Canon EOS
50D
 vs
Nikon
D90

Updated (September, 2010): Compare the Canon EOS 50D vs Nikon D7000

Nikon D90

77
Winner

Nikon D90
"The D90 feels very comfortable and natural, with a good grip and logical, ergonomic, button placement."
dpreview.com | talking about the D90's feel
"On a purely specification level, it's a highly competitive piece of kit, but it's the way the features have been chosen and put together that make it the camera that it is."
dpreview.com | talking about the D90's overall-performance

Reasons to buy the Nikon D90

Overall image quality
 Great image quality
73.0
Dynamic range
 Wide dynamic range
12.5 EV
Viewfinder size
 Large viewfinder
0.63x
Startup delay
 Almost no delay when powering up
300 ms startup delay
Badge
 Built-in focus motor
Autofocuses with more lenses
Canon EOS 50D

67
Runner-up

Canon EOS 50D
"The ergonomics feel well sorted, all the controls are in the right place and even the formerly rather pointless Direct Print button now serves a purpose"
dpreview.com | talking about the 50D's button-layout
"The 50D delivers a lot of detail and clean images with well balanced contrast and colors."
dpreview.com | talking about the 50D's image-quality

Reasons to buy the Canon EOS 50D

Startup delay
 Almost no delay when powering up
300 ms startup delay
Shutter lag
 Barely any delay taking photos
131 ms shutter lag
Badge
 Built-in focus motor
Autofocuses with more lenses
Fastest shutter speed
 Fast shutter speed
1/8000 of a second

differences

Advantages of the Canon 50D
Shutter lag Less shutter lag 131 ms vs 208 ms
Help
 Around 40% less delay when taking photos
Cross type focus points More cross-type focus points 9 vs 1
Help
 Grab focus in difficult situations
Continuous shooting Shoots faster 6.3 fps vs 4.5 fps
Help
 40% faster continuous shooting
True resolution Higher true resolution 15.1 MP vs 12.2 MP
Help
 Capture more than 20% more detail in your photos
Fastest shutter speed Much faster max shutter speed 1/8000s vs 1/4000s
Help
 2x faster max shutter speed
Thickness Thinner 2.9" vs 3"
Help
 Almost the same
Light sensitivity (boost) Better boost ISO 12,800 ISO vs 6,400 ISO
Help
 The 50D's boost ISO is 1 f-stop better
Canon EOS 50D Learn more about
the Canon 50D

Advantages of the Nikon D90
Overall image quality Significantly better image quality 73.0 vs 63.0
Help
 Around 20% better image quality
Color depth Better color depth 22.7 bits vs 21.8 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 0.9 more bits of color
Dynamic range More dynamic range 12.5 EV vs 11.4 EV
Help
 1.1 f-stops more dynamic range
Low light performance Lower noise at high ISO 977 ISO vs 696 ISO
Help
 The D90 has a slight edge (0.5 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
Movie format Shoots movies 720p @ 24fps vs None
Help
 Shoots HD (720p) video as well as still pictures
Viewfinder size Larger viewfinder 0.63x vs 0.59x
Help
 More than 10% larger viewfinder
Battery life Slightly longer battery life 850 shots vs 640 shots
Help
 More than 30% more shots per battery charge
Sensor size Slightly larger sensor APS-C 23.6x15.8mm vs APS-C 22.3x14.9mm
Help
 More than 10% larger sensor
Viewfinder coverage Better viewfinder coverage 96% vs 95%
Help
 Almost the same
Lens availability Slightly more lenses available 169 lenses vs 162 lenses
Help
 Almost the same
Size Slightly smaller 132x103x77 mm vs 146x108x74 mm
Help
 More than 10% smaller
Focus points Slightly more focus points 11 vs 9
Help
 Set focus accurately within the frame
Weight Lighter 703 g vs 822 g
Help
 More than 10% lighter
Lowest price Slightly cheaper $849.00 vs $1,281.99
Help
 The best price we've seen is $433 cheaper (more than 30% less)
Nikon D90 Learn more about
the Nikon D90
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent DSLRs, and ignoring price

Canon EOS 50D Canon EOS 50D
67 vs 77
Explain scores
Nikon D90 Nikon D90
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Nikon D90. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a pro DSLR with a entry-level DSLR.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

