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Photography Question 

Chuck
 

20d and d70s image sharpness


I've been researching and looking at photos at various sites for some time now. I'm planning on buying my first dslr and want to make sure I get the body of choice because once I begin to gather lenses, I don't want to be swiching bodies. I was wondering, and this is only my opinion I guess, why at least to my eye, many of the d70 pictures look much sharper than those taken with the 20d. Especially the bird and macro flower shots. Is the image quality that much different. On the other hand, portraits look wonderful with the 20d. The 20d just always appears to be softer. Is this so?


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March 09, 2006

 

Justin G.
  It's all in the lenses Chuck. Well also post processing. Go to the local pro shop and maybe for a few bucks they'll let you take a few pictures with nice lenses, take the memory card and burn it to a CD so you can go home and look at the sharpness and everything and make your own decisions on what you like best. This will also get the feel of the body in your hands. My personal opinion is that I don't like the way a D70 feels in my hands, the 20D feels a lot smoother.


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March 09, 2006

 

Sharon Day
  I've noticed the same thing about the 20D as well, but I know of a photographer that enters here occasionally that had an image published (magazine) and it was tack sharp with outstanding clarity. I believe they used Canon's 100-400 VR lens for the shot. I have the Nikon D70 and a similiar lens and I'm quite happy with the images from that combination as well. You really need to get something printed to tell how sharp a camera is. I complained for a year about the 18-70mm lens that comes with the D70 until I had an 8x10" print made. The detail and sharpness exceeded any 8x10" print I ever had made from a 35mm film camera and I had good lenses with my 35mm too.


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March 09, 2006

 
- Gregory LaGrange

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  If the image is better with flowers, why wouldn't it with portraits?


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March 09, 2006

 

Eddie Lagos
  I dont know of any pro shop, ametaure shop, or any other shop for that matter that would let you come in and use a camera even if you paid them. Maybe if you were taking a class but even then they want you to bring your own camera. Are you serious about this recomendation Justin?


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March 09, 2006

 

Justin G.
  Why wouldn't I be? Eddie you've never heard of renting camera equipment? Even in lonely old crappy Fayetteville there's place I can borrow or rent equipment. It's who you know. Just walk in to your shop and say, "Can I take a couple pictures with a 20D and a D70 and you guys burn the RAW files on a CD for me? I'll pay you $25." I mean why wouldn't they? They're just demo cameras and they're aren't going to be able to see them for full price.


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March 09, 2006

 

Sharon Day
  I've done this when trying to decide what lens to buy. I took my camera to the camera store and they allowed me to put the lens on my camera and take a few frames of images. I came home and checked out what I had. I was looking at the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens. The results really blew me away. BTW they didn't charge me either. If you have a card I'm sure any camera store would let you test drive the camera before you purchase it. They do have display models to handle. If you're lucky they'll have a charged battery laying around. The last time I was at Best Buy they had both cameras and I know they'll let you try one out. They'll even print out the pic for you.


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March 09, 2006

 

Eddie Lagos
  Every time I went into a camera shop they never had the stuff that I was interested in let alone have it for rent. Yes I have heard of renting camera equipment, but I dont think you were asking that question for me to answer. Ya I guess you could try but the places I've gone to have not had the stuff I wanted or want to try out.


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March 09, 2006

 

Steve Fels
  Chuck I had the same problem with a 350D. I took it to a shop and tried other lens's including "L" series but there was no improvement. In saying that though there are plenty of fantastic shots on this site taken with the Canon. Maybe it's the user, but I seem to get sharper more vivid colours from my Nikon. All I can suggest is that you try them both and make a decision based on what your happy with.


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March 09, 2006

 

Chuck
  I was able to hold a couple of the cameras that the Best Buy I was at had on the shelf. The Canon 350 felt very small. Seemed as if I would have to crunch up my fingers to use the controls. The only Nikon they had was the D50. It felt much better than the 350. Then I picked up the 20d and it did just seem to fit my hand well. I'm very anxious to get a new camera as I've always thought that I would have an eye for taking some wonderful shots. I've really never given myself a chance though. Need to save up some more cash though so I have time to look some more. Don't get me wrong. I know both cameras would be excellent choices but I think my first choice needs to be the right one since once you start adding accessories, your kinda stuck....unless you have an abundance of cash.


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March 10, 2006

 

Christopher A. Vedros
  Eddie,
If your camera shop never has the stuff you need, then you need to find a better shop.

As for trying out equipment, it depends on the shop. There is a pro shop in my area that is very helpful with stuff like this. They'll let me try out lenses, or see how equipment fits in a case or backpack, even though they know that I make most of my big purchases online from B&H. They know that I still buy some stuff from them, and I send people there.

They also have photo printers set up so that you can make prints from memory cards.


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March 10, 2006

 

Christopher A. Vedros
  Back to the original question.

Chuck - I really don't think you're getting a fair comparison of cameras by comparing photos taken by each of them. There are many other things that go into determining the quality and sharpness of an image. The lens used, the in-camera settings used, post-processing done, and most importantly the photographer all can make a huge difference.

A skilled photographer can have better results with a decent dSLR than an unskilled beginner with pro equipment.

To decide between these two cameras, you really need to see how they physically feel to you, and which one has the features that are important to you. You'll never really find a true answer to the question, "Which takes better pictures, Canon or Nikon?" There is no true answer to that question.

Chris


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March 10, 2006

 

Steve Fels
  I also felt that the canon felt a bit small in my hands. Dont get me wrong, I'm not bagging Canon, it's like Chris said, one will "feel" right for you. Plenty of people love their Canon and get great results. Do as much research as you can and when you make your decision you know it will be the right one for you.
Cheers,
Steve


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March 11, 2006

 
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