Nikon D60 vs Canon XSi help...

[Kronor]

Hi guys.

I'm looking to purchase a new DSLR and I'm down to the Nikon D60 and the Canon XSi. They both seem pretty good and are comparable. The Nikon has a 10MP sensor and the Canon has a 12MP. Not a big deal for me really. Which one is better? I've tried both but only at a shop.

Any recommendations would help.

 

[bradhusick]

They probably output files of equal quality, but Canon has more lens choices.

 

[clay stewart]

Sadly, Nikon has no primes 50 mm or wider that auto focus with the D60. Sort of defeats the purpose of making a smallish camera in my mind.

 

[Steen]

Brad is right about Canon having more lenses.

Still I would personally prefer the Nikon system, not only because of the cameras but even because of the glass.
Basicly a matter of personal taste I guess.

I have had four digital Canon cameras (so far ending with 5D) and three digital Nikon cameras (so far ending with D300), and more than one time I have owned both brands at the same time. Shooting them shoulder to shoulder I ended up preferring the Nikon lenses as well as cameras.

My personal experience is that you get more pleasing colors and more perceived sharpness (acutance) out of the box with the Nikon system than with the Canon system. If you are good at postprocessing you can probably bring the files from both brands to the same level.

But keep in mind that this is just my personal perception and judgement. Your taste (and others) may be different.

So I suggest you go to a good camera store and check the different image qualities yourself.
Bring (or buy) the necessary memory cards and shoot some RAW files out of the door into the street with both brands.
Take the memory cards with you back home and convert the RAW files to TIFF or JPEG using a general RAW converter.
You can download Lightroom or Bibble Pro in a free trial version if you don't own a RAW converter yet.
In this way you can judge for yourself which image file character you prefer over the other.

/Steen

 

[bradhusick]

Having the prime lenses of 14, 24 and 35, all fast and autofocus, makes Canon the only choice for the way I like to shoot.

 

[Steen]

Yes Kronor, in case you want to go with let's say three prime lenses like the ones Brad mentions, right now Canon would be your choice of the two. *)

But people who buy an entry level DSLR often go with a zoom lens or two, and live happily with that for a couple of years.
In case that is what you have in mind, I can highly recommend the Nikon 18-70mm DX Zoom lens for a start.
It's cheap, but surprisingly good.

Anyway, it's always a very good idea to start by defining what glass you want to shoot and then choose the camera from there, since glass can last for a long, long time while cameras come and go. The life cycle of a digital camera is so scary short.

*) Be aware that most Nikon shooters expect Nikon to soon announce some new fast primes, since the present Nikon primes are rather old designs, except for the specialized Micro lenses and Tilt/Shift lenses.
The new primes will probably be of the AF-S G type which D60 can focus.
At http://www.bythom.com/2008%20Nikon%20News.htm Thom Hogan has a paragraph at July 14 "What's next ?" saying that a few Nikon f/1.4 primes apparently will appear with the high-resolution camera in the Nikon D3 body.
So far just a rumour, but if you can wait for Photokina in September I assume we will have some more informations about it at that time.

 

[Kevin_b1]

Bought the Canon XSi (450d here in the UK) and returned it after 2 weeks unable to get a sharp image out of it.
I was comparing it against my 30D with 24-105L lens on both.

Bought Nikon D60 with 18-55VR lens very impressed, I have been thinking for a while about changing from Canon to Nikon and this has given me the push.

So I am in the middle of selling my Canon gear and moving to Nikon (See Buy and sell).

So in answer to your question in my case D60 by a mile.

Regards

Kevin

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Since I like the ergonomics of Nikon better than those of Canon, I would prefer the D60, and the Nikkor 18-55 seems to be a nice lens. However, at today's low prices, I would buy the D80 instead. It's an outgoing model, but it has the same sensor as the D60 (although with less aggressive noise reduction, I think), and it's a lot more camera with endless possibilities and a better viewfinder.

When all that is said, most of my friends end up buying Olympus after asking me for advice. There are hardly any camera available that are easier to live with than the E-520, and the two lens package is a very nice deal. You get all the features you'll ever need in a nice, small, reasonably priced package, and the Olympus kit lenses (14-42 and 40-150) are very, very good. Add the 70-300 and the soon to be released 9-18mm, and you are pretty much covered from here to the moon (quite literary, since the 70-300 will give you 600mm of reach).

 

[Vivek]

I would respectfully disagree with Jorgen on the D80. I have the D40x and the D80 (now converted to be used exclusively for IR- it works well there) and the D40x (the D60 is has slight improvements over the D40x) has outstanding image quality compared to the D80. It is not just noise reduction the camera's needs a lot more light to be noise free even at its base ISO!

I do agree with Jorgen on the Olympus deals.

 

[Steen]

I cannot resist combining what Jorgen says,
about the D80 being a lot more camera with endless possibilities and a better viewfinder
and what Vivek says,
about the D40x / D60 having the the latest and greatest image quality performance.

I would expect the soon to be announced model D90 to be the perfect combination of those characteristics.

So personally I would wait for the D90 especially because of the expected Penta-prism type Veiwfinder (instead of a Penta-mirror type Viewfinder) and also I expect it to auto-focus with the present AF-D prime lenses the same way the present D80 does.
Photokina will tell, at the latest.

But of course this new D90 camera will be in a higher price category than the entry level cameras our new member Kronor is considering. So maybe my way of thinking is not relevant in this case.

Anyway, welcome aboard Kronor

/Steen

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Vivek,
I haven't used the D40X or the D60 extensively, so I believe you
However, when comparing jpeg files from the D60 and the D80, it looks to me like there's more noise, but also more detail in the files from the D80. I always shoot RAW anyway, but for somebody shooting jpeg, that could be an issue. Have you noticed anything similar?

I agree on the D90 Steen, and the way the market is developing, it will probably have to be cheaper than the D80 was at introduction.

 

[Vivek]

Jorgen, No difference in details. In fact, it is better (D40x), IME, as the dreadful noise is absent. I am also saying this based exclusively using the RAW format (D40x).

The D80 is a "better" camera (you know what I mean) but the image quality is lacking.