Help ! EOS20D or NIkon 70s

[ae1969]

I am amazed at the quality of photography information in the OT forum. There are some serious photographers here.........So when I decided to get a new camera I knew where I had to post for advice.

SO I am taking the plunge to a digital SLR......

I have played with both cameras and they both take incredible pictures for the price.

The EOS20D is a little more expensive than the Nikon. IT has a higher megapixel. The body on the EOS is much firmer than the Nikon. I find the Nikon almost feels plastic ?

If anyone owns either one. I would appreciate some advice. And what lens to go with for each one. I am looking for a verstatile lens that will work for group shots as well as motorsport/scenic shots...

Thank you for any and all advice....

[id10t]

Sounds like you want the EOS. The 2 pros here on campus use them. Great cameras.

Of course, for what 99% of us "normal" picture takers do, a Cannon Rebel (esp the newest ones) are about ideal. Do you already own lenses, etc. from a film camera? Being able to use those on a new digital body would be a biiig point for you possibly..

[addictionMS]

it is all about the lenses, bodies come and go but your investment in the lenses will last a lifetime.

I am a Nikon owner, I have changed bodies three times in 5 years, but I have 24-2.8/50-1.4/60-2.8Macro/85-1.8/28-200-3.5/80-200-2.8 lenses that have survived the swaps, and the investment in the lenes makes the body look cheap.

jim

[masraum]

I'd go with the EOS 20D. The Nikon D70 is a great camera, but more competition for the Rebel XT. The 20D is better than both.

You'll want to be more specific about what you need the lens to do. For scenery you'll usually want a relatively wide angle, for sports, especially motorsports you'll want a long fast lens. Then, major importance is what price range, $200, $500, $1000, $1500??

Most camera people will tell you get a good body and the best 'glass' (lenses) that you can. For the Canon the best are the Canon L lenses, but they are mighty expensive.

In lenses budget is really the most important thing. How much do you have to spend, once that's established then what do you need to do. Then you pick the best lenses that you can afford that do what you need.

Here's a good article recommending lenses for EOS cameras
http://bobatkins.photo.net/photography/digital/10d300dlenses.html

If you want a site like Pelican, but for Canon cameras go here,
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

There's a lens section and several threads asking "which lens should I get?"

[ae1969]

Id10T : The canon's keep drawing me back to them. I first went in looking at the Rebel XT, but I like the bigger stronger feel of the 20D. The XT takes incredible pics as well and is really priced the same as the Nikon 70s.

Addiction and Masraum: Thanks for the sites.
Unfortunately I am starting from scratch. So it looks like it will be one lens at a time.

$500-1000 for my first lens would probably do.

I was looking for a lens that could give me some initial flexibility. Then move on to more specialized lenses.

[masraum]

You may want to get the kit lens, it's not a bad lens, but it's not great either, spend $100 on the "nifty fifty" the 50mm f1.8, and then get the zoom below. That would be a good start.

I don't know if I mentioned this previously, but the "L" line of lenses are Canon's professional lenses.

The cheap 50mm is actually a good lense. It's just simple which is why it's so cheap. The 70-200 F4L is a great lens, and an amazing price for an L lens, and the kit lens will cover your close up stuff. For a really good wide angle a lot of people like the 17-40L

EF 17-40/4L
$700

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM Autofocus Lens
$600

Avoid the Canon 75-300 lenses, they are yucky, also avoid the 55-200.

If you want to spend less on a telephoto zoom I just recently got the Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro Zoom. It's a decent budget zoom with half life size macro capabilities for $200.

[gchappel]

I am a nikon guy myself. I just got a d2x, and have shot with the D70 for about a year. I find that nikon and canon leapfrog each other every couple of months. Canon seems to bring out more bodies and brings out new cameras more frequently. Canon definately has better advertising- think who plays tennis. Nikon is less "flashy". Both are GREAT systems, you can not go wrong with either. Try them both. Canon does seem to have better noise patterns on high iso. Nikon seems to have a better flash system.
Both have great glass.
Shoot more.
Gary

[masraum]

what he said

[StevoRocket]

Nikon D70 6.1 megapixels - battery life is stunning!
Nikon 18-70mm came with the camera
Tamron 28-300mm 1:3.5-6.3 (if I only want to take one lens out this is my favourite)
Tokina 80-400mm 1:4.5-5.6 ebay second hand as new
Nikon20mm 1:2.8 ebay SH as new
Nikon 50mm 1:1.4 ebay SH as new
Nikon 70-210 1:4-5.6 ebay SH as new
Flash unit Nikon SB600 ebay SH as new

All these lenses when used with a Nikon D70 are forming the image on a chip which is smaller than a 35mm film frame and so up the telephoto effect by a factor of about 1.5, so a 50mm lens becomes the same as a 75mm on a film camera. The 80-400 becomes 120-600!!

