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Canon 500d or Nikon D5000 Lens Options

by Craig
(Newport Beach, CA, USA)

I'm torn between buying either the Nikon D5000 or Canon 500D. I'd like to only have one lens and willing to pay extra for something like a 18mm-200mm lens. This site has been excellent for me. I don't have a DSLR right now so I'd be starting from scratch. My decision may be based on which lens is better for indoor shots of my kids, stage performances and track meets.

Is there a recommendation between the Canon or Nikon for a lens in the 18mm-200mm category? Or would you buy two lenses? 18mm-75mm? Or would you go smaller like a I believe the Canon lens is a bit brighter on photos. Sorry for the non-technical jargon...I'm truly a novice.

I also just read about the Nikon D5000 recall.

Thanks for you input!

Comments for
Canon 500d or Nikon D5000 Lens Options

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Sep 18, 2009
 Nikon D5000
by: J Hastings

I just bought my Nikon D5000 and I am loving it. I too am a novice. Once I got my camera, I went to NikonUSA.com and check my camera's serial # against the recall. There it was...my stomach tighten, I felt sick. Although my camera was working perfectly, Nikon recommended that the camera be sent back. You even print out the prepared UPS shipping label. CAUTION: When I asked about adding insurance, my UPS store said the label provided $100 only insurance. I scrapped Nikon's label and had UPS insure it for $900 and Shipped it for me.

My camera was back to me in less than a week. I have been taking pictures and loving every minute. I'm considering buying a 24mm -120mm VR lens. I enjoy shooting close-ups and still want that fae away shot too.
Sep 05, 2009
 Maximum Aperture
by: Digital SLR Guide

Both the Canon 500D and the Nikon D5000 are compatible with 18-200mm image stabilized lenses, so unfortunately this doesn't help too much when deciding between the two.

Canon makes an 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (image stabilization) while Nikon's is the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S VR (vibration reduction).

The advantage that both of these lenses offer is a nice big 11x zoom range and image stabilization, but because of this large zoom range two things suffer: image quality (a bit) and the maximum aperture.

Two of the three things you noted that you'll want to photograph - your kids indoors and stage performances - require lenses with wider maximum apertures since the available light is so dim and (for stage performances at least) you can't use the flash.

Here the Canon has the advantage. The Nikon D5000 is most compatible with Nikon AF-S lenses (many other lenses won't autofocus) while the Canon is compatible with many older Canon and third party lenses.

If you're looking for more lenses with wider maximum apertures, you'll probably find more that will work with the Canon, but with the Nikon your lens choices will be more limited.

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