I wanted a Nikon or a Canon Digital SLR and my priority being in the same order. After all, I had been shooting with a Nikon point-and-shoot from day one. So, how did Canon come into the picture? Its because, whenever I got a chance to shoot with a Canon compact, I found the images captured to be more pleasing to the eye off camera, compared to the ones produced by a Nikon. I have observed this 'dullness' on more than one occasion and yeah its always a bit sad to know that the equipment you don't own performs better than the one in hand. But, that is why God created Photoshop. And its not that hard to bump up colors, I guess.
The DSLR cameras in my search radar from the Nikon team were the D3000, D3100, D5000 and D90.
And from the Canon family, there was the mighty 550D.
Now starts the fruit picking.
Nikon D3000
Nikons D3000, announced in July 2009, is an entry level DSLR with 10.2 megapixel DX Sensor. It has a 3" LCD with 230K resolution and can shoot pictures with a maximum ISO of 3200.
10 megapixel is not so impressive these days and I wanted at least a 12 megapixel resolution for my camera. I prefer larger pixel size as I have found myself cropping photos while editing. Even though, it has a 3" LCD, 230K dots isn't enough to produce sharp images. Absence of Live view is one big disappointing thing, may be more than the absence of video recording capabilities.
I feel D3000 is a good camera but is not a worthy pick for me and will suit anyone with a tight budget but wants a better-than-compact image quality.
Nikon D3100
This probably one of the best entry level DSLRs released this year. Its light and compact making it easy to carry around. D3100 smartly produces nice pictures and this is definitely a pick for me.
Nikon D5000
D5000 is definitely better than D3000 but may not be when compared to the latest D3100. Flip-out LCD on D5000 is a great feature to have but with a significant larger LCD, a higher resolution and a slightly better noise performance, I will have D3100 above D5000 in my pick list.
Nikon D90
I need to choose between the latest D3100 and the 2 year old Nikon D90. The video functionality on D3100 is way ahead of the Nikon D90 with its 1080p resolution and auto focusing while recording movies. I'm not a fan of video recording on DSLRs so that's not a feature I am going to worry about. D3100 is leaner, lighter and less costlier than the D90. Love the price part for sure.
The D90 has a larger and sharper viewfinder than D3100. I will be using that eye piece 90% of the time and this feature alone makes it comfortable for the eyes. D90 also has a built-in focus motor and that's how it worked for Nikon Cameras till a couple of years ago. It is an advantage allowing me use auto focus with old lenses which does not have an in built auto focus motor in their bodies. That's a sweet thing to have, if I can find used old lenses for half the price. D90 shoots faster at 4.5 frames per second compared to 3 frames per second of D3100. It also houses few buttons over its body for easy access of various setting, which makes shooting a lot easier.
Since I can fit Nikon D90 in to my budget, I decided to go with the time tested D90 over the latest kid on the block D3100.
Canon 550D (Rebel T2i)
Canon 550D has a much higher resolution of 18 megapixel, which is almost 50% more than D90's offering. Its allows 1080 p video shooting at 30 fps compared to 720 p at 24fps from Nikon. It also has a sharper LCD with 1040k dots. With its ability to shoot at 6,400 ISO, without boosting, it is a stop ahead of D90. Also is it smaller, lighter and thinner than Nikon D90, making it easier to carry around. Yes, that was a lot of beating from Canon 550D.
D90 has better control over noise at higher ISOs. Image quality is a bit better than 550D and so are the dynamic range and color depth. It shoots faster at 4.5 vs 3.7 fps on 550D. It is easier on eyes with a larger viewfinder. Yes, D90 had enough to fight back.
This article on digitalriview.ca puts D90 and 550D side by side and does a lot of post-mortem and gives a thumps up to D90. I am happy to find that article. I bet, there are many that will do the same for 550D.
Finally
If I did not care about Canon and Nikon and just wanted to go with one good camera, either of them would do a good job. If video is your thing, Canon 550D is better placed. If its still image, flip a coin and you will not go wrong.
I still believe Nikon D90 has a bit of edge over Canon 550D and so I'm joining the Nikon family. Now I need to get the most important thing correct, the person behind the camera. And that's this blog all about.
