I second Money's comment. Good review, but might it be an idea to test DSLRs with a high quality lens, rather than (or in addition to) just the kit lens. Just a thought. How does the monitor do in terms of helping manual focusing (e.g. for macro photography)? With that resolution it should be ideal for that, but it's be good to have your opinion.
On making some comparisons between the canon 550D and Nikon D90 by handling them both I went for the Nikon D90.
The D90 feels more sturdy and the controls are better arranged. The info display on the Nikon is far more legible than the Canon.
The movie mode on both seem similar and although the focusing on the Canon appeared faster it tended to over shoot and hunt so overall it took a similar time to the Nikon. Then again you don't buy either of these for the movie mode!
The Canon may have the edge in pixels but I don't think you will see the difference in real life. Given the current price of the D90 (including the better 18-105 kit lens) and cash back it is the better buy.
Well done Canon as this will spur on Nikon to better things!
Money & lensman - I certainly agree, but the last time I tested a Sony DSLR with a Zeiss T* lens readers complained and said that I should test consumer DSLRs with their kit lenses. I'm so confused!
japester & Mike B - I'm not sure that it'd be fair to compare the D90 to the EOS 550D; The D90 is a serious semi-pro camera more on a level with the EOS 50D. The 550D is more comparable with the D5000.
But the D90 is currently the same price as the Canon 550D so I feel it is fair to make the comparison (in fact with the cash back offer the Nikon is a little cheaper but with a better kit lens).
Ignoring the pixel count they are comparable and I am sure many potential purchasers will make the comparison?
You would think it should be a fair bit better than the D90, after factoring in the lenses that is, mainly because the D90 is starting to show its age with 'only' 12mp camera and 720p movies and the new range of Canons have such fantastic ISO handling.
I think the real question is what are Nikon going to bring out to fight the 550D and the 7D? We are living in a golden age of DSLRs at the moment with each manufacture trying one-up the other with each release. And now Sony is finally adding video to its SLRs and seemingly doing it better than anyone else to boot plus Samsung trying to enter the market too it’s looking an interesting few years ahead.
The next big thing for me is going to be mirrorless DSLRs as that will be make them smaller, cheaper, faster, quieter, last longer. Its win-freakin-win baby!
@Cliff - I agree with Money, lensman and you (consensus it seems!) on the question of testing with a quality lens. ISO performance aside, IQ in the test shots is completely hamstrung by the rubbish lens and the shots really don't tell us much at all about what the camera is capable of. Really, it makes little sense for somebody to spend that amount of money on a camera and only ever keep the kit lens on the front (may as well get a 450D with the same kit lens for a fraction of the price).
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@ Cliff - No one's ever happy! Surely if you are testing a camera body then you should be using the best possible lens available to show what the camera is capable of producing, removing as many imperfections a lesser lens could introduce to the review. And visa versa with testing a lens. That kit lens is absolutely rubbish and does that camera an immense disservice in a review.
I would even go so far as to say that all DSLR reviews could be shot with a single test lens so that there is at least one set of photo's where the difference could be purely attributed to the camera body and software in the camera. Sure, you'd have to use an adapter rings and manual focus for but that's fine if all your testing the image IQ and attributes.
I agree - this cannot be compared to a D90! This is way, way below that level. I can see this dropping to £500 by Christmas, which will be a very attractive price. Also for the budding Indie film makers out there this camera will produce shots of equal quality to the 7D (in both stills and HD video). Very surprised that it didn't get a recommendation but when the price drops a bit, it'll be a great buy.
ps. I wish they had kept the MP down to 10-12 though - consumer DSLR's & point and shoot and don't need any more.
It is good to see that the high ISO handling is so good. I recently moved to a 5D Mark II and to have the confidence to shoot at 1600, 3200 or in some cases even higher and know that your picture will be usable is an absolute godsend.
The built in flashes on these cameras are completely inadequate for most poor lighting conditions, and unless you're looking to strap on a Speedlite, you will be shooting at high ISO with no flash.
The megapixel count is largely irrelevant (my old 5D would give better images than this camera for sure) but I'd be willing to trade a little image sharpness for that high ISO handing 99 days out of 100.
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