Camera Labs

First , thank you for your new review , that was excelelnt and very timely for me since I 've got a great deal on the Nikon D80 and AF-S18-135 and 70-300VR kit.

As a reviewer of all cameras available right now , do you think Canon or Nikon which system offers better sytem ?

I am a Canon user and have used some Minolta , Leica and Sony and I liked Canon more than those my old cameras of other brands....

I do not see any interesting wow stuff in these old range finder of over priced Leica (they look cool for sure so I kept it and displayed it at my house), and I think the Sony Alpha was a bad camera , too slow to AF, too noisy at ISO400, etc.

But , I am still interested in Nikon and Pentax as my option , and thinking of getting a Nikon or get another Canon body as a back up of back up.

Currently , I have had a EOS400D , EOS30D and may be getting the 40D , though I will have to wait 2 more weeks til it 's finally available in BKK.


I have had a few lenses for my Canon bodies:

1 EF-S17-55IS USM my main lens use for my PJ stuff and low light museum kinda works.
2 EF-S17-85IS USM for walk around stuff and travel light with my EF-S10-22 , which was stolen at BKK airport.
3 EF70-300DO IS USM, I personally love it since it is reasonably sharp and very fast AFing lens, also it is very compact and inconspicuous.
4 EF70-200F4L IS USM , sharpest zoom I have used ever but drawing too much pay atention to me, and I am losing my freedom of composition as a PJ ,so I am selling this one with my Sigma 18-200OS, it does not matter how sharp it is , it is white and is annoying.
5 EF85f1.8 USM, I use it for fashion shows and weddings as a part time wedding shooter.
6 EF-S60, the sharpest Canon lens ever, period , is sharper than EF135f2L(was too long), which I sold after getting the 85.

I want to get a 5D or 5d mark 2 but I have collected too many EF-Slenses to do the switch now, also there is no EF-S17-55IS equivalnet lens for the 5D now.

Now, I read your review on the Nikon AF-S70-300VR and it seems a great lens at the bargain price.

Mean while, I got a phone call from my local dealor that siad I 'd be able to get the D80 very cheap ,he wanted about 500US for it.

I was thinking of getting the 40D to replace my 30D but I am not sure as I should do it since the 40D is 2 times more expensive than the D80 deal I got and I kinda like to try out a different system a bit.

I have been hearing raving chorus for the Nikon bodies at all kind of camera related forums, one said the Nikons have the shortest shutter lug , is that true?


I 've never used any Nikon except the D40X and D200 at a local store for a couple of hours and I could not figured out how the Nikon manu works, and I did not like the feel of the Nikon body, especially hated the D200 body.

I kinda like the D40X body and IQ , though I dislike the primitive AF , I dont care about the AF compatibility issue with it since I do not use it as my main camera.......... I think it will be the 5D mark 2 any way.

But the D200 seemd very fast to me , I mean not its AF but operation speed compared to Sony or Pentax that I tried also , but I think Cnaon is as fast as the Nikon.

Actually, even the cheap D40X felt solid and fast in operation but the AF was slow compared it to my 30D.

Is the D80 faster camera than the 40D or as fast?

it is important to me as I am a street and event photographer with a crop body......and what is the Nikon equivalent of the Canon EF-S17-55Is ? I know Nikon's got the Nikon AF-S17-55DX but it is not in the same league as my Cnaon 17-55IS becuase it does not have the VR,is that correct?

also , I am wondering if the VR lenses are more powerful in compensating hand shakes or motion blur than the IS lenses as Pop photo report says?

I know it is not rational to change my system since I 've got 6 lenses and none of them are bad at all , though as I see now , Nikon 's got a full frame and as I think the Nikon system is getting more interesting and interesting every year , and selling better than Canon in Japan and in US , I am kind afraid to stick with Canon to lose my last chance to switch my system with smallest risk possible .........

I think Nikon has the edge in the consumer market and Nikon consumer level lenses are some what better than Canon counterparts, is that right?

Now , I can get the D80 so cheap with the 18-135 and 70-300VR , so should I get it instead of the 40D?

Or you think the 40D is a much better camera than the D80?

I am not getting the D300 even if it is appealing on paper , I do not need 12mp(I do have buy a new computer) , I do not want to pay for a bit better LCD (who cares an LCD on a camera really seriously since every body 's got his or her computer), I do not need the MIHD or whatever the feature , I dont watch my photos on my TV any way, I also dislike the size of the D200 and D300.

So my main interest in Nikon land would be the D80 or its successor.

Here are what I know about pros and cons of nikon system and canon system.

Nikon Pros : the AF-S18-200 and 18-135 for one lens solution in day light,better consumer grade lens selection, better metering , better LCD , faster operation, better Jpeg? better external flash as I heard .

Cons: no USM primes , no IS pro lens like Canon EF-S17-55IS or 24-105LIS, slower AF, no 10mm rectilinear lens like the EF-S10-22.

Canon Pros: faster AF , better prosumer lens selection, better USM primes , better super wide slection,better macro slection , for me better manu system ...........

Is this right?

a guy told me that the Nikon's metering is maybe 2 or 3 generations a head of all others , is that true?

My old Alpha Sony had horrible over exposing problem..........and my XTI underexpose a bit some times , but I do shoot in Manual mode most of times so........it's not a big deal.

In Nikon camera forums , many guys are talking about the D80 over exposing stuff while Canon forum the XTI under exposing , Ithink it is matter of taste or I think Canon and Nikon think it differently , not one can not do it as the other.

I just wanna hear a reviewer side of opinion on Nikon sytem VS Canon system , not comparing a particular model of Nikon to a particular Canon , but as the entire Nikon system vs as the entire Canon sytem.

What is the real gain with changing my sytem?

Thanks for your reviews always.

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best regards.

To me, asking whether Canon is better than Nikon is a bit like asking if Mozart is better than Beethoven, or if pizza's are better than burgers! Both are good, but some people prefer one over the other.

There are of course some genuine pros and cons to each system, and their lens ranges, but I wouldn't say one was categorically better than the other. It boils down to which system has the lenses you want and the body you like the look and feel of - and of course at the prices you want to pay.

It sounds like you have quite an investment in Canon lenses and bodies though, which coupled with the fact you tried some Nikon bodies in a store and didn't get on with them, leads me to conclude you'd be better off sticking with Canon.

These days the differences between bodies boils down a lot to different features and it's easy to get caught up in it all. If you chase features, you'll forever be upgrading and eyeing rival systems with envy. So unless you really hate your existing system or it simply isn't working for you, I'd stick with what you've got and what you know. After all, it's about taking photos.

Hi Derek,

Looking at your lens-collection, you've pretty much covered all the situations that you shoot in. And yes: there are no IS/VR-lenses in the Nikon-system on wide-angle zooms apart from the VR 18-200mm. Which is a pity - and I really cannot understand why they did their latest and greatest 24-70mm/f2.8 design without VR So in effect there is also no EF-S17-55/F2.8 IS equivalent on the Nikon-side - neither DX nor FX.

So all-in-all even as a Nikon-fanboy I would not recommend to switch system for the Nikon VR 70-300mm alone.

And looking for an unobstrusive FF-body leaves only Canon 5D/mkII as an option, as the Nikon D3 certainly is not inconspicuous, and the net FX-body from Nikon may not be smaller...

My advice: wait for the 5DmkII and get a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 USM L IS plus the Sigma 12-24mm for Ultra-wide fun!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses