decide on purpose first

I bought an older version of that Canon, then some whizzy lenses and an upgraded body. All a few years old now but still doing sterling business and I can't recommend it highly enough.

But I'd be saying the same thing if I'd bought a Nikon - so I don't think it matters greatly which system you choose...

the body is the least important part as you'll probably upgrade it over the years and tech moves on so swiftly that which manufacturer is the best at any given time changes. Go by which system has the better lenses, and for that you need to decide if you want an SLR for general purpose use, or for something specific like sports/action photography, portraits, wildlife, mostly indoors, macro work, weddings, underwater, etc etc etc.

Then find out which lens is best rated for that type of work and choose that system. For some, its a Nikon, for some, its a Canon. Also be realistic about your budget - if you're never going to spend ?3k+ on a lens ignore what pros think the best system is and research what's best at the ?1500 level, or the ?800 level, or the ?100 level etc. Again, the best 'bang for buck' lens might be a Canon or a Nikon (or a Sigma...) depending on the price point.

Back when I was buying, the starter lens on the Nikon entry level body was far and away better than the equivalent Canon lens, but the Canon body had better features. Generally image quality is king so I'd have plumped for the Nikon's lens if I wasn't planning on upgrading. I chose Canon in the end as they had some very nice macro lenses in my price range, as well as a very nice lens for sports that I could afford. If I'd had more money, Nikon might have won out for the sports side of things but the comparable Canon lenses were better for what I could afford and the Nikon macro lenses weren't as good.

Until you're spending lots on the lenses, it's much of a muchness between manufacturers and you can't go far wrong with the latest equivalent model of either manufacturer - lots of internet commentary will be from owners of one system justifying their spend, rather than objectively reporting which is best. Which system is better for you really depends on what you want to use your camera for in the long run.

If you just want a DSLR to use out the box and probably never upgrade much, have a look on User Posted Link and see what the current consensus is on those two models and what you get for your money. Nikon have been good in the past at giving you a good quality lens to start with. I don't think either choice will be a 'bad' one.

I find the Canon easy to use, FWIW.

Posted By: CWC on February 7th 2012 at 14:02:54

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