Canon XTi Body w/ Canon 50mm, F/1.8 lens

Lower end canons "feel" cheaper than nikon. That being said, the majority of pro's use canon. I love nikon and will always use them. You have to realize, it's not the camera that will take quality pictures, it's the lens. Decide if you want to do this as more than a hobby then decide if you want to get canon or nikon and buy quality lenses. You can use lenses for years, cameras will be outdated in 6 months.

It's definitely going to be more of a hobby thing than being a professional photographer, but I still want to take good pictures or else I would just get a point-and-shoot lol.  I have heard many good things about the XTi coupled with the 50mm F/1.8 lens to start out.  Granted that lens obviously has its limitations being a fixed lens, but I have heard that it produces very good quality shots.

So being a Nikon lover as you are, it would seem like the d40x and the XTi would be comparable cameras, which would you choose over the other or would you recommend a different type of Nikon in the same price range?

Definitely go with the Canon, they're both good camera, but the Canon is better in my opinion anyways. The new Nikon D40's are good but theres one problem, in an attempt to make the body of the camera lighter, they put the AF(auto focus) motors inside the lens themselves. Which is fine if you don't plan on getting any other lenses then the kit lens. You can of course get other lenses but they're going to be more expensive and there aren't as many 3rd party lenses to go with. I also wouldn't get a fixed lens if I were you, there really isn't any reason for it, but if you ever decide to take concert pictures that is a great lens for that. I would go with a more dynamic lens from a 3rd company, just cause they're cheaper. Go to www.bhphoto.com they have everything and I mean everything.

The d40 is a soccer mom camera. There are alot of uses for a fixed lens. I would love to have one but unfortunately I don't have the budget. If I were you I'd get a d50. Personally I hate the rebel's but I would kill for a 40d.

Did you mean d60 or d50? The d50 is only 6.1mp correct? Not to mention that it is quite hard to find it new anywhere.

I mean the d50. Megapixels don't mean anything unless you're going to be blowing up your pictures for full size prints and even in that case 6.1 will be plenty. I've never used the d60 and why not save some money and get a d50.

ItI have the XTi and a 50mm, nice lens for the money ($80- wooo). plenty sharp and very fast at f/1.8! that sounds like a good combo to start, especially because the XTi price should be dropping due to the release of the XSi. The XSi is also worth a look at if you want a faster frames per second rate, and there are supposed to be other improvements over the XTi. Look into it, I don't know much because it's pretty new to the market.

The 50mm is nice, but you may also want something a little wider, 50mm isn't too too wide, so don't expect to get a whole room without stepping back sorta thing. If you want to compare what different focal lengths will look like, check this: http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learning_center/tools/focal-length-comparison.php


It should still be a quality lens to start with imo. I started with the kit, and used it for a few months, but I wanted something with more quality after not so long. If you're serious about sticking with it, I'd say go right ahead and get a quality lens to start.