Nikon and/or Canon dslr
 

Having used Nikon SLRs for many years for natural history record photography I eventually tired of humping a lot of gear around. I switched to a Panasonic FZ20, which as you will know has 12x IS Leica lens as well as an electronic viewfinder. Although a splendid camera I find the EVF too small to be usable and the lcd screen poor in many light conditions unless I use hood. Therefore I am seriously thinking of buying a Nikon D50 body to use with my SLR lenses or a Canon 350D plus two lenses. My principal interest is plant and insect photography. The lens I used mostly for this with my slr was a Sigma 70-300 with macro facility. I would appreciate the opinions and/or recommendations of anyone who has used either of these cameras.

Thanks in advance.

Roy

I use the Canon 350D and am very happy with it - it has a very fast start/wake up time (quoted as 0.2 seconds), image quality is excellent, all round a good little camera. That said if I already had Nikon lenses I doubt I'd consider switching to Canon. There are a lot of Kinon users around who are very happy with the dslr's, and I've seen some great shots taken with the D50.

As you are planning on doing lots of shots of flowers and insects I'd recommend getting a dedicated macro lens. I have the Sigma 105 f2.8 and am very pleased with it, certainly gets better results than the 70-300 APO macro that I used to use with my film camera.

here's a shot taken last week with the EOS350D and the Sigma 105 f2.8 macro.
http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...1&limit=recent

Thanks for both replies. Stunning photograph. As my Nikon lenses are well-used and showing their age I may go down the Canon route.

Roy

The one criticism that many have of the 350D is how small it is in the hand, so make sure you try one before you buy. Personally I was not impressed with the size or feel of it, but within a week of getting it I was used to it and I now don't notice it at all. Being such a popular camera I'm sure any local camera/electrical shop will have one in that you could try.

Nikon or Canon you can read reviews here http://www.dpreview.com/

Once you have set a budget you really do need to get your hands on your shortlist. Image quality is good from either but ergonomics will play a large part in your satisfaction with the final choice.

When it comes to macro lenses I agree with postie that a prime rather than zoom will give the best image quality. Focal length will depend on your subject and how close to the lens it will be.

I wouldn't rush to change systems quite so readily, just because your existing lenses are old doesn't mean they aren't any good compared to more modern items. Some of the older lenses could well be better than some of the newer items.

As a previous poster has said, I think you should try all the models that you are interested in and make your decision based on ergonomics more than anything else. In terms of technical performance, there's no such thing as a "bad" dSLR on the market at the moment. The one that will take the best pictures for you, is the one you get on best with when you are using it in the field.

Duncan.

Accessories also play a part. When I got my D100 a few years ago, one of the major things that swung it for me was the optional battery grip. Having used motor drives on my FM, F2's and F3 I found the body only not so easy to hold due to its compact style. This was even more obvious with an 80-200 f2.8 attatched.

Now there is a camera that is a good deal with the upcomming D200. Just had a cry at Warehouse Express prices. Cannot really complain though as I traded my Bronica outfit for my D100 just before 2 1/4 square prices fell through the floor.

If you have existing lenses that would work with a new digital Nikon and if they are of focal lengths that you can use I would say stick with them. But ... if you are going to be buying into a new system please check out the other brands.

I'm the owner of an Olympus UZ-700 and an UZ-725 I also have a Nikon CoolPix 5000 and a Sony video camera. Brand loyalty does not drive me in my purchases. I buy what works best for me. When it was time for a DSLR, I studied the situation for several months then bought into the Canon system.

Being the owner of a SLR system already, you know that deciding what brand of body to use is a big decision that controls other decisions, especially your lens purchases. The lenses are going to cost more and last longer than any digital body. One indicator of a product's value is what it is worth on the used market - just look at the resale value of used Canon EOS lenses. They hold their value to an amazing degree. That told me almost everything I needed to know.

But, if you don't ever plan to expand your photography (ie purchase additional lenses for landscape, telephoto, portrait or macro) don't worry too much about which system. Just price out (for each brand) the costs for body and lenses that you know you need then buy what is less expensive and gets the job done.

