Need Input on D-SLR's

[kaibar]

I've decided to buy a D-SLR and have it narrowed down to three cameras. I'd like you guys to tell me why not to buy the Nikon D70 and why to buy either a 10D or 20D. The D70 seems like a very good value to me but I've always owned Canon. I'm not concerned about 6.1 vs 8 megapixels just camera vs camera based on price lens availability etc.. Help me decide!!

-Kaibar

[Jim_T]

If you buy a 10D, it will most likely be used.. (Although if you dig there might be a few still on store shelves)..

Comparing the 20D and D70 is like comparing an apple and an orange.. The D70 is a budget camera.. The 20D is more expensive and is aimed at the mid-range DSLR market..

You should be comparing the D70 with the Digital Rebel (or it's replacement the 350XT)

If you have any investment in Canon EF lenses, you'll have to buy all new ones if you go the D70 route....

[Geeeyejo]

Go with the 10D if price is a facoter - lens cost/availablility should be better with Canon - also the build on the 10 or 20D is better - metal body!

[chris clements]

I agree with the apples - oranges analogy: the 20D is aimed at a different market.
I handled the 350/XT for the first time yesterday - it's a sure-fire winner if you can wait until it hits the stores.

[CoolToolGuy]

Kaibar, one key to your answer should come from your choices - with Canon you have more choice, and if you start down the DSLR path, you are marrying a family, not just buying a camera. Beyond the 10D/20D you now have two more inexpensive choices - the original Digital Rebel and the Digital Rebel XT. Canon is leaps and bounds ahead of Ni*on in the DSLR and lens market, and Ni*on is not showing any effort to catch up. Ni*on lives partially off of its name and reputation, charging more for eqivalent (and sometimes inferior) products. The D70 may get some good marks against the older Canons, but Canon has introduced two new DSLRs since the D70 came out (20D and DreXT), and the lens lineup is much better with Canon.
My 2 cents.

Have Fun,

[Andy_T]

Hi Kaibar,

welcome to the forum ...
I also am a former Nikon user (601) who was looking with interest at digital cameras and decided between Nikon (the logical choice) and Canon some time ago.

For me the answer was simple in 2003 ... there was no way I could afford a DSLR. So I looked at the Nikon 5700 and the Canon G2. Again ... it looked crystal clear. I wanted the Nikon 5700 (2000$). I could afford the G2 (800$).

With the G2 came the realization that if Nikon was at some time leading in (film) cameras, then in the digital age it was exactly the other way round.

Canon definitely 'rules' the digital world and the specs and features of the 20D are clearly superior to the D70. Hell, Canon released the second generation of the Digital Rebel, the Digital Rebel XT (350D) a week ago, and even this camera IMO kicks the D70's butt, as the 10D kicked the D100's butt in 2003.

Don't get me wrong. All these cameras are great. But if you want to get the ultimate in image quality, then the Canon cameras will most likely be the ticket.

Nikon also released a new pro camera last week that is roughly equivalent to Canon's offering of 2003 :shock:

Another - and very important factor - to take into consideration is lenses. You don't buy a camera, you buy into a system. Maybe you have a lot of great lenses that you would like to continue to use. In my eyes, Canon currently has the most attractive lens roundup with some very fine lenses at prices that are acceptable. Digital is very demanding on lenses ... if you have so-called 'consumer grade' lenses, chances are that the results will not strike you as acceptable, even if you never had much of a problem with these lenses when you used them on film. The high resolution of a digital sensor points out deficiencies
in lenses and before short you will be longing for good lenses (e.g. primes or professional lenses, e.g. constant aperture 2.8 lenses).

For me this was easy. The lenses I had on my 601 were mostly cheap lenses, the best being a consumer Nikkor 35-70 lens and a Nikkor 50/1.8. I figured that only the 50/1.8 would give the results I expected on digital ... so lenses for me stopped to be a deciding factor. Even if ... with a 50$ adapter, I might continue to use my Nikkor lenses as manual focus lenses without any quality loss on a Canon EOS camera.

So I got the 20D recently and it was the camera I had always wanted. There's no looking back at all for me.


Hope this helps you.

Best regards,
Andy