Hence, the conclusion that the Canon450D is better than Nikon’s D60. Photo manipulation when taken RAW can also spell the difference in picture quality.

My two cents…

I find the colours on the Nikon are a bit vivid and have to be toned down afterwards.

I have to say, I find that a slightly odd statement. Perhaps you mean that Canon have more models than Nikkor currently? In the wider market, I can buy any Nikon-fit lens from after 1967 and drop it into my D60 in manual mode. EOS lenses are much more recent. On the other hand, for a user who wanted an “upgradeable point and click” I would possibly recommend the 450D.. At least till the D5000 came out!

It is good to hear that everyone is doing his/her own research and finding which one is better. Comparing Nikon with Canon is a debate that has been going on since don’t know when and will continue to do so. Reviews today is pretty much biased and/or lack of other information. The reviews are pretty common method through out, one model with another model. However, there’s a few more things to remember when doing review. It is GOOD to review model with another model. I just want to ADD a few more variables in making decisions.

What is your goal in photography?

If you’re just a standard person who wants to have a DSLR to play with, AND not thinking of going further into photography? Then either one would be fine.

If you’re thinking of doing it for a longer period, meaning perhaps to earn a living one day (part-time or full time) THEN more things will need to think about. Lenses (types and money).

Canon has way more lenses than Nikon but that’s not the main issue is there? I mean, you have a wider selection but you’re just using one. Example, Nikon has 70-200mm (previously one single model but now two), Canon has FOUR models of the same lens. So? If that matters to you, then you can make things out. So many Nikon users are fine with even one (previously).

Flash systems (wedding photography or other events comes to mind). If you’re into photography and would like to excel in Flash photography discpline, may change your mind once again. Everyone knows, including Canon users, the Nikon cameras have easier flash control systems than Canon.

Lastly, if you’re a consumer who is “very concerned about customer service”, you’ll find it EVEN harder to decided. If you “Google” for “Customer Service Nikon” and “Customer Service Canon”, the horrors on BOTH sides can make you change your mind. However, bear in mind, there’s only a small percentage of such happenings. If not, either company would have folded.

Remember when you do a comparison on cameras, it’s NOT only the model that you’re getting but the ENTIRE SYSTEM.

Before I had my first dSLR, I’ve read all this comment ’bout 450D vs D60 than I went to local cams store, I’ve tried and compared 450D x D60 ’bout the specs, body, lens, & prices, both cams are great, but I’ve to choice finally I decided to become Nikonian and take home D60 with me, because it more handy, more variants lens, cheap, and have a great Pict with it
there’s no doubt like Kenzo said up there:
“canon are built by engineers and Nikon are by photographers”

Trims..

Before i had my first DSLR, i’ve read all this comments ’bout 450D vs D60 , than I go to local camera store, I’ve tried and compared 450D x D60 ’bout specs, body, lens, prices, both of the cams are great cams, but i’ve to choice and finally i decided to become Nikonian and take home D60 with me, it more handly, cheap, more variant’s for the lens and have a great pict with it.
there’s no doubt like Kenzo said up there:
“canon are built by engineers and Nikon are by photographers”

Trims..

1) Which is better suited for sports/action/wildlife pictures (out of the box). I intend to use the camera on many trips with the kids as well as many outings to extreme/action sports events.

2) Which produces better immediate Jpeg pics (without the need of a photo editor of sorts)? I thought I heard/read somewhere that the Canon’s Jpeg pictures are too bright and too much contrast and some prefer to use RAW. Me personally won’t be using 3rd parties to truly edit the pictures (as I don’t know how). I’m the type of shoot it and use it so immediate quality picture is big for me.

Thanks much and look forward to hearing you thoughts/advice.

Both the 450d and d60 will probably do this and are certainly good choices for people who are just learning the ins and outs of photography. I happen to be one of those people and researched quite a lot on both cameras and the newer 1000d too.

These cameras are so close to each other on the technical front that it really doesn’t make a big difference for a beginner. Time spent on pondering which one to buy could be spent on learning the basics of photography and actually taking nice pictures.

Sure you might hit the limitations of these cameras and the kit linses in the future but then you have advanced to a point that you actually know enough on the subject to know what you need. Then you can base your future purchases on that knowledge.

As a beginner you can only research that neither of these cameras has obvious flaws and both will probably suit your needs for some time. Then just go with you heart (and wallet), and pick the one that looks nicer, is cheaper, feels better on your hand, sounds nicer, won the coin toss etc.

I’ll be going with the d60 18-55 kit mostly because of the lower price, active d-lighting and the less plastic feel of the actual camera. Sure, both are made of plastic but the finish was nicer on the d60

I don’t know if it was the ultimate best choice for me, but it was a choice never the less. That means that I will be actually holding my own new shiny camera some time in the near future and do what I really want when it comes to photography: be in the outdoors taking pictures, not sitting on the computer comparing spces

Thank you

I own a Nikon D40 (6.1mp and proud of it) and I could not be happier with it! Please keep in mind that it’s not really so much the machine that matters as is the person holing it and shooting with it… I used to work at a local retailer in the imaging department selling cameras and it always made me laugh (inside) when people (some claiming to be pros) who knew absolutely NOTHING about cameras but they went with Canon or Nikon because this had X megapixels or that had Y focus points, etc and yet they had no clue what those things even meant! Buy what you can afford and develop your skills by practicing and having fun. Your pictures will not look any better because you are shooting with a 10mp camera vs a 4mp camera, etc. Certainly if you reach a certain skill level, you may want to get a camera that matches your needs, but let’s face it – most of us will be entirely content with something that will just take awesome photos! Cheers!