Its expensive for a reason... Nikon has some of the best glass on the market... Don't think other companies don't have pricey lenses either. In the end if you want a higher quality lens you obviously are going to spend more on it, be it Nikon, Canon, Sigma or w/e...

There is no such thing as smoother or sharper. Both Canon and Nikon make super sharp glass, but it is costly.

What makes an image sharp is the optic quality of the lens... and what makes an image smooth is... well.. what does a smooth image even look like?

All three cameras are probably even par as they are entry level stuff. They will feel light and fragile so be careful.

You will be happy with any of them. Just choose what feels most comfortable in your hands mate.

This post was edited by lithfkn on Apr 7 2010 05:02am

1stly i aint no pro
before i bought my 2nd slr i asked many questions, reserched extensively and basically it is down to personal preference and what feels right in your hands
if u want to spend extra cash spend it on a lense or 2
personally i went for the D90, it just felt right to me, and i love it
it is only slightly more than the D5000 etc, maybe you would like to try it out as well

hope this helps just a little

we have both at my work and the buttons/settings on the canon were more user friendly to me.. that's why i've stuck with canon.

D5000 and XSI shouldn't even be compared because XSI is one generation older. I believe T1i/eos 500D is more comparable to D5000 with video, ability to shoot at higher ISO settings etc
but I think as a beginner you should get a XSI and then get some good lenses because Canon release new cameras quite often while lenses would hold their value a lot longer.

This post was edited by Futurama on Apr 8 2010 01:02pm

i know. i wasnt saying it as a bad thing, just saying that photography can be a very expensive thing to get into and you should be prepared =P

do you mean Nikon has some of the best zoom lenses on the market
the only Nikon lenses that I have heard of that are better than the competing Canon lenses are 14-24 f2.8, well Canon doesn't even have a zoom in that range BUT you can get an adapter and use it on a Canon body which a lot of pros do and then of course 24-70 f2.8
Canon probably have the best telephoto primes on the market at least if you look at major sport events you would see a huge crowd of photographers with huge white lenses

I found this photo by google for Canon lenses


This post was edited by Futurama on Apr 9 2010 02:47am

Nikon have by far the best wideangle lenses, and you're also forgetting that they've got 50 years worth of old glass you can use, a lot of which is of extremely high quality.

Canon, even I have myself Nikon I do suggest you get Canon. Imo cheaper objectives and stuff, I have heard that Canon really does have sharper quality, but idk.
With Canon, you can ;).

Yeah... how many photographers out there are still using 50yr old Nikon lenses on their D3s or D700?
I am too lazy to google around but is there actually a Nikon 85 f1.2 or a 50mm f1.2 with AF?
Well I did mention the 14-24 f2.8G
Besides it is fully possible to use Nikon lenses on Canon bodies but not the other way around

This post was edited by Futurama on Apr 9 2010 09:31am