Camera 500D – Best Technology For The Money!
I consider myself an above average amateur, and I want to share why I decided to buy the Camera 500D. I know the concept of white-balance, aperture, speed, and metering, and I’ve experimented with them on my Point & Shoot camera (Canon G2).
My budget is in the $800-$1000 range, and I narrowed down my selections to Canon Camera 500D, Nikon D5000/D90, and Pentax K20D. I wasn’t worried too much about who has the best image quality. I felt that all 4 cameras (should) produce excellent results for most cases.
I’m a big fan of technology, and I’m willing to spend money to get latest technology (well.. as long as it’s within my budget). I mean, if I just want good quality image, I’d go with Nikon D40/D60 or Canon XSi.
I based my decision on user reviews and professional reviews, dpreview.com and the like.
Pentax K20D has weather sealed body and in-body image stabilization, but they’re not must-have features to me. It’s reported to have slow focus, which is a deal-breaker.
Nikon D5000 has the same CMOS sensor as D90′s, which has better DxOMark (better dynamic range, better low-light ISO) than Canon’s 50D sensor, the same one in Canon Camera 500D. But it only has 2.7-inch/230-kpixel LCD, not to mention 0.78x viewfinder magnification (compare to Camera 500D’s 0.87x).
dSLR buyers be warned: you just don’t use LCD for focusing, it’s too slow. D5000′s swiveling LCD is a hard sell to me.
Nikon D90 has better sensor, and pentaprism viewfinder. It can capture more frames/second (4.5 vs Camera 500D’s 3.4). It also has more AF area (11 vs Camera 500D’s 9). I mostly use single-focus point, so more focus points is not that useful to me. I plan to experiment with RAW capture, and Nikon charges extra for its RAW converter software (NX2 $180 MSRP).
For $799 (body only), I feel that Camera 500D gives the best & latest dSLR technology for the money:
3-inch 920-kpixel LCD, fast focus, free RAW converter software, latest DIGIC4, HDMI. 1080p/720p video is a bonus.
I’m not too crazy for the 15-Mpix, but now when I take pictures,I don’t worry much about zooming on my subject, knowing I can crop the image later.
Again, all 4 cameras take excellent pictures. It’s the non-image-quality features that got me sold on Camera 500D.
Be prepared to have a steep learning curve
on white-balance/metering/ISO etc. Don’t expect a $900 dSLR to give you excellent image everytime on full-auto.
You’ll need to learn to use it. Oh, and get the $100 50mm f/1.8 lens, you won’t be sorry.
About the Author
You Can See My Lens for Canon EOS 500D at www.squidoo.com/Camera500D-T1i
For more great tips and necessary information on similar topics by the author, read his guides on EOS500D.ueuo.com
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