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Archive 2013 · Info for those considering brands

  
 
joshim
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Info for those considering brands


Ookay, that was a bad move on my part. I posted a link to my blog where I tried to write up an objective list of differences between the two to help people on the fence get more information before switching (which I was not able to do when switching to Canon). Two mistakes: linking out (people think I'm spamming) and the main topic. But honestly, I really want to make an objective list (with your help) to help others.

How about this, please list things from your PERSONAL experience with a brand that may HELP someone choose a brand/make a jump. If you feel passionately about how your brand is better, just don't post anything. Everything I've written here may sound passionate, but I'm trying to be humorous to help the mood of a topic that has a stigma. I really don't care about brands anymore since the switch. I realized both are imperfectly great.



Here's some of what I found, personally:


After about a month of shooting weddings and models with a Canon 5D Mark III & 6D, am I happy?

Kinda, but not really. What I've learned is that it's really not that important because there just isn't a perfect system. When I was frustrated with Nikon, I hadn't spent enough time with Canon to know that they weren't all that great either. I just wanted a solution and figured Canon was it. But after spending time with it, I've found quirks that drive me mad as well.

I did, however, attempt to find out the differences prior to the switch, only to find such topics taboo, with most people either brand whoring themselves and others criticizing the comparison as "flame wars" or meaningless "fanboyism". There wasn't anything remotely helpful. I needed something objective that could show me what I'd be getting myself into.

So to those who are thinking of jumping the fence and really want an objective comparison of the quirks and benefits of each system, I'm here to help in my little way. Here's what I've personally found so far (in no particular order):



1. Canon cameras are more cosmetically fragile.

I've had a Nikon D7000 since the day it came out (a couple of years ago) until a few months ago and never had anything close to such a nasty scratch as this on the left. I've even taken it to China. And it's not even in the same class. The 5D Mark III is 3x the price. No, I didn't pamper it.

I got a huge scratch on my camera on the second wedding. I didn't drop or scrape it anywhere. There were quite a few more scratches as well. I've also talked to other Canon shooters who agree Canons aren't as tough as Nikons.


2. Speedlights are smarter than Speedlites.

Sure, I love whipping out the 600EX and controlling it remotely via the ST-E3 with all the controls at my finger tips. But all that warmth in my heart just cools off the instant the 600EX can't automatically switch over to HSS.

If I'm wrong (and I've done my 5 min share of online research) and there's a way to train my 600EX to do this, please let me know.


3. Canon is horrible at metering for backlit situations.

+1 EV? no no no. +2? nope. +3?!? Moment's over.

Nikons are much more accurate. Never knew this until it was too late.


4. Nikon doesn't care about you.

D600 oil issues? "What issue? Oh, check out our new D610! Same specs, new price tag!"

Yellow white balance & LCD? "You're wrong. It's more accurate."


5. Nikons generally has better flash sync.

Canon touts a 1/200 Sync speed for flash on its flagship 5D Mark III. Reality? Even at 1/160 you get a darkening on one entire side of the image, albeit a small portion. Still, not really 1/200th, is it, Canon?


6. "DXO is nonsense" may not be nonsense.

There was a time when I started agreeing with the vast majority that DXO lab test results were bought off by Nikon to promote their sensors and lenses. I don't know about the lenses part, but sensor-wise, they're probably not BS-ing. The dynamic range of even the D600 is noticeable when compared to the 5D Mark III


7. Nikons are better at erasing your photos. In a good way.

With Nikons, you can zoom out to the point of viewing your photos in Calendar mode, with the ability to erase shoots by dates. Canons can't do that. If you accidentally start shooting on an old card and need to delete just one photoshoot? Have fun with ticking each photo in batch delete.


8. Canons are better at showing you your photos.

Canons are quicker to load low res previews when scrolling with the beautiful scroll wheel. Ever zoom out in Nikon to the point where they're trying to load up the entire screen with small thumbnails? It won't let you do anything until it finishes loading all of them. You can't scroll up or down. Just have to patiently wait. And no, it's not quick.


9. Nikons are made by asians for asians.

Nikon viewfinders, with the rubber eyepiece cover on, become pretty much flush with the LCD. Which means when you push your eye to it, your nose smashes the LCD. Not so bad for asians with flat noses. For the majority of Americans? It means greasy LCD's. Couple that with the lilliputian grips for small hands and you see what I mean. I'm asian, I can say this.

