Instead of Nikon, would Canon be better?

travcat

Well, moving on from my dilemma - now I get a second chance to purchase a camera. I see a lot of you have Canons and I'm wondering if Canon is better than the Nixon D70. And which Canon is better? - there are so many of them! Keep in mind I have a budget of about $1000 (well, let's hope I still have that if I can get my credit card to take pity on me!)

Catherine

Andy

travcat wrote:

Well, moving on from my dilemma - now I get a second chance to purchase a camera. I see a lot of you have Canons and I'm wondering if Canon is better than the Nixon D70. And which Canon is better? - there are so many of them! Keep in mind I have a budget of about $1000 (well, let's hope I still have that if I can get my credit card to take pity on me!)

Catherine

they're both fine systems. take a read thru this thread.

then ask your *specific* questions

JamesJWeg

From the perspective of someone who had always been Canon in the past, but is now Nikon, and just got a D70 to go with my D2H, only a couple thousand pics into the D70 there are some things I really do not like with it.

1. In it's automated mode you can change settings, such as how it focuses, but these settings just get lost if you turn the dial out of auto and back into it. Example: Default Focus mode in auto is closest object, but I change it to Dynamic area so I know where it will focus. I was shooting a backlighted scene and needed to force flash, I turned the dial to program where I could force fill-flash (you can NOT force the flash on in Auto mode). When I turned it back I forgot to reset the focus area and didn't notice when I snapped this shot that the focus was on her shoulder not her face.



2. Too many settings that I use a lot such as single vs. continuous AF modes are only available from the on-screen menu, not external buttons, this makes accessiong these settings on the fly rather slow.

3. It seems overly slow both in frame rate and refocusing time, but then again I am now used to the D2H.

4. The built-in flash is a little weaker than I thought it would be, and on wide angle you get a shadow from the lens in the frame because the flash is too low. See shadow below (18mm)


5. When you are in Program mode, turning on the flash pops it up, and if you close it the flash will not open and fire like in Auto mode, it is then off. Making it inpratical to use program mode in a party setting for fear of damage to the flash unit. When you then are in Auto and find that you need fill flash and the camera is not giving it to you, you have to change modes and there went your settings in Auto mode.

Other than that I am happy with the D70. The main thing I like with it over the 20D (which have not owned but have played with) is the feel, it feels more solid and the controls more natural then the 20D. On the 20D I feel like I am going to break the controls when I use them. I was sold on the 20D on paper, until I held it in my hands and played with it, for me the feel of the 20D was the sale killer, it just was not built like all the old Canon's I was used to. Nether is the "best" camera, it is more a question of which one better fits your personal style. I see the D70 as solid, durable, less extra's and options, and the 20D as gadget/option laden and a very nice, but fragile camera.

James.

Eric&Susan

travcat wrote:

Well, moving on from my dilemma - now I get a second chance to purchase a camera. I see a lot of you have Canons and I'm wondering if Canon is better than the Nixon D70. And which Canon is better? - there are so many of them! Keep in mind I have a budget of about $1000 (well, let's hope I still have that if I can get my credit card to take pity on me!)

Catherine

Let the battle begin Each camera and it's collection of lenses has it own pros and cons. You best bet is to go to your local camera store and see if you can hold each one that your considering in your hands. Decide what you want to shoot, how much you can afford to spend (not just today but in the future, trust me on that) and RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH.

Eric

JamesJWeg

As food for thought, I havn't seen many threads like this about the D70, maybe I am just blind.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=11842&highlight=canon+error

James.

robscomputer

Before making a commited choice on Nikon or Canon, decide upon which system you like more. Since the lenses are usually kept much longer than the bodies (especially digital version) I would see how they compare instead of just looking at the bodies in general. When I was starting over in digital I came upon the Nikon vs. Canon choice but held with Canon for a few personal reasons.

I already owned a Canon SLR (Canon A2E, EOS 3) and was used to the simple dial wheel and EOS 3 (1d mkII) style "3 button" configuration. I also felt that the Nikon cameras didn't have the easy feel that the Canon's had. Too many buttons in different areas made it hard to just change a setting. I didn't test too many Nikon camera's but my friend's D70 and F5 both felt too complicated compared to the 20D and EOS 3.

Finally I was able to swap flashes and batteries with my current point and shoot, G3 with the current Canon DSLR's. This pretty much sold me to stay with Canon instead of moving to the Nikon camp.

Now that I have a small amount of nice glass I'm even more dedicated to Canon but it's not saying you can never switch. I really like the Nikon 10mm and the D2X.

Rob

gus

Travcat ..no-one sat on this fence longer than me. I researched for months. I decided on the 20D Canon. The D70 is a stella camera but i needed to shoot high ISO.

This shot is in a dark club with some really wild movement going on & there is no clean-up on it.

Date Taken:2005-06-24 17:17:48Date Modified:2005-06-25 22:54:25Make:CanonModel: Canon EOS 20D Size: 600x454 Bytes: 109082 Aperture: f/2.0 ISO: 3200 Focal Length: 50mm Exposure Time: 0.01s (1/100)Flash:Flash did not fire, compulsory flash modeExposure Program:Aperture priorityExposure Bias:-0.67

http://wadjelaphotography.smugmug.com/photos/26531211-M.jpg

at 3200 ISO. This helped make the descision..desciss...choice for me.

wholenewlight

I'm a happy D70 user. It has been a solid performer for me for more than a year. Right now it's being repaired but I'm not concerned - it's under warranty and I don't believe the problem is one many users have experienced nor do I believe it's a chronic concern.


The only thing missing from the D70 is a provision for a cable release for remote firing. And this has been solved in the new D70s - it has cable release capability. I'd buy it instead of the older D70.

Here's a recent D70 shot from my mini studio: