ot - 40d vs d90 dslr?

ushere wrote on 10/10/2009, 10:28 PM
just got back from a couple of weeks shooting in vic (australia). v1p behaved as expected, great footage, but unfortunately my trusty d70s lacked enough resolution for some drastic cropping on a number of wildlife shots (don't have a really long tele - never need one before).

so i started looking around and have narrowed it to the above cameras (both in the $aus1.5k area) - though i'm open to other suggestions as well.

anyone have any experience with either / comparison?

it'll be mainly used for product shots for brochures and most importantly oil paintings - so it needs excellent colour def and resolution. i like working with a 18-85mm style lens but i do have 50mm lens for art works if necessary.

tia

leslie

Comments

farss wrote on 10/10/2009, 11:39 PM
No real experience with any still cameras, my old Sony F828 is still good enough and I like its LiveView.

Still putting on my thinking cap the little voices are saying "lens, lens". Something like a fast 80-200mm zoom would seem in order for wildlife in this country unless you're an experienced hunter with a lot of time on your hands. From the little research I've done into glass for still cameras though a good longish zoom is well over $1.5K. I said 'fast' because most of our wildlife only comes out at dusk.

Bob.
musicvid10 wrote on 10/11/2009, 8:21 AM
The biggest complaint about the D90 is that autofocus is disabled in video mode. It's been a deal-killer for many, and would make zoom lens work difficult, to say the least.
Laurence wrote on 10/11/2009, 8:54 AM
Not to change the subject, but with the shots you already have, you really should check out http://www.benvista.com/main/content/content.php?page=ourproducts&section=photozoompro_1PhotoZoom Pro 3[/link]. It does an absolutely incredible job of uprezzing stills. Not that this is any substitute for sufficient resolution in the first place, but you really need to try it out. It is absolutely amazing what this program can do.

If you compare it to Photozoom Pro 2, it is exactly the same except that it has one extra algorithm, but that new algorithm is the one that you will use all the time. It just kicks butt.

I use this program all the time. It is standalone, but if you use Photoshop, you can export to it from within Photoshop, (which is the way I use it). Believe me, you've never seen uprezzing like this.
Laurence wrote on 10/11/2009, 9:00 AM
By the way, if I had to choose between more megapixels to crop from and a longer lens, I would take the longer lens.
musicvid10 wrote on 10/11/2009, 10:56 AM
if I had to choose between more megapixels to crop from and a longer lens, I would take the longer lens. . . .

. . . and good light, and a rock steady tripod.
gpsmikey wrote on 10/12/2009, 5:16 PM
A couple of considerations (I have a D70s and a D300s) - I'm not sure on the D90, but on the D40, autofocus does not work unless you have a lens with an internal focus motor (like the nikons). The D70 is able to drive the focus on the Sigma 70-300 for example, but the D40 can not. All things considered, I just got a Nikon AF-S 70-300 VR zoom lens (about $500) and am very happy with the quality of the images I get with it. The VR (Vibration Reduction) feature give you approximately 3 steps slower on the shutter speed you can use for a given focal length (it really works !! ) For distant objects (wildlife etc), better / longer glass is the best answer up to the limit of the image sensor in the camera. You might consider joining Nikonians at
http://www.nikonians.org/
Full of nothing but Nikon enthusiasts with LOTS of good information and ideas on those cameras (they have a free 1 month trial membership, then $25 for a year after that - so far I have been very impressed with the quality of information there).

mikey