Canons have this beautiful, curved rubber eye-piece cover design that protrudes far away from the LCD. Your Western noses will probably still smash it, but less so. (kidding!)


10. Nikons carry less liability in general.

Chances are, your recently made Nikon has dual card slots. Even the lower-end D7000 from a few years ago had it. They all have them. And when they have them, they write to both slots just fine.

Canons? They still make single-slot cameras like the 6D, and when they add another slot? They cripple it with a slow write speed that slows your entire buffer down to D7000 level. 5D Mark III, I'm talking about you. Cripple!

Dual slots = less liability. Less liability = less stressed you. Dual slots = happier clients = easier bookings. I used to tell my clients when I met them that "all my cameras have dual card slots for redundancy and safety, so the chances of losing photos is lessened considerably." I can only say that about my main camera now.

True, this may be useless to you. It may be useful, hence it's listed here.


11. Nikon sucks at writing software.

Do you use Nikon Capture NX 2? No? There's a reason why.
Wireless app for the wireless dongle for your camera? No? There's a reason why.
Canon makes some great software to go along with their cameras. Shooting my 6D from my iPhone is pure simplicity.


12. Canon is better at tethering.

In addition to the solid tethering software Canon provides, you can save photos to your memory card in addition to your computer. You can even view the LCD on the camera when tethered. Nikon? Turns into a dummy that just transmits data.


To those looking to switch: just remember that a camera brand is not about the final image, it's about how enjoyable the path to that image is. If it helps you enjoy the process and shoot more happily, then it's worth it. It was a little bit for me, but not anywhere as much as I expected, personally.


That's it for me. If you have something factual to HELP someone get to know the quirks of your system before they switch over, please do reply.

IF you're interested in reading the original post, you can PM me. I am afraid to post the link...

Edited on Sep 25, 2013 at 10:37 PM · View previous versions



Sep 25, 2013 at 02:32 PM
dgdg
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Info for those considering brands


oh gosh.


Sep 25, 2013 at 02:51 PM
joshim
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Info for those considering brands


dgdg, why so? I'm sure there are always those thinking of switching, and I figured it might be useful for them. Should I change the title?


Sep 25, 2013 at 02:57 PM
macentropist
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Info for those considering brands


IBTL


Sep 25, 2013 at 02:58 PM
joshim
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Info for those considering brands


Macentropist

But that's the main point of why I wrote this. Discussions are known to get heated when they shouldn't, which is why it's hard for people looking to switch to get objective facts. It really doesn't need to be, right?



Sep 25, 2013 at 03:00 PM
BenV
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Info for those considering brands


Oh so you spammed it on the Canon side to? Practically begging for page views on a 'heated' topic.


Sep 25, 2013 at 03:06 PM
Access
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Info for those considering brands


It used to be that the majority would take one side or the other side in a holy war, but today, the majority is just sick of the holy war and doesn't really care for it.


Sep 25, 2013 at 03:07 PM
joshim
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Info for those considering brands


I didn't consider it spamming. It is for both sides, no?

I don't mind writing it all here instead. I guess I'll do that. My apologies, didn't think people would get so upset about an external link...



Sep 25, 2013 at 03:07 PM
Kell
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Info for those considering brands


Chevy vs Ford


Sep 25, 2013 at 03:21 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Info for those considering brands





Sep 25, 2013 at 03:37 PM
joshim
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Info for those considering brands


Alright, just posted it here on FM, edited a bit. Hope we can make this into a post that is helpful and professional.


Sep 25, 2013 at 03:37 PM
gdanmitchell
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Info for those considering brands


Canon and Nikon both produce absolutely top-notch photographic equipment - cameras, lenses, electronic flash, more. There are great photographers who choose to use Canon and great photographers who choose to use Nikon. Both produce first rate work, and you cannot tell in any way which brand was used when you look at the results, including very large high quality prints.

At any given moment in time, if you accept certain biases and tend to value certain things about camera performance in certain specific ways, you can probably convince yourself either that Brand A is better than Brand B for you or that Brand B is better than Brand A for you. Stick around long enough, and the tables will turn.

Of all the significant questions that might affect the quality or productivity of your photography, perhaps the very least important question is: Canon or Nikon?

