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Archive 2014 · Nikon convert opinions

  
 
josiahkim
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Nikon convert opinions


Hello!

I wanted to ask a general question to anyone who has experienced starting out as a Canon users and made a transition over to Nikon.

Currently, I'm using a Canon 6D with a decent set of prime lenses, which include the 135mm F2L, 85mm 1.2L II, Sigma 35mm 1.4A, and a Rok 14mm 2.8. I love the combination and so far, I have no major qualms about shooting with Canon. I think one of the biggest influences for choosing Canon initially was that most of my friends worked with Canon and I was always impressed with their work. However, I never really tried the Nikon system.

After shooting and learning for about a year and a half with Canon and reading up on photography blogs, and opinions from the pros, I began to covet Nikon's technology--especially with the recent announcement of the D810. I feel like Canon has really been struggling to keep up with sensor technology as of late and I don't see it changing within the next few years.

As of now, I'm ready to sell everything and make the switch to a D810. Of course, this means I'm also giving up a lot and will most likely be able to only afford 1 or 2 lenses to start with, assuming my budget remains with only what I earn from selling my gear.

Do you all think I'm being irrational about this? Should I take my time to reconsider?

Honest opinions are appreciated. Thank you.

edit:grammar


Edited on Jun 30, 2014 at 11:02 AM · View previous versions



Jun 30, 2014 at 10:36 AM
James R
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Nikon convert opinions


Photography is an irrational hobby.

But, it sort of make sense to seek economic advice from us irrational types. So here is my advice. I never tell somebody to change systems because it does result in taking an economic hit--which is a pretty narrow view.

If you are truly unhappy with your current gear, then it is better to make the change now rather than later. Prices are only going to go up.

Edited on Jun 30, 2014 at 04:09 PM · View previous versions



Jun 30, 2014 at 10:50 AM
snapsy
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Nikon convert opinions


If you're not in a rush wait until Photokina - Canon is rumored to be coming out with some groundbreaking products.


Jun 30, 2014 at 10:51 AM
bgbs
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Nikon convert opinions


If you're switching plus upgrading to a much better camera, it is hard to argue against D810. D810 will be a hands down better product. I think your choices should come down to lenses. Camera bodies get old fast, but lenses rarely do.

I know rumor has it, as @snapsy also said, that Canon should be coming out with something groundbreaking, nobody knows, however, if it is in the sensor department. We'll see, Photokina may be a turning point for many Canon shooters to switch or not to switch. 7D MkII is rumored to hold the piece of that groundbreaking tech.



Jun 30, 2014 at 11:03 AM
josiahkim
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Nikon convert opinions


Photokina seems like eons from now.
Patience is not my strong suit.



Jun 30, 2014 at 11:04 AM
Frogfish
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Nikon convert opinions


What is your current kit not giving you ? That's a wonderful set-up. Glass is more important than the camera in 90% of cases, and usually 100% for those not shooting for their living. The grass is always greener.


Jun 30, 2014 at 11:07 AM
cope07
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Nikon convert opinions


Grain of salt, this is coming from a D800E shooter considering the upgrade to a D810.

What particularly of Nikon's "technology" do you like? and how would it be applicable to you. For instance, the D8(1)0 I think will have better DR than the 6D, but not necessarily better high ISO performance. Also what about the 5Dmkiii, which has comparable AF (better than D800?), resolution, high ISO (better than D800?).

36MP in my experience is Damn taxing on phase detect AF systems, and frankly, can be annoying.

Another thing to consider, lens wise, is that Nikon doesn't make an 85/1.2 and their 135 is too old and the screw drive AF too sloppy to be considered viable for a D810. The sigma and Rok are available in anything of course. On the plus side for lenses. On a budget, the f/1.8 G lenses (28,35,50,85) are all good, particularly for the price. On the plus side disregarding price, there cool Nikon things like the 14-24, 58/1.4G.



Jun 30, 2014 at 11:22 AM
binary visions
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Nikon convert opinions


A friend of mine recently made this decision.

His position was, essentially, Nikon had some technologies that he wanted, and his wholesale unloading of Canon gear + budget for Nikon gear got him enough to satisfy his photographic needs. It didn't replace everything 1:1, but it got him the right set of gear for the vast majority of his photos.

If you have to take a hit to your photo gear to make the swap - at least, if that hit results in you not having the right gear for what you want to do - I'm not sure it's a good choice.

