switch to Canon opinions?

[billh101]

Hello, I've been shooting Nikon SLR equipment for years, but from what I've seen of digital tests/samples, I like the images that Canon can produce as far as highlights not being so harsh, etc. Well, I haven't talked myself into spending a lot on a serious digital setup, but did pick up an A70. It does a pretty good job with metering and white balance, but there are many drawbacks like having to use the display for manual settings, the viewfinder coverage, and the shutter lag, which is just plain maddening. Well, I'm trying to decide what I want to do for a real digital. The Nikon D100 would accept my Nikon lenses and flash and I know Nikon equipment is built rock solid. But, I really like Canon's digital images. I didn't want to spend as much as the 10D, so when I saw the 300D announcement, that obviously got my attention. But, if it's going to be flimsy, I don't want to waste my money. At this point in my life, photography is just a hobby, but I have done professional photojournalism and want to get back into it someday. Anyway, if I had Canon lenses already, it'd be an easy decision, I'd go for the 10D and never look back. But I keep looking back at the D100 for that very reason. The Sigma SD9 is intriguing, but I think it needs a couple years for the technology to evolve. Opinions anyone?
Thanks,
Bill

[DaveG]

I went through the same thing in March. I have tons of Nikon stuff and was pretty happy with it. But it was all manual focus so although it would work with the S2/D100 it would give me very little automation.

I felt like I was working with a clean slate. So what to buy? After doing some research I decided that the best of the affordable DSLR's was the 10D. Fast AF, good ISO range, auto rotating of the image and many other factors drew me to that camera.

Then there was the Canon/Nikon battle over the last 15 years. At every turn Canon ate Nikon's lunch. From the IS lenses to the Wireless TTL flash systems, Canon gets there first and with better quality. And it continues: Just to put this into perspective, Nikon's latest camera is a 4 MP! When there are amateur DSLR's with 5 MP, Nikon thinks that 4 MP is good enough!

Now that camera may offer newspaper shooters great burst rates, who else would care? Anyway it was another sign that Nikon doesn't live on this planet.

I think that I can see that Canon will eventually produce a 24x36 mm DSLR in the 10D's price range. It'll be a couple of years but I'd be very surprised if it didn't come. With Nikon I just wonder what they are going to do. Is the smaller chip size their future?

Although all of this is speculation I just feel more secure with the current Canon products and the possibilities for the near future. And Nikon gave me no feeling of security at all.

[bwb s30]

A few years ago I made the switch from a Nikon N70 to a Canon Elan 7e and have never looked back! I love the Ring USM focus in their better lenses, the almost silent film winding and rewinding in the Elan 7e and the Eye control focus is wonderful (admitedly not available on the 10D)

my next purchase will definitely be the 10D or its successor ..

(just purchased my first "L" glass -- 70-200 F/4) and OMG .. what an AWEsome lens!!!

[daveh]

billh101 wrote:
Anyway, if I had Canon lenses already, it'd be an easy decision

If you're willing to spend a little time on this (and it sounds like you already have) you should be able to use ebay to replace your used Nikon lenses with similar used Canon lenses. Now that that little issue is out of the way, what's stopping you? :)

[Brian Mackey]

DaveG wrote:
I went through the same thing in March. I have tons of Nikon stuff and was pretty happy with it. But it was all manual focus so although it would work with the S2/D100 it would give me very little automation.

I felt like I was working with a clean slate. So what to buy? After doing some research I decided that the best of the affordable DSLR's was the 10D. Fast AF, good ISO range, auto rotating of the image and many other factors drew me to that camera.

Then there was the Canon/Nikon battle over the last 15 years. At every turn Canon ate Nikon's lunch. From the IS lenses to the Wireless TTL flash systems, Canon gets there first and with better quality. And it continues: Just to put this into perspective, Nikon's latest camera is a 4 MP! When there are amateur DSLR's with 5 MP, Nikon thinks that 4 MP is good enough!
.

I don't own a Nikon, but just to be clear on the issue,
4 MP is plenty for P.J. types. there will be a D2X soon with 8 or 11 or whatever for the rest of the Nikon users.

