Friday, April 23, 2010

Decisions, Decisions

I'm nearing a decision on replacing my venerable Canon S3 IS camera with a digital SLR camera. Right now I'm torn between two cameras.



The Canon XSi looks like a really nice camera. But... the Nikon D5000 seems to be just as good as the Canon, plus it does video.

If you compare side-by-side, you can see the Nikon has a slight edge. The sensor is a bit bigger, it can do ISO 3200, the screen can flip and tilt, and as I mentioned it does video.

My heart is with Canon but the Nikon seems better... for $150 more. What to do???

7 comments:

Mrs. HH said...

One other thing the D5000 can do that the Canon cannot is time-lapse photography/convert to video right on the camera. This was one of the reasons I (when I was looking at both cameras) went with the Nikon. 3 months in, still no regrets!

Anonymous said...

I definitely like the canon's look better, but i think you will get more for your money with the nikon.

Robert in Port Townsend said...

Camera choices are tough. Reviews often contradictory or full
of useless comments like, "feels hefty" "good results over a wide range of exposures" or "rubberized grip"

There are only TWO issues that are important in buying a digital camera these days. (Pixel count is overrated; plenty of articles on that issue on the net.)

What I wanted to know was how accurate are the optics, and how accurate are the internal computer LUT's in creating an uncompressed, unprocessed RAW) exposure as compared to the MacBeth Color Checker? Macbeth has been THE benchmark as far back as I can remember. The first color TV camera I bought for Freightliner was based on interpretations of the Macbeth color card on an oscilloscope.

Ability to shoot video is, in my opinion as a retired videographer, only for the "casual" video shooter. To get the fully engineered attention to video circuitry that video requires, buy a video camera. Video and still are two completely different venues.

I researched from August to December last year and finally
sprung on the Fuji 100FS.

The color sensor and profile LUT's for two outstanding Fuji Film Classics, plus the dedicated output to RAW out did the Canon, Nikon, and Olympus. (Olympus was my second choice)

I've owned a dozen cameras since my first Kodak 620 bellows folding
camera my dad gave me.

I moved from the Nikon 8008 to this camera; no regrets.

All the shots on the Alaska Railbelt Marine story were shot (first time out) with the Fuji 100FS. I did all the shooting in RAW.

Good Luck!
Robert in Port Townsend.

Erika Jean said...

I'm a Canon fan, so that is what I recommend!

viince said...

You'll be good either way you go. Rebel's are good beginner DSLRs. Great if photography is just a hobby. I have a Rebel xti myself.

Unknown said...

I just bought the Olympus E620. One feature on the Nikon is the ability for the screen to flip. I have this on the Olympus and find it very handy especially when the camera is close to the ground. I like the Olympus E620 because it does not take video and I figure that all the engineering went into the photo side. I have a video camera for video. It is a tough choice as Canon and Nikon are great camera's. My old SLR was a Fuji and it was a great camera. I changed this time one because there is limited selection of camera stores and I liked the specs on the Olympus and also my wife has the Olympus evolt 300 and we can share lens. My friend went from Canon to Pentax. It is a tough choice. Good Luck!

Canadian Train Geek said...

Thanks, great comments everyone. There are too many good choices! :)