Mac Digital Camera Update

I am the director of photography for a very large catalog company. I have used all kinds of equipment over the years...all formats, different manufacturers, film, digital etc. I have learned that nearly every piece of equipment is better than the user. This means use a tripod for sharp images, understand exposure, lighting, contrast and color. Learn your software or film. Make sure whatever you buy will physically endure the way you shoot. Don't spend more time thinking about what to buy than you would shooting. The more you shoot the better you will be no matter which camera is in your hands.

If you're doing studio photography, I think you may be making a SERIOUS mistake in opting for the D70. I owned this model for about six months last year and got rid of it for a single but GLARING flaw: moire. Don't believe what you hear about it not being that big of a problem, because it IS if you're using lenses with high resolving power. The kit lens, which is praised for its quality OF CONSTRUCTION (principally) when compared to Canon's EF-S 15-55, lacks the resolving power at most apertures to make moire much a problem, but throw on virtually ANY prime lens and use it at the optimum aperture for sharpness on a subject that consists of lots of fine detail, and you're going to be hating life! Plan on using Nikon's 105/2.8 Macro? Good luck! Taking pictures of my daugther and her friend one Sunday afternoon, I was horrified to see the texture of her shirt causing uncontrolled moire in half the shots I took, predictably the best ones, too. AND I TRIED EVERYTHING THAT'S EVER BEEN SUGGESTED BY NIKON FANS EAGER TO DOWNPLAY THE PROBLEM TO REMOVE IT IN PROCESSING THE RAW FILES WITH NO SUCCESS! The images are quite simply unusable except at such small sizes that the texture disappears in the downsample. A related problem with the D70, an unfortunate consequence of the camera's weak anti-alias filter, is that the sensor very often picks up detail which the image processing algorithms cannot accurately interpret. There is one image in particular in which the text of a neon light in the background is scrambled to illegibility by Bayer interpolation errors, not just in Nikon's software, but EVERY SINGLE RAW CONVERTER I'VE TRIED: CAMERA RAW, CAPTURE ONE DSLR, BIBBLE, YOU NAME IT! I can send you samples of both these images if you're interested, just let me know. The D70 is undeniably better to hold and behold than the Canon 350D/Digital Rebel XT, but that camera - which I replaced my D70 with - gives so much better and more consistent image quality that I can't imagine any knowledgeable photographer without blink Nikon allegiance and having experience with the D70 would continue using it. For me, after six months, the frequency of botched shots due to moire was enough of a liability that, having replaced 35mm with digital for small-format work, I auctioned off all my Nikon glass and started over with Canon. The difference is quite apparent for large printing and images that require cropping. And, finally, don't let haters tell that the difference between 6 and 8 megapixels is negligible, cuz that's as much BULL as the line about moire not being a big issue. In photography, the talent of the photographer being a given, image quality is EVERYTHING. No one with any real appreciation of or aptitude for fine photography will ever care what you used to make an image if the image is good. On the other hand, if your image is riddled with unremoveable and obvious digital artifacts, quite a few folks will miss your image for the flaws. Would you ever imagine showing an image made from a negative without it having been spotted to remove the effects of dust? The D70 is great for the most average of consumers, more concerned only with the quality of their images printed 4" x 6" (and what camera CAN'T pass THAT test), and with the look, feel, and cachet of the camera than its suitability to serious, critical work. Personally, I expect more from my images and, now that most of us are working digitally, the camera's entrusted with recording them (Unlike the days of film, with digital the CAMERA has a greater impact on your image than virtually any other factor because these days most lens imperfection can be corrected in image processing). For me, and I'm willing to bet eventually for you, the Nikon D70 is just not up to the task. I suggest you get one of your "pro" friends to let you borrow their D70 (wait, you mean they don't actually OWN a D70? Shocker!) and macro lens so you can do some practical shooting and examination of the image files to discover the suitability of the rig to your style of shooting and subject matter.

