[Poopster]

Hi, I’m totally new to DSLR, but … 800 slides after 2 weeks on a single trekking, made me think that it is time for conversion!
So now I want to buy my first DSLR… but what? (Sorry for be banal, I’m sure this is a very common question!)

1. Nikon or Canon?
My SLR is Nikon, bought when I was 19 (some almost 20 years!) religiously completed by my set of lenses (which is not great, but did me well!). So the first obvious choice was a Nikon D80, which seems to have what I need (I’m far from be professional, but I like to have my pictures on my home walls!), I can adapt my lenses, and it is still quite light (I’m out trekking quite often!). With a new wide angle (my 28 mm is useless on a DSLR), I should be ok and within a reasonable price.
But then I read reviews, and Canon’s DSLRs seem better: Canon 400d better than Nikon 40x, Canon 40D better than Nikon D80 or even Nikon D200 … So?

2. I’m impressed by the new Canon EOS 450, which seems promising everything you want + very light ++ cheaper than most. But, everything is just on paper!... So?

3. Always being happy with my Nikon lenses, what about Canon lenses…or Sigma, or Tamron?......

Lot’s ok questions, probably already heard, but hey, I’m a totally beginner!!!

[fionaB]

if you already have nikon then it would seem sensible to stay with nikon as you should be able to use the lenses u have already on your DSLR.

Fi

[Dabhand16]

Welcome to Pixalo Poopster

I've moved your post here as this forum does what it says on the tin!

You are at the most important stage of your digital 'career', so take your time and do the research. You must realise that you are buying into a system, not just a camera. the fact that you have some old Nikkor lenses that could be used with a new body might be a good reason for sticking with the Nikon brand, but before you commit, check out the others too.

I think it is fair to say that digital cameras have far more things that can be adjusted/tweaked than our old film cameras, and most people will say that you ought to get a short list of cameras that have the features you want/might need in the future, then read some reviews but most importantly get to handle them to see how they fit your hand and how easy is it to set and change the settings.

Some will need constant visits to the menus where others will have a button and/or a wheel to change a setting. In your price bracket there might be one camera that excels in an area thet you are interested in - sports and action subjects will benefit from a camera with a good frame rate and fast writing to the memory card - burst mode performance.

Some are very different in size and weight.

I came back to photography with a clean sheet of paper and looked at around six brands. I gradually whittled it down to Canon or Nikon - both very capable cameras, but I went for the Nikon in the end because it felt better to hold and I preferred the control layout and operation better.

You might find the reverse but only you can tell.

[hoffy]

The problem you now have is that there is now a third player that in lots of test are beating both Canon and Nikon. I would also take a look at Sony. The Alpha 700 is special and they are bring out other models.

[silkstone]

There are very few bad cameras around nowadays, so whatever you choose is likely to do the job very well. I'd suggest that you shouldn't hamstring yourself with legacy issues. Nikon may be better for you, but not because you already have some Nikon lenses unless these are of very high quality and/or quite recent. Digital sensors place more demands than film on lenses, and the more modern lenses are optimised for digital. You may find that you want to buy new lenses and accessories anyway, so the camera make you choose doesn't matter so much.

The best thing is to try a few in a real shop. The 450D sounds very good, but it is a little smaller than the 40D (or the Nikon D80) and you may or may not find the ergonomics to your liking. Both Canon and Nikon are well served by third-party lenses and accessories, but (as already mentioned) don't rule out the others because they are good too. In fact, unless Canon have sorted out the automatic sensor cleaning on the 450D, the Olympus cameras do this much better.