digital SLR, Nikon D40 or Canon XT

spacerobot

Hello everyone,
I am looking into going a little more depth into photography and purchasing a digital SLR camera. I'm on a fairly limited budget, and i've come down to these two cameras, the Nikon D40 (http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000KJQ1DG/ref=s9_asin_title_1-1966_p/102-2792523-6284105?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0DYHRD6P2N78C2WZ0GQA&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=288448401&pf_rd_i=507846)
or the Canon XT (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Rebel-XT-f3-5-5-6/dp/B0007QKN22/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2792523-6284105?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184187787&sr=8-1)


Do you own either of these cameras? What do you like, dislike about them?

I was wondering if anyone could give any input on these cameras. Please, don't suggest "get the D70 or D80 instead!" Because I cannot afford those cameras

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

edit: I've heard that buying additional lenses for the Nikon has to be a specific kind of autofocus lense... While I am interested in possibly purchasing additional lenses someday, it is not my priority to purchase several lenses.

Pheezer

Both camera manufacturers will allow you to use earlier models of lenses, but you won't get autofocus on them. If you use Nikon, only their digital oriented line will give you autofocus. I believe that all of Canon's current lenses are fully functional on digital, and that the only restriction is that the digital specific EF-S lenses won't work on a film body.

I vote for the Digital Rebel XT because I've got one and I'm very pleased with it. I find that the interface is laid out much better in terms of being quickly accessible; a lot of features that require going at least two levels into the menu system on a Nikon are mapped to a button directly on the back of the Canon.

Feature wise they're generally about the same in most of the areas that really matter. I'd pretty much suggest that you go to a store that will let you play with both and decide on one after having done so.

I would also suggest that you consider what Olympus has to offer. They have an offering on the 4/3 lens system that you can find packaged with 2 lenses for the price of a Digital Rebel XT or a D40, and the nice thing about the 4/3 lens system is that additional lenses are cheap and will likely always be available despite the smaller market share of Olympus because it is an open standard that anyone can easily make lenses for. If a company like Sigma wants to make a lens that works on a Canon or Nikon camera though, they have to reverse engineer how the body communicates with the lenses. And third party companies like Sigma always offer much cheaper lenses at very competitive quality to the OEMs.

Here's the Olympus you want to consider: http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Digital-14-45mm-3-5-5-6-40-150mm/dp/B000BK39N4/ref=sr_1_25/104-9703038-7496726?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184190662&sr=1-25

The only thing is, if you don't go Canon, you won't have the ability to upgrade to the Canon L lenses. Which are very nice.

Gafoto

Why buy an XT when you can get an XTi? The difference is about 130 bucks but the sensor is superior. It'd be worth it in the long run even if you have to wait and save up a little more.

I currently use a Digital Rebel (the camera just before the XT) and I have been very pleased with it.

I also find the ergonomics of Nikons (esp that unviewable display on the top of the camera) to be annoying. Overall though they are very very closely matched.

Absolutely go and try them both out, hold them, shoot some with them and see how they feel.

Pheezer

The XT has a nice feature that the XTi lacks: It has a separate LCD for the settings display. And I don't recall hearing much about the sensor being significantly better. It's higher resolution, but that just means smaller pixels, and since 8.0 MP is already more or less overkill for most casual purposes (8x10 and smaller printing), so I don't know how necessary of an upgrade the XTi is. $130 is a lot for 2 MP that you'll never use.

spacerobot

Thanks for suggesting the Olympus, I'm definitely going to look into that one now too. I don't plan on buying one for another 1-2 weeks, so if you have any other ideas in this pricerange, i'm open to those.

Thanks!

Gafoto

Don't assume that the OP will never use those 2 megapixels! Even if he never does having a larger image has a secret bonus: more to crop out. I often crop the photos I put up on flickr, doing some post shutter composition.

I agree that it most likely would be not much used but hey, the option is there.

Pheezer

If you're doing post shutter composition you need to work on composition more. 8 MP will give you what, like 12.3 x 18.5 inches at 175 dpi printing? If you can't find an 8x10 that doesn't suck in that much space, you simply don't need to be getting prints done yet. Going up yet another 25% in image size is insane, and you won't find any added value that justifies the additional noise and reduction in quality from the 25% smaller pixels.

saltiness

I use all Canon but only because my school uses Canon otherwise I might be using Nikon because there's no real difference until you get into the $2,000+ body range. The XT and the D40 will give you essentially the same results in any given situation so I would just go to a store and try out holding the two cameras and see which one feels better in your hands.

Nalouto

DrDizaster wrote: »

I vote for the Digital Rebel XT because I've got one and I'm very pleased with it.

SporkAndrew

Nalouto wrote: »

DrDizaster wrote: »

I vote for the Digital Rebel XT because I've got one and I'm very pleased with it.

Ditto.

I've only just (this past week) had this exact conversation with one of my friends.

Whilst looking at specs and trying to decide between the two will just leave you wondering what the difference between the two is nothing beats heading out to a camera shop and just trying them out. See which fits your hands better, see which suits your needs better and see which is easier to use.

I found that the 350D / XT was lighter, less bulky and better equipped for the price whilst my friend decided that he preferred the weight and bulk of the Nikon..

Shazkar Shadowstorm

I don't have a D40, but I had a D50. I liked it more. Really, you can't go wrong with either Nikon or Canon, so it's up to personal preference, as most people in this thread have stated. Go to store, try out both, be happy.