Beginner’s guide to buying first DSLR. (Canon 450D, 500D, 550D, Nikon D3000, D5000)

Last Updated on May-24-2010 16 Commented

This article serves as a guide and as a reference to kick-start yourself into buying your first ever D-SLR system. For this article, we will be only focusing on 5 models. They are Canon 450D, Canon 500D, Canon 550D, Nikon D3000 and Nikon D5000.

Before we go deep into the discussion on the camera models and start comparing each of them, it is essential that we all understand some of the very basic terminology of a SLR system.

DSLR Camera Lenses and Abbreviations – What is USM, HSM, SWM, OS, IS, VR?

If you already know what is shutter speed, aperture, depth-of-field, ISO etc. probably you can skip this step or you may spend some time reading the basic terminology of camera glossary of Digital Photography Terminology first. If you are very keen into it, try reading the much more detailed .

It is also highly recommend to read DPeview’s Buying a digital SLR article as it makes you understand what you are really buying here.

Quoted from DPReview:

One last word. Buying an SLR is, for many people, only the first step on what can become a lifelong relationship with a specific camera system, so it’s important to look at the ‘bigger picture’ when making your choice. The camera is only part of the equation when it comes to image quality; the lens has an equally important role to play. Most of the major players have broadly similar lens options (and there’s plenty of third-party alternatives for those that don’t), but inevitably each has its relative strengths and weaknesses. If you have a specific application that needs specialized lenses (or other accessories) it’s worth doing some research before committing to one system or another; dpreview’s lens reviews and user forums are an excellent place to start.

Entry Level

Models enlisted: Canon 450D, Canon 500D, Canon 550D, Nikon D3000 and Nikon D5000.

Nikon D3000. In short, do not buy.

Quoted from CameraLabs.com

But like its predecessor, the D3000 eschews a number of features which could frustrate more sophisticated owners over time. There’s no exposure bracketing, no depth-of-field preview, no autofocus on older lenses and no battery grip (at least from Nikon anyway), while some settings can take an unnecessary number of clicks to access. We know the D3000 is primarily aimed at beginners who won’t care about any of this, but equally there’s a number of enthusiasts who are looking for a DSLR on a tight budget who’ll be put off.

While Nikon proudly markets the D3000’s ease-of-use at DSLR beginners and those upgrading from a point and shoot camera, it also can’t hide the fact there’s no Live View or movie mode facility. The latter may not be available on budget DSLRs quite yet, but Live View is expected by many buyers who’ve become used to framing with a screen. Embarrassingly for Nikon, Live View has also been a standard fixture on entry-level DSLRs from Canon and Olympus for well over a year. Indeed it was notable by its absence on the earlier D60, which makes it even more painful not to find it here on a mid-2009 model.

Canon 450D has now reaching it’s end-of-life pretty much soon with the announcement of the new Canon 550D. It’s price has now come to a all-time low. If you are hunting for a bargain, go with this model.

The Canon 500D inherits pretty much all that you can find in a Canon 450D but with a higher megapixels sensor, a better LCD, a higher ISO although practically not really usable at its highest levels. What’s really missing in the Canon 450D is the ability to record video. In term of overall image quality, there’s not much in it compared to the Canon 450D.

The biggest rival of Canon 550D from the other camp? It’s the Nikon D5000.

Quoted from CameraLabs.com

Nikon’s D5000 is undoubtedly the biggest rival for Canon’s EOS 500D / T1i, with both sharing HD movie modes, HDMI ports and similar price tags. There are however a number of differences between them to weigh-up.

At first glance, the Canon EOS 500D / T1i appears to trump the D5000 in a number of key specifications: the resolution is higher (15.1 Megapixels versus 12.3), the maximum sensitivity is higher (12800 ISO compared to 6400), tonal depth is greater (14 bits versus 12), the screen is bigger and more detailed (3in VGA vs 2.7in QVGA), the viewfinder slightly larger and the headline movie mode can capture 1080p video compared to 720p. Like all Canon DSLRs, you also get free PC / Mac based remote control and decent RAW conversion software. So Canon’s won the battle, right? Well not necessarily.

In its favour the D5000 has a fully-articulated screen which allows great compositional flexibility in Live View, it sports quicker continuous shooting (4fps vs 3.4fps), a slightly more sophisticated AF system (11-point versus 9-point), on-demand grid lines in the optical viewfinder, and an easier user interface for beginners. In terms of resolution, the 500D / T1i may have the advantage in numbers, but in our tests there was very little in it, and crucially, the D5000 boasted superior noise and detail at higher sensitivities.

It’s also important to debunk Canon’s claim of Full HD video, as the 1080p mode on the 500D / T1i is ‘only’ at 20fps, so in reality, both it and the D5000 are arguably in the same class with 720p. Many will also prefer the Motion JPEG compression system employed by Nikon which is much easier to edit than the H.264 format used by Canon, not to mention its choice of 24fps over 30fps.

As always, it boils down to choosing the model which best-suits your needs. See our Nikon D5000 review for full details.

Canon 550D is arguably the best entry level that we can find to date. It’s often compared to the Nikon D90 in the enthusiasts level. Of course, it doesn’t has the build quality and robustness of the Nikon D90 as both of them are positioned differently in the market.

Quoted from bythom.com

Low-end consumer: The winner here would have to be the Canon T2i (550D). This is the category where Nikon seems to have lost all reason. They’ve simply taken a D40x and iterated almost nothing meaningful on it for two more generations (D60, D3000). Nikon’s product feels outdated, out-of-place, underspecified, and unremarkable compared to the competition. This is a trend that has been continuing for some time. The T1i started to move the bar significantly in Canon’s direction; the T2i put some real space between the Canon and Nikon products.

If you are going the Nikon way, do take not that some of the Nikon lenses do not have built-in focusing motor and both Nikon D3000 and Nikon D5000 do not have “screw-drive motor” built into its body to drive the manual focus lens to focus. You will need to focus manually unless you fit it into a body that has “screw-drive motor” (Eg, Nikon D90). This might become an issue when you are upgrading your lenses later on.

Canon, on the other hand, do not have such an issue.

Ending Notes

If you are buying Nikon, we are actually not going to recommend neither Nikon D3000 nor Nikon D5000. Instead, you can get a Nikon D90. Due to Canon’s recent price drop in some of its models, Nikon D90 is surely a very good deal to grab now!

If you are buying Canon, do not need to record video and on tight budget, you may go for Canon 450D. For those who want to get a taste of Canon’s latest technological breath through, Canon 550D is the way to go! Anything in between would be the Canon 500D.

You can’t go wrong with either brand. They are the leaders in the field and have extensive line-up of lenses and related equipments. Both have very large user base as well. Of course, other makers are trying to grab a bit of the market share but let’s discuss about that later on.

Pricing

Nikon D90 body only – RM 2585
Nikon D90 with 18-105mm – RM 3495

A new 18-55mm lens cost about RM 800. A stripped out from a kit lens package may cost you RM 500 but 18-105mm offers better quality and more focal length range.