Canon D7 or Nikon D300 - which one?

I am an illustrator and was recently asked to create images which involved photography.

Being used to using photography as part of my work I thought nothing of organizing the shoot and taking my Canon SX1 IS along, as I needed video as well and the end result was for web purposes only. Pleased with the shots the client then decided to use them for print as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40289902@N07/sets/72157622789477618/

His decision made me aware of my camera's shortcomings in terms of quality, mainly to do with noise and fringing and I now decided to upgrade to something better.

I am considering buying the Canon 7D to give me better quality images, usable for print. When looking at samples though I noticed, although the 7D is better with noise, it still shows fringing issues in high contrast areas. I then compared it to the Nikon D300s and felt the Nikon seems to be dealing better with high contrast issues in terms of fringing. I am now torn between the two cameras. Is it true that Nikon produces better quality pictures even with their kit lenses? I can't make up my mind which one to go for (budget is about £1,400 - £2,000).

Good point. What lens would you recommend, if I went for the D90 (I like the video option), bearing in mind that I would like a zoom lens covering the shorter or medium ranges.

Just switched from the D300 to the 7D. This is basically technology leapfrog. Canon's 7D is brand new and has a novel, redesigned, sophisticated autofocus system that is far better than the D300's IMHO. Image quality is also better on my Canon then was on my Nikon. Images are more vibrant, cleaner, sharper and better "read" by the autometer when shooting in automodes. AutoWB and AutoISO are much more accurate in the Canon than I found in the D300.

And I am sure I will be flamed for this but the "green box" totally automode that is available on the 7D has been a life saver for me. My DH and daughter can borrow the camera without knowing ANYTHING about photography and shoot basically perfect images every time! Even in difficcult lighting conditions, the total auto mode has saved the day when I am not handling the camera. I like to shoot manual so I don't use this mode but it has totally come in handy.

The biggest complement to the 7D is that I am now shooting only in JPG and have not post processed ANY of my images. With the D300, I always shot RAW because I had to tweak the WB on many pictures and had to sharpen quite a bit. Now I would say about 90% of my shots are total keepers with NO post processing required whatsoever!

I have never had such a great camera (coming from D100, D200 and D300). I am happy to have sold my Nikon gear and made the switch to Canon. It was the best decision of my life.

Make sure you get a good lens. The 28-135 kit lens has pleasantly surprised me and is only $200, a remarkable deal for such a quality lens!! That said, I see it's limitation (mostly softness) compared to my 70-200L, which costs 10x the price.

Katherine

Yes, the "green box" and CA modes are frankly questionable offerings on Canon's flagship APS-C DSLR geared towards advanced amateurs or pros on a budget. Having these modes available on the cam in case you want to let others who are not versed in photography shoot with it doesn't cut it in my book. By similar line of reasoning, the 1D series should also have full auto and creative auto modes as well. Canon marketing want to eat their cake and have it too.

Karl Gnter Wnsch wrote:

Yorko wrote:

I am considering buying the Canon 7D to give me better quality images, usable for print. When looking at samples though I noticed, although the 7D is better with noise, it still shows fringing issues in high contrast areas. I then compared it to the Nikon D300s and felt the Nikon seems to be dealing better with high contrast issues in terms of fringing.

That's not due to the camera

It's not? I'd say it is. The camera does it, so what else are you going to attribute it to?

(mainly, Nikon corrects for this problem in Camera for some lenses though,

False: Nikon corrects for this problem for all lenses. It doesn't have to know what lens it is to fix it. I've used lenses it had no idea what really were (and couldn't). Still works brilliantly.

you'd be spending additional money for their RAW converter to have this available if shooting RAW).

Also false: the software to convert to 8-bit JPEGs or 16-bit TIFFs is free, comes with the camera, and handles lateral chromatic aberrations just as the camera's firmware does. You would not be spending any additional money at all even if you did shoot raw.

(And it's "raw", not "RAW"! What do you think it's an acronym for, anyway? Really Awful Word? Sheesh!)

You only have to buy something if you want to rein in the much peskier longitudinal chromatic aberrations, not the easy lateral ones. The camera bodies only autocorrect lateral chromatic aberrations anyway, so the free converters do, too. But NX2 handles longitudinal chromatic aberrations, too. It's worth it.

reginalddwight wrote:

Yes, the "green box" and CA modes are frankly questionable offerings on Canon's flagship APS-C DSLR geared towards advanced amateurs or pros on a budget. Having these modes available on the cam in case you want to let others who are not versed in photography shoot with it doesn't cut it in my book. By similar line of reasoning, the 1D series should also have full auto and creative auto modes as well. Canon marketing want to eat their cake and have it too.

Lets not teach our kids math starting with 1+1=2. Cause that's just weak. Lets get them doing triple integrals, Fourier transform etc etc. And for physics lets not start with Newton's gravity, cause of course relativity works more accurately for extreme cases therefor we should teach kids that instead.

Oh and do you drive a car with an automatic transmission? That's also weak. Heck manual transmission with synchros is weak. Everyone should drive crash boxes and double clutch. Baah I am such a man!

I want an auto or P mode cause I want to be able to hand it too someone to take a photo of me and my girlfriend. Or allow my girlfriend to take photos when she feels like it. And yes she holds my 7D like a point and shoot.

I would like to following left out of my pro-sumer 7mk2

1: Remove the mode dial, Only manual mode.
2: Remove JPEG, no need for WB
3: Remove 18 AF piont. Need only one.
4: Remove AI servo, just AF single.
5: Remove continuous shooting. I'll press the shutter each time.
6: Remove metering. I'll use my eyes or external meter.

7: Remove LCD, I don't need LiveView, don't need to chimp, don't need a histogram.
8: Remove internal flash. Remove wireless control.

9: Remove ISO, shoot everything at base ISO, I'll PP the rest using my own software.
10: Remove DPP or any other software.

11: Provide specification for Canon RAW, provide sensor specs so I can write my own.
12: Do not provide battery grip, they are for wimps.
13: Add hand crank so I can charge the batery in the field.
14: VF should have nothing displayed.
15: Remove diopter adjustment.
16: Remove Sensor cleaning.

17: Have camera automatically send strong electric pulse to short out any legacy Canon lenses that have IS activated. IS are for wimps.

18: Remove weather proofing. If the camera can't stand moisture, it deseved to die.
19: Add Rambo survival knife to botom of 7Dmk2.

20: Add secret compartment with two cyanide tablets (it takes 2 to kill me). If I get caught by Nikonians and can't fight my way back to safety, I have to take my own life.
21: Add self-distruct button, a la Predator. 1 Kiloton yield would suffice.
22: Replace magnesium body with spent uranium body.
23: Of course no video mode. Only quiche eaters need video.
24: Double the price of the 7D. I want people to know that it is expensive.
25: The most important change it make it PINK with little purple bunnies.

reginalddwight wrote:

Yes, the "green box" and CA modes are frankly questionable offerings on Canon's flagship APS-C DSLR geared towards advanced amateurs or pros on a budget. Having these modes available on the cam in case you want to let others who are not versed in photography shoot with it doesn't cut it in my book. By similar line of reasoning, the 1D series should also have full auto and creative auto modes as well. Canon marketing want to eat their cake and have it too.

Thanks folks for your input. You made up my mind, especially Kathrine, who used both.

The 7D is then. I'll start off with the kit lens and see how I get on. I also like the idea of connecting the camera to my laptop. Thanks again, and by the way, I absolutely love the green box and the "P", because it allows me to focus on the scene.