Canon vs Nikon

[jbaptis]

Hi everyone!
Here I am, starting another Nikon/Canon debate...
But I do need some advice/opinions
I am fairly new to diving and photosub. Did my OWD in Portugal in the summer of 2008 and took a little Intova down with me as soon as my instructor allowed it!
Currently I have about 70 logged dives and I am the proud owner of a Canon G10 with Canon housing and a Inon Z-240 strobe. I have learned a little bit, but I've been growing ambitious, I suppose, and I'm really thinking about jumping into the SLR world.
My choices so far are between Canon EOS 500D and/or Nikon D5000; if going the extra expense is justified, I am also considering the Canon 50D vs the Nikon D90.
Also I would very much appreciate some advice on the best price/quality/versatility on lenses combination (please bear in mind that I'm an amateur, and not a rich one at that!).
Let the hostilities begin!!!
Thanks!

 

[DCBC]

A nice feature of the Nikon D90 is the addition of the D-Movie mode. It will record high-def video at 1280 x 720 pixels and 24 frames-per-second in addition to still images.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

If video is important to you, you may want to hold off a few months for the replacement of the 50D, which is expected this spring, and will likely have good video.

As for 500D vs D5000 or D90 vs 50D(or whatever is released soon) any one of them will likely serve you well. I'm a Canon user. I have a history of owning canon lenses, and switching everything would be $$$$, so I've never seriously looked into the Nikons. The Canons will have nearly identical menus and controls compared to the G10, but you should be able to learn all the controls on Nikon in an afternoon. Most things are the same, but may have different names or ways to change settings.

I consider lenses more important than the specific camera in dSLRs. First, most dSLRs these days are "good" enough that you need to use the best lenses to get full image quality out of them. Normally this means the expensive lenses, but there are some good lenses that aren't too much. I'm personally a fan of buying a slightly cheaper body (Say Canon 500D vs 50D) and spending a little more on the lens. Unless there is some specific feature you want, the basic bodies work just as well as the mid-range bodies. The lenses will outlast the body and can be used on newer bodies if you upgrade. Also, If you decide to sell stuff to upgrade, the manufacturer's lenses often retain a most of their value where the bodies often lose most of their value after a few years.

As for lenses, Don't bother buying a "kit" lens if you don't have too. The lenses that normally come with these cameras are not so great. The only exception I might mention is the Canon 28-135 IS is not so bad if the kit price is good. This lens is a little old, but pretty good for a mid-priced lens.

For underwater, most serious dSLR users use either a dedicated wide-angle zoom or a prime macro lens. You can search around to see which ones people like. I use a Canon 100mm Macro and 17-40 zoom on a full frame Canon dSLR ( similar focal length to 60mm and 10-24mm on the cameras you are looking at)

For above water, there are a number of reasonable combinations, but If your tight on budget, I would recommend a normal zoom (something like a 28-135mm range) and a normal prime lens. A 35mm or 50mm F1.4 or F1.8 lens will give you some of the best image quality you cen get without spending a big chunk of change. It's also good practice to use your feet to do the zooming rather than a zoom-ring since it forces you to think about where you want to take a picture from. There is a difference between a close-up with wide angle and a distant shot with a telephoto, even if the subject it about the same size.

I use the non-IS 100mm Macro from Canon (I hear the equivalent Nikon is just as good), This lens, or the 60mm macro, are good for short telephoto shots and generally also give very good image quality compared to the price. Many Pros have a 100mm Macro for detail shots.

I can't say much about the normal zooms you might look at. I've only used the Pro-level normal zooms for the last few years and I don't know what's good these days. I'm sure others can comment, or you could look on some topside photography forums.

 

[sharky60]

First of all, it's not the camera...it's the photographer. My photography instructor has said many times that people come into the store and ask "If I buy a "better" camera will they get better pictures?"

The answer is "no", but if you learn a little about photography, you will take better pictures."

The main difference between the 2 brands, and the reason I believe a lot of Professional photographers perfer Canon over Nikon is that, depending on the model a Nikon can have parts made by or the pretty much the entire camera made by Nikon, Sony or Fiji (or is it Fuji?), anyway, Canons are made by Canon and they feel they know exactly what they are getting from model to model.

I wanted a professional level camera to diversify my business by adding photography to the mix as I only had a compact camera at the time and needed a DSLR to accomplish my goals.

I chose the Nikon D200 because a couple photography mentors use Nikons and I understood Nikons better than I do the Canon model system. (EOS? Rebel? WTF?)

I haven't purchased underwater gear for the DSLR yet, but I have been extreamly happy with my camera choice, not only for results, but for camera ease of use and features.

