Decision Time, Nikon D300 or Canon 7D?

[Casey G]

in the next few weeks my plan was to buy a D300 and sell my D200, but I keep on hearing about how good the Canon 7D is. Right now I have a D200 and I use my Nikon 18-200 with it most of the time. I also have a Nikon 80-200 for sports. I have sold all my other lenses since I never use them. so I could buy a D300 and have two great lenses already, or

sell everything and buy a Canon 7D, Canon 18-200 which I hear is as good as the Nikon's 18-200 and then buy the Canon 70-200 f/4 IS.

selling the D200 and buying the D300 will save me about a grand over selling everything and buying the Canon equipment I talked about.

what do you think and thanks for any advice

[Tom]

I can't imagine any circumstances that I would use either company's 18-200.

A Canon 70-200 F2.8 would probably be better for sports than an F/4 IS.

[flashinm]

I agree. I would keep your D200 and spend that money on lenses. A camera is only as good as what you mount in front of it.

[bondarnes]

If you just gotta spend some money then get the D300, but in all honesty there is nothing wrong with your D200. It is a great camera. Why do you feel you need to change something?

[rfortson]

Go for the D300. The high ISO capability compared to your D200 will more than compensate for the slower 18-200 lenses.

[janetg]

my suggestion...is find some way to qualify in your mind... which camera YOU think produces the better photo. i made the same decision you are facing...and have been very happy with my decision. while i do get 'the other guy envy' once in a while, it passes.

[toverman]

Whenever I'm considering a new camera body, I've got to have some compelling reasons. What does your D200 not do that you want it to do, and will the D300 do it?

Nikon and Canon sell 18-200 lenses to placate people who want only one lens. It overlaps with your much better 80-200, so if you've got upgrade fever, consider selling the 18-200 and getting a better-quality lens to cover the wider-middle range.

[J Eddington]

You bought a Nikon to begin with stick with it. Switching brands makes no sense. Canon and Nikon both produce good cameras. We have both in this house. That way my daughter cannot borrow my lenses!

[Coogie]

18-200 is not just slow. It's slow, overpriced, and soft. It's just a one size fits all type when you can't change lenses. I guess the bigger question here is what is it that you want to do that you feel the D200 doesn't do? Is it low light performance?

I'm not one of those people thinks the body doesn't matter and all you need is glass but your glass is very limited at the wider end. Have you looked into the D90? It has the same sensor performance as the D300 and you can save that money to get a nice mid range zoom.

Also, the 7D is a full frame camera...I don't know much about canon but I seriously doubt that they have a 18-200mm full frame camera lens. A better comparison would be with the D700 (not counting the price lol).

[Casey G]

Thanks for the advice.

other then the high iso limitations of the D200 there is nothing at all I dislike about it. it's a great camera, really I just want a newer one.

I like the 18-200 because it's small and does everything pretty good when I don't want to carry a bag of lenses. like I said for what I do it works most of the time. when needed I grab my 80-200 2.8.

I guess I already knew it, I just wanted to hear it from others that both were great camera's and there was really no need to switch brands.

[AndrewCCM]

Originally Posted by Coogie

18-200 is not just slow. It's slow, overpriced, and soft. It's just a one size fits all type when you can't change lenses. I guess the bigger question here is what is it that you want to do that you feel the D200 doesn't do? Is it low light performance?

I'm not one of those people thinks the body doesn't matter and all you need is glass but your glass is very limited at the wider end. Have you looked into the D90? It has the same sensor performance as the D300 and you can save that money to get a nice mid range zoom.

Also, the 7D is a full frame camera...I don't know much about canon but I seriously doubt that they have a 18-200mm full frame camera lens. A better comparison would be with the D700 (not counting the price lol).

Correction: The 7D is not a full frame camera. It is 1.6 Crop.

[toverman]

The Canon 7D is actually a 1.6x crop camera; the new naming system probably threw Arie off a little. The 5D is Canon's prosumer full-frame camera (with 5D Mark II the latest version). I do agree that camera bodies can make a difference, but is there a great difference between the D200 and D300?

And it's up to you whether you *want* a new one. If you can afford it, go for it. My budget calls for *need* before I act!

[Coogie]

Originally Posted by AndrewCCM

Correction: The 7D is not a full frame camera. It is 1.6 Crop.

Man camera numbering systems are confusing.I thought since 5D was full frame 7D would also be the same.

[d2creative]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

I can't imagine any circumstances that I would use either company's 18-200.

Agreed. The thought of putting a 18-200 on a 7d or D3 just seems wrong.

[zebulus]

Originally Posted by d2creative

Agreed. The thought of putting a 18-200 on a 7d or D3 just seems wrong.

I saw a guy at the camera exchange once...brought in his D3 and lo and behlod, he had a 18-200 on it. I couldnt quite figure out why you would put that lens on a full frame camera.