Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

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Archive 2009 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Jammy Straub
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p.2 #1 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

James R wrote:
mantat wrote:
cputeq: actually, there is a lot of stuff any Nikon body can do that even D1 bodies cant: time lapse and multibracketing exposure are the two most annoying.

Please, never refer to the 5DMrkII as a pro-sumer body in a Canon crowd! It is a money machine for a lot of pros!

Especially in a crowd of wedding photogs.

, just spill your glass of water on the 5DII. 'Oh shit, sorry man, it'll be ok right? It's a pro camera, those are tough!'

I haven't seen any local wedding pro's using 5DII's yet, not that I make it a point to hunt them down. Seems like most of them are using original 5D's and 1 series around here.

Mar 29, 2009 at 05:13 PM

Grognard
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p.2 #2 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

It just seems that Nikons are made by and for photographers, and Canons are made by and for the marketing department. Also it seems that comprable Nikkor lenses are much sharper/better made than the Canon equivalents. Whether this is true or not, it seems the perception. I have yet to see a Nikon user go through 3+ lenses to get a sharp one.

Mar 29, 2009 at 05:17 PM

Avi B
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p.2 #3 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

martines34 wrote:
The criticism of the "white" lens only comes form those who don't understand why they are white.

White is the color used on "tele" lenses.

The reason why is because most people shooting with a tele wil be in the sun waiting for a shot.

The sun beating on the lens body can distort the glass as it heats up.

White keeps the glass cooler longer and the change , if any, is more gradual.

That's because Canon uses fluorite elements which are sensitive to heat. Nikon uses ED elements to do the same thing that the fluorite elements do in L glass. AFAIK.

Mar 29, 2009 at 05:21 PM

James R
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p.2 #4 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Jammy Straub wrote:
James R wrote:
mantat wrote:
cputeq: actually, there is a lot of stuff any Nikon body can do that even D1 bodies cant: time lapse and multibracketing exposure are the two most annoying.

Please, never refer to the 5DMrkII as a pro-sumer body in a Canon crowd! It is a money machine for a lot of pros!

Especially in a crowd of wedding photogs.

Mar 29, 2009 at 05:24 PM

Jammy Straub
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p.2 #5 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

James R wrote:
[...]

Read the Wedding Forum, a lot of pros over there have moved to the 5DII.

I'm sure they have, I just haven't seen any round here. I'm an anomaly around here shooting Nikon.

Mar 29, 2009 at 05:36 PM

bobbytan
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p.2 #6 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Upside: Nikon has the 14-24 and 200-400 VR.

Downside: I would rather not go there .......

Mar 29, 2009 at 06:04 PM

bobbytan
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p.2 #7 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Is that why they don't make f1.2 lenses anymore .... because photographers don't want it?

Grognard wrote:
It just seems that Nikons are made by and for photographers, and Canons are made by and for the marketing department. Also it seems that comprable Nikkor lenses are much sharper/better made than the Canon equivalents. Whether this is true or not, it seems the perception. I have yet to see a Nikon user go through 3+ lenses to get a sharp one.

Mar 29, 2009 at 06:06 PM

tach18k
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p.2 #8 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

very redundant manual, every option has 3 ways to look at it, well at least my D300 does.

Mar 29, 2009 at 06:16 PM

John Straus
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p.2 #9 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

I've been shooting weddings on Canon for about 6 years. 1DmIIs, 5DmII, & others. Various L glass zooms & primes. I've been wanting a Pro feeling $3k for a while and the 5D series isn't it (all I want is a responsive shutter & 5fps!!). It's hard for me to justify buying pro bodies for $4-5k just to get a responsive camera. I just bought a D700 & 50mm to test. Used it for a little while at a reception for low light practice.

Rather than Renting I think you're better off buying and reselling if you don't like it. You will get to use it far more and get the real feel for less $$. I personally need more than 1-2days to get a good feel for something.

Anyway, I am a very "fast" shooter on Canon. I am very SLOW with Nikon. But in the few hours of shooting I learned:

My hand cramps up a little with the Nikon. I think the width of the grip is narrow so I pinch it more than grab it. It feels a lot more solid than the 5Ds ever did. It's weight is between the 5D & 1DmII bodies (I'm comparing this with the grip on the D700 & 5Ds). The wheels on the Nikon seem close together and harder to turn (but the Canon rear dial was always too easy and changes when the camera brushes against your body).

