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Canon vs. Nikon? (1 Viewer)

I chose Nikon because of the lightness and portability of the 300mm PF lens. Looking at the size of the 'big white' in Chris's article, I think I made the right choice :eek!:
 
Chris van Rijswijk said:
I regularly get questions like: “Is it better to buy a Canon camera or a Nikon? Because I'm a user of Canon, I’ll always advise purchasing Canon equipment and of course as a bird photographer, you wouldn’t like to be associated with Nikon...

More: http://www.birdshooting.nl/index.php/en/birdtalk-en/237-canon-vs-nikon
Click to expand...

My work PC won't let me access that link but I have heard that Nikon very much targets the shooting fraternity in terms of products and advertising and as a result is considered pretty unethical. I wouldn't buy any of their equipment for this reason alone and would urge others to boycott it too, though I realise it's less of a consideration for some, and plenty of people don't care either way.

If you do ever drop Nikon for this reason, make sure to let them know. Bird photography and recreational hunting do not mix and they appear to have chosen their side. If you have tried bird photography out in the Med or Middle East and struggled to find subjects, it's probably because some of Nikon's 'other' customers have been active in the area, shooting more than just shutters. :C
 
Neither of them sell a bad camera these days. Nikon probably currently edge bodies, while Canon are impressing their their top-tier lenses. But most people will be with a given system far longer than the technology cycles; in five years time it might be Canon killing it with their bodies and sensors, and nikon blowing everyone away with the lenses.

IMO the best advice is forget all the technical specs or attempting to second guess the future. Handles cameras by all the relevant brands to see which one feels most natural, and figure out which one has the lens(es) you want to buy today.
 
Jhanlon said:
My work PC won't let me access that link but I have heard that Nikon very much targets the shooting fraternity in terms of products and advertising and as a result is considered pretty unethical. I wouldn't buy any of their equipment for this reason alone and would urge others to boycott it too, though I realise it's less of a consideration for some, and plenty of people don't care either way.

If you do ever drop Nikon for this reason, make sure to let them know. Bird photography and recreational hunting do not mix and they appear to have chosen their side. If you have tried bird photography out in the Med or Middle East and struggled to find subjects, it's probably because some of Nikon's 'other' customers have been active in the area, shooting more than just shutters. :C
Click to expand...

I really think that is not a sound argument.
Here in the US, hunters have done way more for conservation and habitat preservation than all the nature groups put together. It is simply a question of proper incentives. If the farms and the highland grouse estates were penalized/rewarded based on the number of raptors on their properties, these birds would flourish. However, the birding organizations appear to prefer to fulminate rather than to look for effective solutions.
Meanwhile, Nikon is suffering, as is Canon, because of the collapse in digital camera sales. If hunters buy enough to throw them a lifeline, birders too should cheer, not jeer.
 
etudiant said:
Here in the US, hunters have done way more for conservation and habitat preservation than all the nature groups put together.
Click to expand...
Probably better not to get into this argument (again), but from earlier similar discussions, I learned that there appears to be quite a difference between hunters in the US and hunters in Europe, as well as between the relationship between hunters and birders on both sides of the Atlantic.

As for Nikon targeting hunters in their marketing, I guess this applies to rifle scopes and binoculars, rather than to DSRLs and big lenses. Canon does not make rifle scopes and only specialist binoculars, so may indeed not target hunters at all. However, almost any optics company selling binoculars and scopes to birders also do so to hunters. So for birders its not so easy to boycott companies that also sell tools used kill wildlife... Pure photographers can indeed avoid Nikon (and Leica ;)) if they want to do so.
 
dalat said:
Probably better not to get into this argument (again), but from earlier similar discussions, I learned that there appears to be quite a difference between hunters in the US and hunters in Europe, as well as between the relationship between hunters and birders on both sides of the Atlantic.

As for Nikon targeting hunters in their marketing, I guess this applies to rifle scopes and binoculars, rather than to DSRLs and big lenses. Canon does not make rifle scopes and only specialist binoculars, so may indeed not target hunters at all. However, almost any optics company selling binoculars and scopes to birders also do so to hunters. So for birders its not so easy to boycott companies that also sell tools used kill wildlife... Pure photographers can indeed avoid Nikon (and Leica ;)) if they want to do so.
Click to expand...

Very much agree. Incentives matter and impact behavior.
In the US, hunters need to buy a Duck Stamp as a part of their hunting license. That money goes to buy and conserve habitat. Why is there not something comparable in Europe?
Similarly, I'd think that if optics firms wanted to gain credit with birders, a small contribution towards some targeted habitat conservation from each sale would be well received and build green credentials, even if the sale is of a rifle scope.
 
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