Canon 1000D versus Nikon D3000

The Canon EOS 1000D (called Canon XS in some regions) and the Nikon D3000 are two digital cameras that were revealed to the public, respectively, in June 2008 and July 2009. Both are DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras that are equipped with an APS-C sensor. The Canon has a resolution of 10.1 megapixel, whereas the Nikon provides 10 MP. Read on to find out how these two cameras compare with respect to their size, their sensors, their features, and their reception by expert reviewers.

Body comparison: Canon 1000D vs Nikon D3000

An illustration of the physical size and weight of the Canon 1000D and the Nikon D3000 is provided in the side-by-side display below. The two cameras are presented according to their relative size. Three consecutive views from the front, the top, and the rear side are shown. All width, height and depth measures are rounded to the nearest millimeter. If you prefer, you can also use the toggle button to switch to a comparison in percentage terms (in this case, the camera on the left – the 1000D – represents 100 percent across all the size and weight measures).

If the front view area (width x height) of the cameras is taken as an aggregate measure of their size, the Nikon D3000 is somewhat smaller (1 percent) than the Canon 1000D. However, the D3000 is markedly heavier (7 percent) than the 1000D. In this context, it is worth noting that neither the 1000D nor the D3000 are weather-sealed.

The above size and weight comparisons are to some extent incomplete since they do not consider the interchangeable lenses that both of these cameras require. Yet, since both cameras are based around an APS-C sensor, their respective lenses will tend to have similar dimensions and heft. You can find an overview of optics for the two cameras in the Canon EF Lens Catalog (1000D) and the Nikon Lens Catalog (D3000).

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the two cameras alongside a broader set of comparators. If you would like to visualize and compare a different camera combination, just use the right or left arrows in the table to switch to the respective camera. Alternatively, you can also navigate to the CAM-parator app and make your selection from the full list of cameras there.

Camera Body Specifications

	Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life (CIPA)	Weather Sealing (yes/no)	Camera Launch (announced)	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price (USD)	Used Price (USD)	Camera Model
	Canon 1000D»	5.0 in	3.9 in	2.6 in	17.7 oz	500	n	Jun 2008	449	-		Canon 1000D
	Nikon D3000«	5.0 in	3.8 in	2.5 in	18.9 oz	500	n	Jul 2009	599	-		Nikon D3000
	Canon 2000D« »	5.1 in	4.0 in	3.1 in	16.8 oz	500	n	Feb 2018	449			Canon 2000D
	Canon 4000D« »	5.1 in	4.0 in	3.0 in	15.4 oz	500	n	Feb 2018	399			Canon 4000D
	Canon 1300D« »	5.1 in	4.0 in	3.1 in	17.1 oz	500	n	Mar 2016	449	-		Canon 1300D
	Canon 1200D« »	5.1 in	3.9 in	3.1 in	16.9 oz	500	n	Feb 2014	449	-		Canon 1200D
	Canon SX50« »	4.8 in	3.4 in	4.2 in	21.0 oz	315	n	Sep 2012	429	-		Canon SX50
	Canon 1100D« »	5.1 in	3.9 in	3.1 in	17.5 oz	700	n	Feb 2011	449	-		Canon 1100D
	Canon 500D« »	5.1 in	3.9 in	2.4 in	18.3 oz	400	n	Mar 2009	799	-		Canon 500D
	Canon 450D« »	5.1 in	3.9 in	2.4 in	18.5 oz	500	n	Jan 2008	799	-		Canon 450D
	Canon 40D« »	5.7 in	4.3 in	2.9 in	29.0 oz	750	n	Aug 2007	1,299	-		Canon 40D
	Nikon D3100« »	4.9 in	3.8 in	3.0 in	17.8 oz	550	n	Aug 2010	599	-		Nikon D3100
	Nikon D5000« »	5.0 in	4.1 in	3.1 in	20.8 oz	510	n	Apr 2009	749	-		Nikon D5000
	Nikon D60« »	5.0 in	3.7 in	2.5 in	18.4 oz	500	n	Jan 2008	629	-		Nikon D60
	Nikon D40X« »	4.9 in	3.7 in	2.5 in	18.4 oz	520	n	Mar 2007	729	-		Nikon D40X
	Nikon D40« »	4.9 in	3.7 in	2.5 in	18.4 oz	470	n	Nov 2006	499	-		Nikon D40
	Olympus E-450« »	5.1 in	3.6 in	2.1 in	15.5 oz	500	n	Mar 2009	499	-		Olympus E-450
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Any camera purchase will naturally be influenced heavily by the price. The listed launch prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The 1000D was launched at a somewhat lower price (by 25 percent) than the D3000, which makes it more attractive for photographers on a tight budget. Normally, street prices remain initially close to the MSRP, but after a couple of months, the first discounts appear. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down.

Sensor comparison: Canon 1000D vs Nikon D3000

The size of the sensor inside a digital camera is one of the key determinants of image quality. A large sensor will tend to have larger individual pixels that provide better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixel-units in a sensor of the same technological generation. Moreover, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more control over depth-of-field in the image and, thus, the ability to better isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tend to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

Both cameras under consideration feature an APS-C sensor, but their sensors differ slightly in size. The sensor area in the D3000 is 13 percent bigger. As a result of these sensor size differences, the cameras have format factors, respectively, of 1.6 (1000D) and 1.5. Both cameras have a native aspect ratio (sensor width to sensor height) of 3:2.

