Nikon vs. Canon. What camera is better for beginners?

This has been debated in photography forever. Since the earlier days of journalistic photography, this debate has been among the most well-known people in the industry. But as time passes and technology has developed into a more accessible era for everyone, it is time to tackle what these brands can do for you as a professional photographer.

In reality, everyone nowadays is a photographer. Everyone has a pocket device able to take and shoot photographs in a matter of seconds. Many have argued that this is the best time for photography and record gathering. On the other hand, being a professional photographer needs care and understanding of what a photograph makes a good photograph. In simple matters, all can be narrowed down to light, angle, and the subject/meaning behind the photograph, the emotion that one can bring when seeing it.

This is why it's important to grab a good DSLR camera that would help you learn these skills. in this blog post, I shall give some simple pros and cons between two models of house brands that can be considered equal in quality and performance.

Nikon D3400

I own this type of camera which is perfect for entry-level photography. I was able to purchase this in a kit with a 55mm lens, a 200mm lens, and a tripod. A good starting kit for any photographer out there. The body is made specifically for photographs but as with any digital camera, it also has the option to shoot video. It may not be considered the best for the job, but as a cheap option for a professional video camera is quite useful.

These lenses have come in handy at the moment to shoot photography. The 55mm is the standard lens for any camera of this quality and often finding other lenses can be quite challenging as sometimes they have the same price as the camera itself. Luckily for me, I was able to get a 200mm lens, useful for far-distance situations. The focus for these is automatic, particularly in the 200mm which can be optional.

Now as for the settings, it can become complicated, as the majority of icons and details cannot be clear enough. Once you understand what the meaning behind shutter speed, aperture, and ISO are for the camera, these little settings and details may become second nature for you. But as a beginner, it can be argued that one can get lost in the settings. As for the button order, I considered it useful and comfortable to pick and use.

Canon EOS Rebel T7

My girlfriend has recently purchased this camera after looking for a very good deal at Best Buy. It can be considered one of her many impulsive purchases. Anyway, the kit included a nice bag for all the components of the camera to be stored. Something that the Nikon lacked, and yeah I had to store the camera in the same box it came in for a very long time before purchasing a bag for itself. The body was, again, specifically designed for photography and I could see a performance difference between the two as the Nikon was slightly faster when taking photos from the screen and not the viewfinder (taking photos in the screen for some reason takes more time to process in both cameras).

As I borrowed her camera something that I came to notice about the standard 55mm lens is that it doesn't automatically focus. Which can be a problem when trying to take photographs at the moment. I had a hard time trying to focus exactly what I wanted for my subject one time.

As for settings, these are clear and concise compared to the ones in the Nikon, where the screen can be overwhelmed by details. Here, it can be understandable at first sight. But, in the bottoms and control infrastructure of the camera has room to improve. At least on this section next to the camera I still have a hard time figuring out when or what button should I press for actions when viewing photos or changing settings. One can argue that this sort of bottom placing can be dynamic as some buttons have two functions for different situations for example one can change the ISO by selecting that bottom but can also move around the setting menu with it.

Nikon's SnapBridge and Canon's Camera Connect

Both apps with the same purpose of transferring your photographs into your device, but with a very clear difference in quality and performance. I have found their usefulness when transferring photographs onto my phone device, for many years I used the SnapBridge app for the Nikon D3400, but when we tried the EOS Rebel T7 and downloaded the Camera Connect app, the difference was clear, the speed and performance of the app were far superior to the one used in Nikon's app. The app can easily connect to other apps from the same brand and has an easy connection setting for the camera.

This section is a side note, as I have been putting aside these apps and just taking out the SD memory card from the camera's body and taking the photographs on my computer for further editing. But, for those wondering how to get their photographs without the necessity of all those steps, these apps are out there.

Conclusion

Both cameras reach the same amount of photo quality with minor differences regarding performance. The majority of photographers I have come to know have reached a common consensus on describing the Nikon brand as a whole. They usually point out how heavy the body of the camera is compared to other brands, some describing it as resistible for falls (it doesn't mean you can drop your camera without breaking or damaging something) or how durable for a lifetime. I guess this is why many professionals prefer to use this brand in 2023, according to Shotkit.com. But, it varies from person to person. And is true, when I was able to hold both cameras at the same time, the Canon was much lighter. It has also been discussed that because of the amount of technical settings that Nikon is known for, is perfect for taking still photographs or portraits.

It has also been pointed out that Nikon performs better in speed than other Canon cameras and there is no difference despite the image quality being the same. But all of this can be narrowed down to the personal preferences one can have for photography, both of these beginner cameras are perfect and they can show you what you dislike or like about each.