Use the biggest and fastest Compact Flash card you can afford. 1gig or 2gig Sandisk ultra or similar.

Pocket camera
Canon IXUS (Elph) 700 (7 mega pixels) great pictures and a good built in flash.

Great detailed camera reviews are here
www.steves-digicams.com

[jhelgesen]

I've got a Nikon D100, dual battery handle, ac adaptor, 2 batteries, with the boxes, software, cables, etc. I've got listed in my divorce sale. Was going to put it on ebay tonight, but if you are interested I can make you a deal.

[ae1969]

Originally posted by jhelgesen
I've got a Nikon D100, dual battery handle, ac adaptor, 2 batteries, with the boxes, software, cables, etc. I've got listed in my divorce sale. Was going to put it on ebay tonight, but if you are interested I can make you a deal.

Just missed this one.

I bought the EOS20D.

------------------

Well I bought the Canon.... very nice little unit.

I bought the 50mm 1.8 and it came with a EFS 17-85

I have two weeks to play with this gear.....

I am gonna keep it but I am wondering about the EFS f4-5.6 IS USM 17-85.

I can still swap it for a EF 24-70 f2.8 L

It doesn't have the image stabilizing gizmo........but is it worth twice the money ???

[masraum]

pros and cons of each.

The speed of the L (f 2.8) would be nice and enable you to catch action if you do much action photography. The L lens is one of the Canon Pro lenses, the image that it gives will be top notch, but in many circumstances the difference is not easy to see. It's 24mm wide end which is not very wide on a 1.6x digital sensor. The aperture would enable you to better isolate your subject from the foreground and background with a short DOF.

The IS on the 17-85 will probably end up giving you a comparable exposure to the f2.8, but mostly for still photos. Trying to capture really fast action wouldn't work as well. The 17-85 exhibits (so I've read) some vignetting at 17mm. You won't have as small a DOF to play with as on the L lens.

[djmcmath]

I'll second a lot of the good wisdom from above:
1 - Spend the budget on the lenses, if at all possible, rather than the body. I would even go so far as to say that, for most applications, the 20D is serious overkill. An entry level body (think used Rebel digital, or Nikon's equivalent) might make a better start. Stretch the budget as much as possible to get the lenses, and cheap out on the body. After all, the body is just a box to hold the film while you're waiting for the opportune moment to let light through the glass.

2 - Avoid the cheap-o lenses like the plague. Don't waste your money on a "starter" lense. If you go Canon, the 50mm f/1.4 is an absolute winner every time -- sharp, fast, and dirt cheap, not to mention bullet-proof. I find that, in practice, the 50mm lense is my staple, and the wide angle is a close second. (I ignored this rule, BTW, in purchasing both the 75-300 IS/USM, a lense that turned out to be almost universally disappointing...)


I will add that I own a 20D, and I love it. For anyone who knows me, that's almost like a confession. You know, "Forgive me, Father Ansel, for I have sinned... I bought a digital camera.... and I enjoy using it..." I'm a big fan of large format (my "other camera" is a Horseman) and will probably never forsake the art of film-based B&W. That said, the 20D is a full-fledged professional body, and you'll probably never regret owning one. (shrug) I suppose the same could be said of the Nikon, but I don't own one, so I don't know. Cheers, let us know what you decide.

[curlesw]

I have a D70, it's a great camera. However, I just sent it back for a problem with the sensor. Evidently, the sensor will lock up and the camera can not be used. Other brands are affected as well. I was told it was a "batch" problem and not all sensors are bad...Nikon will fix it for free. I suggest looking into this problem before making a final decision. I went with Nikon because I have a rather large investment in lens. It's a great camera, but suggest you look into this problem before making a final decision.

Wayne C.

[StevoRocket]

About the lockup problem - see here

http://www.steves-digicams.com/diginews.html#sony_ccd

[djmcmath]

Another quick link, on the off chance you haven't run across these guys in your study : www.dpreview.com It looks like complete and objective reviews, which I find invaluable.