Telescope Reviews: Canon 350D vs Nikon D50 vs Nikon D70

Magrin,

First of all, don't get caught up in megapixels. Advertisers have done a masterfull job of connecting megapixels to quality in the public's mind. It's an outright lie. The megapixel count solely determines how large of a print can be made, it has nothing to do with quality. A 6MP camera will easily print up to a 12x18 (I think a Super B in your language

without work in Photoshop. From my camera, I've made fine prints up to 20x30 inches. Unless you want to decorate the side of a bus, 6MP is enough. In fact, there are downsides to increasing the pixel count while holding the physical size of sensor constant. Increasing pixel count without increasing sensor size causes the photosites to be physically smaller. Smaller photosites are less sensitive to light, more prone to bloom, and more likely to show chromatic aberration. Manufacturers usually compensate for the reduction in sensitivity to light by increasing the voltage gradient (gain) across the chip. This increases noise dramatically. Ask yourself if you really want the extra resolution. It may be worth it, it may not.

On the topic of noise, Canon and Nikon handle noise very differently. Noise increases as you increase the equivalent ISO (gain) of the chip. Nikon has taken the stance of "Noise happens. Our customers are smart enough to know this. We'll deliver the best possible image, noise included, and let the customer figure out what to do about it." Canon took a different tack and said "Noise happens. Our customers hate noise. As the noise increases, we'll blur the image slightly so the customer can't see the noise." Neither approach in inherently wrong, but you need to know what you're getting into.

The D70s is the most well rounded camera. It has the most useful feature set in the real world. However, it does not have mirror lock-up which is very useful for astrophotography. The D70s has the easiest control system. This is largely due to all the most commonly used settings having a direct control on the outside of the camera body. You will rarely have to delve into the menu system. There's also an in-camera help system for the few times you have to get into the menus. This is one of the few cameras that you stand a reasonable chance of using without having to read the manual. Used for astrophotography, I have thus far been quite satisfied with the D70s. The D70s is also overwhelmingly favored by people with medium to large hands. It's also the most comfortable when shooting with large lenses. The difference between the D70 and the D70s is solely the size of the rear LCD screen. The D70s has a 2" diagonal screen vs. the 1.8" diagonal sceeen on the D70. You'll pay a minimum of $100 more for the D70s. The D70s also comes with a plastic protector for the LCD screen. This means that you spend $13 to replace a little plastic bit rather than $300 to replace the LCD sceen when you scratch something across the back (and you will). With regards to NEF encryption: This issue affects the D2x only, you don't need to worry about it. In fact, all camera manufacturers obsfucate the RAW data in some matter. Adobe used to reverse-enginneer it to provide compatibility. However, they received legal advice to stop doing so. Again, the D70s is not affected by this. The lens it comes kitted with (18-70mm AF-S DX) is superb.

The D50 is, electronically, VERY similar to the D70s. On the spec sheet, the D50 has a slightly dumber autofocus and autoexposure system. In the real world, I've yet to see a difference. The D50 is quite a bit smaller than the D70s. The D50 will be preferred by people with medium sized hands. It's screen does not have a protector. I have not done any astrophotography with this camera yet, but it's imaging system is identical to that of the D70s. In normal use, it works every bit as well as its bigger brother. Pretty much everything that I said about the D70s applies to the D50.

The Rebel XT (350D in Europe) is very small. Really, that's the first thing you notice about it. If you have normal or larger sized hands, it will probably be awkward. When you attach a large lens to the camera, it becomes outright hard to hold as the center of gravity is WAY out in front of your hands. The interface is awkward, it seems to require more button presses to do any one thing than it really ought to. Daylight performance is excellent. The auto-systems work well and are reliable. The menu system is a labyrinthine nightmare. Astrophotographic performance is good, as would be expected based on the performance of it's siblings. Be aware that it's shutter makes an extremely odd noise. Think mechanical cocker spaniel barking. This is a problem because when you fire the shutter, everyone will turn and look at you. People ignore camera sounds because they know what the sound is. No one knows what the heck that sound just was.

The facts are facts, but the judgments based on them are mine and those of my customers. In the last year, I've sold about 500 DSLRs. About 80% of them were Nikon D70's. Take that for what you will. For my money, it's D70s for all-around performance. If I had the money, I'd take a long, hard look at the Canon 20Da.

Feel free to ask me anything you want about cameras and photography. I'm new to astronomy, but I know more about photography and its associated equipment than I can admit in polite company

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