Which DSLR should I take?

I don’t have anything better to do than thinking about which camera I should take: The Nikon D200 or the Canon EOS 30D?

The Nikon has a higher resolution of 10MP, whereas the Canon only has 8MP. At first, clearly Nikon was the leader for me in this case, but now I know that the resolution is heavily dependent on the lens. They both are at the very same level here!

The Canon simply looks better. It has a bended appearance, whereas the Nikon looks like a box. If you look from above, the Nikon looks a bit like it had been hit flat, compared to the Canon.

Only Canon has lenses with their Image Stabilizer in the lower focal length range (about 18-70mm), whereas Nikon doesn’t have their Vibration Reduction in these lenses. On the other hand, Nikon provides additions like a GPS module or a WLAN networking connection. Canon has no optional modules here. But, if I really tend to use such extensions, then not within the next one or two years, I assume. So, there might already be a better DSLR on the market at that time.

Shooting JPEG sequences, they both are almost at the same speed of 5 images/second: The Canon manages a 41 frame burst, whereas the Nikon has a burst of 39 frames. Using their RAW file format, the rates change clearly: Still providing a speed of 5 images/second, the Canon drops down to a 11 frame burst, whereas Nikon manages a burst of 23 frames. On the other hand, I’m no paparazzo, so this can’t be that argument.

Nikon provides a little better support for bracketing with up to 9 images per bracketing shot, whereas the Canon only provides a three-shot sequence. On the other hand, HDR image creators find Nikon’s so many shots a little superfluous.

But, a major drawback of the Canon is its viewfinder: Nikon provides grid lines, and more information is shown in the viewfinder. Also, the Nikon has two more autofocus-spots.

On the other hand, Canon is the leader in camera manufacturing. Only Canon has professional models with a full frame sensor, whereas Nikon still has some difficulties, maybe rooting in the smaller diameter of their lens mounting system. I have the impression that Canon lenses have a larger diameter and therefore larger (and therefore better) lenses, but I’m not sure with this. Paparazzi use Canon.

Nevertheless, in the end I’ll stay with the Nikon, I assume, at least for the current time. But Canon becomes more and more attractive to me. I’m looking forward to the next semi-pro Canon model.