Entry-level DSLR Comparison

Posted by Krishna Kumar B. | Posted on Friday, December 11, 2009 10:47 PM
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My old camera, a Canon PowerShot S2 IS, died on me last month and I was looking for a new one to replace it. Inspired by some DSLR-wielding friends and many a beautiful photo on Flickr, I decided to go DSLR. They are now cheaper than ever, do more stuff than ever and everybody has one these days :-) . So, I thought now was the right time to take the plunge.

I knew I wanted a Nikon or Canon (dunno why, just knew :-)), but which one? I did some research on the interwebs and built this table with the features that may be important for a beginner. Sharing this here for the benefit of others like me.



Manufacturer
Canon
Nikon
Nikon
Canon
Nikon
Canon
Nikon
Model
EOS Rebel XS (1000D)
D40
D3000
EOS Rebel XSi (450D)
D60
EOS Rebel T1i (500D)
D5000
Lowest Online Price (USD)


$449.00



$449.79



$458.86



$519.00



$529.00



$629.95



$645.00

Amazon Price (USD)
$473.95
$449.79
$458.86
$569.88
$653.90
$709.95
$646.99
Rebates (USD)


$50

None
None


$50

None


$50

None
Movie
No
No
No
No
No
1080p @ 20 fps, 720p @ 30 fps
720p @ 24 fps
Live View
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Megapixels
10.1
6.1
10.2
12.2
10.2
15.1
12.3
Face Detection
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
ISO
100 - 1600
200 - 1600
100 - 1600
100 - 1600
100 - 1600
100 - 3200
200 - 3200
Focus Points
7
3
11
9
3
9
11
White Balance Override Positions
6
6
12
6
6
6
12
Image Stabilization in Body
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Remote Control
Optional Wired
Optional Wireless
Optional Wireless
Optional Wireless
Optional Wireless
Optional Wireless
Optional Wireless
Storage
SD/SDHC
SD/SDHC
SD/SDHC
SD/SDHC
SD/SDHC
SD/SDHC
SD/SDHC
LCD Dimension (inches)
2.5
2.5
3
3
2.5
3
2.7
LCD Dots (Pixels)
230K
230K
230K
230K
230K
920K
230K
Tilt or Swivel LCD
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Weight (g)
502
522
536
524
522
520
560
Width (mm)
126
124
126
129
126
129
127
Height (mm)
98
94
97
98
94
98
104
Depth (mm)
65
64
64
62
64
62
80

Prices as of 12/10/2009. All prices include 18-55mm kit lens. I do not endorse any online store listed here ;-)

Finally, I bought the EOS Rebel T1i from Amazon. As an amateur, the features that influenced me most were its better automatic-shooting and video capabilities. As I was upgrading from an old Canon, I got $50 off through the EOS & PowerShot Loyalty Program, and I sold my old camera for parts on eBay :-)

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