But my buddy couldn't be happier. He loves the flash system, he's pleased with the improvements to the sensor and autofocus, and he's got the equipment that suits his needs. So it's not like there isn't a potential happy ending here, I just wouldn't give up a whole lot to do it.



Jun 30, 2014 at 11:58 AM
josiahkim
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Nikon convert opinions


cope07 wrote:
Grain of salt, this is coming from a D800E shooter considering the upgrade to a D810.

What particularly of Nikon's "technology" do you like? and how would it be applicable to you. For instance, the D8(1)0 I think will have better DR than the 6D, but not necessarily better high ISO performance. Also what about the 5Dmkiii, which has comparable AF (better than D800?), resolution, high ISO (better than D800?).

36MP in my experience is Damn taxing on phase detect AF systems, and frankly, can be annoying.

Another thing to consider, lens wise, is that Nikon doesn't make an 85/1.2 and their 135
...Show more

Thanks for the honest assessment! I personally like the advancements in the sensor technology in the D810. Besides the much higher resolution (compared to the 6D), I'm fascinated by the removal of the OLPF and AA filters. I think this really brings out the full potential of the current lens offerings in todays world. This intrigues me to the core, yet, I'm curious to see how it actually performs in the real world.

I'm sure I probably don't need more sharpness than I already have with my current system, but I think I've become a bit of a tech snob in wanting to see the full potential of lens/body combinations.

Another thing that attracts me is the autofocus. 6D is great for stills, landscapes, portrait, but sometimes I feel like it's a bit too limited. I have considered upgrading to a 5d Mark iii, but I feel like when you compare the D810 to the 5Dm3, the D810 has a lot more to offer.

Can you expound on the phase detect issue? Do you think the faster Expeed processor could resolve such things?



Jun 30, 2014 at 12:10 PM
josiahkim
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Nikon convert opinions


binary visions wrote:
A friend of mine recently made this decision.

His position was, essentially, Nikon had some technologies that he wanted, and his wholesale unloading of Canon gear + budget for Nikon gear got him enough to satisfy his photographic needs. It didn't replace everything 1:1, but it got him the right set of gear for the vast majority of his photos.

If you have to take a hit to your photo gear to make the swap - at least, if that hit results in you not having the right gear for what you want to do - I'm not sure it's
...Show more

That's a great point. I've actually been trying to figure out what I enjoy most. I go between portrait/candids, to landscape.

So although I probably won't get a 1:1 replacement, I think I can probably get a 35 and an 85 immediately. If anything I can pick up some of the more cost effective lenses to get a full set of primes, but I'm definitely going to miss my 85 1.2.



Jun 30, 2014 at 12:27 PM
josiahkim
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Nikon convert opinions


Frogfish wrote:
What is your current kit not giving you ? That's a wonderful set-up. Glass is more important than the camera in 90% of cases, and usually 100% for those not shooting for their living. The grass is always greener.


Thanks. I need these kinds of thoughts to keep me grounded. Sometimes my wants feel greater than my need. I personally think the only glass I'll miss is my 85 out the set, but still I think Nikon has some pretty cool lens offerings that I've always been wanting to try.



Jun 30, 2014 at 12:29 PM
Grantland
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Nikon convert opinions


josiahkim wrote:
The 85L is one sweet lens.

I made the switch and have never looked back. The 810 looks to be a great body.



Jun 30, 2014 at 12:37 PM
ayjayy
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Nikon convert opinions


I switched last year. Had A 5D3 and a 5D2, now have 2 D800Es

I wasn't unhappy with the 5d3, but I wasn't thrilled with it either. AF was better, but the files were a modest upgrade.

Going to the D800, the RAW files are amazing. You can do things that just aren't possible with Canon. The AF is just as good and I love that I can spot meter for any active focus point, not just the center. High ISO performance is very close. If you downsample the files it might even be better. The noise is more appealing to me than Canon's but i guess that is subjective.

Lenses - Nikon's 70-200 2.8 and 24-70 can hold there own against Canon. the 105 Macro and 85 1.4 are also excellent.

All in all, I am quite happy with my switch.



Jun 30, 2014 at 12:42 PM
Frogfish
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Nikon convert opinions


cope07 wrote:
Another thing to consider, lens wise, is that Nikon doesn't make an 85/1.2 and their 135 is too old and the screw drive AF too sloppy to be considered viable for a D810.


