to xt or d70s ?

[robthorn]

I would have searched for this because I am sure it's here but it wasn't on the first 4 pages so here is another thread.
I am upgrading to a DSLR this week and cannot figure out which camera to buy. it is mostly between the canon xt or nikon d70s . I already have compact flash cards so that is why the d50 is not in the mix. I have also seen a few good things on the olympus e-volt cameras.

is there anyone out there that can give me good solid reasons why i should pick one over the other? I am replacing a nikon 4500 so I am familiar with nikon menu's more than canon but I can read and learn either no problem so there is no reason over the other I can find at the moment. the d70s is supposed to be heavier duty and more comfortable with great quality. one place said the canon has better quality shots. I have no clue if this is true or not. does anyone know which will give normally better point and shoot shots? I will most likely get the lense kits with it. 18-70 and 55-200 or 70-300 on the nikon and not sure which lenses come with the other 2 but something comparable. I know I will want a true macro but that will be down the road.
any help or hints or guidence would be greatly appreciated.
thanks everyone,
robert

 

[Blazer88]

Have you gone and messed around with both of them in person yet? I was in the same situation as you and ended up with the Rebel XT. I do a lot of traveling so I was drawn to the smaller size and weight of the XT. The D70s just seemed bulky and heavy. I have been happy with my Canon so far but I think the quality of shots is going to be determined more of who is behind the camera. I'm sure others with chime in with more useful information.

 

[SkinyChinaMan]

I just recently purchased the Olympus Evolt E-330 with the 50mm F2.0 Macro lens and i love it.. I am new at the DSLR scene but so far, its been really easy to use.. especially with the 'live view' functions, it works almost like the point and shoot cameras. I was also considering the D70S, but was told by the camera shop clerk that its not worth it and if i was gunna get a Nikon, just spend alittle more for the D200. But after I told him what my purpose was, he then suggested the E-330.

 

[robthorn]

I have not played with any of them. I am afraid to grab one and say it feels good and buy it on impulse. cash in hand is sometimes a bad thing when you have been wanting something a long time.
I do have alot of work to do when it comes to learning to shoot pictures well. I have a few pictures on my thread I took with my old camera. click the red house. still need work I know but along way from when i bought it.
skinny are all the photos on your little red house in point and shoot mode with this same camera?

 

[robthorn]

also if I get the nikon is the 18-70 better than the 18-55 and is the 55-200 better than the 70-300 or vise versa. image quality I am talking not one zooms more so it's better. thanks again,
robert

 

[water`bug]

We went to Wolf's camera and looked at both, the Canon and the Nikon. We ended up with the Rebel XT.... and adore it.

 

[gregr]

Don't know if anyone has given you this talk yet but... you should be aware that what you're really buying into is a "system". The body, while somewhat important, is not the most important factor in the quality of your images. The quality of the lens is of major importance, as is the skill of the person taking the pics. Body is third in importance in my opinion. This is probably especially true since you've narrowed it down to two cameras that are so very similar in quality.
So when you make this decision be aware that you're buying into one manufacturer, probably for life- you'll eventually buy a new body but those lenses should last you a very very long time.
That said, both Canon and Nikon make excellent lenses that are comparable (optically speaking) all down the line, for the most part. There are some differences though, so take a look at all the lenses you think you may eventually buy, compare prices, and if you want you can even compare them optically by reviewing the lens test scores.
The advice about going to a store and playing with each camera is right on!
Greg

 

[robthorn]

thanks greg I have seen what you have said posted in several places but with the investment it can't be said too much. do you mind me asking what camera you use? I wouldn't be against olympus or pentax if they were a better choice. I have heard good things about nikon lenses which is why I have been leaning towards them. I haven't seen anyone say this is the best lens for this purpose . I have seen a few people claim the nikon kit lens 18-70 is of better quality than the canon 18-55 kit lens. do you or anyone else here believe this to be true? I won't be able to afford to go get a $300+ macro lens for at least a few months so out of the box shotting with the kit will be nice and I hear the nikon is better for that. my camera skills are improving I would say but I am still pretty horrible i think. I have been doing some research and will continue to do so and learn as much as I can. with years of practice hopefully all will be well. with my nikon 4500 I have to go into the menu's to make the slightest change or modification so I am hoping a dslr will eliminate alot of having to do everything internal. besides in auto focus I can just grab the part of the lense I want to change and turn it right? I think this would be much better and allow me to learn faster by doing the turning. I'm a do and learn or watch and learn. reading only gets me so far. the time getting through the menu's makes me lose interest and say forget it. if anything I am saying makes any dslr better than others I am very open to suggestions but the 2 mentioned camera's are in the price range I can justify.
hey water when you were in the store what was it that made you pick the canon over the nikon? I am sure I would be very happy with either it's just the decision making thats tough.
thanks again everyone,
robert

 

[gregr]

Quick access to the settings and the ability to focus manually are two big benefits to using a dslr-- greater control over depth of field and wider lens choices are two other biggies.
I use Canon equipment- for the last couple years I've been shooting with a 1D MarkII. Image quality with that camera, and Canon cameras that have come out since with the Digic processor, are just about as good as it gets in the dslr world. That's what was meant when that person told you that Canon image quality was better. However, all things being equal (lens quality and technique) the differences aren't going to mean much unless you're a very demanding professional or you want to make extra large prints.

