Canon EOS 400D, Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha A-100 Comparision

Here's a brief comparison of the three new 10MP DSLRs announced in the last few months. They are the Canon Digital Rebel XTi (EOS 400D), the Nikon D80 and the Sony Alpha A100. Though you may not associate Sony with high end cameras it's important to know that Sony recently took over the camera division of Minolta, so the Sony Alpha A100 is actually an evolution of the Minolta Maxxum line of cameras and can use any of the Minolta Maxxum lenses.

All three are 10MP cameras, all three have a 2.5" LCD, all three have a 3fps maximum shooting rate. They all have the same range of shutter speeds and very similar white balance, focus and exposure modes. All three can shoot RAW and JPEG images. They are all good cameras! So how do they differ?

• Well, the Sony and Canon use CF memory cards, while the Nikon used SD cards. Nothing really to chose here unless you have a big investment in either type of card. Currently SD and CF memory is pretty similar in speed, cost and card capacity.
• The Sony has image stabilization built into the body, while both the Canon and Nikon get image stabilization from lenses with IS built in. The advantage of the Sony is that you can get stabilization with ANY lens, while the advantage of the Canon and Nikon are that lens based stabilization is more effective, especially for long (telephoto) lenses.
• The Nikon and Sony use a pentaprism viewfinder which is larger than the Canon's pentamirror system.
• Both the Sony and Canon have automatic dust removal systems.
• The Nikon has ISO settings up to 3200, while the Canon and Sony only go to ISO 1600. The Sony is known to be noisier than the Digital Rebel XT at ISO settings of 800 and 1600, with some loss of image detail also, but it's not yet known how the D80 and XTi will compare.
• The Canon price is $799, while the Nikon is $999 and the Sony is $899.
• The Sony is available now, The Canon should be available by mid-September according to Canon, and Canon are usually pretty good about getting new DSLRs to stores. Nikon say the D80 should be available in September too, but in the past Nikon have been pretty slow getting new cameras to dealers.
• The Canon and Nikon lens lines are more extensive than the current Sony/Minolta lens lines, though for a beginner with a limited budget all three lines will almost certainly be extensive enough.

Which would I buy? I think any one of the three would be good. I'm a Canon shooter, so I'd stick with what I know and go for the Canon myself, but if I wasn't a Canon shooter and had no investment in lenses, I'm not sure what I'd pick. It would be a tough choice, but I think as an average consumer it would probably come down to the Canon or Sony based on price and features.

The higher noise level of the Sony might concern me a bit if I thought I'd be shooting at ISO settings higher than 400 very often, though the images would still be far better than those from any P&S digicam. The built in image stabilization of the Sony A100 is certainly a plus, though the lens based stabilization of the IS and VR lenses from Canon and Nikon may be more effective - but at an added cost per lens.

The Nikon is $200 more than the Canon ($100 more than the Sony) and is more expensive than the Canon EOS 20D, which is arguably a better camera (though "only" 8.2MP). However it's a good camera and if the Nikon lens line is attractive to you or you already own Nikon lenses, it's certainly seems to a better camera than the D70s was and I'm sure it will perform well.

Here's a table comparing the basic specifications of the three cameras:

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