The only way to decide is to get into the store and try them out for yourself. I did just that. I was VERY close to buying the Digital Rebel XT online. Glad I didn't. Went and held the camera at the local camera shot and used it. What a really small, cheap feeling camera. Just mypersonal opinion. Half of my hand hung off the bottom of the grip. Many responses to this is "just go and get the battery grip". Yeah right. I'm going to spend another $150 bucks to get the camera to fit in my hand...no thanks. If you squeeze that camera a bit too hard next to the battery or input doors, and the camera squeaks. Not what I'd call solid engineering. The lens that comes with the Digital Rebel XT is a complete joke compared to what you get with the Nikon. The cheap, plastic ringed 18-55mm lense with the Canon can be had for less than $100 bucks retail. Sad thing is, they include this doorstop of a lense with the $1400 20D. How sad for a first impression of that expensive of a camera. The kit 18-70mm lense for the Nikon is $500 bucks retail at Ritz camera. Now that's a lense. When it gets down to it, the glass decides the picture more than anything. So when you are comparing prices, the Rebel XT and D70 are neck and neck with kit prices, but not really as you have to go and get another lense for the Canon anyway, which makes it not so much of a great buy after all. Try em out. if you like a camera built for a woman's hand, then the Digital Rebel XT should be perfect for you.

I'm a Canon 350D (formerly 300D) user, so keep that in mind, but: 1) The 350D DOES have very good noise characteristics. Better than the 300D, certainly. It's not so much the AMOUNT of noise (which is only slightly reduced) but the LOOK of the noise. The grain is much finer, like film grain, whereas the 300D had much more coarse and blotchy grain, which looked very ugly in dark areas of each shot. One negative with the 350D is that images look a little softer at ISO1600 than ISO800, but that's much easier to fix with USM than the noise in the 300D is. I hesitated to use ISO1600 unless I really needed it on my 300D. With my 350D I flip to ISO1600 without thinking. 2) Being that the concensus between the 300D and D70 was that they had roughly the same noise levels, and the 350D is better than the 300D, I'd give the edge to Canon AT THE MOMENT for high ISO noise. And that's not even considering the inability of the D70 to set ISO100, which can be a problem on bright days. 3) Sorry, I was being facetious about the white balance thing. My sarcasm doesn't come across too well. :) 4) Nikon also has "IS" lenses, in the 24-120VR, 200/2VR (wow!), 70-200/2.8VR, 80-400VR, and 200-400VR. Nikon is catching up, finally, although they still need a match for the 17-85IS, 28-300IS, 75-300IS, and they need to retrofit their big primes with IS. But IS is not such a huge Canon advantage as it was in the past. 5) The Nikon D70 is fast, too. Instant-on, and less shutter lag than the 350D. Both are past the point of where it really matters how fast... kinda like a 210MPH Ferrari versus a 202MPH Porsche. 6) Nikon has arguably a better UI, as it has two mode dials, where the Canon has one. The software UI is arguable. I own a 350D, and I'm neutral on it. It takes too much effort to toggle MLU, set custom WB, and adjust FEC. In the end, this is a holy war topic. Feature-wise and system-wise I believe Canon is the better choice these days, but the two are so close that it only matters if you're splitting hairs. Both systems can take better pictures than any of us are capable of, and people who say one system is incapable have an agenda. Just look at what people did with old MF SLRs, rangefinders, and box cameras. The hardware is much less important than the photographer and the subject.

If you go to http://www.dpreview.com/ you can do a side by side comparaswon of the cameras you are interested in and also their reviews of individual cameras compare them against their rivals.

The Nikon d70 is better than the 300d. The Rebel XT is about the same level. I have a Nikon and really think they are amazing cameras. The Nikon's menus and buttons are laid out in a better manner too.

Something else to remember, if they haven't changed it already, is that nikon's auto-focus motor is housed in the camera and canons in the lens. It does reduce AF capapbility with some older canon lenses, but if your AF goes out with nikon, you're stuck using manual till you can get new camera, while with canon you can simply pop a similar lens on and get back to work.

