Moving from Canon to Nikon

I'm ready, I love Canon, I love Nikon, but Nikon is calling me hard right now...the gear head in me is wanting to get some new gear.
I got my Canon gear in 2009 and I've slowly used my gear less and less, I need new purchase to refresh my passion and satiate my need for Nikon.

I'm going to be selling this stuff soon:

Do you think I can get a decent Nikon setup with the proceeds from all that?
Hoping to be in the D750/D800 body and maybe one prime lens?
Maybe possibly the D4 and a prime if I put some money into it all on top of the proceeds?

I will always love Canon and might come back one day but for now Nikon is pulling me to its light.

New gear always does seem to give a bit of a good feeling. I don't know about higher end cameras but I do believe that in the entry level Nikon gives a much better bang for the buck. I just switched from a rebel T2i to a Nikon D5300 and am quite happy with it. Both companies make great stuff.

It is all down to what you are after!
Both Canon and Nikon make great cameras and lenses - but all their cameras and lenses are not great..........

I would, carefully, asses your current gear and see what you want to improve. For example would you be happier if you sold your 70-200 and 24-70 and went for the Mk2 versions? Would a D750/D800 with the equivalent Nikon lenses be as good/better? The cameras are excellent but are the lenses as good as the Mk2 Canon versions? Additionally there are lenses that Nikon make that are better than the Canon equivalents and vice versa.

About 6 months ago I had the opportunity to have a good play with some Nikon gear (2 x D800 E, D4 and 500 F4 ED VR) and, for my uses, I was rather disappointed - but my needs are completely different to yours!
I had the same feeling "I will always love Canon and might come back one day but for now Nikon is pulling me to its light" but the light was not there for me! Were I a different photographer then the situation may well have been reversed.

I think you need to extensively test the Nikon cameras and lenses that you fancy and then decide. There are pro's and cons to both systems - it is down to which offers the best for you now. The trouble is that it will all change in a year or two!

Gear in good condition should get around 75% of new price. Get yourself a D750, 24-70, 70-200, and whatever else you want from the proceeds.

You've got between $4k-5k worth of gear there, just depends on what you get for it used. That's plenty for a d750 and a prime. If you want the D4, obviously that's going to eat just about all of that up, even if you go used.

Thanks all for the feedback. I think when I purchased my zooms in Canon for my 5DMK2 a few years ago, it was because I wasn't quite sure what kind of shots I wanted then, and so I picked lenses that allowed me a big focal length and covered most of the ranges I could be in. Since then I've learned where about I love to shoot, and of course over time having a bag full of lengths is a goal, but I want to shoot in the 35L, 50L, 85L ranges. So picking one of those to start with would be good.

I'd love to have an opportunity to test out some of the Nikon bodies and glass, and I guess these rental companies allow that to happen with a little bit of a price. Wished there was a try before you buy. I will have to go spend some time up at Bedfords here in OKC and see how I like the feel of the Nikons. The ergonomics is what weighed big for me on the 5DMK2 when I first held it maybe I won't like Nikons?

I am 99% sure I want to go all primes moving forward with any brand I end up with even if I stay Canon, its funny though I have this attachment to the 24-70 lens that I need to get over, it was the lens used to take the photos of my first born son and my 2nd son's births. It did a great job and last time I wanted to sell this lens I backed out for that reason, its been long enough now, I think I can do it this time.

Have you thought about going mirrorless? To me, there isn't much difference between Nikon and Canon. I started out with Canon, and now I have a Nikon D610, but it hardly gets used. I think Nikon has better bodies, but Canon has a better range of lenses, but if you don't want anything exotic, I think Nikon has you covered.

I mostly now use my m4/3 gear. If you like primes, m4/3 has some great ones that are absolutely tiny but are beautiful. They make the focal length primes that you mentioned. You could get all three of them for about or less than $1k, and you could carry them around in your coat pocket. If you like the 24-70mm, Olympus makes a pretty awesome equivalent FL in the 12-40mm. You lose out on some depth of field control, but I think it is shallow enough for me. For example, if you shoot portraits, it is easier to get the full face in focus rather than an eyelash with a FF camera. You can shoot wide open too because the good lenses are sharp corner to corner. When I use my FF stuff, I usually stop down to around f/4, which has a depth of field equivalent to a m4/3 f/2.

