CKrueger
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 p.22 #7 · •Nikons Announced: D3, D300, lenses | |
prof_fate wrote:
Are YOU going to switch brands is one question...some I suppose will, but then people do funny things all the time.
I've got this in the back of my head. I spent 15 minutes on B&H and came up with a cost of switching...
If I sell all my Canon gear (see my profile... about $8K worth of stuff, including a 5D, 350D, two flashes, and 16 lenses) and re-buy equivalents in Nikon format, the transition will cost me $2655 plus PayPal/shipping fees, given FM B&S Forum prices.
That will give me a D3 and a D40x, with all the "same" lenses. If I instead buy a D3 and D300 like I'd prefer, and started from scratch with a kit I actually want instead of already have the transition would cost me $1970.
And if I knocked it down to just the equipment I need (D3, D40x, SB-600, Nikon 18-200VR and 80-400VR, Tam 17-35 and 28-75), the transition would cost me $480. (I could even "make" $10 on the conversion if I replaced the 18-200VR with an 18-135 kit lens...)
All meaningless numbers to anyone else but me, but I was actually surprised how little it would cost me to convert, given that I'd be buying a $5k body. The only downsides to me would be a heavier FF body (livable considering it's essentially a 5D + 1DMk3 rolled into one...) and the inability to use some old manual lenses... I really do love my little OM primes, and would be disappointed to lose them.
So, where does it leave me? I'm going to sit on this idea. I'm going to watch how the D3 and D300 fare when they are released. How's ISO6400? Any banding issues? Any issues at all? If the release goes well and ISO6400 is at least as good as the 1DMk3, I'll look at Canon. If Canon makes a 5D with 45-point AF, >=4fps, >=12MPixel, and either at least one stop better ISO performance than Nikon or an in-body IS, I'll buy that and stick with Canon. But if they put out a 5D with their usual small incremental feature bumping (say, 16-point AF, 4fps, 16MPixel, ISO6400 at 1DMk3 levels).... I'll most likely switch to Nikon.
Before you ask, I'm happy with my 5D. It's a wonderful camera. But I long for better high ISO performance, in-body IS (the former for faster shutter speeds, the latter to compensate for my shaky hands), and a single camera that can tackle both my nighttime sports and general photography needs. The D3 has no in-body VR, but it might have better ISO performance, and it definitely will be a great sports camera for my nighttime auto racing photos.
If you look at Canon for the past three years (1D2->20D->1DsMk2->5D->1D2N->30D->1DMk3), it's clear they're having trouble improving their ISO performance significantly. And looking at their nickel-and-diming releases, it seems they're not about to give us a full-on camera that can do everything, either. (To me, "everything" = full frame and the best AF and frame rate possible.) Meanwhile, Nikon seems to be throwing everything they've got at every body (above the bargain bodies, at least), and they've finally introduced a body (D3) that--if it lives up to its specs (and I'm skeptical of course)--looks to be both a big upgrade to my 5D, and a 1DMk3-beater rolled into one.
In short, I'm going to be looking very carefully at Canon's response to the D3, if the D3 ends up being as good as it looks on paper. Canon has one chance to knock my socks off with a 5D replacement (I'm talking ISO6400 and in-body IS, or two more stops ISO performance), and they have to do it very soon.
I don't think that makes me soulless or a traitor or a fool. I don't throw money around lightly (it took me six months to justify a LensBaby!), and I know there's a "risk" I might end up switching back, or regretting my choice. But as it looks on paper, the D3 looks like the camera of my dreams, and I'm skeptical Canon can/will do anything to match it with all their brand-new bodies crowding a competitor out of their product lineup.
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) is that Nikon's D3 sensor is taking up empty space in the market segment. Up untill now there was no high-sensitivity fast full frame low res sensor. They saw the empty spot next to the 5D and went for it. But there is much less space around the 1Ds Mk III.