Nikon D80 or Canon XSi

Hi all. Newbie to the forum here. Looking to move into D-SLR for the first time after having a Canon A620 for a few years now.

I am a casual user with a solid understanding of photography basics, limited understanding of Photoshop, etc. But a solid desire to get more creative in this hobby.

Things I am interested in:

1) HDR - both cameras can do sufficient exposure bracketing for my needs here
2) Landscape photography. I live in Colorado and want to take advantage of the views here.
3) Panoramas - I have started to really enjoy these and want to do more of them.
4) Decent auto-settings for my wife. We have 2 kids and my wife still wants to be able to pick up the camera and take auto pictures of the kids both in the house and around town, etc. She has no interest in having to worry about settings when shooting the kids.

Overall - I don't see myself buying $1000s on lenses. Maybe $1000 total in lenses I imagine.

Maybe a 18-70ish size with decent speed to start. Maybe a tele lense down the road.

Based on this info, I would be grateful for some opinions here. I would consider other cameras such as the K10D or the K200D if people think that might be best.

Don't want the E510 since it's exposure bracketing is insufficient (a 2 EV max range) for HDR photography and I don't want to have to do manual exposure bracket shots.

Same with the Sony's. Not sufficient exposure bracketing range.

Thanks all.

Uhm, what exposure bracketing programs does the D80 and XSi have that the Sony/Olympus doesn't? As far as HDR goes, Sony actually leads the industry with their DRO technology, for that application Sony delivers excellent quality. I was also pretty sure that both the D80 and the XSi had a +/- 2 EV range as well, do they go 3?? Even then, though - do you really find yourself needing to compensate 3 stops? 95% of the time I dont usually go over +/- 1 myself. I cant imagine any horizon that demands a stop range of 6 EV.

Honestly I would also look into the EOS 30D, it is one that will last you longer and feel more comfortable to carry, as well as giving you more immediate control over your exposure - as the functions and features aren't buried in the menu as it is with the 2 you mentioned. It will especially feel more comfortable with the larger more telephoto lens. If its between the 2 you mentioned, I would stick with the Canon, simply for its CMOS sensor.

Auto settings are going to be pretty much the same across the board. You might want to teach her to use shutter priority, it is a cinch to learn and nothing that your wife should feel intimidated by - you set the ISO to Auto in this mode, and she's in good shape.

Hope that helps!

Sorry if I was not clear on bracketing. I meant to say that E510 can only do a max EV range of 2, not per step. Meaning 3 brackets at +/-1 EV.

Whereas the D80 and XSi can do 3 shots at +/-2 EV for a total EV range of 4.

Sony is even worse with a max EV range of 1.4 or 2.8 depending on the model.

Basically I was an EV range of at least 4.

Thanks for the other tips. The D30 is something I have considered too. But I wouldn't mind the extra Megapixels of the newer models.

The sensors they put in the 30D will outperform the ones they put in entry level SLR's like the D80 and XSi, translation - less image noise, which almost completely nullifies the benefit of the extra megapixels anyway.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

The sensors they put in the 30D will outperform the ones they put in entry level SLR's like the D80 and XSi, translation - less image noise, which almost completely nullifies the benefit of the extra megapixels anyway.

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I did not realize this. Maybe I will need to look into the 30D closer.