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1000D

It can be told that the 1000D is a stripped down 450D. Canon cut some features off from the 450D in order to regain the price advantage in the entry level DSLR market. But don’t get me wrong; 1000D is not a bad camera for beginners, it can be very satisfying for the starters indeed. Actually some features of 1000D are better than 400D. So you might want to reconsider your options if you are planning to buy a entry level DSLR.

Features of  1000D

• 10MP Sensor with a 3888 x 2592 pixels maximum resolution
• 2,5 inch LCD Screen
• Live View ability
• Dust Control System
• Canon Digic III Processor
• 7 Point Auto Focus

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	Canon EOS 50D	Canon EOS 40D
Camera Sensor	• 15.0 Megapixels	• 10.1 Megapixels
Image Resolutions	• 4752 x 3168 • 3456 x 2304 • 2353 x 1568	• 3888 x 2592 • 2816 x 1880 • 1936 x 1288
RAWs	• CR2 format, 14-bit • RAW full resolution • sRAW1 (7.1 MP) • sRAW2 (3.8 MP)	• CR2 format, 14-bit • RAW full resolution • sRAW (7.1 MP)
Processor	DIGIC 4	DIGIC III
ISO Values	ISO 100 to 3200, extendable to H1 (6400) and H2 (12800).	ISO 100 to 1600, extendable to 3200.
Automatic ISO	ISO 100 to 1600	ISO 100 to 800
(NR) Noise Reduction	4 levels	On/Off
(ALO) Auto Lighting Optimizer	4 levels	On/Off
Auto Focus Adjustment	• All lenses or up to 20 individual lenses • +/- 20 steps	No
Viewfinde	Now includes Auto Lighting Optimizer icon
LCD Screen	• 3.0 ” TFT LCD • 920,000 dots	• 3.0 ” TFT LCD • 230,000 dots
Live View	• Quick mode (Phase detect) • Live view mode (Contrast detect) • Face detect (Contrast detect)	Phase detect
Modes	• Auto • Creative Auto • Program AE (P) • Shutter priority AE (Tv) • Aperture priority AE (Av) • Manual (M) • Auto depth-of-field • Portrait • Landscape • Close-up • Sports • Night portrait • Flash off • Camera user settings ( 2 )	• Auto • Program AE (P) • Shutter priority AE (Tv) • Aperture priority AE (Av) • Manual (M) • Auto depth-of-field • Portrait • Landscape • Close-up • Sports • Night portrait • Flash off • Camera user settings ( 3 )
Continuous Shooting	• 6.3 fps • Up to 60 JPEG Large/Fine images • Up to 90 JPEG Large/Fine images (UDMA)	• 6.5 fps • Up to 75 JPEG Large/Fine images
Menu	Digic 4 interface	Same as EOS-1D series
Connectors	• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed • Video out • Mini HDMI connector • N3 type wired remote control • PC Sync flash terminal • Communication terminal on base for WFT-E3/E3A	• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed • Video out • N3 type wired remote control • PC Sync flash terminal • Communication terminal on base for WFT-E3/E3A
Languages	25 languages	18 languages
Custom Functions	25	24
Weight	• No battery: 730 g • With battery: 822 g	• No battery: 740 g • With battery: 836 g

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Outstanding speed and resolution for the discerning photographer: the EOS 50D

Canon 50D

Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 26 August 2008: Canon today strengthens its EOS range with the addition of a powerful new digital SLR: the EOS 50D. With a 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 6.3 frames per second shooting and Canon’s latest DIGIC 4 image processor, the EOS 50D delivers unparalleled speed and resolution at a price point that is unique in today’s market.

Outstanding, clean images
A newly designed 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor delivers ultra-detailed, low-noise images – ideal for large-scale reproduction or creative cropping. New manufacturing processes, plus redesigned photo diodes and microlenses, extend the light gathering capabilities of the sensor – allowing more pixels to be fitted on the CMOS sensor without compromising image quality. These changes ensure improved high ISO performance and low noise. High-speed, low light shooting is enabled by ISO levels of 3200, expandable to an ultra-sensitive 12800.

The EOS Integrated Cleaning System – including the improved Self Cleaning Sensor Unit with a new fluorine coating – increases protection of image quality by helping to reduce, repel and remove unwanted dust from the sensor. Stubborn particles can be removed automatically in post-production with Dust Delete Data and Canon’s included Digital Photo Professional software.

