose what filter effect you want. Such as yellow (amber) which darkens the foreground and brightens the clouds leaving a nice effect.