Nikon D90 V Canon EOS 550D

[turkeyneck]

After endless research and review reading, I've whittled my next purchase down to either the Nikon D90 or Canon EOS 550D.

For some reason I can't seem to choose between these two and any help pros/cons etc would be greatly appreciated.

Before advice is forthcomming though.

I'm modernising from my Nikon D100, but am not concerned about using my old lenses that much, as I will be upgrading them slowly over time (most are old film type). So no swaying to Nikon due to lenses I already own.

For some reason, I'm thinking 'why buy a 12 megapixel camera when for the same price I can get an 18?' My interest is towards macro photography, I can use my old D100 for landscape/portrait etc til I get lenses to go with my new camera whatever it is I choose.

So questions are which camera and which macro lens to buy with it?

Thanks Lee

[paulthomas]

My advice would be to consider which system best fits your current and anticipated future needs rather wondering about this model or that model. And FWIW, I'd take the 12MP camera over the 18MP camera any day and enjoy its better dynamic range and cleaner high ISO performance. But that's just me

[nigel_b]

I had the same dilema a few weeks back between a Nikon D200 and Canon 40D. I found a friendly camera shop, reasonably local to me (1 hour) who had both secondhand and were prepared to hire them to me for a few hours each.

It was immediately crystal clear to me which one I preferred to use and handle. From what I could see the quality of the pics from both was very similar I have to say, even though the lenses were sadly completely mismatched.

Good luck!

[turkeyneck]

Hey guys thanks for the advice so far. With regards to trying them out, locally I have only one camera shop (unless you include Argos) and I've not been too impressed with the past service I've had from them and they are also more expensive than buying from the off the web. So looks like I'll be buying blind, I'd love to try them both out for a few hours but no chace of that.
I know the Nikon has a better range of lenses than the Canon and I am used to the Nikon lay out. But being interested in macro will I regret not going for the 18 megapixels? There are some cracking images on here and I always check out what equipment people have used and the majority of cameras are 12 megapixels. You know I don't want that feeling after having decided thinking 'shoot I should've gone for the other one'.
Something totally obscure now, I see your locations and I was born in Staffordshire and moved to Wales from Dorchester.....strange.

Any more advice?

[Stinky Bob]

When I was looking for a new camera I read one particular review between the two models you mentioned and one of the first things mentioned was that the 18MP of the canon actually produced a worse image because Canon didn't up the sensor size and that pixel densisty was higher, and this also meant that you needed high quality optics to make use of the higher resolution, dont ask me I dont understand the science. I also thought that unless you were printing to something like A3 then the amount of MP is a sale's persons marketing gimic.

PS I went for the D90, mainly because it felt better and control were easier to access

[pressld2]

I'm a Nikon user too and therefore biased! But I would suggest that if you're mainly going after macro then Nikon may be the best route because of the incredibly clever and extremely versatile Creative Lighting System. The pop-up flash on the D90 can be used as a controller for multiple remote speedlights and Nikon make a set that mount on the front of the lens specifically for macro work...



Each flash's power output can be set independently and they can each be positioned anywhere around the lens or taken off the lens and mounted independently if necessary (which is what I've been doing for photos of frog and toad tadpoles in a tank - see Tadpoles and Toadpoles.)

As for lenses, I don't think you can get better than the Sigma range of macro lenses which come in 105, 150 and 180mm. A number of factors will decide which one is best for you. For example if you'll mainly be shooting flowers and fungi then the 105 might be best as your subjects won't fly away if you get too close. People with the 180 usually say that it's a bit too heavy for hand-holding. I went for the middle of the range and bought the 150mm. It is a fabulous lens and get's a lot of use.

Dave P.

[squishy]

When I had a look at a 550D at a photography show, I have to say I agreed with people that the ergonomics don't feel that great. (the 40/50D on the other hand, feel great to me)

It's probably worth going along to somewhere and trying stuff out, even if it means a bit of a drive.

[djeyewater]

Originally Posted by pressld2

I'm a Nikon user too and therefore biased! But I would suggest that if you're mainly going after macro then Nikon may be the best route...

I would suggest the opposite - I am a Nikon user, but bought a Canon camera just on the strength of photos I'd seen taken with their MP-E macro lens.

I will say that Nikon's SB R1C1 Macro flash looks like it might be better than Canon's wired MT-24EX Macro flash (which is also more expensive). But Nikon doesn't have anything that compares to the high magnification and ease of use of Canon's MP-E lens.

If you are only going for close-ups and don't need more than 2:1 magnification (a 60mm lens with 60mm extension tubes would achieve this), then Nikon may be a better choice thanks to their flash system, as Dave P says.

The weekly macro thread on the dpreview Canon lens forums has lots of examples of macro and close-ups taken with Canon equipment, and I'd also suggest checking John Kimbler's photos, who is a master of the MP-E lens.

Dave

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by djeyewater

I would suggest the opposite - I am a Nikon user, but bought a Canon camera just on the strength of photos I'd seen taken with their MP-E macro lens.

...

The weekly macro thread on the dpreview Canon lens forums has lots of examples of macro and close-ups taken with Canon equipment, and I'd also suggest checking John Kimbler's photos, who is a master of the MP-E lens.

Dave

Agreed, it is a remarkable piece of kit. You could also look at the images in matt_xyz's Gallery (matt_xyz Gallery - Wildlife Photography) or glsammy's (glsammy Gallery - Wildlife Photography) as they both use the MPE-65 lens.

Dave P.

[MeadsMan]

I think buying a camera based on Megapixels would be a mistake.I do use Canon cameras,but I was very tempted to switch over to Nikon till the Canon 7D came out.