Canon Or Nikon

[nez]

The question arose at work today Which camera is the best Canon or Nikon.
My answer i dont know, there are many factors to take into consideration when answering this question it would be interesting what you all thought maybe then i can come up with a valid answer also who has the best lenses.
i look forward to all your answers.

Thanks.

[impotentspider]

Thats easy, just ask any Japanese photographer and they will tell you its NIKON,

I wont upset Canon users by listing the number 1 or number 3 best selling cameras in Japan but I will say that number 2 was the Nikon D80 and surprisingly number 4 is the Sony Alpha :eek!:

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/other/2006/12/27/5311.html?ref=rss

[Duke Leto]

I'd say 6 of one half a dozen of the other.............................
Before starting on digital photography I would have said neither having Contax SLR's with the legendary Carl Zeiss lenses.
When I moved to D-SLR's I found that the entry level Canons suitable for people with smaller hands and not wanting to plump for upper end bodies on day one it only left me with the D70s as a first step into digital photography. Had the Canon been bigger or my hands smaller I would probably have chosen Canon because the shutter on the 350 was far smoother and a lot quieter than the D70s.
So I went the Nikon route soon took a 2nd body and a few more lenses and am very happy with the outfit and not at all upset that Canon make more IS / VR lenses than Nikon make a better range of pro-sumer lenses esp in the longer focal lengths and that there is more choice of Canon gear on eBay (damn my chunky fingers!!!)
Seriously if your happy with Canon fine, if your happy with Nikon its fine just lets see the results on this forum.
Steve

[Adey Baker]

I wish I had a £1 for every time this question's been asked!

[robski]

I wish I had a £1 for every time this question's been asked!

Make it £2 and we will be twice as rich ;)

A Camera is just a brush and canvas and it's down to the artist on how they are used. I think in the real world it's a case of horses for courses. Carefully watch the news clips where you see a crowd of photographers. In some cases your see a field of white Canon lens and in others your see Nikon lens. The fact that a company successfully markets a product does not necessary mean it's the best.

I am sure if you look at the 3 or 4 levels of Nikon and Canon camera each with have their own sets of pro's and cons.

Now our Andy Bright made the switch from Nikon to Canon. Was it a Big Mistake ?

[baillieswells]

The question arose at work today Which camera is the best Canon or Nikon.
My answer i dont know, there are many factors to take into consideration when answering this question it would be interesting what you all thought maybe then i can come up with a valid answer also who has the best lenses.
i look forward to all your answers.

Thanks.

There is no answer to this question. At the amateur end when Canon brought out the 350D, there was in my opinion no Nikon to touch it. Now we have the Nikon D80 and this is, again in my opinion, better than the Canon 400D. These are all reduced sensor size cameras. When it comes to full frame, Canon reigns supreme.

As for lenses, some Canon lenses are superb, some are a downright disgrace, and similarly for Nikon, some good, some not so good. My choice of Canon dates back from the 1970s, with a FTb followed by an A1. When EOS cameras were introduced, a 600 and later a 5. It was logical I would move to digital Canon, which I couldn't afford until the advent of the 350D. All my EF film camera lenses fitted.
It is an argument not really worth fighting about.

[baillieswells]

Thats easy, just ask any Japanese photographer and they will tell you its NIKON,


That is not an acceptable argument. Most people in the UK buy Ford and Vauxhall cars, and in the past people used to buy Rover cars in large numbers, and yet they are not a patch on Lexus, Honda, Toyota and Mazda.

[robski]

There is always the leapfrog factor with technology anyway. The D80 was last years model will Canon's new release expected this year put it in the shade. Who knows and who cares. As the saying goes the best camera is the one you have with you at the time.

[impotentspider]

You may have guessed my original reply was firmly tongue in cheek.....And on a more serious note I totally agree with robski
"The fact that a company successfully markets a product does not necessary mean it's the best. "

It may surprise a lot of you to know that Canons annual advertising budget is supposed to be more than Pentax's Annual sales revenue. Canon is one HUGE corporation so obviously have the clout when it come to promoting a new product, just look at how much Canon kit is given away in photographic competitions (you dont honestly think the magazines buy it do you) And how many Pro-photographers get incentives for promoting Canon kit I wonder? As for Nikon they too are quite a large corporation compared to Pentax but still nowhere near the size of Canon.

Its like asking, "which is best, Windows or Linux"

[pe'rigin]

I think what is best is OS X.

As for Nikon or Canon, I use Nikon now after changing from Pentax many moons ago. Nikon have a loyal client base, which at the moment they don’t fully deserve to keep. Canon has the complementary range of products, which have a board appeal, but they too seem to be getting a wee-bit complacent.

What, I would like to see is the revival of Pentax in producing a high-end stabilised camera, that gets the big two, thinking about their own range.

If I was starting from scratch, then I think it would be Canon, but those VR lenses from Nikon do take some beating.

[speckled wood]

Thats easy, just ask any Japanese photographer and they will tell you its NIKON,

I wont upset Canon users by listing the number 1 or number 3 best selling cameras in Japan but I will say that number 2 was the Nikon D80 and surprisingly number 4 is the Sony Alpha :eek!:

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/other/2006/12/27/5311.html?ref=rss

I have a canon 300d and a 400d, my choice was based on price, with the right amount of money I would probably buy Nikon or the Fuji S3, not on any real basis of quality but on what I would like to own. That the Sony Alpha is number 4 does not suprise me, with Sony's marketing push it would not suprise me if in due course if a Sony DSLR takes number one place. There are quite a few Sony Alpha users on the forum and some of the pictures are first rate and I have been very impressed with some of the slow shutter speed shots taken using the in built camera IS.

A personal view here but for the average user I think that in camera IS will become a standard offering and it would not suprise me if some future Nikon and Canon cameras have this option especially if the Sony Alpha takes a large market share. It will be simply down to cost as many users will not be able to afford to buy several IS lenses.

SW

[Andy Bright]

Now our Andy Bright made the switch from Nikon to Canon. Was it a Big Mistake ?
I didn't do it for the cameras though ;) Still think the D2x walks all over the 1Ds MkII in many build and design areas... but the 1Ds is basically an old design.

cheers
Andy

[Dave Adshead]

In my instance it was the lenses not the bodies which dictated the system I finally went for. At the bird fair in Rutland about 4 years ago I compared the large Canon IS lenses with Nikon's non IS, VR was just coming onto the market. At that time I thought Nikon's offering were archaic compared to Canon's.

[postcardcv]

There are pros and cons for both but neither is better than the other, if it was we'd all use it...