Rapid-fire performance
Canon’s new DIGIC 4 processor is fast enough to allow up to 6.3fps continuous shooting, in bursts of up to 90 JPEGs with a UDMA card. Used with Canon’s wide area AF system, which locks onto subjects with 9 individual cross type sensors, stunning action sequences can be captured – even in low-light conditions. This makes the EOS 50D particularly suited to sports and wildlife shooting.

DIGIC 4 works with the CMOS sensor to deliver 14-bit image processing, for smooth gradation and natural-looking colours – as well as ensuring ultra-fast startup times and near-instant image review after shooting.

See everything
A new 3.0” Clear View VGA LCD provides extra-large and wide angle-of-view image review, with plenty of clarity for accurate focus checks in playback. By switching to Live View mode – which displays a real-time image on the LCD – photographers can enjoy simplified shooting from awkward angles, or connect to a PC for remote shooting. Live Mode now offers three ways to auto focus: Quick AF, Live AF, and new Face Detection Live AF, which optimizes focus based on faces detected in the frame – for fast, spontaneous portraiture.

Control and ease
The famously intuitive EOS menu system includes a new Quick Control screen, for instant access to the most commonly-changed settings. A new Creative Auto mode offers automatic focus and exposure – while still allowing creative ‘tweaks’ to settings such as background sharpness.
“For advanced amateurs and semi-professionals – or professionals looking for a powerful backup model – the EOS 50D stands alone,” said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “No other camera in this price bracket offers a comparable combination of speed and image quality.”

Technologies Explained

CMOS
Canon’s CMOS technology is one of the company’s key competitive advantages, with noise reduction circuitry at each pixel site delivering virtually noise-free images. In comparison with CCD technology, the lower power consumption characteristics of Canon’s CMOS sensors also contribute to longer battery life.

Signal conversion in Canon’s CMOS sensors is handled by individual amplifiers at each pixel site. Unnecessary charge transfer operations are avoided, vastly speeding up the process of getting signal to the image processor. Noise generation is reduced, power consumption is limited and faster frame rate potential is increased.

DIGIC
Image data captured by the CMOS sensor is processed by Canon’s purpose-built DIGIC image processors before being written to the camera’s memory card. DIGIC technology uses advanced image processing algorithms to ensure precise, natural colours, accurate white balance, and advanced noise reduction. Ultra-fast processing speeds result in highly responsive camera operation and near-instant start-up times.

DIGIC chips work with a high speed DDR-SDRAM image buffer – reading, processing, compressing and writing image data fast enough to keep the buffer clear during long continuous shooting bursts. And because DIGIC integrates all key processing functions, power consumption is kept to a minimum.

EOS Integrated Cleaning System
The EOS Integrated Cleaning System combats sensor dust in three important ways: Reduce, Repel and Remove.

1. Reduce – Internal camera mechanisms are designed to minimise dust generation. The redesigned body cap prevents dust generation through wear on the cap itself.
2. Repel – Anti-static technologies, including a special fluorine coating, are applied to the low-pass filter covering the front of the sensor so as not to attract dust.
3. Remove – A Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit uses hi-frequency vibrations to shake dust from the infrared filter for a period of approximately one second after each start up. For instant shooting after power up, this feature is disabled immediately the shutter release is depressed.

Canon has also developed an internal Dust Delete Data system, which can map the position of visible dust on the sensor. This can then be deleted automatically after the shoot with the latest Digital Photo Professional software.

Picture Style
Picture Style pre-sets simplify in-camera control over image qualities. Picture Style pre-sets can be likened to different film types – each one offering a different colour response. Within each selectable pre-set, photographers have control over sharpness, contrast, colour tone and saturation. The camera’s factory default configuration is set to deliver immediately-usable JPEG images without need for additional menu settings. Picture Style presets applied to a RAW image can be revised with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software.

The six pre-sets are:

1. Standard – for crisp, vivid images that don’t require post-processing
2. Portrait – optimises colour tone and saturation and weakens sharpening to achieve attractive skin tones
3. Landscape – for punchier greens and blues with stronger sharpening to give a crisp edge to mountain, tree and building outlines
4. Neutral – ideal for post-processing
5. Faithful – adjusts colour to match the subject colour when shot under a colour temperature of 5200K
6. Monochrome – for black and white shooting with a range of filter effects (yellow, orange, red and green) and toning effects (sepia, blue, purple and green).

