For this most recent Taiwan trip, I knew I probably would want to cut down on as much weight as possible when it came to carry on luggage. That meant my regular Canon 5D with 24-70L, 70-200 f/4 IS, and 50 f/1.4 combo would probably be a bit too heavy and space-consuming. So I considered my options. I could have picked up a cheap Rebel XTi and paired it with the new Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OS along with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 but I figured this would be a perfect opportunity to check out the competition. So I assembled a used kit consisting of a Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR, and Sigma 30mm f/1.4. I considered getting the D40x instead but I just couldn't imagine being limited to just 3 autofocus points.
So just my quick and dirty thoughts on this travel kit and the whole Canon/Nikon rivalry in general. The D80 is ergonomically better than the XTi but I still like my 5D layout and controls best overall. I like how the on/off switch on the Nikon is a ring around the shutter button so turning the cam on is more convenient. However, I still can't figure out if the D80 has an auto-off/sleep mode. Can't seem to find it. With the 5D, there's a setting to have the camera go to sleep after a few minutes of non-use and a half-push of the shutter button (or any other button) brings it back to life so the less convenient location of the on/off switch isn't a huge deal because once I turn it on, I never have to switch it off.
The D80 though (and I assume Nikon in general) does a much better job with their automatic white balance especially under fluorescent lighting. It is noticeably better than the XT/XTi. With the Canon bodies under fluorescent, you almost always had to set the white balance to the fluorescent setting to get decent results and sometimes not even then. In low fluorescent lighting you often had to bump up the exposure as well otherwise you'd get this really ugly orange/red mess. Auto WB is quite acceptable on the 40D and 5D though. On the other hand, matrix metering on the D80 is really out of whack. Serious overexposure in daylight conditions (need to dial down exposure compensation to -0.7 usually) but actually handy in available light/indoor situations since it makes the photo brighter. =p
Nikon's auto-ISO feature though is very convenient and I don't understand why Canon hasn't even bothered coming up with their own version of this yet. Set the maximum ISO you want the camera to be able to ramp up to and the slowest acceptable shutter speed, set the dial to P mode and you're ready to go. This makes up for the fact that manually setting the ISO on the D80 requires you to take your eye from the viewfinder, something that isn't necessary on the 5D since the ISO is displayed in the viewfinder while you're changing it.
Changing exposure compensation I find easier on the 5D as I just drop my right thumb down to the big scroll wheel. With the D80 I have to hold the exposure compensation button down and then fiddle with the back thumb wheel. I hate having to hold buttons down to do stuff. Prefer the Canon way of just pressing and releasing a button. Also not a big fan of the thumb and index finger wheels on the Nikons but I'm sure it's just a matter of getting used to 'em.
The multi-directional joystick nub on the 5D also beats out the measly 4-direction pad on the D80. But that pad beats out the 4 individual buttons on the XTi. It sucks to not be able to move diagonally when shifting focus points. Deleting photos is much easier on the Nikon though. Click the trash button once and then click it again to confirm. As opposed to Canon's click on trash button once and then having to scroll to the confirm option and then clicking the SET button to finish the job. However, zooming in on a photo while in review mode drives me crazy with Nikon. On a Canon body, when you zoom all the way in, that's full size. On a Nikon, zooming all the way in goes like 2 steps beyond full size which is just mystifying to me. Why would I need to see the photo blown up to beyond 200%?
In general, the D80 with 18-200 and Sigma 30 makes a very good travel kit. The 18-200 zoom's center sharpness is quite good given it's large zoom range although the sides are weaker. And the Sigma 30 gives respectable lowlight results. Obviously the D80 isn't going to impress anybody with its high ISO performance when compared to the 5D but it's more than usable for vacation photos.
As for the whole Canon/Nikon ergonomics brawl, there is no doubt that Canon's Rebel line could take some pointers from Nikon. But I don't think Canon's prosumer/advanced amateur bodies really lose much to Nikon. They just do things a little differently. Once you get used to either side, you'll be able to do what you need to do when you need to do it without much thought.
So that's my take and I'm sticking with it. =)
