Canon 20d or Nikon D70?

[tomf]

I am looking at a Nikon D70 or a canon 20d, the 20d is looking mighty good with 8 mpixs. The reveiws look good. A sales man really slamed Canon and felt the nikon was better, I don't know what to think about this. I tend not to put a lot of trust in salesmen. I will be getting all new lens anyways as my Nikon is older, so quilty and cost of lens also add into the deal. I think 8mpixs is getting closer to 35mm quality.

[JeffHall]

I am looking at a Nikon D70 or a canon 20d, the 20d is looking mighty good with 8 mpixs. The reveiws look good. A sales man really slamed Canon and felt the nikon was better, I don't know what to think about this. I tend not to put a lot of trust in salesmen. I will be getting all new lens anyways as my Nikon is older, so quilty and cost of lens also add into the deal. I think 8mpixs is getting closer to 35mm quality.

Canon 20D>Nikon D70>Canon D Rebel

You can read http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1652383,00.asp?p=2

This compares the 20D and the D70, as I'm sure several other articles. Of course I have the 20D and am quite biased, but even when I had the Digital Rebel I was man enough to admit the D70 was better when it came out, so there's my stance. The D70 is great, the 20D is just better.

I can't say enough good things about this camera. I haven't felt the camera has EVER held me back creatively, which I couldn't say with the Rebel. It's FAST: Fast startup, fast FPS, fast CF writing (when used with a good CF card; see Rob Galbraith's database.) The quality is excellent, I just printed off a 13x19 last week that was superb. I was prepared to not see much difference from the 6 Mpixel camera, but I do. Especially at ISO 1600. I never felt comfortable shooting at ISO 1600 before, but now I do it without hesitation. ISO 3200 is also very usable (with some noise filtering.) Even for my "art" shots, I feel free to jack it up to ISO 400 and not worry about noise up to A3+.

If you do get this camera, you *should* get another lens for it to optimize quality (such as a 50 1.4, 17-40 f4L, Tamron 28-75 f2.8, or Canon 24-70 f2.8L, or other good lens for the range you shoot), but it's not completely necessary. I would recommend a f2.8 lens or faster to take advantage of the high resolution cross sensor. Also, load firmware version 1.05...1.02 caused some lock-ups on some cameras. I never had a lock-up, but I treat my camera with kid's gloves.

[Lionheart]

A salesman slamming a relatively high end camera? He's probably never even handled the 20D, or any digital EOS camera for that matter. I don't doubt that the D70 is a very capable camera, but not better to the point where one could "slam" the 20D in reference to it. Quite the contrary, imho, all the specs alone point to a decided advantage for the 20D, especially noise levels at the higher ISO settings (something the Canon digital SLRs excel at). It's also much more expensive than the D70, is 8 Mp vs 6 Mp, so it's like comparing apples and oranges. The review that Jeff refers to is a little misguided in my opinion. The 20D is not Canon's answer to the "popular selling" D70, it is Canon's replacement for the now elderly 10D, which was the replacement for the EOS D60 whose Nikon competitor was the now 2 yr old D100, not the D70. I have had the pleasure of playing with a friend's D100, and I must admit I felt it handled slightly better than the 10D, which I have used extensively at work and play. The D70 was Nikon's answer to the Rebel D, which in my opinion it is also better than. It boils down to which camera meets your needs best, and more importantly, which feels best in your hands. If finances are an issue, I'd go with the D70 and use the savings for a good lens. Just my two bits from a relatively unbiased Canon user.( FYI, I shoot a Canon 1D Mk II)

[Michael Fanelli]

I am looking at a Nikon D70 or a canon 20d, the 20d is looking mighty good with 8 mpixs. The reveiws look good. A sales man really slamed Canon and felt the nikon was better, I don't know what to think about this. I tend not to put a lot of trust in salesmen. I will be getting all new lens anyways as my Nikon is older, so quilty and cost of lens also add into the deal. I think 8mpixs is getting closer to 35mm quality.

When a salesman slams any camera run away as fast as you can. This is an obvious sign of a disreputable shop.

IMHO, the 20D is a better camera. Reading the reviews will probably convince you of that. It's also relatively hard to find as it is new. The Digital Rebel mentioned by others doesn't fit into the mix as both the 20D and Nikon D70 are more expensive than the entry-level Rebel. The Nikon D70 competed with the Canon 10D and now the D20, not the Rebel.

