Canon G6 or Digital Rebel or Nikon D70

I'm in the market for a new digital camera. In the past I had an
Olympus that I really liked until I dropped it and it broke. Then I
got a Canon S200, mostly for its size not for it's super quality. I
love the Canon, it's a nice "take anywhere" camera which has served me
well especially on vacations. But for indoors it sucks. So now I'm
thinking I'd like to have a really good quality camera that I can use
at home or when I don't mind lugging something heavy around. Taking
pictures of friends and family, weekend trips, and also of my artwork.
One thing I really liked about my Olympus was it's F1.8 lens, which
enabled me to take pictures in low-light conditions without using the
flash. This was especially nice for indoors. My Canon S200 is
practically useless indoors. So this is why I like the Canon G6, it
has a F2.0 lens. Prices are around $514 mail order.

Now I'm thinking for $200 more I can get the Canon EOS 300D Digital
Rebel. It seems to be a better camera. One of the things I noticed
in the reviews and sample photos is how much better the dSLR cameras
are in low light. They can increase their ISO without the noise that
cheaper point & shoot cameras have. That is one aspect I really like.
However it seems Canon crippled the Digital Rebel which kind of
bothers me, although I'm not sure I'd need the features like flash
exposure compensation that are not present.

For $200 more I can get the Nikon D70. From everything I've read this
one seems to be a real winner. Some claim that one can take just as
good photos with a cheaper point & shoot, while others claim that the
D70 is so much better. One thing I notice is that a lot of the test
photos on the review sites are done with ample lighting, but in
reality a lot of the photos I take are in low light. The D70 seems to
do really well in low light, but how much better than the Canon??
Also, the D70 is a whopping $430 more than the G6, which is almost
twice the price! Now that's hard to justify!!

Finally we're hoping for a new family member and that would give me a
perfect subject for thousands of photos, which is why I want to make
sure I get a really good camera.

Thanks for any input!

(NewsBirdie) writes:

Now I'm thinking for $200 more I can get the Canon EOS 300D Digital
Rebel. It seems to be a better camera. One of the things I noticed
in the reviews and sample photos is how much better the dSLR cameras
are in low light. They can increase their ISO without the noise that
cheaper point & shoot cameras have. That is one aspect I really like.
However it seems Canon crippled the Digital Rebel which kind of
bothers me, although I'm not sure I'd need the features like flash
exposure compensation that are not present.

You can get these features back, for free using the Wasia "hacked"
firmware which reenables ISO3200 and FEC. Lots of people are using
htem on this group withthe REbel and it works well by all accounts.

You ask great questions. I own the precursor G2 and the Digital
Rebel with the kit lens, the 100-300 IS lens, f/1.8 50mm, 550EX
flash (which works on the G2 too by the way). I can speak to your
Canon choices a bit.

The G2's f/2.0 lens does indeed rock, however the G series sensors are
noticeably noisier at higher iso's than the Rebel. The kit lens that
comes with the rebel isn't as fast (f/3.5-5.6), but with higher iso's,
you can get where you want to go in a given amount of light, and if
you can't... the Canon EOS f/1.8 50mm is a killer value at just $70!
Presto, you can have your cake and eat it too.

If picture quality is your primary concern, I'd push you toward the
Rebel, because for focus predictability and minimization of shutter
lag, there's really no beating a DSLR. Also, the fun of
interchangeable lenses is significant. As the new family member
grows, there may be sporting events that would justify the purchase
of, I mean, "require" a nice zoom, you see. 8-)

If portability were more of a concern for you, and you never envision
wanting to expand with lenses, then the G6 would be better.

Finally, one thing you haven't mentioned that might be something to
consider: The G6 can do short low res movies suitable for emailing.
The Rebel does not.

Ah hell, just get an A75 and a Rebel!

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

Thanks for the tip on the firmware hack. Does it prevent upgrading the
firmware in the event that Canon puts out new upgrades? Or maybe the
firmware is mature and Canon no longer upgrades it?

Regarding the EOS f/1.8 50mm lens, I'd say $70 is a good deal. I was
checking on something equivilant for Nikon and I found the Nikon Normal
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D Autofocus Lens for $230 (B&H Photo). That's
quite a big price difference. I found the Canon lens for $70 at B&H,
and I reread the dpreview review site and they say the Canon 50mm f1.8
lens compares very well to the Nikon, which is suprising considering
the Nikon costs 3 times the price. Can you explain the difference when
the lens says Xmm - Ymm or just Xmm? I don't understand what that
means, does it mean that there is no zoom?

I also looked again at the ISO tests at dpreview.com and they're very
interesting. the Canon EOS 300D images have such low noise, even at
high ISO, whereas the other camera (not the G series, I forget) had a
lot of noise, like all digital cameras I've owned). So I see how the
dSLR is a big advantage here.

Overall I thank you very much for your post. You've convinced me to
take a more serious look at the Canon. Your information on the
additional fast lens was something I had not considered, and the price
difference makes the Nikon much more expensive than the Canon. And
with the firmware, which was I was not aware of, I can get back some
features Canon disabled. I'm now leaning towards the Canon EOS 300D!

