Well I want to upgrade from my S3 IS to a SLR camera. I'm down to 2 of them. I'm between a Canon XTi w/ 18-55mm lens or a Nikon D40x w/ 18-55mm lens. From my quick over view of the cameras, they are both pretty much the same camera at the same price pretty much. I want to know for those that have them why they chose it. Thanks

 

My camera isn't fallow. It produces a lot.

 

I think both are great cameras and you won't be dissapointed either way.
I have the Nikon and love it. Great low light capabilities and sweet lcd display. Keep in mind though that with the Nikon, you can only use certain lenses that have the focus motor built in like Nikon AFS lenses or Sigma HSM lenses.
The best thing to do would be to go to a local shop and hold them both. See how they feel in your hands. That's important. You will probably hear good things about both cameras.

 

d40 > d40x

Its Cheaper, unless you really need to produce pics that are size 10.2MP

Plus with the extra Cash you could use it towards a better lens.

d40 if your going to use it freehand and xti if your going to use it on a tripod.

But d40 over the xti, ill shoot you the details why if you pm me.

 

I agree...
That's my bad. I have the D40. Bought it 3 months before the D40X came out
I've shot hundreds of shots with it and love the results I'm getting. Don't worry about the megapixel thing. 6mp is plenty. I've printed 8x11 shots with it and no complaints.

 

Well I do a lot of moving shots/dark shots so I'm leaning towards the higher mp because of that.

 

Do not base your descision on higher MP. It almost means nothing when moving from 6MP to 10MP. Usually, the increase in MP introduces noise. There are alot of photographers that actually prefer the 6MP XT (350D) to the 10MP XTi (400D) because the sensor is less noisy.

Get your feet wet with DSLR with the entry level stuff, but if you're like me, you're quickly want more.

 

personally own canon and also have nikon 35mm.. can't go wrong with either brand.

 

^^^+1

 

I voted for the XTi, but I actually prefer the older XT. Like others have said, you won't be disappointed with either one. It really just comes down to preference. Try them both and see which one you like the feel of better.

 

i have a d40x, mostly because i got it at a real good price ($600, versus the $799 most places are selling it for w/ the kit lens). But the d40 would do just as well. as already stated, the only difference is the D40x has 10.2MP vs 6 on the d40. No other real selling point to get the d40x over a d40.

a lot of others have a canon, and there are no complaints i've overheard. Play around with both, and see which one feels better in your hands.

 

I suggest you go to the store and test the both of them out. I did that and chose a D40. I like the way it felt in my hand alot better than the XTi. The only problem with the D40 is that the body does not AF, so you are limited to lenses you can buy. Unless you have the big bucks and can afford all Nikkor lenses. Also the body does not have a VR (vibrate reduction).

 

I personally like this because it means the camera can be so much more compact. The VR lenses that are on the market for this camera are awesome. I have the Nikon 70-300 AFS VR. I've never had that kind of range before the the VR works wonderfully.

If you were upgrading and had a bunch of lenses sitting around, I could see how this would be an issue. Otherwise, I think you will find the pricing on these brand new lenses to be reasonable.

 

You've got that backwards you know. The senors are just about the same size - the Cannon uses a 1.6 factor, the Nikon's slightly bigger and uses a 1.5 factor. So we'll call them equal. Each pixel has a threshold on the number of light photons that have to hit it before it detects the light - a lower cutoff. Since higher megapixel sensor cameras pack MORE pixels into the same space they LOSE sensitivity as the same amount of light which would hit one pixel turning it on is now hitting several NOT turning them on.

Each camera will take great pictures after dark. The advantage of digital over film is that you can review you pictures "live" and make adjustments to get the exposure correct. I was an Olympus film and then digital guy for about 30 years and switched to Nikon two years ago. I bought a D-70s, a 10-20mm and 18-200 VR lens, a pair of Nikon flashes and I've found that all parts are of good quality.

I highly recommend that you put your hands on both cameras. I like the feel of steel (actually magneseum) of the D-70s in my hands. The controls fit my hands a bit better than the Canons' did but the main reason I picked the Nikon over the Cannon system was the flash sub-system. Nikon's uses a built-in wireless flash connection which is cool.

 

i love my d40. shoots amazing pics. compact dslr with great range. if u get the d40 the 18-135 is a nice choice of lens' that can come with a kit.

 

No wrong. Or at least bad English. The D40 lacks the motor and screw to turn the old auto-focus lens that lack an internal motor like the ones made in the last ten years have. You can use any NEW lens made by anybody - NOBODY is still making auto-focus lens the require external motors. You need the lastest series of Nikor lens the AF-S (1998-current). There are plenty of these old used lens for sale. Sigma, Tokina and Tamron make current autofocus lens for the D-40.

The D40 is the smallest and lightest Nikon DSLR ever so some compromises were made. It has exactly the same technical image quality of the D70s and D50, but with a lot less weight and a much better screen which means a lot more fun.

With the invention of smaller motors they were placed into the lens which means faster focus. You can also grab the focus ring and manually focus without having to mess with any switches.

True. If you're handholding shots in low light you'll need a VR lens if you want the extra two stops the VR gives you. I ordered a Nikon 18-200 VR lens when I bought my camera and it took 16-months to arrive so I bought a Sigma 18-200 to hold me over. It worked well and I had no complains. I followed my 30 years worth of experence and limited shots to 1/f. When I got my VR lens I took the smaller and lighter Sigma off and retired it. The Nikon allows me to violate the 1/f rule if I HAVE to. I wouldn't count on it unless I was forced to - like the tripod wasn't available. It does take nice interior handheld pictures without a flash.

Canon calls their VR Image Stabilization (IS).

 

I got the D40X it's a Great camera ... Canon make's Great Camera's as well. It's really up to you and what feature's you want outta the camera.

 

Lot of info that is going to drive me nuts. I did feel both cameras and to be honest I think they are a bit small, but I can't afford the D80 or a 30D that I really want and beside I'm getting a pretty good deal on this camera new ($250 under sticker price). I can also ask for a D40 and a XT. But from looking at the spec sheet none of them have VR feature. I do a lot of this type of shots


I also like to do large prints. So should I be looking at either the D40 or XT?

 

To clarify...the VR feature your referring to is built into the latest lenses. I have a 70-300 AFS VR and that thing is a beast. Don't worry so much about the camera as the lenses are the most important factor.

You can print large pics with a 6mp. Sometimes it looks even better than 10mp because the higher mp count catches every little imperfection.

If you don't like the small feel of the camera and can afford to go up to the D80, then that's the way to go. I preferred the D40 for its compact size because I use it primarily for traveling.

Also, just so you know, the D40 is an excellent low light camera. Especially if you pick up a sigma 30mm F 1/8. The D40 is one of the quietest cameras out which is huge for low light work...

 

I must say that I have always picked nikon over canon because nikon makes a better lens than canon. The picture comes from the lens not the body. I personally bought the D80 when it came out and I love it!! Do I need the 10.2 mp? Not really, but its nice to have when you take that nice photo and you want it to be in your living room.