That being said, neither camera is a bad buy. The real investment is in the lenses. Look at the lineups and prices of the lenses you like. The real advantage with Canon is consumer-priced IS, Nikon's VR is all at the high-priced pro level. For me, this was important. For you, maybe not.

Also try both out in your hands. The controls are different, the feel is different. If everything else is almost equivalent, choose the one that feels right or, dare I say it, looks better!

[Lionheart]

Check http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond70/page20.asp for a more accurate comparison of the D70, Rebel D, and oddly enough, the D100. I'm sure Nikon has a replacement for the aging but still capable D100, but the D70 for now can match specs with it and then some. The preview of the 20D on that site describes the 20D more as a "baby 1D Mk II", somewhat like the EOS-3 being the baby 1V, so again, I don't think comparing the 20D and the D70 is a very fair comparison, being at different tiers of ability and cost in my honest opinion, with the D70 pricing aimed very squarely at the initially similarly priced digital Rebel (which has dropped significantly in price in recent times-gee, I wonder why?-chuckle chuckle).

[Franglais]

I am looking at a Nikon D70 or a canon 20d, the 20d is looking mighty good with 8 mpixs. The reveiws look good. A sales man really slamed Canon and felt the nikon was better, I don't know what to think about this. I tend not to put a lot of trust in salesmen. I will be getting all new lens anyways as my Nikon is older, so quilty and cost of lens also add into the deal. I think 8mpixs is getting closer to 35mm quality.

The D70 is now entering the middle of its life and prices have already drifted down quite a lot. The 20D is just at the start of its life with little competition (no Fuji S3 or Nikon D200 available yet). Prices are at their top.

The 20D kit would have cost me twice what I just paid for my D70 kit, and while the 20D is better in some ways its still behind in others (flash system). As I already have Nikon there was no competition.

Charles

[ustein]

As a professional photographer and reviewer I used Nikon D1, D1x, D100 and also D70 for nearly 3 years. The Nikon D70 is a great performer especially for the price. The last two years I used 1Ds, 1D2, 10D, Rebel and now a 20D for review.

I think these cameras behave very differently and the main question for me would be into which lens system you want to buy. We got/get portfolio quality images from both systems but the Nikons were always less forgiving in the highlights and the Canons are the low noise masters.

Follow your feelings and start photographing. By the way the camera is in the digital world only a minor element (if they are that close as D70/20D). All the final image processing (besides your eyes of course) will make a world of difference.

Uwe

[tomf]

Thanks all, I am thinking of going with the Canon 20d. The 20d's reveiws look good, I have read a few now. I appreseate the advice on lens as well, it will be a bit before I start looking at red banded Canon lens. so what lens do you all like.

[Michael Fanelli]

Thanks all, I am thinking of going with the Canon 20d. The 20d's reveiws look good, I have read a few now. I appreseate the advice on lens as well, it will be a bit before I start looking at red banded Canon lens. so what lens do you all like.

The very first lens I would buy is the Canon 28-135mm IS. This is probably the best consumer zoom that Canon makes. It was the primary lens for my film cameras and is now the primary lens for my DigiRebel.

If you have lots of money, look at some L lenses in the same sort of focal length range.Always go with IS if you can.

[JeffHall]

The very first lens I would buy is the Canon 28-135mm IS. This is probably the best consumer zoom that Canon makes. It was the primary lens for my film cameras and is now the primary lens for my DigiRebel.

If you have lots of money, look at some L lenses in the same sort of focal length range.Always go with IS if you can.

Although I've never used it, I've heard plenty of good things about that lens; probably a good buy. It's just not that wide on a 1.6 crop camera. The new 17-85 IS might be a better fit (answer to the 28-135 for a 1.6 crop camera), but it's more expensive and people have expressed concern over purple fringing. I don't know, too many trade-offs. I've ended up with a 17-35 f2.8L, 24-70 f2.8L, 70-200 f4L, and 1.4x and am not done (not happy with the "slow" f4, thinking about a nice prime.) I recently totaled approximately what I've spent on my photography hobby since my first Elan 7E 5 years back and it was something like $8500...I need to sell more prints.

[ustein]

>The very first lens I would buy is the Canon 28-135mm IS.

Not sure I would second that. Lens quality is very important for good photos and the 20D is a great performer. If you decide to use only one lens this maybe ok. But if you want to go for real quality then stay away from lower end and long range zooms (I own this lens).

Here is my take on some lenses:

http://www.outbackphoto.com/the_bag/...004/essay.html

Uwe

[tomf]

Ustien good reviews on Canon lens, thanks.