Nikon D5200 or Canon T4i?

If you already have a lens that will work on the Nikon (and autofocus?), that seems to give a leg up to the Nikon.

That being said, there are plenty of fantastic 35mm lenses you can get for the Canon. Canon makes a couple of good ones, one is even reasonably priced (the f/2 one). Also, Sigma makes a fantastic 30mm and 35mm lens for these Cameras. I'm in love with my Sigma 30mm 1.4 lens.

Get the Nikon of course.

Seriously though, since you aren't invested heavily in either platform I would suggest handling both of them. Figure out which system works the best for you. Then start your quest for glass.

I have read nothing but great reviews on the new D5200 and, supposedly, its Toshiba sensor is superb. I haven't really ready any reviews for the T4i so I can't comment on it.

My recommendation (and what I would personally do): if you already have the 35mm Nikkor, just go for the Nikon camera. If you're not happy with the results you get, you can always return it and try out the Canon.

Chuck-Norris said:

well my current predicament is, nikon d5200 body and the nikon 35mm lens i already have, or canon t4i with 18-135mm lens. if i go canon route i can easily sell the 35mm and break even on kijiji. canon doesnt have a 35mm unfortunately, just a 50mm but the FOV on that on the t4i is to tight since its a crop sensor lens. i understand i cant get as good bokeh on the 18-135mm compared to the nikon 35mm prime lens or course. i like taking pics of people with blurry backgrounds

if u guys were in my ppredicament, do u have a preference? i know its up to me but i was just curius if u were in my position. there expensive cameras !

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An inexpensive Nikon 55-300 can give you very blurry backgrounds for pictures of people. Longer focal lengths can give very blurry backgrounds even at f/8 or so. A 35/1.8 has an aperture size of 19mm, a 55-300 racked out to 300 @ f/5.6 has an aperture size of 54mm, almost 3 times the size of a 35/1.8 lens. The maths is complicated but basically the larger the aperture size the blurrier the distant background.

Chuck-Norris said:

true that makes more sense on why zooming in on my kit lens a few months back ebfore i broke it lol and focusing on a close opject creates a blurr bacground

the issue with ur method is i like to take portrait shots indoors so its kinda hard to walk back further under your suggestion.

thanks for the info though!

do you have a preference if you were in my circumstance though?

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I don't know what you are hoping to gain with a 18-135 though, and canon has worse ISO performance than Nikon. I'd suggest a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 for your Nikon if you want a fast inexpensive lens for indoors.

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Chuck-Norris said:

well my current predicament is, nikon d5200 body and the nikon 35mm lens i already have, or canon t4i with 18-135mm lens. if i go canon route i can easily sell the 35mm and break even on kijiji. canon doesnt have a 35mm unfortunately, just a 50mm but the FOV on that on the t4i is to tight since its a crop sensor lens. i understand i cant get as good bokeh on the 18-135mm compared to the nikon 35mm prime lens or course. i like taking pics of people with blurry backgrounds

if u guys were in my ppredicament, do u have a preference? i know its up to me but i was just curius if u were in my position. there expensive cameras !

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You never said what type of photography interests you.

This is what I suggest -

Find what type of focal lengths best serve your needs then go on the Internet to various sights and find out which makers provide the best lenses for your needs (price and sharpness). After that, consider trying out the camera at a camera store and see which model(s) feel right in your hands and of course the controls.

While I have been a Nikon user since the 1970's, I find it really isn't the cameras these days but the lenses and the only time the camera might count is in low light situations if it is important to you. I have family members with Canons who take VERY good photos and while I don't particularly like the models they have, they work well for them.

Last thought - where will you be with photography in 2-3 years? Give it some thought and see which makers of cameras will be going in a similar direction. I hate Nikon's logistics for information and controls on many of their cameras but I like to shoot as much as possible with natural light and head to Photoshop afterwards to finish corrections or use DxO. In this respect I compromise and you need to see how far you would for certain features.

Just peanuts from the gallery. Both cameras you mention are great bangs for the buck. Think lenses.

Chuck-Norris said:

its also an STM lens, silent focus motor

not mainly the lens but the canon has some cool attractive features, and ive read, one big afactor im considering is customer service which ive read is better?

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Along these lines I have heard that Nikon is offshore call center and Canon is Chesapeake Va for one I know of because thats the one I got.
Don't know if that makes a difference to you.