Software

Digital Photo Professional Software
Digital Photo Professional software provides high speed, high quality processing of lossless RAW images. Processing with Digital Photo Professional allows real-time display and immediate application of image adjustments, giving control over RAW image variables such as white balance, dynamic range, exposure compensation, noise reduction and colour tone – plus the ability to view Auto Focus points on an image. The Lens Aberration correction tool allows precise correction of different types of distortion caused by certain cameras. Images can be recorded in camera with sRGB or Adobe RGB colour space.

Digital Photo Professional supports sRGB, Adobe RGB, ColorMatch RGB, Apple RGB and Wide Gamut RGB colour spaces. ICC (International Colour Consortium) profiles can be attached to TIFF or JPEG images when converted from RAW. This allows faithful reproduction of colours in software applications that support ICC profiles, such as Adobe Photoshop. For improved efficiency, a set of image adjustments can be saved as a recipe and applied.

EOS Utility
The latest version of EOS Utility provides essential support for Live View remote shooting, camera configuration and image transfers. Tightly integrated with Digital Photo Professional, EOS Utility can be configured to monitor ‘hot’ folders, automatically renaming and moving incoming images to a structured file system. Users can also tag their images with EXIF data, including copyright information.

Picture Style Editor
Picture Style Editor allows users to create individual Picture Styles that fit with their personal requirements. Each Picture Style contains detailed information on how specific colours should be represented within an image. Once new Picture Styles have been created, they can be uploaded directly into the camera and applied to JPEG or RAW images. When working with RAW files in DPP, both personal Picture Styles and the 6 predetermined Picture Styles can all be adjusted.

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It is clear that Canon needed to do something against the success of D300 produced by Canon’s biggest rival, Nikon. So Canon upgraded 40D as expected. But soon everybody saw that 50 D was better than expectations of the photographers and people of the photography industry. We can obviously see some major differences between 50D and 40D, such as the totally new image processor Digic 4. It’s price is also quite good for this kind of DSLR. It is cheaper than Nikon D300. Canon 50D Body Price is $1400 in Amazon.com pre-order (While D300 costs $1600 in the same website). Long story short, with this new semi-pro model, Canon will surely satisfy the customers.

Canon 50D

Basic Features of 50 D

• 15.1 Mega-pixels CMOS sensor
• 6.3frame per second continuous shooting, maximum burst 90 JPEGs with UDMA card
• DIGIC 4 image processor
• ISO 100-3200, expandable to “12800″
• 9 point wide area Auto Focus
• 3.0” Clear View VGA (640 x 480) LCD with Live View mode & Face Detection Live Auto Focus
• Magnesium  body
• EOS Integrated “Cleaning System”
• HDMI connection : for high quality viewing and playback on a High Definition TV
• Compatibility with Canon EF and EF-S lenses.

Canon 400 D

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Pros:

1. Low noise level.

2. Detailed, high quality images.

3. Anti-Dust System

4. Great Performance/Price ratio.

Cons:

1. Anti-Dust system is not so effective.

2. Kit lens is not good enough.

Average Body Price: $520

Average Kit Price: $600

Cons:

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Pros:

1. High quality images.

2. High Resolution (12.2 Mpixels)

3. Live View is quite accurate.

4. Lens Kit comes with Anti Shake System (Image Stabilizer)

Cons:

1. Live view is not as fast as Sony A350

2. Screen is fixed. (Sony A350‘s screen can tilt up and down)

Average Body Price: $720

Average Kit Price: $800

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1. Price

This camera is cheap. It’s for less than $500 which is a big plus because it is a decent SLR to take pictures. It is one of the best cameras in terms of performance/price ratio. It is hard to find something like this for this price. Even some compact point and shoot cameras are more than $500.

2. Reliability

As i mentioned; it is a decent camera, it offers a nice variety of features. Especially for beginners it will be more than enough. It has all the functions that a SLR must have. Plus there won’t be any difference between 8 mega pixels and 10 megapixels as long as you are not taking pictures for commercial campaigns which requires larger prints. The only major difference between 350D and 450D is the megapixel difference.

3. Size

Canon 350D is a small camera for an SLR and this ability of 350D makes it easy to carry. It is a good camera for travel.

4. Brand

Canon is one of the biggest two manufacturers of digital SLR industry. It’s warranty, technical support and other customer services also makes 350D and all other Canon DSLRs attractive.