CanonEOS 50D
 Canon EOS 50D vs Nikon D90
NikonD90
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
20
59
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
26
54
Vote Vote
Features Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
18
58
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
21
58
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
23
57
Vote Vote
Build quality Build quality
Is it sturdy, well made, plastic or metal
30
54
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Lens availability Many lenses available Help
50D:162 lenses
D90:169 lenses
Screen resolution High resolution screens Help
920k dots
Startup delay Minimal startup delay Help
300 ms startup delay
Viewfinder Both have pentaprism viewfinders Help
Pentaprism
Storage slots Fewer storage slots Help
1
Viewfinder coverage Below average viewfinder coverage Help
50D:95%
D90:96%
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Screen flips out No flip-out screens Help
Less flexible
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
3,200 ISO
Autofocus No video autofocus Help
Manual focus only
Weather sealed Neither is weather sealed Help
Need to shelter it from weather
Image stabilization No image stabilization Help
Risk of blur
Focus points Few focus points Help
50D:9
D90:11
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100

Entry-level DSLR

$650 - $749 body only

$600 - $750 with 18-55mm lens
Overall image quality Has slightly better image quality
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the D5100 vs the EOS 50D
Compare the D5100 vs the D90
Canon EOS 60D

Canon EOS 60D

Pro DSLR

$879 - $1,304 body only

$1,139 - $1,342 with 18-135mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Thickness Is thicker
Shutter lag Has significantly more shutter lag
Compare the EOS 60D vs the EOS 50D
Compare the EOS 60D vs the D90
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$1,097 body only

$1,227 with 55-200mm lens
Overall image quality Has slightly better image quality
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Shutter lag Has significantly more shutter lag
Compare the D7000 vs the EOS 50D
Compare the D7000 vs the D90
Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Canon Rebel T2i

Entry-level DSLR

$499 - $949 body only

$569 - $867 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Viewfinder Has a lower quality type of viewfinder
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the EOS 50D
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the D90
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$624 - $800 body only

$869 - $1,100 with 18-135mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the EOS 50D
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D90
Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100

Entry-level DSLR

$500 - $984 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Movie continuous focus Can focus continuously while recording movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Lens focus motor Doesn't have a built-in focus motor
Compare the D3100 vs the EOS 50D
Compare the D3100 vs the D90
Canon EOS 7D

Canon EOS 7D

Pro DSLR

$1,329 - $1,821 body only

$1,498 - $1,800 with 28-135mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the EOS 7D vs the EOS 50D
Compare the EOS 7D vs the D90

Canon EOS 50D Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Canon EOS 50D.

Nikon D90 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D300S

Nikon D300S

Pro DSLR

$1,700 body only

$2,547 - $4,295 with 18-200mm lens
External mic jack Has an external mic jack
Focus points Many more focus points
Low light performance More noise at high ISO
Overall image quality Worse image quality
Compare the D300S vs the D90

appearance

Canon EOS 50D Nikon D90
Canon EOS 50D Nikon D90
Canon EOS 50D Nikon D90

Find similar cameras

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

discussion Which do you think is better?

Speech is free, but discussion at Snapsort is moderated! Please discuss your opinion of these cameras here, and discuss feedback for Snapsort at our support community.

Showing 5 comments

Avatar for Jay-van Geli Jay-van Geli (3:12 AM, January 15, 2012)
of course you would say that. you own the 50d
 
Krampfader_2005 (7:44 AM, October 09, 2011)
Bought a D90 for a colleague (had some old nikkor lenses) I tested it and compared to 50D, which is mine, 50d is slightly better.
Better user interface, higher resolution. No video.
 
Sunny Gill (7:59 AM, September 06, 2011)
50d is better in many ways ,sport photography,nature,wild life and it is mag alloy body which is very good and in look also it seems better then d90  i used d90 i like it very much but canon has true colors ill prefer d50
 
Eneleh99 (6:10 PM, June 02, 2011)
i looove my d90... it's built like like a tank, it fell yesterday and nothing happened to it!! its amazing! im still shooting away... im glad i bought nikon d90 instead of canon 60d...it would have been a wreck right now..and i would be drowning in tears...
 
Russell (9:05 AM, March 16, 2011)
Canon 50D is the smarter one.