Why does anyone bother to buy Canon?

Pistnbroke

Well all the specs are worse MP iso etc so why do people buy them ??? All I can find in the mags and advertising is that Canon gets pushed in your face more....my first no no is the on /off swith is in a silly place ...

PB_PM

All I can find in the mags and advertising is that Canon gets pushed in your face more....

Maybe because Canon pays more money to advertise than Nikon. 8-}

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scoobysmak

If someone was looking at shooting video then so far Canon has been the leader in this area. Usually Nikon and Canon go back and forth who has the most MP or faster frame rate, ect ect. It probably depends on when you joined the "D"SLR market what system you ended up with. Once you invest in some glass the cost to switch is not worth it.

Just for example though if you were a professional shooting action sports would you rather have 16MP or 18MP to blow shots up for posters. Using that same camera would you rather be limited to 11 fps or have the ability to do 14 fps (this does limit AF though), but will do 11 fps with no bad effects)?

The winner of this in both areas is the Canon EOS 1D X compared to the Nikon D4s. Both cameras are professional quality and cost over $6000 each, with less than $400 dollars between the two models. If your going to spend this kinda money on a camera most likely you have that kinda money to drop on good glass to use it most effectively.

I personally would get a D4s, I have Nikon glass and the upgrades are not enough to make me switch brands if I was looking to purchase a camera like that.

If you look at sporting events Canon you will see a bunch of "white" lenses, Canon shooters. I am not sure the difference now but at some point the AF system for Canon was faster than Nikon, needless to say a shot not in focus is not worth a dime even if you had 45MP to make it a complete blur.

spraynpray

Don't get me wrong, I am happy I have a Nikon but there are plenty of good things about Canon that make me envious. In general, their shorter zoom lenses are pretty crappy but there short telephoto and up zooms and long primes are very good IMHO. Their live view is so much better than the clunky crappy Nikon live view and they also have other handling related advantages too.

IMHO.

spraynpray

...and quieter shutters have been standard on Canons for years....

PB_PM

Don't get me wrong, I am happy I have a Nikon but there are plenty of good things about Canon that make me envious.

Indeed, there are some good things about the Canon system. I like where Canon puts the WB, Metering, ISO buttons on semi-pro/pro bodies for example. Nikon's button placement is a carried over from the film days, and they really need to be moved to the grip side of the body. Putting the mode selector on the left side, due to how little the mode gets changed, makes more sense too.

I like the ergonomics of Nikon's shutter button on/off combo, because it provides a much smoother transition between resting your finger over it and pushing the shutter release. I also much prefer Nikon's dual control dials and AF selector over the Canon's top dial and rear wheel, talk about awkward. To fix the issue @PitchBlack pointed out for scrolling images would take some minor firmware adjustments, but Nikon's firmware developers seem to be stuck in 2007 in that regard.

JonMcGuffin

6 one way, half a dozen another..

PC vs MAC
UPS vs Fedex
Coke vs Pepsi

I have friends who shoot with canon and I'm more convinced than ever the differences are there, but minor in all cases and as a whole negligible one way or another. If I didn't have Nikon, I'd be happy to shoot Canon. It is just simply a kind of silly thing to take a strong position as if one is master over the other. Some of the greatest images in the world have been captured with both and you've never found any picture taken where the audience looked at it and it truly mattered what brand or logo was on the camera. Nobody wonders or talks about what brand of paint brush Leonardo DaVinchi used either...

JonMcGuffin

With that said... I personally prefer Nikon and I do believe their sensors are in fact superior though only mildly so and there are certainly other enviable aspects to the Canon lineup and offerings.

henrik1963

When I ask the dealers in Denmark - they say that every time they sell 1 Nikon they sell 3 Canon. Canon must do something right.

That changed for a short time when the D800 came out - long lines to get a D800 - there was a lot of Canon shooters in that line. The D800 was close to $1.000 cheaper than the 5D III at the time. Nikon changed that by bumping the price by 55%. Nikon D810 is now more expensive than 5D III - no lines outside dealers for a D810.

Canon is everywhere - even en smaller electronic supermarkets. Nikon? Only in a few larger stores. It is like Nikon don't want to sell cameras and lenses. Right now you can only buy a D810 in 3 places here - I think it has to do with keeping the prices up.

If Nikon does not change they will die.

Besides: I don't think shooting Canon prevents you from taking great pictures - I see a lot of great pictures taken with Canon gear.

I do agree that the D800, D800e and now D810 is something special - even Canon shooters give me an approving nod when they see my D800.

But I´m not so sure that the pros thinks that the D4s is better than the Canon 1DX.

Gareth

I miss Canon's scroll wheel for browsing images, but Nikon's wheels are FAR more ergonomic when it comes to taking photos. When I pick up a Nikon my fingers go straight on the aperture and shutter speed wheels naturally. When I pick up a Canon I wonder what crazy shape the designers hands were.

Paperman

I have not been following the specs of recent Canons but it used to be a fact that Canon always offered lower specs than Nikon when compared to same level DSLRs. Less number of AF points, worse AF, lack of AF point spot metering, etc... It seemed like Canon always kept the best specs for their top models where as a Nikon did load entry level DSLRs with superior focusing/metering options ( OK, the Nikon always cost more than its Canon equal ).

Maybe things have changed recently but looking at the no of AF points in 6D, one can say - not so much so ...

Golf007sd

Both Nikon and Canon have their pro's and con's...we are all fully aware of that.

I find it to be very unproductive to have this conversation go any further.