Canon or Nikon

[AlexTheTinyBean]

Hello so ive been thinking about getting my first dslr. ive pretty much narrowed down my options to the Nikon D3300 or the Canon T5 with a added 50mm 1.8 lens. Which one is better? Or should I go for a Canon T5i? I will probably not do many portraits and more landcapes or sunsets or closeups. Thank you.

[ebiggs1]

My personal favorite lens for a Rebel is the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.  It is not cheap.  It is fantastic.  Not wanting to invest that much money the newer kit lens will work for you.  The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens.  This is a good lens and keeps the quality level of your gear the same.  Always a good idea.

Let me clarify a bit.  The differences between the two offerings in the 50mm focal length is largely a pixel peeper thing.  Real world use, I doubt you can determne a difference.  If the 50mil is what you really want get the T5 and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens.  You will be happy.  Don't buy either from the used market.  Refurbs are OK because you get a full warranty from Canon.  The single reason for buying the 50mm f1.8 is the very fast aperture.  Otherwise the kit lens  EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM is fine.  The EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens makes the fast aperture of the 50mil less important so it will do the job of both.  Pretty much, anyway.

[illininutt]

I have the Canon T3I. I also have the Sigma 18-250/Sigma 17-50 and the Canon 10-18.  I usually go through slickdeals.com to find the best deals for my canon.  I wanted to get more Canon lenses....but the Canon 70-300 price wise was OUT OF THIS WORLD!  The Sigma's were much better!

[ebiggs1]

"...the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II is an exceptionally nice lens.  It's extremely popular and most photographers either have a 70-200mm lens in their bag... or they want one.  Canon's 70-200 is the only model I know of that doesn't have a serious "breathing" problem."

Unless you're looking for absolute precision, focus breathing isn't something that's likely to affect how you shoot on a day-to-day basis. So you can pretty much ignore it and keep shooting as you do.  Another of the pixel peeper thingy.  Most people are not even aware of it.  And the problem is less as distance increases.  Which brings up the fact you have two feet.  You can take a step or two one way or the other!

Some of the best lenses do it, is true. The Nikkor 70-200 F/2.8 VR II is known for it.  Very expensive lens!   But the truth be known all lenses in the tele focal length category over state their long end.  I don't know of any lens that under states its focal length. Not one!  If memory serves me the mentioned Nikkor is actually only 170mm at the long end not 200mm.  Both the Sigam and Tamron beat that. The Canon is in the 190mm area.

[ebiggs1]

" I usually go through slickdeals.com to find the best deals for my canon."

I am all for saving a buck when I can but if you let price alone determine your choice of photo gear, you will get burned.  Not the best approach in buying photo gear.  Just be careful and wise.

[kvbarkley]

Which Canon 70-300?

The 70-300 DO is $1400

The 70-300 II is $550

The 70-300 L is $1350

The 70-300 is $450

While the DO and L might be considered "out of this world", the standard 70-300 and its II replacement are pretty reasonable at about $500. (These are the prices from Canon's website.)

[John_SD]

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@AlexTheTinyBean wrote:
Hello so ive been thinking about getting my first dslr. ive pretty much narrowed down my options to the Nikon D3300 or the Canon T5 with a added 50mm 1.8 lens. Which one is better? Or should I go for a Canon T5i? I will probably not do many portraits and more landcapes or sunsets or closeups. Thank you.

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I don't think it much matters. Both cameras should give you excellent results. Fans of either brand could present compelling arguments for their preferred choice. 

But the fact is, if you're going to pursue this as a hobby, I think what you really have to decide is which system you're going to buy into. For me, I decided on Canon. My reasearch confirmed that their lenses were better, in general, have a wider variety of lenses, and the costs were a bit lower. 

I think you'll be happy with whichever system you choose to go with. 

[ebiggs1]

"I don't think it much matters."

I tend to agree on especially the higher end models.  But on the lower priced ones like the Rebels and the D3300 all you have to do is handle each.  That should convince you the Rebel is a better buy.

Lenses is a no doubt, Canon is not just better but best!  Take it from a guy that owns both and uses both brands.  I have for five decades. Worth something?

[Waddizzle]

You are on the Canon web site, so expect to be advised to buy a Canon.  I chose Canon for the wider selection of lenses, and most especially for the simpler model numbers.  The T5 is a great camera for a new DSLR user.  It does have limitations, though.  It is a great starter camera.  I outgrew mine after a 5000, or so, shots.

The Rebel T5 typically comes with an older version of the 18-55mm kit lens.  I highly recommend the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens, for its' fast aperture.  It is a great learning tool.  You can read about wide apertures all you want, but you will not really understand the differences until you use a wide aperture lens.

A good compliment to the kit lens is a special two lens package that Canon calls a portrait package.  It includes the 50mm STM lens, and an ultra wide angle 10-18mm lens, which is great for landscape shots.  You save a lot of money buying the lenses as a portrait package.  The 50mm is almost given to you for free.

The basic Rebel T5 kit, with the 18-55mm lens, is a great start.  Before you invest in more lenses, you may wish to consider investing ain a quality tripod, not a plastic one from the big blue box store.  You should also consider a camera bag to carry and store your gear.  

Camera bags come in different styles and sizes.  Bags can range from a classic shoulder bag to a large backpack.  I realized that I needed at least two bags to hold my camera and 4 lenses, including a large telephoto.  I had a large "kit" bag, that could hold everything, but weighed a ton fully loaded.  So, I bought a smaller bag for traveling.

With just a T5 and the 18-55mm lens, I would suggest investing in a bag that can hold 3-4 lenses.  This extra room will come in handy for things like the camera battery charger, a cleaning kit, or a more powerful external flash.  Of course, the extra room can be used to hold additional lenses, too.

[AlexTheTinyBean]

do you think getting the T5 with better lenses will be a great start rather than getting lets say a T6 with the kit lens?

[Waddizzle]

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@AlexTheTinyBean wrote:
do you think getting the T5 with better lenses will be a great start rather than getting lets say a T6 with the kit lens?

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The quality of your shots will never exceed the quality of your lenses.  

The T5 and T6 are pretty close to being the same camera.  The T6 adds Wi-Fi functionality, which does not mean the camera is networkable.  Remember, the T6 is currently occupies the lowerst rung in the Canon DSLR lineup.  Both cameras come with the same version of other 18-55mm that Canon first released several years ago.  I don't see any price/performance advantage in buying the T6 over a T5.  The limited Wi-Fi feature is not as useful as one might think.

I think the best think in favor of the T5 is the lack of an articulated LCD screen on the rear of the camera.  I think that a tilt and swivel screen is just another moving part that can be easily broken.  The Canon Refurbished Store offers great deals on the T5 camera kits, with the older 18-55mm lens.  Combine that with the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens [the STM lens has a metal mount, instead of a plastic mount like the old one], and you will have a great camera kit.  

I buy all of my Canon gear from two online sources.  Either directly from Canon, or from the biggest online Canon retailer, B&H Photo Video in NYC.  If I cannot buy it from the Canon Refurbished Store, then I will buy it through B&H.  Their customer service is second to none.  They also deliver VERY quickly.  Most orders are delivered within 1-2 business days.  I have even bought used tripods and tripods heads from B&H.  Their used gear rating system seems to be pretty honest, IMHO.