Hi all and thanks. Hate to start with a gripe but I recently bought my son his first dslr a Canon 2000d with the standard kit lens 18-55 IS. I ran some test shots with it expecting it to be clearly better than my aged Nikon d300. I was just a little shocked to see really really poor images! I did side by side exposures and the Canon was clearly inferior. I have done a deep dive into the settings but only achieved a marginal improvement. So, my concern is that the camera is defective. Any thoughts etc would be appreciated. I am an experienced photographer with both digital and film so understand the technical details very well so I’m well aware that that’s not the issue here. For a supposedly 24MP sensor the image is really soft and blurry in comparison to the Nikon 12MP. Many thanks
There is a lot to unpack here but i suspect the largest difference would be your lens. 1. i am not sure exactly which 18-55 you have but kit lenses have some very average glass/image quality. 2 Your D300 was a sports car of a camera in its day for 2008, 51 focus points was insane for that time, your much newer 2000d is a basic intro level rebel with only 9 focus points. Comparing these cameras on just megapixels is not remotely fair, pixels only allow you to print large. Your D300 would be more similar to buying a r5 of 5d mark4..... if looking for a modern canon. That said I suspect you had some sharp glass on that Nikon because they would not put a cheap consumer lens on a $2k body.
Hi and thanks for taking the time to reply. I hear what you have to say about the relative setups. I know that I didn’t include some information in the original post. I am an experienced photographer so I equalised both cameras in every respect that I could and that included glass etc. Both metered the same, same iso, aperture etc, same focal length etc. My Nikon glass was bog standard dx format Nikkor and the Canon had IS which the Nikon lens didn’t. Focus points and other technical aspects were removed from the shot, as I said I was looking for strictly sensor/imaging software differences. I have used other Nikons such as the Nikon d50 with only 6MP and it still smashes the Canon. I’ve checked in with Ken Rockwell’s blog and he loves Canon but roasts the 2000d for its image quality. I’m really just curious if it’s a model issue or this specific body. Many thanks.
Hard to say, I have never used any of the digital rebels, started with a 20D and worked up from there, IQ has always been good, but then again I have always put primes or L grade zooms on the bodies. Did you pickup the 2000d new or used? They have been selling the body/kit since 2018 so its possible they good have had some bad eggs, but you would think others online have complained about it. If its new i would return it and try another one. In fact I would go mirror-less and pickup an r50 instead of the 6 year old digital rebel. They have basically pivoted to RF lenses now like most companies they are focused on mirror-less being the future. And if your not invested in the EF mount its the perfect entry point to start with RF lenses.
Hi again and again thank you for taking the time to respond I really appreciate it. I am beginning to think that my instincts are correct and that it’s this particular camera that is faulty as I would seriously doubt that Canon would put out an obvious lemon of a camera and that the online community would tear it apart. Thanks also for the recommendation re the r50 it is receiving a lot of great reviews. Take care and thanks for your time and information. God Bless
