Thread: Nikon D60 vs Canon 500D

Originally Posted by JLo

With reference to lens quality because thats what you are referring to...

mmmmmmmm no still lost,

who is comparing film? I certainly wasn't I was talking kit lens to quality lens on my D80 there is a big difference in picture quality. No one has suggested film other than yourself which is why I'm lost when you said that is what we are comparing

OK, the film comparison snuck past me too

That said I think what JLo is referring to is the fact that the modern DSLR is actually able to bring out problems with the older lenses in some cases. The sensor technology has got that good that the thing that is holding some things back - especially in the Pro end of the market - and one reason why more pixels is not always better is the lenses. This is why we are now seeing things like Nikon's "Nano" coating technology and also changes to the AA filters, micro lens structures and other slices of the camera's sensor to improve the light transfer.

Oh by the by the D5000 has the same sensor as the D90 I believe, just a lesser processor and not as good a body.

and doesn't the D90 carry the same sensor as the D200?

Originally Posted by dullbird

and doesn't the D90 carry the same sensor as the D200?

No that would be the D300. D200/D80 were CCD new ones are CMOS.

I was going to say 300 but thought I was getting ahead of myself

Well to be correct its actually the D300s now.

Yes I was off at a bit of a tangent (the mathematics side of me or is that too obtuse?).

I was trying to clarify something that so many people misunderstand/confuse/or not consider. You now review and judge the quality of your image on a computer screen at a resolution that you never did with film. That is how many draw their conclusions about image clarity and hence lens quality. No its not build quality as DM mentioned so yes it was slightly off topic but you can't really point to one thing without considering the other issues because it becomes a bit misleading.


The D90; a bit like a Discovery, not a Defender and not a Range Rover. Now that is off topic.


Cheers
JLo

I wonder if all newbies seeking advice on "which camera should I get?" end up more confused by the answers than before asking the question.

To simplify the issue, there are only two criteria: 1) Image quality; and 2) Everything else.

1) Image quality from most DSLRs is pretty much the same for pretty much of the time, assuming most people shoot in pretty decent light conditions, or bang on a flash when it gets dark, and are happy with any picture that's sharp.
The challenging conditions that the expensive kit are better at may account for less than 5% of the needs of the average photo enthusiast but, much like cars, you may have to pay 300% more for a 3% improvement.

2) Everything else includes build quality, robustness, weather proofing, handling and feel, how good a camera looks, how the name sounds, need to upgrade, resale value, ease of finding used bits, etc.

I've had a 3-month-old D70 fail abt 3 weeks into a 6-week once-in-a-lifetime expedition across the Sahara (Egypt to Morocco) 5 years ago. I have no photos of Algeria and Morocco. Didn't even carry a P&S as spare since I never had a camera fail on me before then. I know Murphy now.
So I am now pretty keen on robustness even though the D70's image quality was as good as I needed then, and even now.
I went up to D300, then D700, which I have just swapped with a mate for his old D300 to use as my backup and am now awaiting arrival of my D3s ... each upgrade does offer an improvement in image quality but each is also about 100% more expensive than the previous.
I have also been going from kit lenses to mid-level and now to the pro stuff - all bloody expensive, heavy and bulky - but I have peace of mind knowing they will endure better.
On hindsight, I should have just saved up and bought the good stuff right away, but then lessons learned the hard way are the ones that are most well remembered.
To sum up my experience, it'd be "Know what you want to shoot, and get the best kit you can afford for that kind of shooting."