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If we compare 450D and 400D we see that, 450D have a liveview system and 2 megapixels more than 400D. When we consider the differences between 400D and 350D we again see a 2 megapixel difference and a dust control system. What I’m trying to say is; there are such minor differences between the old model and the next model. Dust control system for example; you can clean the dust on the cameras sensor for $10 or less on your own. And megapixel difference won’t be a matter since you are a beginner and won’t take picture for commercial campaigns. If your budget is low i strongly advice you to buy older models of the brand you want. I’m a Canon user so, my examples are mostly about Canon but you can apply the same things to Nikon or any other DSLR manufacturer. Instead of buying a 12mpx 450D for $1000, you can just buy a 350D for $400. They have the same fundamental functions and 350D will be enough to learn photography concepts, settings and all other things you need to learn about photography.

In sum, if you have a large budget than buy any DSLR you want, buy if you have a limited budget consider buying older and cheaper models. But don’t forget to compare the camera you want to buy with other brand’s same (or similar) priced camera. (For example; In my opinion Canon 350D is a far better choice compared to d40 or d40x of Nikon)

Two days ago i compared the technical and general features of two great cameras; Canon 40D and Nikon D300.I wanted to show you some example pictures that are taken by these cameras. But i don’t have both of the cameras so i postponed these comparison to a later date. Anyway today i’ll show you the quality difference between the sensors of Canon 40D and Nikon D300 by comparing the same images with different ISO values.

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To be honest i like Canon more than Nikon but i have to admit that nikon have a significantly better image sensor, i was shocked by the results. Below you’ll see the same picture taken with Canon 40D and Nikon D300 with the ISO values, 800, 1600 and 3200. Especially in 3200 there’s a huge difference between these two. I’m started to think D300 worths the $500 difference. Anyway i’ll let you decide, here are the results;

These two cameras are the most preferred semi-pro digital SLRs. Both of them are great cameras, it is hard to decide which one to buy. I don’t know which one i’ll choose if i decide to change my camera. Each one of these cameras have their own advantages. Nikon D300 has a wider ISO range which is from ISO 100 to ISO 6400 also it is faster than Canon 40D a little bit (start up time etc.). In addition D300 has relatively better auto focus system and faster transfer speed. But is is $500 more expensive than Canon 40D. What makes the situation more complicated is the tiny differences between them. It looks like D300 has better technical features. But 40D is quite good too, for example, it has a good autofocus system also and maybe you don’t even understand which one is better when you are using these cameras. 40D has ISO speeds up to 3200 not ISO6400 like D300 but how many times will you use ISO6400 and i can’t even imagine level of noise in ISO 6400 while i’m not happy with the results of ISO 1600. What i’m trying to say is; technical and performance differences between these two great cameras are so so tiny. and the question is; is it worth to buy D300 and paying $500 more?

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I couldn’t find the answer. You decide which one has a better price/performance ratio…

Digital SLR Cameras fo Beginners

Rebel XSi (450 D) , 40D, 30D

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Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi

Youngest member of Rebel family of Canon. There are significant differences between 400D (Rebel XTi) and 450D (Rebel XSi). 450D comes with a image stabilizer lens, and live view lcd also it has dust control system. It is using SD storage cards which is lighter than Compact Flash Cards used in other Rebel cameras of Canon. If you are planning to buy this camera, i suggest you to wait a couple of months until its price decreases unless you are in a hurry.

Spesifications

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I will just give basic information about the recommended cameras for beginners. Also i want to say that there won’t be huge differences between the cameras that i’m going to recommend to you. Of course some of them are better than the others but you can easily understand which one is better by looking it’s price.

Canon DSLR Cameras for Beginners

Canon is a famous camera producer from Japan and it has a wide range of products, from beginner level cameras to most expensive professional ones. But we are interested in beginner level right now.

Canon 350 D (or Canon Digital Rebel XT)

This is the cheapest model of the Rebel series (2nd generation Rebel series), it is low-weight, small, easy to use and effective. Most probably it can satisfy all your expectations from a DSLR if you are first starter. This camera is released in March 2005 so it is a little bit old.

