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…

I never used 450D or Rebel Xsi but i read about it a lot. It seems it is quite better than other cameras of the series (Digital Rebels). It has Dust Control System, Lİve LCD screen and it is 12 Mega-Pixels. Plus it is light and compact also it comes with a lens with image-stabilizing ability. I think it is a good deal, but considering it’s price it is so close to more professional cameras like 30D and 40D.

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The average price difference between Rebel Xsi (450D) and 30D is $100, and between Rebel Xsi (450D) is $250. If you can afford a Rebel Xsi (450D), you probably can afford 30 D and 40 D too. These cameras are semi-professional, unlike Rebel Xsi (450D). They are faster than Rebel Xsi and have higher ISO speeds are available. Their fastest shutter speed is 1/8000 second, and highest ISO value is 3200, these values for Rebel Xsi (450D) are 1/4000 second and ISO 1600.

Both of these cameras are good, and preferable. But if you ask my opinion about these three, i’ll pick 40D.

There’s a web site that i appreciate; Imaging Resource. You can easily make a technical comparison between these three by clicking the following link

Compare Rebel Xsi (450D), 30D and 40D

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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.