Need some advice. Going crazy comparing

paulm15

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Nikon 5200 vs Canon t4i/t5i

Ok basically I have been doing research on these cameras for a little over a week now and just cannot for the life of me make up my mind. I'm kinda leaning towards the Nikon and my wife is leaning towards the Canon.

Reasons I like the Nikon:
-Better low light pictures.
-Better video
-Better built-in flash
-Better pictures (if you upgrade to the 35mm f1.8)
-39 Focus points
-Color enhancement feature (more my wife than myself)
-For $60 you can have a live feed with your iphone

Reasons I like the Canon:
-User Friendly
-Better Interface
-Better Pictures right out of the box
-Touchscreen (again not me the wife but it is cool)
-Great Colors in daylight
-Awesome Customer Service
-Better Ergonomics***
-Fast Live Feed

Reasons I Don't like Nikon:
-Poor Customer Service
-Non Touchscreen (wife)
-More complex (you really got to mess with it to achieve stellar pics)
-You have to buy a lens because the kit lens sucks
-Not as ergonomic
-Slow live feed

Reasons I don't like Canon:
-Worse video. #1 concern with this one (how much worse im not sure)
-9 focus points
-Built-in flash overexposes
-Not as cheap to sync to iphone
-Concerned once the Nikon has the 35mm f1.8 lens that this one couldn't compete.

I'm so torn. Apart of me wants to have the user friendly/ great customer service Canon offers and the other part of me just wants the best camera for pictures and video I can get. If I could be assured that the Canon could produce equal pictures and videos I would prob jump on it but it seems to me like it can't...

Total newbie here so I'm asking for your all's advice without you all being biased towards the brand itself. I just want the low down on which one is better for video and pictures. And I am willing to buy extra lenses.

The reason I am moving into the DSLR world is because I am about to have a baby and want to capture every moment I can.

Also I am pretty set on Canon or Nikon. My budget is about $1000 after taxes at the moment but I will have more money to invest in extra later.

Thanks for any advice.

HAHA wow! Thanks Derrel! I am Comparing the Nikon D3200 vs the Canon t4i/t5i
 
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You do not mention which two camera models you are comparing...

This is a good Canon 70D versus Nikon D7100 comparison video.
 
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Go to a store and handle them; find out which one has controls you like better and are in better positions for your hands. In the long run, ergonomics will be a LOT more important than an extra focus point, or minor differences in video quality.
 
Wow! So much to read, so little time.

Short answer: You get the Nikon, and get a Canon with a touch screen for your wife. Problem solved.

Now I would like to comment on this part of your post:
Reasons I Don't like Nikon:
-Poor Customer Service
-Non Touchscreen (wife)
-More complex (you really got to mess with it to achieve stellar pics)
-You have to buy a lens because the kit lens sucks
-Not as ergonomic
-Slow live feed

1. Where did you get that?
2. See above.
3. The D5200 (or the D3200) are very capable of producing excellent images WITHOUT doing a lot to it.
4. Contrary to what you may have read somewhere, the standard lenses (one or the other) are entirely serviceable.
5. Try both models in your own hands and get the one that feels better.
6. I'm not familiar with "live feed". Are you talking about making HD video and streaming that to some auxiliary display? If video is what you want, buy a video camera. Cheaper anyway.
 
Wow! So much to read, so little time.

Short answer: You get the Nikon, and get a Canon with a touch screen for your wife. Problem solved.

Now I would like to comment on this part of your post:
Reasons I Don't like Nikon:
-Poor Customer Service
-Non Touchscreen (wife)
-More complex (you really got to mess with it to achieve stellar pics)
-You have to buy a lens because the kit lens sucks
-Not as ergonomic
-Slow live feed

1. Where did you get that?
2. See above.
3. The D5200 (or the D3200) are very capable of producing excellent images WITHOUT doing a lot to it.
4. Contrary to what you may have read somewhere, the standard lenses (one or the other) are entirely serviceable.
5. Try both models in your own hands and get the one that feels better.
6. I'm not familiar with "live feed". Are you talking about making HD video and streaming that to some auxiliary display? If video is what you want, buy a video camera. Cheaper anyway.

I would love to have a camera and a video camera separately, but the wife shut that idea down quickly ha.

So I gotta get one that can do both well.

Everything I have read 100+ professional reviews and articles all have one thing in common. All of the reviews say the Nikon D5200 kit lens is terrible especially compared to the Canon's kit lens.

Bottom line. Both feel great to me. I guess if I had to chose the Canon feels a little better but not enough for me to base my decision on it.
 
If you get Canon, you will have a happy wife. But then she may use the camera most of the time.
If you get Nikon, you will have a unhappy wife. But of course you have higher chance of using the camera.


So it is your choice. Happy Wife vs Unhappy Wife. :D
 
Do you have any links to those 'professionsl' reviews that disparage Nikon kit lenses?

Nikon (and Canon) makes several 'kit' (consumer) grade lenses:
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens There is an older non-VR version.
Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor Lens
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
All of these are very capable, used with the understanding they are consumer grade.

Canon is generally recognized as having some of the most capable DSLR video.

Plus, most consumer grade DSLR's lack some of the features needed to do high quality video - like a global shutter, features for recording sound, and for pulling focus.
 
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To the OP, your pros and cons have so many loaded comments in them that they are hard to take seriously. Kit lens sucks? Built in flash overexposes?

Both are wrong and seem to lack an understanding of how to use an SLR and expose properly.
 
