Which would you choose...D90 or 550D?

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Carl
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I sold all my camera gear several months ago, but miss having a proper camera every now and then. My old Canon setup was worth about £3k, but I now only want to initially spend £600 or so on something simple that I can add to if need be. HD video would be nice.

I'm thinking of either a Canon 550D or Nikon D90, with a 50mm F/1.8 lens.

The D90 is an older camera and only has 720p video, but apart from that I'm curious what it would be like having only Canon before.

Input appreciated!
 
Have you tried a Nikon body, did you like it ?

Have you thought about a Sony body ?

If you used to have Canon, then obviously this would fall back to hand without any issues. A few on here have gone from one make to the other and seem very pleased with their new bodies, so could be an opertunity to try something new ?
 
Have you thought about a Sony body ?
If not then don't! canon or nikon. try trying to rent a lens for sony!
the canon and nikon lens prices change often and are much more competitively priced than sony. I also dont agree with sony's in camera image stabilisation. in lens is the way to do it.

Id say canon, but that would be a bias opinion.
 
And I'd say Nikon, also biased!!!

D90 is a fabulous camera, its replacement may be better, but really, you dont need anythng better!!!
 
Having had a 550d I would say D90 or wait for it's replacement. My 550d was miss focusing, I thought it was the lenses but it turned out to be the camera. It went back! Had I not have had canon lenses I probably would have bought a D90. Saying this I see many people over the moon with there 550d's.
 
Thanks for that. How reliable have these sort of rumours been in the past? Also the suggestion that the replacement will have a 16mb sensor seems to be a bit of a departure from Nikon's 12mb is "good enough" policy!

Also, I personally wish that they would drop video from this sort of camera and reduce the price. Just MO! :)

Paul :cool:
 
Thanks for that. How reliable have these sort of rumours been in the past?

Paul :cool:

Not very reliable, they have been on about a new 80-400 lens for years :D

Anyway if Nikon announced a new model today, you would not be able to get one for a good number of months, so do not worry about it and enjoy using the camera that you have.
 
... so do not worry about it and enjoy using the camera that you have.
Yea, you're right Martyn, it's just that I have a habit of diving into things head first and then thinking about the consequences later! :bonk:

Paul :cool:
 
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Not wishing to make matters worse Carl,but have you considered the EOS 50D, I have seen this between £20 and £40 more than the D90,body that is.
 
I've used the D90 , but not the 550. There really isn't much that the D90 doesn't do very, very well.

Reviews I've read suggest that both are excellent cameras.

There's a detailed review of the 550 here http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_550D_Rebel_T2i/outdoor_results.shtml which compares IQ with the D90 and concludes there is little to choose between them.

They are comparable in price, so it's probably just a matter of which feels best in your hands.

Just one thought: the D90 handles wireless speedlight control with no extras. The Nikon CLS (Creative Lighting System) is very good. Don't think the 550 will do that.
 
Nikon D90 compares to the Canon 50D. So in theory you're not comparing equivalent models.
 
My input........

Buy the one YOU like the best not what we like.
 
Ah, perhaps it's the D300 that compares to the 50D then at that level. In which case the D90 sits between the Canon 550D and 50D in terms of who it's aimed at and the features it has/build quality.

Either way, I'm convinced it's the better camera of the two mentioned by the OP.
 
I've been using the 550D for a few months now, absolutely loving it, hardly touched my 50D since I bought it. Excellent camera and works very well at high ISO. I have no problems using ISO 1600 or even 3200. The video is excellent as well. Only thing I would say about the D90 is that it is an older camera now with a replacement imminent.
 
Thanks for the input. I was using the 550D as a comparison mainly because it offers video. I've had a 50D before and while it's a decent camera, it doesn't have video.

With the 550D I'd completely forgotten about the ergonomics. Is it similar in size to the 400/450D? If so I really didn't get on with a camera that small, and something similar in size to a 50D would be preferable. The D90 is classed as semi professional, so should be a good size?

I'm not in a rush so can hold out a little while for any new model news to materialise
 
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