Look at the numbers...the D90 has the better image sensor
I'd rather look at pictures than numbers, but hey, that's just me eh? :thumbup:
Yeah...when compared side-by-side, the D90 produces better images than the Canon T2i, so yes, the numbers and the pictures both actually show the difference the Nikon's better,larger, lower-noise sensor makes. (Unless one is from that planet where a car going 55 miles an hour is said to be going faster than a car measured at 65 mph, pardon the analogy.) The lower sensor performance scores of the 50D against the D90's sensor are what they are...the numbers reflect how the sensors perform,and one is larger than the other, and has wider dynamic range, and less noise, and richer,deeper color. Hard to argue with such simple objective measures, unless one is arguing from a fanboy (or owner's) point of view.
Canon Rebel T2i / EOS 550D Compared to the Nikon D90 Side by Side
Lenses also factor into the equation, as does the ability of the D90 to remove chromatic aberration in-camera, which the 50D cannot do. As Live-free pointed out, some would not consider the Canon 550D (AKA the T2i) and the D90 to be in the same "class", but I consider them to be pretty close competitors price-wise, size-wise, and both the D90 and T2i have video capture capability, which the 50D does not have. The 50D was the Nikon D300 sort-of competitor, and was a poor seller for Canon compared with the earlier 40D, and against the D300 for the past two years. The D90 has been a huge seller for Nikon, and has now sort of been moved "down-market" so that its **current** price and that of the Canon T2i are very close. So, it's sort of difficult to categorize where the D90 fits in, or what its competitors are these days.
It's amusing to see the owner of one particular camera defend it over and over, across post after post, when the numbers comparing the equipment are available for all to see at DXO Mark's web site. I do not own a Nikon D90 or a Canon 50D, but "some" of the people in this thread do...and they want "their" choices to look the best. But hey, buy whatever one you like better, or the one whose system you want to be using. The D90 and the 50D are both getting "on in years" now, and I think the T2i is the new camera to consider against the D90...but whatever...