Despite having a smaller sensor, the Canon 1000D offers a higher resolution of 10.1 megapixel, compared with 10 MP of the Nikon D3000. This megapixel advantage comes at the cost of a higher pixel density and a smaller size of the individual pixel (with a pixel pitch of 5.71μm versus 6.11μm for the D3000). Moreover, it should be noted that the D3000 is a somewhat more recent model (by 1 year and 1 month) than the 1000D, and its sensor might have benefitted from technological advances during this time that further enhance the light gathering capacity of its pixel-units.

Since 2007, DXO Mark has published sensor performance measurements that have been derived using a consistent methodology. This service is based on lab testing and assigns an overall score to each camera sensor, as well as ratings for dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), color depth ("DXO Portrait"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"). The table below summarizes the physical sensor characteristics and sensor quality findings and compares them across a set of similar cameras.

Feature comparison: Canon 1000D vs Nikon D3000

Beyond body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. The 1000D and the D3000 are similar in the sense that both have an optical viewfinder. The latter is useful for getting a clear image for framing even in brightly lit environments. The following table reports on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Canon 1000D, the Nikon D3000, and comparable cameras. The full specs-sheets can be found in the camera manual or in the dpreview camera hub.

Both the 1000D and the D3000 write their imaging data to SDHC cards.

Both the 1000D and the D3000 have been discontinued, but can regularly be found used on eBay. The 1000D was replaced by the Canon 1100D, while the D3000 was followed by the Nikon D3100.

Review summary: Canon 1000D vs Nikon D3000

So how do things add up? Which of the two cameras – the Canon 1000D or the Nikon D3000 – has the upper hand? A synthesis of the relative strong points of each of the models is listed below.

Arguments in favor of the Canon EOS 1000D:

• More affordable: Was introduced into a lower priced segment (25 percent cheaper at launch).
• More heavily discounted: Has been on the market for longer (launched in June 2008).

Reasons to prefer the Nikon D3000:

• Larger screen: Has a bigger rear LCD (3.0" vs 2.5") for image review and settings control.
• More modern: Was introduced somewhat (1 year and 1 month) more recently.

If the count of individual advantages (bullet points above) is taken as a guide, the match-up finishes in a tie (2 points each). However, the relevance of individual strengths will vary across photographers, so that you might want to apply your own weighing scheme to the summary points when reflecting and deciding on a new camera.

In any case, while the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the 1000D or the D3000. User reviews that are available, for instance, at amazon can sometimes shed light on these issues, but such feedback is all too often partial, inconsistent, and inaccurate. This is where reviews by experts come in. The adjacent table relays the overall verdicts of several of the most popular camera review sites (cameralabs, dpreview, ephotozine, imaging-resource, photographyblog). You can find the full text of the reviews by clicking on the site logo in the table header.

Review Scores

	Camera Model						Camera Launch (announced)	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price (USD)	Used Price (USD)	Camera Model
	Canon 1000D»	82/100	HiRec	3.5/5	4/5	4.5/5	Jun 2008	449	-		Canon 1000D
	Nikon D3000«	Rec	72/100	4/5	3.5/5	4.5/5	Jul 2009	599	-		Nikon D3000
	Canon 2000D« »	rev	-	3.5/5	-	3.5/5	Feb 2018	449			Canon 2000D
	Canon 4000D« »	rev	-	3.5/5	-	3.5/5	Feb 2018	399			Canon 4000D
	Canon 1300D« »	rev	73/100	4/5	3.5/5	4/5	Mar 2016	449	-		Canon 1300D
	Canon 1200D« »	Rec	-	4/5	4/5	4.5/5	Feb 2014	449	-		Canon 1200D
	Canon SX50« »	HiRec	72/100	4.5/5	-	4.5/5	Sep 2012	429	-		Canon SX50
	Canon 1100D« »	80/100	69/100	4/5	4/5	4.5/5	Feb 2011	449	-		Canon 1100D
	Canon 500D« »	HiRec	74/100	4.5/5	5/5	4.5/5	Mar 2009	799	-		Canon 500D
	Canon 450D« »	HiRec	HiRec	4/5	5/5	4.5/5	Jan 2008	799	-		Canon 450D
	Canon 40D« »	HiRec	HiRec	4.5/5	rev	4.5/5	Aug 2007	1,299	-		Canon 40D
	Nikon D3100« »	HiRec	72/100	4.5/5	5/5	4.5/5	Aug 2010	599	-		Nikon D3100
	Nikon D5000« »	HiRec	75/100	4/5	5/5	4.5/5	Apr 2009	749	-		Nikon D5000
	Nikon D60« »	80/100	HiRec	4/5	rev	4.5/5	Jan 2008	629	-		Nikon D60
	Nikon D40X« »	79/100	HiRec	4/5	rev	4/5	Mar 2007	729	-		Nikon D40X
	Nikon D40« »	81/100	HiRec	rev	5/5	4.5/5	Nov 2006	499	-		Nikon D40
	Olympus E-450« »	-	-	4/5	-	4/5	Mar 2009	499	-		Olympus E-450

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The assessments were made in relation to similar cameras of the same technological generation. Hence, a score should always be seen in the context of the camera's market launch date and its price, and comparing ratings of very distinct cameras or ones that are far apart in terms of their release date have little meaning. Also, kindly note that some of the listed sites have over time developped their review approaches and their reporting style.

Other camera comparisons

Did this review help to inform your camera decision process? In case you are interested in seeing how other cameras pair up, just make your choice using the following search menu. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool. If you cannot find the camera you are interested in, please contact me, and I will try to locate and add the respective data to the application.

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