-Michael

PS: To the person who told me to read the two sites, I had already read
them both before making my post. But they don't answer all the
questions. In fact they recommend the majority of cameras. What they
cannot do is recommand a camera for a particular person. That requires
input from fellow enthusiasts, which to me is what this newsgroup is
all about. When I got my first digital camera almost 10 years ago, I
helped many people get into the digital camera age (search google for
"Sanyo VPC-G200" and you'll find my webpage is the first page
returned). And now things move so fast I need help myself just to stay
current!

In article .com,
says...
Regarding the EOS f/1.8 50mm lens, I'd say $70 is a good deal. I was
checking on something equivilant for Nikon and I found the Nikon Normal
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D Autofocus Lens for $230 (B&H Photo). That's
quite a big price difference. I found the Canon lens for $70 at B&H,
and I reread the dpreview review site and they say the Canon 50mm f1.8
lens compares very well to the Nikon, which is suprising considering
the Nikon costs 3 times the price.

The Canon 50 1.8 is built to minimise cost and weight. eg. a design
choice was made to use a plastic rather than a metal mount. This is
reported to be rugged enough in service but the aethetics offends some.
They can spend about $350 for the Canon metal mount 50 1.4 (I did, but it
was an emotional decision which I did not try to justify in
economic/engineering terms).

schrieb:

Regarding the EOS f/1.8 50mm lens, I'd say $70 is a good deal. I was
checking on something equivilant for Nikon and I found the Nikon Normal
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D Autofocus Lens for $230 (B&H Photo). That's
quite a big price difference.

You are comparing apples and oranges. Nikon has an AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
which costs about the same as the EF f/1.8 50mm.

Walter

wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks for the tip on the firmware hack. Does it prevent upgrading the
firmware in the event that Canon puts out new upgrades? Or maybe the
firmware is mature and Canon no longer upgrades it?

Regarding the EOS f/1.8 50mm lens, I'd say $70 is a good deal. I was
checking on something equivilant for Nikon and I found the Nikon Normal
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D Autofocus Lens for $230 (B&H Photo). That's
quite a big price difference. I found the Canon lens for $70 at B&H,
and I reread the dpreview review site and they say the Canon 50mm f1.8
lens compares very well to the Nikon, which is suprising considering
the Nikon costs 3 times the price. Can you explain the difference when
the lens says Xmm - Ymm or just Xmm? I don't understand what that
means, does it mean that there is no zoom?

The Nikon 50mm f: 1.8 costs $99 usd, 50mm f:1.4 costs $260 usd, the Canon
50mm f:1.8 is $75 usd and their 50mm f:1.4 is $300 usd. So compare the right
lenses, not apples vs. oranges.

writes:
Thanks for the tip on the firmware hack. Does it prevent upgrading the
firmware in the event that Canon puts out new upgrades? Or maybe the
firmware is mature and Canon no longer upgrades it?

This Wasia guy seems to be actively dveeloping the hacked firmware, so
if something were to change in the stock firmware for whatever reason,
there's reason to suspect he'd follow suit.

Regarding the EOS f/1.8 50mm lens, I'd say $70 is a good deal. I was
checking on something equivilant for Nikon and I found the Nikon Normal
AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D Autofocus Lens for $230 (B&H Photo). That's
quite a big price difference.

And also a one stop maximum aperture difference. Nikon has a 50mm
f/1.8 lens for $100. Canon has a 50mm f/1.4 lens for $310.

Can you explain the difference when the lens says Xmm - Ymm or just
Xmm? I don't understand what that means, does it mean that there is
no zoom?

That's correct. Xmm is a fixed focal length lens. Xmm-Ymm would be
a lens with a zoom ring.

Have fun! It's hard to go wrong with Nikon or Canon, but it seems
there's some money to be saved with the 300D.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

I found out today about their rebate, valid until Jan 31. It's $100
off for the camera, or if I buy an expensive lens it doubles the
rebate. Their lenses are around $300 min, so with the rebate that
would be like $100 off = $200. Not a bad deal. The more I read about
the Canon the more I'm impressed. I have until Jan 31 to make up my
mind.

To the other posters, I'm sorry I got the 1.4 50mm & 1.8 50mm lenses
mixed up. Now I understand that both Nikon & Canon have both, and that
1.4 is so much more expensive. That makes sense as well. 1.4 sounds
really nice, I bet with the high ISO it could almost take pictures in
the dark!

-Michael

The difference between the 50mm F/1.4 and 50 F/1.8 is plastic casing
vs. metal, and the 1.4 has a USM drive motor as opposed to the DC motor
in the 1.8. I just bought the 28-135mm ISU and the 50mm F/1.4, both to
take advantage of the GREAT REBATE canon is offering now. $300 off the
Rebel and $45 off each of the lens. You can't be it!

The difference between the 50mm F/1.4 and 50 F/1.8 is plastic casing
vs. metal, and the 1.4 has a USM drive motor as opposed to the DC motor
in the 1.8. I just bought the 28-135mm ISU and the 50mm F/1.4, both to
take advantage of the GREAT REBATE canon is offering now. $300 off the
Rebel and $45 off each of the lens. You can't be it!