But the BIGGEST issue I have is that the Nikon's AF flashes when the focusing activates. The Canon flashes to confirm it's focused!!! After years of getting used to that type of focus confirmation it is so hard to look for the green dot in the corner of the VF!! To you guys who shoot servo this wont matter, for some reason I still use the Single focus. Also you cannot change the focus point while there is any info on the rear LCD. So if you have the image pop up after every shot (Lots of Canon guys do this) you need to press the shutter 1/2 way then move the focus point. I might just have to turn off the auto view on the Nikon, it's more important to change the FP fast.

I will not be able to give up the Canon 24/1.4 unless Nikon makes something wide @ f2 or faster. Hopefully Nikon will update the 70-200 for improved FX images. Other than that the Nikon is nice and if I switched I'd get a D3 as the main body.

This is all I know for now...

JS

Mar 30, 2009 at 01:04 AM

Derek
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p.2 #10 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

I was delighted with the D3 until Nikon just told me it has water damage around the USB port and is not covered under warranty. (it's not working comes up "err" everytime you fire a shot)

It's never been used in anything other than light rain, and certainly never in conditions any where near as rough as the 15 odd Canon 1 series bodies I've owned.

I would say at this stage the D3 weather sealing is very poor (at least on mine), and does not perform as marketed.

Something to consider if you are a sports shooter.

If I get the wrong answer from someone higher up on the D3........I'll dumping everything Nikon, as it clearly can't handle the weather like the Canon's can

Mar 30, 2009 at 01:33 AM

bellyface
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p.2 #11 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

I dab'd with canon once when my D1x was in the shop with a bad firewire connection, and at the time it was a 1D, I liked it, but I felt the ergonomics and illogical placement of buttons and dials gave me more headaches than good shots, by the time I got in the groove with the 1D my D1x came back from nikon... so, I guess I didn't miss much. They're great cams in capable hands, don't get me wrong, I'm just happy I'm vested in nikon though...

Mar 30, 2009 at 03:27 AM

fishfilm
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p.2 #12 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Interesting that the OP said Nikon has too many buttons. When I've used Canon, there don't seem to be enough buttons!

EVERYTHING seems buried in the menu or hard to find. I'm sure one get's used to it but I always found the Nikon interface more intuitive. But I'm one of those guys who miss the aperture ring and shutterspeed knob. At least Nikon finally allowed you change the wheels and +/- orientation of exposure. To me more exposure is to the right. I swear, 20 years of shooting Nikon and I never got used to the reverse. Never found a way to grok it.

Mar 30, 2009 at 04:13 AM

Tim Ashton
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p.2 #13 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Derek wrote:
I was delighted with the D3 until Nikon just told me it has water damage around the USB port and is not covered under warranty. (it's not working comes up "err" everytime you fire a shot)

It's never been used in anything other than light rain, and certainly never in conditions any where near as rough as the 15 odd Canon 1 series bodies I've owned.

I would say at this stage the D3 weather sealing is very poor (at least on mine), and does not perform as marketed.

Something to consider if you are a sports shooter.

If I get the wrong answer from someone higher up on the D3........I'll dumping everything Nikon, as it clearly can't handle the weather like the Canon's can

Very strange Derek

My plastic D70s (Definitely not pro build) has survived tropical downpours in Bougainville under my shirt and I think its undoing was when the driver rolled the landcruiser and while it was bouncing around the body cracked. This resulted in misalignment of the the mirror and sensor but I am getting it back this week for a price so reasonable I couldnt even justify an upgrade.

Corrosion at the the USB port would just about have to be impossible with the plug in. If they knock you back "Tell them they are dreaming

" (Only us Aussies will understand)

Tim

Mar 30, 2009 at 08:57 AM

Chris Dees
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p.2 #14 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

fishfilm wrote:
Interesting that the OP said Nikon has too many buttons. When I've used Canon, there don't seem to be enough buttons!

About the reversed mount and so on; now Canon has everthing reversed

Mar 30, 2009 at 12:06 PM

Alistair Watson
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p.2 #15 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Chris Dees wrote:
....
About the reversed mount and so on; now Canon has everthing reversed

Agreed, and Canon is the dark side!

Mar 30, 2009 at 12:44 PM

treebeard
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p.2 #16 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Jammy Straub wrote:
James R wrote:
[...]

Read the Wedding Forum, a lot of pros over there have moved to the 5DII.