Features

• 8 Mega-pixels
• US Kit Price : $ 380 – 440
• ISO : 100 – 1600
• Shutter Speed : 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.
• Sensor Type : CMOS
• Storage : Compact Flash Card

Canon 400 D (or Canon Digital Rebel XTi)

This is another camera from 2nd generation Rebel series of Canon. It is very similar to 350 D which i mentioned before. It is a newer camera released in October 2006 and it has couple of new features. Also it is one of the cheapest 10 mega-pixel cameras that you can buy.

Features

• 10 Mega-pixels
• Dust control : This is a really good feature to have, sensor cleans itself automatically with ultrasonic vibrations.
• Better Image Quality (Comparing to 350 D)
• US Kit Price : $ 570 – 610
• ISO : 100 – 1600
• Shutter Speed : 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.
• Sensor Type : CMOS
• It has a bigger LCD Screen than 350 D (2,5 inches)
• Storage : Compact Flash Card

Canon 450 D (New) (or Canon Digital Rebel XSi)

This is the newest member of digital rebel family of canon also it is the most expensive camera of the series. It released in April 2008 which is the current month so it is NEW. Again it is similar to other two cameras but of course canon has added some new features to this new camera that can attract most of the beginner level DSLR users, such as image stabilized lens, dust control and live view. Another change that canon made in this camera is changing the Storage Card Type from Compact Flash to SD Cards. (The other cameras of the series were using CF [Compact Flash] cards, but 450 D is now using SD cars which are lighter than CF cards.)

Features

• 12 Megapixels
• Dust Control
• Live View LCD
• Kit comes with Image Stabilized Lens (f 3.5-5.6 EF-S 18-55mm)
• US Kit Price : $ 900 – 1000
• ISO : 100 – 1600 , It also has a function that camera can automatically decide which ISO to use between ISO 100 and ISO 400 values.
• Shutter Speed : 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.
• Sensor Type : CMOS
• It has bigger LCD Screen than 400 D (3 inches)
• Uses SD cards for storage

Nikon DSLR Cameras for Beginners

Nikon is another famous company of camera and photography world which is also from Japan. Prices of Nikon digital cameras are slightly higher than cameras of its biggest competitor Canon.

Nikon D40 and D40x

It is a good camera for learning photography. ıt is small, low-weight ad cheapest digital SLR camera of Nikon. These are the only good points of this camera in my opinion and i also want to say that i do NOT recommend you this camera. The reason of this camera being included in the post is making a comparison more easy for you.

Features of D40

• 6,1 Megapixels
• US Kit Price : $ 470 – 500
• ISO : 200 – 1600
• Shutter Speed : 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.
• Storage : SD Card
• Sensor Type : CCD
• Only 3 auto-focus point (There are 7 focus points in 350D)

Features of D40x

• 10 Mega-pixels
• US Kit Price : $ 580 – 620
• ISO : 100 – 1600
• Shutter Speed : 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.
• Storage : SD Card
• Sensor Type : CCD
• Only 3 auto-focus point (There are 7 focus points in 350D)

Nikon D60 (New)

New digital camera of nikon, released in March 2008. This is the smallest digital SLR camera of Nikon. D60 offers some upgrades over the D40x. Dust control system and improved autofocus are considerable changes for D60.

Features

• 10,2 Mega-pixels
• Dust Control
• US Kit Price : $ 730 – 760
• ISO : 100 – 1600 (+3200 with boost)
• Shutter Speed : 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.
• Storage : SD Card / MMC Card
• Sensor Type : CCD

Nikon D80

Best of these three Nikon DSLR cameras is D80, it is fast and closer to professional. This 10 megapixel DSLR is good for action photography.

• 10 Mega-pixels
• US Kit Price : $ 830 – 880
• ISO : 100 – 1600 (+3200 with boost)
• Shutter Speed : 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.
• Storage : SD Card / MMC Card
• Sensor Type : CCD

I won’t write about other brands for now because i believe starting with Nikon or Canon is better. Nikon and Canon are the sector leaders and you can find a lot more lenses and other photography equipment for these two brands than other brands. Also they have much professional and complicated cameras that you may want to buy as you get more experience in photography, probably when you want to upgrade your camera you’ll prefer to buy a Nikon or Canon just like almost every professional photographer, so if you buy a lens for the beginner level cameras i mentioned in this article, you will be able to use these lenses later when you have a much professional digital camera.

Canon or Nikon? it is a tough question, every one of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. Objectively i believe Canon has a better price/performance ratio on beginner (consumer) DSLR cameras segment.