I have seen a few people claim the nikon kit lens 18-70 is of better quality than the canon 18-55 kit lens.

Haven't used either so I can't say.

snip... $300+ macro lens

lol- more like $470 for the Canon and $660 for the Nikon-- but Nikon just came out with a macro lens that is image stablized- would love to own that lens in a Canon mount! Hear that Canon?

 

[robthorn]

yeah I know the prices for those are higher I meant for other brands I saw one close to $300.
I was just looking at some lens reviews from your link and I am scared of the light plastic lenses. they've tried plastic on alot of things they shouldn't have and warping and other bad things happen. I am old school make it like they used to construction. I guess that is the main thing stopping me from buying the canon today. there is even another $100 off the canon kit this week locally. $799 vs. $999 locally . my buddy had a kodak 2mp a few years ago and I remember thinking it was a piece of .... because of how it felt. the nikon 4500 is heavier and just feels better than that. I guess when my fiancee gets home from church we are going to go check them out. if I like the canon I guess I will get it since it's cheaper. thats almost half a macro lens.
thanks again
are all the photos on your website from the same canon?

 

[robthorn]

oh boy on the Dendrophyllia picture. that is amazing photography to me at least. what lense did you use on that do you remember?

 

[gregr]

Most of them are from that camera but some are from a 10D and there may even be one or two from my old G2!

 

[robthorn]

simply stunning. probably not going to get that quality from either of the camera's I am going after but I think they will be much better than what I have been getting with my old camera.

 

[reefrunner69]

I have seen a few people claim the nikon kit lens 18-70 is of better quality than the canon 18-55 kit lens. do you or anyone else here believe this to be true?

If you buy them seperately from the cameras, the Nikon lens is around 300 bucks the canon lens is about 100 bucks, so yeah, the nikon is a better lens and for the price difference, it should be.

As for lenses...Nikon is considered to have the best wide angle lenses and canon has the best long telephotos, but to be honest, the difference in the lenses that most of us would/could buy isn't great enough to swing you one way or the other.

 

[robthorn]

thanks reefrunner . still stuck in the middle what camera do you use?
anyone giving advice can you please state which camera you use and if you are completly happy with it. maybe I can figure it out by numbers.

have there been any complaints of the canon lenses being left in the car and melted or anything? I know this isn't good but living in florida it gets hot and as a just incase thing it might be a deciding factor.

 

[reefrunner69]

I live in FL and leave my camera bag in the car while I work almost every day, no issues with melting. I use a canon 20D, I bought it with the kit lens simply cause I got the kit lens for about 20 bucks over what body only would have cost me. I've only used it a couple of times, but when I have it's given me decent results. I bought it mostly to have a lens to sell with the camera when I decide to upgrade.

I am completely happy with the 20D, it's a gread camera. In your position, choosing between the D70s and the rebel XT, I'd probably go with the Nikon for a couple of reasons, the XT is too small for me to enjoy using it and the build quality of the d70s is better than the XT.

What you really need to do is sit down and decide how much your going to spend, what you want to get for your money (camera + 1 lens or camera +2 (3 or 4_ lenses), decide which features are a must have, go to the camera store, handle each camera that fits the bill above and pick the one that works the best for you overall.

I wouldn't discount the Oly E-500 with 2 kit lens, nor would I discount buying used. There are lots of great deals at the fredmiranda.com buy/sell forum on both Nikon and Canon, there is also KEH.com

 

[astrogazer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7841055#post7841055 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by robthorn
also if I get the nikon is the 18-70 better than the 18-55 and is the 55-200 better than the 70-300 or vise versa. image quality I am talking not one zooms more so it's better. thanks again,
robert

The 18-70 is much better than the 18-55 and I would (and I did as a matter of fact) get the 70-300mm and that should cover you for a bit. Till you get the urge to macro, i bought thwe Sigma 105 for that and it does well.

 

[robthorn]

thanks guys great info and links. the problem now is I went to ritz and talked with one of the employees who thought the d70s would be a better camera all around and he likes there lenses also. I checked out the sony dslr-a100 and it was pretty nice I would say better than the canon but the build quality wasn't even close to the nikon. anyway the guy behind the counter told me to try and be patient a month or 2 and nikon would be coming out with a new 10 megapixel camera to compete with the sony around $1000. does anyone know if this is for sure or something he just thinks? if it is going to happen before christmas I can wait that long for sure.
reef I saw some pics from an olympus slr and maybe it was the shooter but it wasn't even comparable to the point and shoot I have seen with nikon and canon. I think I have ruled out the canon and will go for the sony or nikon. the sony is becoming more friendly with a compact flash card. the minolta lenses weren't that great and the build wasn't that great either. I guess for the money I just talked myself into the d70s or the new nikon when it comes out. will probably also cause the d70s price to come down or start offering rebates.
thanks for everyones help. my fiancee was even into the nikon more than the others so now I can blame the decision on her.

 

[astrogazer]

I guarantee you that you will NOT be dissapointed in the D70s, it's real sweet. If you're not an SLR shooter there will be a curve until you can match the quality, consistently with a DSLR system. Be patient, shoot lots of images (isn't digital great), read the manual, I know it's a pain, but read the manual. I have taken some award winning images with my D70, and while I have replaced it with a D200, it still sees action.

 

[reefrunner69]

The D80 should be announced in a few days, no telling when it will be available.