Well I'm sorry but that bolded bit is simply not true. It may be an aging lens but the 135/2 DC is an absolute gem on my D800E. Simply gorgeous lens even though AF is not at light-speed.




Jun 30, 2014 at 01:04 PM
nburwell
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Nikon convert opinions


ayjayy wrote:
I wasn't unhappy with the 5d3, but I wasn't thrilled with it either. AF was better, but the files were a modest upgrade.


I have to agree with this. I had the 5DIII and about four months ago, I made the switch to the D800. While the 5DIII wasn't holding me back from anything, I wasn't so much impressed with the RAW files. I will say that after I made the switch, you can see a difference in the D800 RAW files.

The only PITA was selling all my Canon lenses and accessories. Would I do it again? Probably. But I do not see myself switching back to Canon since I am very happy with my D800.

IMO, if you're looking to switch and you don't mind selling all your Canon gear, then do it.

-Nick



Jun 30, 2014 at 01:10 PM
cope07
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Nikon convert opinions


@Frogfish, you probably have more experience than I do with that lens, but I found (as well as other reviewers) that the screw drive AF of that lens is generally less accurate/reliable than the AFS lenser. At any rate, I -believe- that the canon lens is more modern. I guess the point I was trying to make to the OP, that two of his lenses-the 85/1.2 and the 135 aren't necessarily better in Nikon land.


@josiahkim. What I meant is that 36MP is very demanding on the AF system to get the most out of the files. Small errors in focus are noticeable. I do struggle at times to get the AF system (particularly the outer points) really make the files shine when working with shallow DOF (f/1.8ish). There are a range of opinions on the D800's AF (from it sucks to its flawless).

In terms of the D800 sensor, I found nothing novel about its treatment of Highlights (blows them just like any other camera), but the D800 is very very very good at pulling up shadows without noise.

Oh, BTW the virtual horizon in the optical viewfinder on the D800 is very cool. Really nice that it isn't just on the LCD

Personally when I went to the D800E, cost was an issue, so my lens setup was 70-200 (as the splurge because it is so darn useful for events) @ $1,650. and then 28mm 1.8G+50mm1.8G+85mm1.8G for $1,000 combined, which I think is a helluva deal for lenses. All used of course



Jun 30, 2014 at 01:40 PM
Lauchlan Toal
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Nikon convert opinions


No experience with any of this, but with Sigma's latest offerings I think the lens differences are getting pretty trivial. They don't have T/S lenses or ultrafast f/1.2 lenses, but I hear they're coming out with a 135mm f/1.8 which will likely blow Canon and Nikon out of the water, and their Art and Sport lenses are all really good. No holy trinity yet, but OEM products are very good in that regard.


Jun 30, 2014 at 02:02 PM
binary visions
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Nikon convert opinions


cope07 wrote:
@josiahkim. What I meant is that 36MP is very demanding on the AF system to get the most out of the files.


I think the part I bolded is really important, though.

From a pure image quality standpoint, there is really no downside to the additional resolution, only upside. 36mp @ 100% might be more demanding on the AF than, say, 20mp @ 100%... but if you downsample the 36mp file to 20mp, it's no more demanding.

The point just being that 36mp gives you the headroom to produce higher quality images. To get that higher quality, it may be more demanding of the AF or glass or whatever, but there's no image quality downside to using the same AF / glass / etc.



Jun 30, 2014 at 02:03 PM
mshi
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Nikon convert opinions


If you can't get what you want in Canon, you won't find that in Nikon either. There are many great long-time Canon shooters as there are many competent long-time Nikon shooters.


Jun 30, 2014 at 02:06 PM
rw11
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Nikon convert opinions


Over time, the big two see-saw back & forth in terms of features and technology. Sometimes the advantage can last for years tho. e.g. it took Nikon a while to adapt the F-mount for electronic lens data. OTOH, if you had $10k worth of Nikon glass they did not obsolete you, while Canon did.

There was also a noted wildlife photographer who bought a Nikon lens and had it converted to use on his Canon back in the late 1980s.

Right now, I'd say the leader in sensors is Sony, and they are trying to kill both Nikon & Canon DSLRs.

What specifically are you looking for? What specifically would you have to give up?



Jun 30, 2014 at 02:35 PM
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