To the OP, your pros and cons have so many loaded comments in them that they are hard to take seriously. Kit lens sucks? Built in flash overexposes?

Both are wrong and seem to lack an understanding of how to use an SLR and expose properly.

Yeah, I thought the same thing.

You say you're a "total newbie" so, IMO, you're drastically overthinking it. Just go in the store, handle both products, and whatever one gives you the more favorable "gut reaction", take it up to the counter without second guessing yourself, buy it, and go take some pictures.
 
For a total newbie, pretty much none of the things you listed are going to matter much, honestly, whether they're true or not. The differences between the two are minor, and it's going to be a long time before you're shooting good enough images to make any practical use of any of those very slim quality differences between those cameras along any dimension.

In fact, it's likely going to be so long that by that time, you will already be considering upgrading cameras, so the differences between these two will NEVER MATTER for you. Instead, the quality differences that matter will be between the various higher end cameras you consider. And when it comes to higher end cameras, the differences between companies are even SLIMMER. Plus, the cameras you will be considering in the future probably don't exist yet, so it's impossible to say which will be better anyway. You can't even look at the existing high end cameras to make a decision, because those will be old by the time you upgrade in a few years, and the companies will probably have entirely different (slight) strengths and (slight) weaknesses.



Bottom line: Don't worry about it so much. As others have said:
1) Stop obsessing over stats.
2) Go into the store, handle both.
3) Buy the one that feels nicer to use and is most intuitive to you in your hand. As a newbie, intuitive and understandable is most important, because it means you'll use it more and will be less frustrated, and thus learn faster. This could end up being either Nikon or Canon, different people prefer different layouts and feels. Bring your wife with you to also hold each. You may end up agreeing.
 
The differences between the two are minor, and it's going to be a long time before you're shooting good enough images to make any practical use of any of those very slim quality differences between those cameras along any dimension.

In fact, it's likely going to be so long that by that time, you will already be considering upgrading cameras, so the differences between these two will NEVER MATTER for you. Instead, the quality differences that matter will be between the various higher end cameras you consider.

That's pretty assumptive on your part to judge someone like that even if you turn out to be right. You don't know the OP and have no idea how long it will or won't take them to get good images.
 
To the OP, your pros and cons have so many loaded comments in them that they are hard to take seriously. Kit lens sucks? Built in flash overexposes?

Both are wrong and seem to lack an understanding of how to use an SLR and expose properly.


Of course I have a lack of understanding. I said, "Total newbie here" therefor I'm admitting I have no knowledge whatsoever. This is why I decided to ask these questions. As far as my pros and cons go, they are just some of my observations I jotted down from reading all the reviews.

Thank you for your advice :thumbdown:

You're being a troll
 
For a total newbie, pretty much none of the things you listed are going to matter much, honestly, whether they're true or not. The differences between the two are minor, and it's going to be a long time before you're shooting good enough images to make any practical use of any of those very slim quality differences between those cameras along any dimension.

In fact, it's likely going to be so long that by that time, you will already be considering upgrading cameras, so the differences between these two will NEVER MATTER for you. Instead, the quality differences that matter will be between the various higher end cameras you consider. And when it comes to higher end cameras, the differences between companies are even SLIMMER. Plus, the cameras you will be considering in the future probably don't exist yet, so it's impossible to say which will be better anyway. You can't even look at the existing high end cameras to make a decision, because those will be old by the time you upgrade in a few years, and the companies will probably have entirely different (slight) strengths and (slight) weaknesses.



Bottom line: Don't worry about it so much. As others have said:
1) Stop obsessing over stats.
2) Go into the store, handle both.
3) Buy the one that feels nicer to use and is most intuitive to you in your hand. As a newbie, intuitive and understandable is most important, because it means you'll use it more and will be less frustrated, and thus learn faster. This could end up being either Nikon or Canon, different people prefer different layouts and feels. Bring your wife with you to also hold each. You may end up agreeing.

I think I'm gonna go with the Canon because I did feel better. Photography has always interested me so I am also taking into consideration the brand that I am buying into. If I were to upgrade to a $3k+ camera one day would I want to stay with Nikon? For me that's a definite no. I am big on customer service whether I ever have to deal with them or not. Investing in a company that I know has very below standards customer service is something I'm not down for doing.

Thank you all for your friendly advice. It really helped me in making my decision.

Going with the Canon t5i w/ 18-135 STM lens. Very excited to get started!
 
I have NO idea where the idea that the 18-55 Nikon kit lens "sucks" comes from. Nor do I have any idea of how you've come to the conclusion the pop-up flash in the camera "tends to overexpose". Nor do I have any idea where some of the other pro's and con's came from...

Nikon D5200 versus Canon T4i/T5i? Wow..basically the Canons have crap sensors, the Nikon has a pretty darned good sensor. Canon has been re-issuing the SAME EXACT 18 MP sensor since 2009 in ALL of its APS-C cameras (the new 70D has had 2 million photosites added to the base 18 MP sensor, but it still kinda has poor dynamic range and terrible moire in video mode...). Since 2009--SAME sensor re-issued in Canon after Canon after Canon after Canon after Canon (well, only in five consecutive models, from 2009 to and including 2013). Look at how poorly the Canon APS-C cameras you're interested in perform compared against the Nikon D5200--which has a much newer, better sensor...just LOOK at the wider dynamic range the Nikon gives, and the better High ISO score the Nikon gives. I mean...whoa...

$CANON T4i T5i vs Nikon D5200 Dxo.jpg
 

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