I'm sure they have, I just haven't seen any round here. I'm an anomaly around here shooting Nikon.

Out of the 5 wedding photographers I know 3 shoot with the D700/D300 and 2 shoot with the D3/D700. I don't know any that shoot with the 5DII.

Mar 30, 2009 at 12:48 PM

treebeard
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p.2 #17 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

Derek wrote:
I was delighted with the D3 until Nikon just told me it has water damage around the USB port and is not covered under warranty. (it's not working comes up "err" everytime you fire a shot)

It's never been used in anything other than light rain, and certainly never in conditions any where near as rough as the 15 odd Canon 1 series bodies I've owned.

I would say at this stage the D3 weather sealing is very poor (at least on mine), and does not perform as marketed.

Something to consider if you are a sports shooter.

If I get the wrong answer from someone higher up on the D3........I'll dumping everything Nikon, as it clearly can't handle the weather like the Canon's can

Sorry to hear that it's not covered under warranty but I honestly don't believe a word you are saying about the weathersealing being poor and that it does not perform as marketed. Clearly can't handle the weather like the Canon's can? Please, give me a break!

Mar 30, 2009 at 12:53 PM

FatBoyAl
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p.2 #18 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

There are a lot of reasons to make the switch - you've seen that here. One thing you will find is how different the lens lineup is. I made the switch after getting the chance to use a D300 (I had a 40D). I also owned virtually every L short of the 2.8 super-teles. I researched the heck out of the bodies, assuming the lens lineup would have equals. It doesn't. Our situations are different in that you are willing to spend the money to get the 'holy grail' of Nikon glass. I wasn't.

If you have the desire and wherewithal to buy the pro glass, you might not notice the lack of glass. However, if you want a pro f4 lineup, you'll find yourself lost. If you want fixed aperture prosumer zooms or pro quality large aperture primes with AF-S, you'll also find the cupboard somewhat bare. Building a decent portable glass kit is difficult, too. I'm sure I'll take fire from the Nikon crew here, but my 17-40, 24-105, 70-200 f4 L lineup was the perfect zoo and travel lineup. If I left the 70-200 home and took the 100-400 instead, just about anything was possible. I miss the 24-105 and 100-400 the most.

Still, I wouldn't trade my D300 for any of the prosumer bodies from Canon. My 30D was a great camera and the 40D built on that with better AF, but no hi-rez LCD and the extra dedicated switches on the D300 just put it head and shoulders above. Not to mention the superior AF system of the D300. Canon needs to refocus on what is important in the body department. MP's alone isn't going to sell cameras if IQ doesn't increase in proportion.

Mar 30, 2009 at 02:34 PM

dasrocket
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p.2 #19 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

My gripes were the size /weight of the D700 (a bit big for my taste), and that I have to use two hands to get some changes made, like ISO, flash comp, etc. which brough back memories of the CANON 1 series "pro" feature of two buttons per item...

it was annoying then, it is annoying now, especially trying to make a change while holding onto a boat rail!
Also, maybe more importantly, some CANON lenses just have no equal here: The NIKON 85 1.4 just did not have the oooomph of the 85 1.2L and I miss that. Same goes for the 50 1.4 VS the 50 1.2L. I tend to use them fully open so I miss that.

Mar 30, 2009 at 03:12 PM

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p.2 #20 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

To the OP:
You are experiencing gear envy, which is quite normal and understandable as the grass always appears greener on the other side

. Seriously though, if you compare the output of the 5D Mark II with that of the D700 or D3, you will come back to your senses. If we are talking about the D3x, then all bets are off

. A lot of folks that have made the switch completely from Canon to Nikon or that never used Canon are definitely more enthusiastic about their gear and understandably so. However, folks that use both systems tend to be more subdued in their praises for Nikon, yours truly included. Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely features/lenses that I like in the Nikon system but I can say the same about the Canon system. Both are really excellent and I could be happy with either one but I have my feet firmly footed in both camps. I am not saying you are not supposed to switch nor encouraging you to do that. It is, of course, entirely up to you. Good luck!

Mar 30, 2009 at 03:18 PM

treebeard
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p.2 #21 · Thinking about moving fron Canon to Nikon

I agree with AGeoJO, out of all the cameras I have owned besides the D3, the MkIIn was just wonderful. I loved shooting sports with it and it worked well for all of my pj work when I worked for the daily newspaper.

Mar 30, 2009 at 06:05 PM


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