Some Macro Photography Tips - Canon 500d or Nikon d5000

Nov 21, 2010
Paul Bradbury

A poppy, taken with a Nikon D5000 - Anne Darling

If you want to learn how to take a good picture, a quality camera is essential. A few thoughts on the Nikon d5000 Canon d500 debate

In the search for the best camera, you can hardly go wrong with either of these excellent cameras, but how do you choose between the Nikon d5000 and the Canon 500d? The differences are slight, but potentially significant for the perfectionist, and your decision will probably come down to the advantages a camera has for your specific needs. Here is a quick overview of some of the main differences between the two.

Nikon D5000

12.3 megapixels
Interval shooting mode (where you can set the camera to take pictures at several seconds interval)
The most significant feature of Nikon D5000 is the tilt-and-swivel LCD monitor. This is the first ever LCD on a digital SLR which can rotate 180 degrees. This kind of novel LCD enables you to compose photographs at awkward angles which you could not do with any other digital SLR camera

Canon 500D

15.1 megapixels
Video recording capability is better than the D5000 at 20 frames per second for full HD video recording
Build quality of the Nikon is said to be excellent, Canon feels more flimsy
Some people prefer the colours that the Canon produces.

Pros and Cons

Most reviews give better ratings to the Nikon D5000 for a better and bigger sensor (same as Nikon D90), a better 11 point focus (against a 9 point focus on Canon 500D) and better low noise pictures in low light conditions. These features are more important to take good photographs than15.1 megapixels or HD recording.
Nikon D5000 has also won the DIWA Gold Award beating the Canon 500D.
On the downside, the D5000 doesn’t have an autofocus motor built into the body, limiting the choice of Nikon lenses that can be autofocused when mounted on the camera. As the body doesn’t have an AF motor, focusing will be lens-based but as long as you use Nikon’s AF-S lenses, there won’t be any problem autofocusing.
On the other hand, the Canon 500D accepts all Canon EF/EF-S lenses. This means that the older, EF lenses are compatible with the 500D.

Canon 500d versus Nikon d5000

If you are looking for an entry-level camera for taking pictures of flowers and other macro subjects, the Nikon D5000 comes with an 18-55mm VR lens which, altough it is a budget lens is said to be surprisingly sharp on macros. Combined with the Nikon D5000 tilt-and-swivel LCD monitor, it is particularly suitable for macro photography where you are often shooting in awkward positions such as, for example, low down near the ground.

Anne Darling, who runs an information website on macro photography tips, is a firm believer in the Nikon, and is a particular fan of the "variable tilt-and-swivel LCD monitor which basically allows you to place the camera very near the ground without actually kneeling or sitting on the ground. You can't do that with the Canon 500D as the monitor is fixed so in order to see what you are going to take a picture of, you have to be looking through the viewfinder - which makes it very awkward if you want a shot of some insect crawling through the grass or a flower that's low down, for example."

With its higher concentration of megapixels, the Canon 500D has the edge on printing, according to the Digital SLR Guide, since it allows printing of slightly bigger pictures. One thing to bear in mind is that more megapixels means more memory, so a fast Internet connection is also a requirement to avoid sluggish uploading times. The site concludes that the Canon has the sharper and more colourful LCD, while the Nikon has more flexibility.

One thing is certain though: these are both excellent cameras and, should you take a bad picture with either of them, there can be no blaming the equipment!