Canon PowerShot S5 IS or nikon d40 which is better and why?

Question

Canon PowerShot S5 IS or nikon d40 which is better and why?

Answer 1

Trick Question ?

The Nikon D40 By Far....

1) It's a DSLR camera, this means that you can change the lenses in and out, to alter the images you're going to get, and you can add a lens that's greater than the 12x zoom on the canon. You can get macro,telephoto, and other kinds of lenses, whereby on the s5IS, you're stuck with essentially the same lens, which i wouldn't settle for

2) Image Quality, although the nikon d40 has two less megapixels than the canon S5IS, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're not going to get beatiful shots. I've had the canon powershot " s " series before, and the quality can't compare to the nikon d40. The image quality is just so much more better. Megapixels doesn't matter, you get what you pay for, and the nikon d40 is considerably more expensive, especially when you add all of the extra gear, and accessories you might want to add to your arsenal.

Those are reasons enough, if you're going to by a digital camera, you should go with the nikon d40, take it from someone that's used it with much success, it's a great camera, if you're going to buy it, you should get it straight from http://amazon.com, that's where i got mines

Answer 2

These are two very different options, and which is better depends a lot on what you want to photograph.  Many of these differences would hold in comparing any camera like the Canon S5, a 'creative compact' to any SLR.

Aside from cost, probably the biggest difference between these cameras is that the D40 allows you to choose the lens that best suits what you want to shoot, and to add other lenses later if your interests change.  With a camera like the S5, the built-in lens is just that.  While you can get wide angle and telephoto adapters, these can be pretty expensive.  The Canon site shows a compatible wide angle adapter for $200 US and a telephoto adapter for $150 US.  And in any case, the image quality will rarely be as good as a dedicated lens.  While the built-in lens of the S5 has a very wide range, this usually comes at the cost of image quality.  The D40 can take pretty much every modern lens in the Nikon system from ultra wide angle to super telephoto, macro, and a variety of wide range zooms that make good 'walking around lenses' for things like travel.

Another big difference in how these cameras work in practice is that the D40 has a real optical viewfinder, while the Canon has an electronic viewfinder.  Again, which is better depends on what you want to shoot.  The Canon, like all non-SLR cameras (meaning no mirror to flip up and down) has 'live view' compsing and shooting on the LCD while the D40 does not.  However, the shutter lag on the D40 is likely to be much shorter, making it easier to catch a child's expression or fast action.  Optical finders are easier to see in bright light, and often show what will be included in the final image more accurately.

In general, the D40 is likely to be more sophisticated and flexible, while still having the easy to use automation of a point and shoot.  It will grow with you more than the S5.  On the other hand, the S5 is likely to be cheaper, smaller, and lighter (especially depending on the lens yo put on the D40).  The D40 has fewer megapixels, but unless you make big enlargements, this is not a big factor- the quality of the lens and the size of the image sensor make a bigger difference.  The D40 sensor is much larger, and that generally means sharper and less noisy.

You should look for specific reviews of each camera (try dpreview.com for one) and then consider the strengths and weaknesses pointed out in the reviews against your intended use.  Do you need to capture fast action, shoot in low light, do macro shots (extreme close-ups), or just family snaps?

Both are good brands, and I own both.  I have Nikon SLR's, but my compacts lately have been Canons.  No compact can match the versatility of an SLR, but sometimes an SLR is too much to carry.  The best strategy is to match what you want to do to the capabilities of the camera, and then factor in your budget.