 

[bvanant]

Every time I show someone a neat picture they say "wow you must have a good camera" and I just smile and say yes indeed I do. In terms of underwater photography, I can't think of any picture that I can get with my Canon that Scott G. can't get with his Nikon. We both have dedicated (Canon and Nikon) macro lenses and both use Tokina wide angle lenses. He uses a S&S housing, I use a Subal. If you need video, then you need to look carefully. The D90 was the first with video, but it isn't 1080 HD. The newer Canons like the 7D are awesome but a lot more $. Since you are buying into a system and buying in to lenses, I would recommend starting with the Canon T1I. (I told you I am a canon guy). I would get the S&S RDX housing and start with the Canon 60 macro lens and the Tokina 10-17 wide angle and a couple of Inon Z240 strobes. With that system you can grow into larger cameras later on (you will trade up sometime) and you already have the ports and lenses. Scott would probably tell you to start with the equivalent Nikon system and in either case, your pictures will be indistinguishable from system to system.

Enjoy
Bill

 

[mike_s]

A nice feature of the Nikon D90 is the addition of the D-Movie mode. It will record high-def video at 1280 x 720 pixels and 24 frames-per-second in addition to still images.

the Nikon D90 is a GREAT Camera. and I love Nikon.

and it will do HD video. but I also want to add to that in video mode you can't autofocus on it. which kinda sucks.

to make that worse... I doubt you can manual focus in most video housings.

just something to consider if you want video.

in my opinion, this is a big short coming in Nikon's compared to what other brands are offering. (but then again a lot of photographers could care less about the video feature also).

 

[shoturtle]

Are you diving this camera? If so I would go with the less expensive camera like 500D, I have it and it is a great DSLR. Also with the 500D you will have the full canon line up of lenses to chose form and all the 3rd party lenses for the eos system.

My big problem with the d5000 is that if you buy one, you are limited to AF-s and AF-i lenses if you want the lens to auto focus. If you get a prime lens with a range greater the 35mm, it will be really expensive for the d5000. While with canon you can find a 50mm 1.8 mkII for about 100 euros new and the 50mm 1.4 for about 330 euros. Only the 35mm is in the same price range as the canon lens. Also the Eos has more marco primes to choose form. I have a ef50 2.5 marco, and getting ready to get a ef 100mm 2.8 marco, but this lens has been discountinue and it's replacement is has IS L lens and is 1000 euro vs 500 euros.

Also the 50D and the 500D use pretty much the same sensor. So photo quality is about the same. Same for the d5000 and d90. With the canon you get a more vivid color. The nikon you get a duller color and less noise.

Between the d90 and the 50D, the canon is a higher end camera with more features. That is reflexed in the price, as the body of the d90 is about 900 euro vs the 50d at 1100 euros. The 50D has more features. But with the D90 you can save the difference to get better lenses. Since lenses can make or break a shot allot more then the body.

500d and d5000 they are at the same level. But the 500D does perform up to 12800 iso, giving it a better low light ability. The nikon has the better flash system, the canon has a better auto focus system. The 500d take full hd at 1080, the d5000 on does 720 hd.

Personally I do not dive my dslr, or my slr. It is to pricey to risk flooding. And if you do not dive and film underwater for money. It does not seem the diving insurance for camera's are cost effective. 200-300 euro a year for a 2000 euro set up. The G10 is an excellent camera and with a strobe and good uw case. You will be able to get some good uw shots. I keep my dslr for top side and keep using intova for UW.

 

[shoturtle]

One more question, are you a experience photographer topside with experience with dslr or slr before?

 

[marcaumarc]

I use a D90 and love it. I don't have experience with Canon, they make great cameras, too. Between the D90 and D5000, I would recommend D90 because it has a focusing motor in the camera, which means you can auto focus on lenses that don't have a motor built into the lens. If you only use a few lenses that do have focus motors, it's no big deal, but if you get really into slr photography, you will have many more lens options that will autofocus. As mentioned above, this will also give you lots of less expensive lens options.

 

[jbaptis]

:hehheh:

One more question, are you a experience photographer topside with experience with dslr or slr before?

You are right, I forgot to mention my topside slr/dslr experience which is basically zero :blush:

I've only had two small compacts so far, an analogic APS and a digital Konica-Minolta. Both served me well IMHO until I decided to go underwater, bought one of those disposable ones and was really sad at the film development expense/results ratio!

At least the Intova 500 let me make all the mistakes I could (and then some ) without having to pay more for it.

After buying the Canon G10 I realized I really needed some training to know how to handle so many buttons (okay, stop laughing :hehheh so I went directly into UWPhoto training and kept at it but it only made me aware of how ignorant I was/am.

Hence these questions, and btw thanks a lot for the answers I got so far, keep'em comin'!