I use the D50 and am perfectly happy with it. If you go down this route, it will certainly be the cheapest option to get you up and running (D50 body £400). I agree you must try before you buy, for me the 350D is just too small in my hand. Performance wise I don't think there is much in it.

Ray

I have a Nikon Coolpix and the Canon 350D. One thing that strikes me is the cost of Accessories. Canon appear to be far cheaper, e.g. the remote release for the Canon is around £20 (wired or cordless) whereas the Nikon is over £100. Canon Converters are also a lot cheaper. Re the size of the 350D, I have never found it a problem but for anyone that does there is always the optional battery grip.

Many thanks to everyone for taking the time and trouble to give advice and information. I'll have to get to the shops and try the D50 and Canon 350D. Having been a Nikon slr user from day one I am very tempted to buy the D50 body and use my SLR lenses on it for starters. However having used my wife's Canon EOS bodies and lenses I have been equally impressed with these. Decisions!!!

Once again many thanks to all.

Roy

The Nikon Wireless remote for the D50 and D70 is £14.99. TC's are more expensive with Nikon... but the Kenko Pro 300 series will be the best bet for Canon or Nikon users wanting extra reach anyway.

If there are already both systems in the house it's probably time to decide which to go for - if you both use the same (Nikon or Canon) then all of your lenses will be interchangeable. When I went over to dslr one of the things that swung me to Canon was the fact that birding friends were already using the EOS system - now when out we can use eachothers lenses and tc's.

Being smaller and more lightweight is something that attracted me to the 350d. Being female and also a sufferer of fibromialgia weight is a big issue with me. I have used both the 350d and the 20d and the 20d is just too bulky. The lightweightness of the 350d also offsets the extra weight of the bigger lenses
The only complaint I have with the 350d is that you often set off the self timer with your nose and can sometimes miss a shot as a result.

I was thinking about the MC-EU1 remote for my cp4500 which was £100+.
Not sure of the price of the Kenko Pro but I recently bought the Canon 1.4 tc for less than £160 (includes £35 voucher rebate).

You can get a Kenko Pro300 for £99 in the U.K. Must admit you did exceptionally well to get a Canon 1.4x EF II for under £200 in the U.K.

Was pretty lucky with the Canon 1.4tc. Bought it from 7 day shop for £194 a few days before Canon 'pulled the plug'. I had read that Canon would not pay rebates for goods purchased from 7 day shop but I figured there was nothing to lose by trying - I recieved the £35 rebate in under 2 weeks.

I am in the same boat I bought my Canon 1.4tc beginning of August from 7Dayshop but have only just acquired a voucher. Do you think it is worth sending it off now ?

Rob

You can get a small accessory (EP-EX15) that fits onto the back of the camera - an eyepeice extender - it moves the viewfinder about 15mm away from the back of the camera. A very simple, yet very useful little add-on.

Nothing to lose Rob - they accepted my voucher and 7 dayshop recipt. Only stipulation on time as far as I can see is that the good must have been purchased in 2005.

When I bought my 300d from 7dayshop canon wouldn't pay out for me I got a letter to say they were grey imports and woudn't honor the offer.

Christine as Roy says I have nothing to lose. There are very few exceptions in Canons Terms and Conditions.

Apart from the product list, date of purchase, how they may pay and not being a Canon employee the main one is

"The promotion runs in the following 14 countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. For the Cash Back to apply, the products on the above list must be purchased by an end-user in either of those countries."

To my Knowledge Guernsey is in the UK.

The Grey import basically means that it came via the USA and not covered by Canon UK warranty. 7Dayshop honour the warranty. With a TC there is very little to go wrong with it.

Rob

Thanks robski

Canon really didn't give a full explanation just that it was a grey import and wasn't covered. I decided to let things drop, I had gotten the camera at good price anyway.

