Coke versus Pepsi. Mac versus PC. Canon versus Nikon. Among these great rivalries, we can only pick out one clear winner. (Here’s a hint: It’s not the colored sugar water.) In the latest Canon-versus-Nikon entry-level digital SLR (single-lens reflex) battle, both cameras score hits against the other.

It's the DSLR version of Mac vs. PC--except without as obvious a winner.

But in the end, they’re much more similar than different. If you already use a film camera from either camera maker--and own a few lenses--don’t bother switching sides. If you’re not already invested in hardware that only works with one of them, your decision is much more nuanced. After much debate, we give a tiny edge to the Nikon D5000 for its impressive high-ISO performance. But you could just as easily fall in love with the Canon Rebel T1i for its slightly brighter, clearer LCD.

 

Canon Digital Rebel T1i

The T1i is light in your palm, weighing about 1.5 pounds with the bundled lens. We felt comfortable slinging it around and shooting with just one hand in one of the auto modes. Like the D5000, the T1i uses a single LCD screen to show your exposure data. (Most midrange and high-end DSLRs include a top-mounted screen too.) But the clear markings give enough details for manual photos, and you can also see the most important information inside the viewfinder.

The T1i LCD edges out the D5000 in a direct comparison. Canon’s slightly larger screen sports a higher resolution and looks great when reviewing recent images. It also looks a little better outdoors, but just as the D5000’s, this screen washes out in bright sun. When you sight through the eyepiece, the screen automatically turns off, which is a major benefit at night.

Images look good overall, although the T1i has a few weaknesses. We shot clean colors in many different lighting conditions, but the auto settings look more muted than higher-priced cameras. While bright daylight can wash out the hues, and night images without a flash run too warm, they are common problems that can be combated with manual controls. Earmark a lot of storage space for best results: The T1i’s 15.1-megapixel RAW photos can run 20MB each.

Mid- and high-ISO night photos mark the T1i’s biggest weakness. Images show moderate noise--random, colored pixels in dark areas—at about 400 ISO. Significant noise enters past 800 ISO, a setting you’d try to use to compensate for minimal lighting.

Nikon D5000

The D5000 is roughly the same shape and weight as the T1i. Nikon’s camera felt just as comfortable to shoot with, and its versatile LCD helps you shoot in awkward positions.

Like the T1i, the D5000 includes a live-view shooting mode, so instead of looking through the eyepiece, the preview image gets diverted to the LCD just like a point-and-shoot camera. But since the D5000 LCD swivels and turns, you can hold the camera high above your head, around a corner, or at ground level and still get a clear view of the screen. The 2.7-inch screen unfortunately stays lit when you compose shots through the eyepiece. But you can rotate it against the body, giving up exposure details for just the viewfinder information.

We thought that colors in photos shot with the D5000 popped a little more than those shot with the T1i, although the 12.3-megapixel D5000 scored only a subtle edge. And like the T1i, fine details looked excellent, such as the furry texture on a flower’s leaf.

In low light, the D5000’s clearer high-ISO modes perform better. We cranked the setting up to 2500 ISO before the noise seemed too distracting, but you could go even higher in a pinch. Images brightened up in this mode, helping us shoot in certain night conditions--indoors or with a streetlight--with no flash.

Tough Call

The similarities between these SD-card DSLRs outnumber most of the differences. Both shutter speeds range from 1/4,000th second to bulb mode (where you hold the shutter open as long as you choose). Both start up and continuously shoot images with almost no delay. Both have competent stabilizers built in to the bundled 18-55mm lenses, netting shake-free photos as slow as about 0.4 second. And both shoot weak high-definition video, blurring moving subjects or camera pans into useless footage. (If your subjects and framing stay mostly static, video can look great, however.) Other than that video complaint, they’re both winning cameras.

With its better high-ISO performace, we give a slight edge to the Nikon D5000. But the T1i's brighter, clearer LCD (which also auto-dims when using the viewfinder) might sway some users.

D5000 with 18-55mm VR Lens
COMPANY: Nikon
CONTACT: www.nikon.com
PRICE: $849
Interval timer automatically shoots on a schedule for time-lapse movies. Good high-ISO results. In-lens stabilizer helps hold longer exposures steady. Strong overall image quality with great details.
Video clips restricted to 5 minutes. HD videos look awful with camera movement. Screen stays lit when you look through eyepiece.

 

EOS Digital Rebel T1i with 18-55mm IS Lens
COMPANY: Canon
CONTACT: www.canon.com
PRICE: $899.99
Brighter, clearer screen. In-lens stabilizer helps hold longer exporsures steady. Strong overall image quality with great details. Screen dims when you sight through eyepiece.
1080p video mode only captures in 20fps. HD videos look awful with camera movement. Noise enters in the middle of its ISO range