Canon 15-85 vs. Nikkor 16-85 ?

[whyguru]

We are going to start a round trip in Europe with girlfriend and 4 other friends on Saturday. I just sold my Canon 60D today which came with two lens kit 18-55 and 55-250. I sold it in order to buy a new camera with a better lens kit. Now, I have just tomorrow and the gf is angry over the sell out lol... Please help me out once again:

- which lens is better? Canon 15-85 or Nikkor 16-85?
- which camera is better/price for the above lenses? 600D or 60D for canon, and d5100 or D7000 for nikon? (considering of course the combination of good lens and camera, and considering best value for money).

I hope i get fast replies from you friends

Edwin

[shoturtle]

since you know the canon, I would go with the 60D or 600d with the 15-85. But they are both excellent lenses. Also the canon has the better AF between the 60d and d7000 and the 600d and d5100

[whyguru]

another option is canon 17-85 which is $600 is cheaper for me if i get 60d+17-85...

60d + 15-85 = $2200
D7000 + 16-85 = $2200
60D + 17-85 = $1600

prices are in sweden...

[shoturtle]

The 17-85 is a step up from the 18-55, it focus faster. But not optically as good as the 15-85 or the 16-85 for the nikon. It is still a good lens.

But with just 1 day before your trip. Going to a new layout with nikon, it will cause you to miss allot of spur of the moment shots. I have to agree with your girl friend, it was not the best thing to do with such short notice.

[whyguru]

what's your thoughts on Tamron 18-270?

[shoturtle]

I like that lens personally, it covers allot of range. But it is a compromise. Optically it is not as good as 2 lens setup covering the same range. I travel allot, and would have brought the 18-270 for my canon, but opted for the olympus 14-150 for my olympus pen as my main travel camera. It is just a smaller setup.

But if I were not running canon and m4/3 with olympus. The tamron 18-270 would have been the travel lens of choice for me.

[whyguru]

well, I guess I will get used to nikon fast too...as we are going to drive 15000 km with a 9 seat ford transit, so plenty of time and room in the car to go into the camera lol

another thought here...would nikon d90 with 16-85 be a good idea? it is almost the same price as 60d + 17-85...

[shoturtle]

The 60d is the better camera compare to the d90. It has the better AF system, better video system, and better iso performance at 6400. If they were the almost the same price, I go get another 60d with the 17-85. All 9 AF points on the 60d is cross type, the d90 only has 3 or 1 I believe, and while the d7000 has more AF points, it only has 9 cross type point like the 60D.

15000km could be enough time to learn a nikon menu system.

[shoturtle]

do you shoot any action stuff, if you do the 60D has the much bigger buffer, it can roll off 50 shots before buffer lag, the d7000 can only shoot 14-16 shots before slowing down to 1 fps.

[whyguru]

I am also pondering over adding a Samyang 8 mm to the new kit...what about that?