This would be a different voucher promotion. The one I used was from the book of vouchers that was supplied when purchasing the 350D. It did not include rebates for Cameras - only lenses. converters and flashlights.
Strange thing was that I submitted one for a lens which I bought from Jessops and it took over five weeks to get the rebate but when I sent in the the 7dayshop recipts I got the rebate 8 days later.

Roy, yes it was a different offer when I bought the 300d last Dec from 7dayshop.
I had no problems getting the free CF card when I bought the 350d from Jessops in Oct. Its a shame but I don't have any use for the vouchers and they run out on 31st Dec. I have them in the for sale section on BF giving them away to anyone who is interested.

When you go to print the form there is a page showing waiting times for each country - the UK seems to be the worst at 30 odd days.

Rob

I am also a former Nikon SLR film cameras user. I gave up serious photography 20 years ago and gave my cameras and all the Nikkor lenses to my son.
I started interesting in bird fhotography again when I saw the Panasonic FZ20 and bought it. As you know the FZ20 was not designed for the job.

I bought the D50 with 80-400VR lens for bird photography and very happy with it. See my gallery @: http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/....com&password=

I rejected 350D because it does not have spot meter which I consider a must for photographing birds. Canon lenses are not as easily available here in Thailand while I can get any Nikkor lens I want easily. Nikon has their camera manufacturing plant here and give better services.

hello, i was thinking about buying a nikon d50, my dad has a d70 which is excellent, i was wondering if anybody could recomend it. also the lenses.

fishingruddy.

There are a number of people out there using the D50 and seem very pleased with it. You can read an in depth review here http://www.dpreview.com/ on the left just go to reviews then D50.

To give any thoughts on lenses you will need to post an idea of what you will be photographing. For example - general scenes, close ups, aeroplanes ........

Don

The D50 is a bargain if you can do without the little extras of the D70s. For going out photographing birds etc. I've really noticed no difference. As a snapshot camera it produces great colours. At the price it now is it can;t be beaten.

thanks don and greypoint, i was going to use it for wildlife photography.

A good plot would be to look in the gallery for pictures of the type of wildlife you will be shooting. A fair number of these image details also show the lens used. Wildlife is a broad spectrum so that would help us in making sugestions.
You can include links to them to save going into to much detail.

Don

...and the budget!

hi don, i am going to use the camera to photograph birds and plants, i have found a website where the nikon d70s is only £90 more thab the d50 so i'm considering getting one of them.

fishingruddy

:) the d70 is well worth the extra money.i started off with the body only because i had nikon lenses from my old film slr.since then i've started building a nice budget collection including the sigma 170-500mm which is good for wildlife.

D50 is better than D70 for birds. It's ccd will give less noises at high ISO. You need high speed for birds as birds are active early in the morning and late afternoon. Maximum usable ISO for D70 maybe ISO400 while D50 could be use at ISO1600. It's because of the newer technology of the D50. Just like newer and cheaper pc are always better than older and more expensive models.

I use a D50 and VR80-400 handheld for birds and am very happy with it. I shot more than 5,000 photos in six months. For macro I use MicroNikkor 60mm and it works very well. Why buy camera with more functions than you need? New models will come out every 6 months and they will be better and less expensive. I used to taking bird pictures with Leica IIIf rangefinder camera. Today DSLRs are much more convenient. I do not believe that the top Nikon model will take better photos than the D50. Manufacturers like to use the words 'novice' and 'pro' to make extra profit!

:) i thought the d70 and d50 shared the same ccd.

thanks ruchai, i went for the d50 and am very happy with it, i think it's more user freindly than the d70 even if it doesn't have the exta toys
fishingruddy

You are wrong. D50 are made long after D70, no reason for Nikon to use old ccd when more capable one are available at lower cost. Look at the test result here: www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D50/ZNOISE.gif


You can see the whole story here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PROD...D50IMATEST.HTM

With fast development in technology you usally pay less for more if you wait. Personal computers are the obvious exsample.

According to the graph above, D50 at ISO800 produce less noise than D70s and Canon 350D at ISO 200! If you are going to use the camera for taking bird pictures at dawn and dusk the choice is obvious. Use the money saved for better glasses.