Canon has numerous 35mm lenses in their lineup (35mm f/1.4, 35mm f/2, 35mm f/2 IS).

But go with whatever camera feels more comfortable in your hands. You're the only one who can determine that. Both cameras are excellent choices. So you really can't go wrong with one or the other.

Chuck-Norris said:

well my current predicament is, nikon d5200 body and the nikon 35mm lens i already have, or canon t4i with 18-135mm lens. if i go canon route i can easily sell the 35mm and break even on kijiji. canon doesnt have a 35mm unfortunately, just a 50mm but the FOV on that on the t4i is to tight since its a crop sensor lens. i understand i cant get as good bokeh on the 18-135mm compared to the nikon 35mm prime lens or course. i like taking pics of people with blurry backgrounds

if u guys were in my ppredicament, do u have a preference? i know its up to me but i was just curius if u were in my position. there expensive cameras !

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Hi,

I bought 3200 few weeks back with 18-105, I used D3200 for couple of days (not good at low light High Noise n Grainy pics)

I sent back to Jeesops.. thinking weather to go for 5200 or 650D.. frustrated on reading blog's

I took my friends canon 600D and took some shots in low light same as 3200 grainy (auto-mode Sorry im newbie).

Had compared some pics in Flickr for both cameras..
650d with 18-135 STM looks very good below 800 iso above that it sucks
couldn't find pics with D5200 in that same pic with different iso (i'm talking about normal real world pics).

Really confused ..

if i choose d5200 i will go with == 18-105, 50mm1.8, 70-300 Tamron
if 650D == 18-135STM, 50mm1.8, may be some zoom lens

But its hard what to choose ....

Sounds like you need either camera, and a flash.

Chuck-Norris said:

know the t4i is made in japan and the d5200 is made in Thailand

in general, Ive heard that Japanese make better quality products in general.

would you say that would apply in this case?

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My best advice is to choose the camera that you like the most, or the one you will feel proud of using the most because that camera will get you the shots. Where it is made is irrelevant.

I think none of these points is important -- with the exception of how the camera feels in your hand and how natural the interface seems to you. You can safely disregard the megapixel advantage of the Nikon and the articulated touchscreen of the Canon (with a touch screen, I have to take your eyes off the viewfinder).

However, you have made some rather weird lens choices: the 18-135 mm will be nothing like a 35 mm prime. In particular, if you want to isolate people from the background, going with the 18-135 mm would be a mistake, although one you can easily fix with another lens purchase. In addition, there is a Canon 35 mm f/2 prime, they have just released an updated one with image stabilization. Furthermore, Sigma has also announced a newly designed 30 mm f/1.4 prime which is available for both, Nikon and Canon mounts.

Ideally, I would disregard your choice of lens and focus on which body feels better in your hand. If you're agnostic in terms of user interface, I'd go for the Nikon since it has a much better autofocus system.

I agree with the advice to go with the one you like.

That said, a fellow I know reasonably well, and who sells both of them for a living, says that all else being equal he'd recommend Nikon if you don't plan to do much with video, Canon if you do.

The good news is that you can't go seriously wrong with either.

Efrem said:

... he'd recommend Nikon if you don't plan to do much with video, Canon if you do.

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Good point, video is always a blind spot of mine since I don't use it and I don't plan on using it in the foreseeable future.

The D5200, as the Canon has one of the worst sensors since 2008.

Chuck-Norris said:

the reason im going for the 18-135mm is mianly cause its included, the body is 599, and with the STM lens its 839 which id say is a good deal to get with.

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I'm not a fan of these big superzooms. The image quality is mediocre at best and I think you'll be much better off getting a body and, say, a Tamron 17-50 mm f/2.8. You'll cover most situations with these focal lengths, it's comparatively fast and already capable to isolate your subjects, and if you get the non-VC version, it's actually a very cheap lens. Plus, it's agnostic, you can get a Nikon or a Canon.

Chuck-Norris said:

would the canon 35mm 2.0g be as good as the non 35mm 1.8g prime? like will i get lots of bokeh with it too?

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In practical terms, I don't think you'll notice any differences. The fact that the Nikkor is slightly faster is not something that tips the scale in its favor. In any case, you can get better/faster lenses for both systems later. E. g. Sigma's new 35 mm lens is supposedly stellar and on par with Nikon and Canon pro glass.

blanka said:

The D5200, as the Canon has one of the worst sensors since 2008.

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Huh??