Nikon vs Canon - a request

Dont be bitter Joe. Your Nikon is still OK. But Im with Connie I love my Canon and mine is even the old model.
Josh

Remember - the body is often the cheapest part that you have in your collection after a few years. The decision between Nikon and Canon is a decision between two different systems of lenses, flashlights and all that other equipment you need. Every system has it's good and bad things and the more you read about the whole system, the more you will know which body to start with.

E.g. I do like the concept of the usability of Nikon Bodys. Most of them feel better to me than Canon ones do. They also have a different philosophy of how images are already changed by the body itself - leading to "softer" pictures with less noise at Canon, and "sharper" pictures with a little more noise at Nikon. Nikon also seems to give the photographer a little more responsibility for the pictures with less "automatics". On the other hand, Canon has a little cheaper lenses and the IS on the teles is a brilliant thing.

Of course, if you ask a different photographer, he will tell he the complete opposite of what I told you - so the best thing is, don't buy anything at all.
So long story short - think twice about the body, but think three times about how you like the whole system. You will still use good lenses in ten years - the body will change.

Greetings

Originally Posted by Hurley

This photo was taken (obviously way scaled down to fit here) with the stock lens on a Rebel XT with pop-up flash and completely crappy lighting conditions (one 75 watt bulb burning in the room):

Great picture Connie... how come I can't get my Canon Rebel to cooperate like that?! Must be the user.

i'm still new to slr photography but here's a pic i took with the kit lense.

I work in a store that sells several makes and models of cameras, including the Nikon D50 and Canon Rebel XT. You are not going to go wrong with either camera. When I'm talking to a customer looking for a starter D-SLR and they are trying to make this same decision, I ask them if they have any old Canon EOS equipment that they would like to use with their new camera. If they have no legacy EOS equipment that they want to use, then I suggest that they get the Nikon, for the sole reason that it is a couple hundred or so bucks cheaper. You can then use the money you saved to get an additional lens, or flash, or some other accessory.

I've worked with both cameras, and they are both wonderful. Both cameras are capable of taking great pictures (including the Canon with the so-called crappy lens).

Wow - all of these pictures are so crisp! I feel like I'm back to square one again, but I'm starting to agree with those who believe both cameras are pretty great and either should be fine for my projects.
It does boil down to price and availability - the Nikon seems to win this one in the local stores (I don't like buying anything that's over $500 from the internet, it freaks me out for some reason).
I'm not so worried about lens and accessories, both Nikon and Canon are pretty good about the quality of lenses they put out and price is not that big a deal for me (the more expensive my object of desire is, the harder I work to get to it, it's a great motivator! )
Once again, thanks for all the advice folks. This is a great forum, I feel lucky to have found it

A word about Canon quality, FWIW. I can't speak for the digitals, but I have owned both Canon and Nikon Film cameras. I sold all the Nikon stuff and still have the Canon A1 and F1. The Canon's are in every way equal to the Nikon's, if not better. Canon's optics are phenomenal and the bodies have held up well to a fair amount of abuse

Nikon, imo, has the best lenses on the market. Most reviews that you read about lenses will agree with that.

Like I said---both cameras are very good cameras. Each is going to do something a little bit different, and give options that the other camera doesn't.

Read up at www.dpreview.com and see what matches up with what you'd like.

And as an FYI, I got my Nikon from Buydig.com, and didn't have any problems. Just make sure that you're checking out website ratings before you go buying a camera from a NY Camerashark website.

i got my camera from buydig as well...you can check www.resellerratings.com for info about online stores.

I havent looked at the d50, but when i was debating on cameras i was looking at the D70 and the Digital rebel. The clincher for me for the d70 was metal body compared to the plastic rebel, and faster fps shots on the D70. not a huge difference between them, but as i do a lot more photography then just snakes, i went with the Nikon.

But i agree with most in here, both are great cameras and at the entry level of things, both will take great pictures! Goodluck!