Sigma SD14 vs. Canon 30D - Which to buy??

[SufiBlade]

Coming in late, I'm now ready to purchase my first DSLR, and, after researching for weeks, narrowed my selection down to the EOS 40D. But I saw a comparison (http://www.ddisoftware.com/sd14-5d/) between the EOS 5D and SD14, I'm having second thoughts again! What am I looking for? Grass......I want crispy detail in my landscapes, particularly grass. And a wide dynamic range. The Sigma seems to cost half the 40D, which I was really having to stretch my budget to purchase. Please advise if the 40D will deliver the same quality and dynamic range?

[drg]

Have you considered the Canon 450D/XSi as an alternative? Great little camera that if you don't need the higher frame rate, performs very well?

The 5D and SD14 are both older cameras that probably will be replaced in the next year. Bargains do abound and if you take in to consideration the cameras capabilities they both can perform very well. The Sigma (I've used both the SD10 and 14) cameras are more difficult to get the images you want, but when you do they are stunning. The 5D is a full frame sensor and therefore can't use the lower cost lens as they are the wrong type (EF-S) or the lower quality shows up in the corners. Some people still swear by them.

I want to read the article you found (had missed this one) before I comment on it.

I will say that the Dynamic Range topic with all of these camera is fairly complex and a lot depends upon how they are used, with what lenses, and even with RAW files, post-processing plays a large role.