DSLRer's: Nikon D70 vs. Canon Rebel XT

In My Humble Opinion
21

No, you can’t. For starters the F mount was originated in 1959. Second, and more important, mounting a pre-AI lens will actually damage the D50/70/100 bodies. 1977 and later AI lenses can be mounted but only CPU autofocus lenses will have TTL metering.

FWIW there are companies that will “chip” manual focus lenses so they will have functional metering.

FWIW I use a manual focus 85mm f2.0 AI on my D100 for portraits but it has no metering. A moot point since I use an incident flash meter anyway.

FWIW you can get an adapter to use Nikkor lenses on a Canon body. This combination was used for some technical reasons to shoot the stop motion film The Corpse Bride.

WonJohnSoup, I think it has become nearly useless to give specific advice on which DSLR to get. Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus and Minolta all make exellent entry level DSLRs and you can’t go far wrong with any of them. I suggesgt you handle all candidate cameras and see which one feels right in your hands. Honestly I believe that good ergonomics are more important than the incremental technical differences in these cameras. If you like Nikon but the D70 costs too much consider the D50.

22

Yeah, that’s what I’ve been hearing a lot of lately. They all seem to be enough to handle my amateur needs. That’s why my focus has shifted a bit to comparing the quality and prices of lenses between the manufacturers. If and when I get rid of the body, I’m probably going to hang onto the lenses.

The non-Nikkon/Canon brands seem a little cheaper, but I’m thinking it might be easier to get Canon accessories and lenses for cheaper in the end because of the supply (everyone I’ve been seeing lately pretty much has either a Canon or Nikon).

I hear that the Nikkor lenses are made sturdier with real metal while a lot of Canon products are made with more plastic. Honestly, this is actually a plus to me. Saves weight and brings the price down. I really don’t have the bias of plastic = feeling cheap, which is why I don’t mind the Rebel XT construction much (and the smaller size fits my smaller hands great). Right now I just heard that the EOS-350D only accepts the new EF-S series of lenses. Gonna go check out how many of those there are, prices, quality, etc., compared to Nikkor lenses.

And oh, I’m not really considering the D50 because I already have a bunch of Compact Flash cards for my p&s, and buying new SD cards for the D50 would offset a lot of the price difference.

23

Hamsters ate some of my words… I did mean to say DSLRs have really, really tiny shutter lags. It’s not zero, as there is a mechanical shutter and mirror that has to move, (and if you want to reduce lag further, or do some burst-mode shots, most DSLRs can lock the mirror) but it is essentially just as fast as a film camera.

I actually had my mitts on a Nikon D2X on Sunday, and was briefly wondering how fast I could skedaddle with it. It’s about a $5,000 item, and had about another $1,000 in glass on it. :eek:

24

This is incorrect, it’s just the opposite. EF-S lenses can only be used with cameras like the 350D and 20D which have a shorter mirror. The EF-S lenses protrude farther into the mirror box than other lenses. That camera is compatible with all Canon EF lenses but the EF-S lenses are not compatible with all Canon bodies.

A single 2GB SD card will cost about $130 and you’ll be well covered. Honestly I shoot nearly everything uncompressed raw in my D100 and have gotten by fine with a 1gb card. I personally think the D70 is a better choice but any of the cameras you are considering will serve you well.

25

I just wanted to add in one thought that I didn’t see here (apologies if I missed it): when looking at the price of the camera, don’t just consider your current skill, but consider also how much you will be able to learn in the future that will enable you to take advantage of the features you might not use now. Having an excellent camera in your hands can do a lot to motivate you to learn all you can about taking excellent pictures. Before I bought my DSLR (A Canon Digital Rebel, not the XT) I hadn’t touched in SLR in years, but since having it, my interest in photography has grown immensely, and I have learned a lot since buying it. I almost didn’t buy the DSLR because the price outweighed my skill, but I’m quickly closing that gap, and have taken some amazing pictures that would not have been possible with a compact digicam. My point is, if you can afford either, don’t limit yourself by thinking about what you can currently do, but also take into account what features you will one day be able to take advantage of. They’re a huge investment, best to make the most of them.

26

Here’s my advice:

Don’t make your decision based on these two cameras

Make your decision based on which camera system you like better. Both Nikon and Canon make excellent products. Both the RebelXT and D70 are outstanding consumer dSLR bodies. What really makes the image is the glass, and both Nikon and Canon make quality glass.

Canon has a larger lens selection, and has the finest telephoto lenses in the business. If you shoot sports, wildlife, etc…you’re probably better off with Canon, though Nikon’s telephoto’s aren’t anything to sneeze at either. Canon also has a much more extensive Image Stabilized lens selection than Nikon.

Nikon has better wide-angle glass. If you feel that you’ll be shooting almost exclusively at the wide-end, you’re probably better off with Nikon.

If you are going to be shooting a range of subjects (wide to telephoto), either system will work well for you.

Canon has generally had the lead in the digital marketplace for the last 5 or so years…they seem to innovate their dSLRs faster, with better stuff earlier than the competition.

On the flip side, Nikon is generally regarded as having camera bodies with better ergonomics than Canon.

BOTH will work well for you, so do this: Look at the lenses you are likely to buy in the future…which system has those lenses / features that you think you’ll need.

If both lens systems work out the same, then go to a store and handle both cameras…ALSO handle cameras from both manufacturers that are above these levels (So, handle the Canon 20D, 5D and 1D(s)…then handle the Nikon D2H or D2X). Whichever feels best to you…go with that one. Remember, though…the lenses you’ll keep for a LONG time, the bodies you’ll change pretty rapidly (Probably every few years).

FWIW, I’m a Canon shooter.