Let it go. Get a system. Stick with it. Worry more about photographs and less about brands. Switching virtually never changes the quality of work done by a photographer.

Take care,

Dan

joshim wrote:
Ookay, that was a bad move on my part. I posted a link to my blog where I tried to write up an objective list of differences between the two to help people on the fence get more information before switching (which I was not able to do when switching to Canon)...




Sep 25, 2013 at 03:47 PM
joshim
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Info for those considering brands


Some people do care to know the differences. It's not about which one's better. As I said, it's not about the final image, it's about how you get there. Each system is different like each person is, and therefore some are more suited for others. If not, we would all just buy a Sony and be happy.

Edited on Sep 25, 2013 at 03:52 PM · View previous versions



Sep 25, 2013 at 03:49 PM
stanj
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Info for those considering brands


Nikon dials and rings turn the wrong way.


Sep 25, 2013 at 03:52 PM
joshim
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Info for those considering brands


lol, it's not the "wrong" way after you get the hang of it.


Sep 25, 2013 at 03:53 PM
johnctharp
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Info for those considering brands


You forgot Canon Mk. II teles- best in the business. And Dual-Pixel AF. And STM lenses.

I'm sure there's some Nikon stuff too- I'd definitely mention the control layout, the twin dials on the D7000 I picked up were quite nice and humbled my 60D and 6D quickly.



Sep 25, 2013 at 03:57 PM
Loren E
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Info for those considering brands


Joshim, I think your edited FM post above is thoughtful and well-written, and could prove to be very helpful to many. I have no idea why people are giving you flack when your post could not have been written more democratically and was also very helpful. I recently switched from Nikon to Canon for a few specific reasons but certainly miss certain things about my Nikon kit and acknowledge both companies make some awesome gear. It is a question of which company makes the specific kit of gear that will be the best fit for a particular photographer, and that can be hard to figure out if you have only shot with one system or are a newbie and have little experience with either. Kudos on a well written post -Loren




Sep 25, 2013 at 04:02 PM
surf monkey
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Info for those considering brands


joshim wrote:
1. Canon cameras are more fragile.

I've had a Nikon D7000 since the day it came out (a couple of years ago) until a few months ago and never had anything close to such a nasty scratch as this on the left. I've even taken it to China. And it's not even in the same class. The 5D Mark III is 3x the price. No, I didn't pamper it.

I got a huge scratch on my camera on the second wedding. There were quite a few more scratches as well. I've also talked to other Canon shooters who agree Canons aren't
...Show more

Fragile for cosmetic damage is pretty much irrelevant.
Ruggedness against damage that keeps the cameras from functioning - that's much more important.

Try dropping the 5Diii and D7000 on the ground, over and over again and see which one works the longest.

There are so many stories we hear about one camera or another being tough or not.
I seem to recall a story about a photog dropping his Canon 1-series while riding an elephant. Bam! Straight to the ground, and worked fine.

Edited on Sep 25, 2013 at 04:07 PM · View previous versions



Sep 25, 2013 at 04:04 PM
Don Clary
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Info for those considering brands


To those looking to switch: just remember that a camera brand is not about the final image, it's about how enjoyable the path to that image is. If it helps you enjoy the process and shoot more happily, then it's worth it.

What In the past, I'm used to shooting 35mm film, medium format cameras, 4x5 view cameras, and underwater cameras (Nikonos RS). I don't give a rat's ass about how pleasant or easy the process is. I have one and only one criteria - the picture's quality! I sorta thought that was the idea behind photography!

I'm presently shooting Canon and am very pleased with all aspects of its performance. I sure if the Canon was taken away from me, and I was handed a Nikon system, I would equally pleased with its performance. In the end, you work with the equipment you have in your hand, and extensive knowledge and experience will provide excellent results with any camera system!



Sep 25, 2013 at 04:05 PM
sirimiri
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Info for those considering brands


I found Nikon's customer service and indeed, the setup of their entire repair system, to be a distant second to Canon.

Slow, uncommunicative, bad comprehension on their part, and to boot they use(d?) this idiotic message posting system that seemed to exist only to "get it all in writing".

It wasn't a system that befits their very well-made photography equipment.



Sep 25, 2013 at 04:09 PM
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