[billh101]

[/quote]If you're willing to spend a little time on this (and it sounds like you already have) you should be able to use ebay to replace your used Nikon lenses with similar used Canon lenses. Now that that little issue is out of the way, what's stopping you? :)[/quote]

Well and I've thought about that. But I don't really want to have two different systems too badly either. I've been planning on selling my 8008 when I add a DSLR anyway. I guess my other option is to sell the N90, lenses and flash too and start over with all Canon film and digital. And that would be fine, long term. But short term, I need to make this as painless as possible from the financial standpoint, if you know what I mean. I guess that transition is what attracts me to the 300D. For $1,000 I could be up and going with a Canon DSLR with a small zoom lens. I just don't want to spend that grand and then outgrow it too quickly and wish I had gone for the 10D from the start. Decisions, decisions, decisions...
Bill

[DaveG]

Well that D2H will cost about $3500 US and that isn't acceptable for a 4 MP camera either.

[SoCal69]

I went through the same thing. I have two Nikon SLRs, with lenses, flash, etc. I did some research and found I liked the quality of the Canon digital images over the Nikon. That was the big selling point for me. The cost of having to buy all the new accessories and lenses is important, but I figured that since I was moving to a whole new medium, I was going to start with the camera I liked best rather than trying to fit a camera to the accessories I already had.

[Eolo]

I am shot with F5, F100, D100, Eos 3; Eos 1N, D60, PowerShot G3 ( i love G3) and now with 10D.
Canon has tip technology and lens L to accessible prices... Nikon copies a lot and its good optics are really very very expensive... I believe that they want to give him a professional profile and they go losing market. The nikonians says that they are an elite and that Canon is for the town... it is better this way!!
Although I recognize that the D100 has details of esthetic quality in spite of being made of plastic...
Me that you would buy Canon.

Mario

[billh101]

socal69 wrote:
I went through the same thing. I have two Nikon SLRs, with lenses, flash, etc. I did some research and found I liked the quality of the Canon digital images over the Nikon. That was the big selling point for me. The cost of having to buy all the new accessories and lenses is important, but I figured that since I was moving to a whole new medium, I was going to start with the camera I liked best rather than trying to fit a camera to the accessories I already had.

That's a good way to look at it, especially since I'm hoping this will be a long term investment that I'll still be using years from now. Just out of curiosity, are you still shooting Nikon film equipment, or did you completely switch to Canon?

[CyberDyneSystems]

The D2H is essentially 2 years late,. it does what the 1D did two years ago,. it's most revolutionary feature is the wireless storage to a server. This is an awesome Idea. I hope that the technology gets incorporated into existing cameras via a battery grip with usb connectvity to the camera and wireless to a server.

Brian Mackey wrote:
DaveG wrote:
I went through the same thing in March. I have tons of Nikon stuff and was pretty happy with it. But it was all manual focus so although it would work with the S2/D100 it would give me very little automation.

I felt like I was working with a clean slate. So what to buy? After doing some research I decided that the best of the affordable DSLR's was the 10D. Fast AF, good ISO range, auto rotating of the image and many other factors drew me to that camera.

Then there was the Canon/Nikon battle over the last 15 years. At every turn Canon ate Nikon's lunch. From the IS lenses to the Wireless TTL flash systems, Canon gets there first and with better quality. And it continues: Just to put this into perspective, Nikon's latest camera is a 4 MP! When there are amateur DSLR's with 5 MP, Nikon thinks that 4 MP is good enough!
.

I don't own a Nikon, but just to be clear on the issue,
4 MP is plenty for P.J. types. there will be a D2X soon with 8 or 11 or whatever for the rest of the Nikon users.

[CyberDyneSystems]

The existing Nikon lenses owned is a very good reason to not switch,.. indeed if I had an inventory of nikon lenses I probably would not own a 10D,..

BUT,. on the other hand, if you are actually tempted to "Make the Switch" now,. than now is the time. Canon does not only lead the industry in digital,. it leads the industry in lenses as well. If Digital is the impetus for you to switch so be it,. in the long run you will also be switching to a better choice of lenses as well.

[scottbergerphoto]

I own a Nikon F5 and N70. I bought a D100 and returned it because it couldn't make the same exposure twice, the LCD was terrible, and I didn't want to spend hours on my computer to get the colors right. I bought a 10D and all new Canon glass and I couldn't be happier. Now the only time I use my F5 is for rapid action pictures needing high fps. For a Nikon perspective, check out http://www.nikonians.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=list&forum=DCForumID84&conf=DCConfID3.
Buy the 10D.
Scott