Buying your first DSLR ?? – you often end up answering this question. Canon or Nikon ?. Being an amateur , my selection criteria was quite simple – of reviews, ratings and blogs and of course some samples shots. I am not (yet) an authority competent to comment on digital photography, hence you will not find anything useful in this post answering that question! .When knowledge is scarce, it is natural (and often wise) to go with the popular opinion. Nikons and Canons share the chunk of the market between them and are easily the ’safe’ bets for someone getting his first DSLR. Call it brand loyalty (I also own a Canon IXY400) or sheer prejudice, I went for the Canon 400D over the Nikon D40. What particularly drew me towards this one was (again from reviews, ratings ..blah! blah!)
1. Canon seemingly can focus faster, probably a leader of sorts in this technology. Quite useful when it comes to event photography, outings, parties etc. I figured that the large chunk of photos I’d be shooting would fall under these categories and having a faster AF helps!
2.The 400D has a dust removal system that the D40 lacks. I don’t really know how effective this feature is, but the prospect of dust on the sensor really scares me , so I’d better be safe!
3.I cannot vouch on this one, but this is what I garner from the sample pictures I saw. The image conversion (RAW to JPEG ) in Canon was better with respect to detail than the Nikon samples I saw.
But having said that, the best picture I took till date happens to be with a NikonD40 
. I am working on my Canon, maybe its just a matter of time before I can produce the same kind of quality that I got out of the Nikon! .
Over this I recently read a quote:
“Canons are the best cameras available designed by engineers, and Nikons are the best cameras one can buy designed by photographers ” - The Internet
Well, I am an engineer ………!!!
