Have a canon Rebel XT Ready to "move-up"???

[kmills8825]

I've been into digital photography for about 5 years. I am now getting more comfortable with shooting manual. i would like to upgrade to a new camera. Not a "beginner" type, and I'm interested in Nikon this time around. Low light/gym shots, sports/basketball shots, kitchen cooking and baking and nature shots and my family are what I do most. So the question is
nikon D-90? I know things evolve, but would this camera stand the test of time, as far as continuing to learn about digital photography, improving my photos, etc? is this too much camera? and if so, will it take me long to master the learning curve? hope this is enough info for some good advise. Thanks

[OsmosisStudios]

There are a few problems here

1: Why Nikon? Presumably you already have some Canon equipment. Unless you're selling it all to finance, I don't see why you would want to switch

2: The D90 is a fine camera, and it has, so far, stood the test of time, as did the D80 and D70 before it. You'll learn to better your photography over TIME not throught EQUIPMENT.

3: You say the XT isn't enough, so you ask if the next model up is too much. Im sorry if im confused here.

4: It will take you a while to master how the D90 works vs the XT, let alone the rest of it. When it comes down to features it may take you years! I know I had my D80 for 2 years before I knew EVERY little thing about it.

My big question is why you feel the need to move up. The XT is an older body, but it's still quite capable.

[kmills8825]

Thanks so much. You gave me some interesting info/thoughts. I appreciate it very much.

[inkista]

Most folks don't jump platforms unless it offers them something they can't get with what they already have. I've got four figures invested in Canon-mount glass. It'd take a helluva lot on the Nikon side to make me jump ship and rebuy all that glass, great as Nikons are.

What is it the XT isn't doing for you? What makes you consider the D90 instead? And have you looked to see about getting it on the Canon side of the fence?

For me, the things that drove me nuts about the XT were that a) setting/seeing what ISO I was using involved going to the menu; b) the autofocus system; and c) the tiny/dark viewfinder making it tough to manually focus accurately.

I made the switch from an XT to a 50D, but was forced to do so by my camera breaking. If I could have, I'd probably have kept using the XT for a while longer, as I was really waiting to see what the 60D and its dRebel shadow will look like, to see if it would break the 50D/500D deadlock for me.

I will say that 85% of the things I love about the 50D over the XT are also available on the T1i: better high iso performance, a better autofocus system, liveview, a larger brighter viewfinder, higher resolution LCD, better menu capability, the ability to set ISO without lifting your eye from the viewfinder, etc. etc. The 15% of the things I can't find on the T1i are the damped shutter sound, the 6fps burst capability, the even better autofocus system, interchangeable focus screen, and the autofocus microadjust capability. Also the bigger metal body. Nearly all off which I could live without (I would love to live without the bigger metal body, but I'm in the minority on that one). I needed the focus screen, since I use a lot of manual focus adapted lenses.

On the other side, the T1i has video capability, that smaller/lighter body, and the lower pricetag. (I went with the 50D because through the Canon Loyalty Program, I was able to buy a refurbed 50D body for the price of a new T1i).

Buying a more expensive higher-tiered camera, however, doesn't mean you'll keep the camera for longer. It just means you'll have more features to play with for the same amount of time.

[sybren]

I had about the same issues with my 350D as Inkista. I was also bothered by the red banding in the noise in long exposure photos. A few weeks ago I replaced it with a 7D, and I'm very happy with it!

[inkista]

Yeah, the banding issue on high iso is probably the weakest point of the 50D, because it makes it harder to post the noise out, and is what most folks are hoping will get fixed with a 60D. The 7D's noise is very evenly distributed. The funniest bit was the red noise issue which got fixed in the T1i before the firmware update was sent out to fix it on the 50D.