Nikon D600 vs Canon 5D Mark-ii – Which one to buy?

Tony_Stark wrote in post #14995989
It really all comes down to what you want to shoot. But with the D600 being only $100 more expensive than 5D2, I hate to say it but the D600 is a much better choice overall. Not to mention Nikon has great lenses and cheaper pricing too. Nikon seems the most logical choice.

Provided you can even swap lenses, then yeah..the issue comes down to your investment in gear...

To try to defend Canon here, to make up for all my complaining...Canon has some of the most amazing glass out there, the new 24-70 II is... Shockingly, worth its $2300 price tag from everything im hearing (It beats the 24mm TS-E in resolution, Wide open) the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II is pretty much the best 70-200 out there, The 85mm f/1.2L is legendary, the 135mm f/2L is also just one of "those" lenses, The 35L may be long in the tooth but its similarly one of THOSE lenses, The 50L might be controversial but to me its one of those lenses I'd really love to own someday....

The problem with the D800 is simply lenses to be honest, there ARENT that many lenses that can feed that sensor's need for resolution, even their best lenses are struggling, Canon seems to be taking the approach of "having all those megapixels is useless if your lenses cant resolve enough to take advantage of it" sure it doesnt mean the D800 is -wasted- or anything, Just pointing out that unless your system is filled with Nikon's latest and greatest (And mostly prime) lenses you're probubly not going to love the IQ from the D800 because your lenses cant deal with it...

Not knocking Nikon's glass, A lot of it is absolutely spectacular, the D800 is just one demanding you know what...

Which might actually be justification for the D600s existence, it could be the camera for those who are running FF bodies but have a collection of older lenses that simply wont cut it on the D800's demanding sensor... Sure $900 might not be the biggest price difference.. Unless you suddenly have to replace 2-3 lenses on top of it...

And perhaps this explains why Canon hasnt pumped out a D800-like body with high megapixels, Canon knew that their bread and butter lenses that pros use, with the exception of the 70-200 f/2.8L II IS, were not going to cut the mustard, And so instead, they're updating those lenses and polishing them, So when they drop a 48 megapixel dynamic range monster next year they have the bread and butter zooms that pros use to go with it...

The 5DII sensor likes a lot of light. The best images come from well lit scenes. The noise floor rises dramatically in low light. You have to imagine that the Nikon d600 is going to sport new sensor technology which most likely over comes some of the limitations found in the 5DII. The 5DII is a trend setting camera in a fast moving imaging landscape. Nikon however listened carefully and set the stage for the next round with their latest offerings. I had no trouble switching to Nikon and that is due to using 3rd party manual lenses in the first place.

KenjiS wrote in post #14996240
And perhaps this explains why Canon hasnt pumped out a D800-like body with high megapixels, Canon knew that their bread and butter lenses that pros use, with the exception of the 70-200 f/2.8L II IS, were not going to cut the mustard, And so instead, they're updating those lenses and polishing them, So when they drop a 48 megapixel dynamic range monster next year they have the bread and butter zooms that pros use to go with it...

This.

k.lee wrote in post #15205700
This.

Well maybe not. Typically high mpix cameras are used for studio and landscapes where zooms are not required and nice primes are used. Zooms are typically used for events for their flexibility.

I just don't think Canon has perfected their sensors enough to release a high mpix sensor to compete with the Nikon / Sony sensor.

Hogloff wrote in post #15206028
Well maybe not. Typically high mpix cameras are used for studio and landscapes where zooms are not required and nice primes are used. Zooms are typically used for events for their flexibility.

I just don't think Canon has perfected their sensors enough to release a high mpix sensor to compete with the Nikon / Sony sensor.

I dunno, I've seen plenty of studio togs rocking 24-70 f/2.8Ls and 70-200 f/2.8L IS lenses, In a studio you also dont necessarily need a prime's wide aperture and the ability to tweak composition can still be very handy, you also might have control of your backdrop, meaning f/2.8 is a better aperture than f/1.4 to get more of your subject in focus

As for landscapes, Nikon's 14-24 is knocking and wanting to have a word with you on that, Also 70-200s are very popular as well depending on what you're going for in a landscape, in fact I'd say with a landscape having a zoom is a handy thing, You can "cut off" anything undesireable with a turn of the zoom ring, as opposed to moving your entire rig and etc... Especially with ultrawides this is handy

Kenji, keep in mind that the "48MP monster" to challenge Canon's glass has been out there for a while now... it's called the 7D (and all the other 18MP variants). If you can resolve 18MP crop, you can also resolve 48MP FF. I do understand the corners will have to be better for the FF and maybe that's what Canon is working on. Better corners means bigger glass, heavier and more $$$ though...

andrikos wrote in post #15208257
Kenji, keep in mind that the "48MP monster" to challenge Canon's glass has been out there for a while now... it's called the 7D (and all the other 18MP variants). If you can resolve 18MP crop, you can also resolve 48MP FF. I do understand the corners will have to be better for the FF and maybe that's what Canon is working on. Better corners means bigger glass, heavier and more $$$ though...

Yup, thats why i said 48 makes the most sense for a Canon big megapixel camera, it uses the same pixel density as a 7D.. the D800 uses the same density as a D7000...

jetcode wrote in post #14996270
The 5DII sensor likes a lot of light. The best images come from well lit scenes. The noise floor rises dramatically in low light. You have to imagine that the Nikon d600 is going to sport new sensor technology which most likely over comes some of the limitations found in the 5DII. The 5DII is a trend setting camera in a fast moving imaging landscape. Nikon however listened carefully and set the stage for the next round with their latest offerings. I had no trouble switching to Nikon and that is due to using 3rd party manual lenses in the first place.

Don't get me wrong- but does this not apply to most digital cameras, and even film cameras ;;; the best images come from well lit scenes... The noise floor rises dramatically in lower light... ... blah, blah, blah... I do love that we are comparing 4 year old Canon tech to the latest iteration of Nikon/Sony tech.. I would also think that Nikon would put better sensor tech in their latest offerings- if they didn't- why would someone upgrade their Nikon- if it didn't offer at least some improvement.. A few years back- I looked at Nikon- and they looked stagnant- behind the curve.. The way I see it- Canon needs competition, and unfortunately- the only real competition out there is Nikon's offerings... Go back a few years- and well, Canon really didn't have competition; Nikon was riding on their name alone...

wayne.robbins wrote in post #15208358
Don't get me wrong- but does this not apply to most digital cameras, and even film cameras ;;; the best images come from well lit scenes... The noise floor rises dramatically in lower light... ... blah, blah, blah... I do love that we are comparing 4 year old Canon tech to the latest iteration of Nikon/Sony tech.. I would also think that Nikon would put better sensor tech in their latest offerings- if they didn't- why would someone upgrade their Nikon- if it didn't offer at least some improvement.. A few years back- I looked at Nikon- and they looked stagnant- behind the curve.. The way I see it- Canon needs competition, and unfortunately- the only real competition out there is Nikon's offerings... Go back a few years- and well, Canon really didn't have competition; Nikon was riding on their name alone...

The disappointing thing with Canon is they just released their new cameras with that same 4 year old sensor technology, maybe very slightly tweaked.