Phil said: "The Rebel XT has a very useable ISO 1600 mode, the Nikon does not." This is flat-out wrong, unless there have been vast improvements in the D70s. I have several extremely useful shots taken at 1600 ISO with the D70s, and I would bet none except the trained eye would even realize they were at high ISO. The D70s is most certainly not a noisy camera, and from what I understand the D70 is the same in that regard. I realize that you are saying that you have done actual experimentation, and the XT may have really good noise-less performance. But you vastly overstate the case. I have a lot of money invested in lenses, so there is no choice about brand for me: I'm buying Nikon. I don't know which model I would buy today, if I had no investment. I know what I would have bought a couple years ago: a Canon, for the simple fact that they were filling the niche I wanted (pro-am) and Nikon wasn't. That advantage to Canon is gone today, so who knows. (That advantage is also where a lot of the talk about Canon being ahead comes from, too, to a large degree). But the best advice is, don't tell people what camera to buy, it's fruitless. Moreover, don't ask someone what camera to buy, as they can only answer for themselves, not you. You have to actually use that thing between your ears and decide for yourself ;-p What counts at the end of the day is the *pictures* not the nameplate on the tool you use.

I'm not going to go into an indepth technical discussion on why one is better than the other, I have no competency in this area, but I will say this. I have used both the Rebel XT and the D70. I suspect that you will most likely be doing "every day" photography. Meaning, you will take this camera on vacation, you will carry it around on a family outing, you may walk around your neighbourhood and capture scenes you find interesting. Perhaps you may even venture into some semi-pro work. I did both with those two models during a two-week period recently to take advantage of the local retailer's return policy. I returned the D70 for several reasons. 1. The Rebel XT takes much better high ISO (low light) shots than the Nikon. This is important as most of "every-day" photography is taken either indoors or outdoors with poor lighting. Think vacations, churches, other buildings or situations were you can't or don't want to use the flash. The Rebel XT has a very useable ISO 1600 mode, the Nikon does not. 2. The Canon has an intuitive, well thoughout menu system. Sure, once you get used to the Nikon, its ok, but still clunky. Besides, using a MAC made me take certain user interface requirements for granted. Why should I use a clunky UI? 3. The Canon is fast. I mean, turn on and take a picture immediately fast. All the settings are readily accessible and you will learn to adjust most of the critical ones without taking your eyes off the viewfinder. 4. I can get the Canon with the amazing 18-75 IS USM lens. This lens enables me to take night time shots without the use of a tripod. I have yet to take a blurry shot at night without using the flash. It's great range means that it is the only lens I will ever need to use. The bottom line is this. Consider useabilty and picture quality. The Canon, in l33t speak, OWNZ the Nikon in these categories. Most of the people that you solicited for opinions are biased with expensive investment in lenses and accessories that you are not burdened with. Take advantage of the fact that you are starting fresh and don't get locked in to an inferior system. Finally, I strongly suggest that you do the same thing I did. Not only look at both units, but take both home and return the one you don't like. I can bet it will be the Nikon. This is an expensive investment and you don't buy a car without test driving it and its competitors first.

Chris K said ***"How do you feel about Nikon's white balance scandal? It is very >>close to DRM, you know...."*** You weren't asking me, but I'll chime in anyway. I don't like it one bit, and I hope Nikon comes around and changes their stance. At the same time, it's not unique, damn near every camera maker obfuscates their raw format in some way, including Canon. Read what the maker of dcraw has written, as he is probably the most knowledgeable person out their right now when it comes to camera raw. This whole tempest in a teapot is really about Adobe fighting with Nikon, not the particular encryption on the newer NEF files. The encryption was trivial and has been broken. Considering that Adobe uses dcraw, and that they have supported previously encrypted file formats before, I think there is something more here than worries about a closed format. But it is long since past time for camera makes to quit screwing around, and make their raw format's 100% transparent, and completely open. If they don't, they are consigning millions of digital photos to the dustbin of obfuscation. As far as I know, not a single camera maker does that, so it is really a minor issue at best when making a camera choice. It really only matters at all if you choose Linux, which isn't germane here.