I do know what it is like to go back and forth about switching brands. I want to try out the Sony FF mirrorless cameras, but they don't have the lenses yet. They are getting them, but their quality seems to be either great or horrible. It also seems like Sony figures it out around the 3rd generation of their cameras. Since they produce bodies like crazy, it shouldn't be too much longer before they get everything worked out and will have the lenses that I use.

Good luck if you switch to Nikon! Sometimes it nice to switch things up, and it will make you want to shoot more.

ChrisMc73 wrote in post #17565217
Thanks all for the feedback. I think when I purchased my zooms in Canon for my 5DMK2 a few years ago, it was because I wasn't quite sure what kind of shots I wanted then, and so I picked lenses that allowed me a big focal length and covered most of the ranges I could be in. Since then I've learned where about I love to shoot, and of course over time having a bag full of lengths is a goal, but I want to shoot in the 35L, 50L, 85L ranges. So picking one of those to start with would be good.

I'd love to have an opportunity to test out some of the Nikon bodies and glass, and I guess these rental companies allow that to happen with a little bit of a price. Wished there was a try before you buy. I will have to go spend some time up at Bedfords here in OKC and see how I like the feel of the Nikons. The ergonomics is what weighed big for me on the 5DMK2 when I first held it maybe I won't like Nikons?

I am 99% sure I want to go all primes moving forward with any brand I end up with even if I stay Canon, its funny though I have this attachment to the 24-70 lens that I need to get over, it was the lens used to take the photos of my first born son and my 2nd son's births. It did a great job and last time I wanted to sell this lens I backed out for that reason, its been long enough now, I think I can do it this time.

Locally most photographers are happy to discuss their gear and many are happy to let you have a play, that is how I got to try the Nikon cameras and lens that I mentioned - I often let others try my gear.
See if you can find some helpful photographers as it's a lot cheaper than renting.
I can understand your attachment to the 24-70 F2.8 but don't try out the newer Canon 24-70 F2.8 V2 - you will like it......

johnf3f wrote in post #17565986
Locally most photographers are happy to discuss their gear and many are happy to let you have a play, that is how I got to try the Nikon cameras and lens that I mentioned - I often let others try my gear.
See if you can find some helpful photographers as it's a lot cheaper than renting.
I can understand your attachment to the 24-70 F2.8 but don't try out the newer Canon 24-70 F2.8 V2 - you will like it......

lol, I know! I've avoided it for that reason. I'll see if I can find some local Nikon users and play with their stuff.
I'm not against renting but by the time I pick a body and lens, its almost 1/4 price of a good lens, or at least $200-$300 which is a lot to me.

mcumeda wrote in post #17565765
Have you thought about going mirrorless? To me, there isn't much difference between Nikon and Canon. I started out with Canon, and now I have a Nikon D610, but it hardly gets used. I think Nikon has better bodies, but Canon has a better range of lenses, but if you don't want anything exotic, I think Nikon has you covered.

I mostly now use my m4/3 gear. If you like primes, m4/3 has some great ones that are absolutely tiny but are beautiful. They make the focal length primes that you mentioned. You could get all three of them for about or less than $1k, and you could carry them around in your coat pocket. If you like the 24-70mm, Olympus makes a pretty awesome equivalent FL in the 12-40mm. You lose out on some depth of field control, but I think it is shallow enough for me. For example, if you shoot portraits, it is easier to get the full face in focus rather than an eyelash with a FF camera. You can shoot wide open too because the good lenses are sharp corner to corner. When I use my FF stuff, I usually stop down to around f/4, which has a depth of field equivalent to a m4/3 f/2.

I do know what it is like to go back and forth about switching brands. I want to try out the Sony FF mirrorless cameras, but they don't have the lenses yet. They are getting them, but their quality seems to be either great or horrible. It also seems like Sony figures it out around the 3rd generation of their cameras. Since they produce bodies like crazy, it shouldn't be too much longer before they get everything worked out and will have the lenses that I use.

Good luck if you switch to Nikon! Sometimes it nice to switch things up, and it will make you want to shoot more.

I have heard these good things about the 4/3 gear, I rented something last summer to take to Colorado, to carry around in the coat pocket, it was ok. I didn't get the same thrill I get with my DSLR, but it was a lot easier to manage. I can't remember what I rented, I wasn't really impressed though. The simpler mechanics bugged me maybe? Those Sony's do look nice and I've seen some photographer's work with them that amaze me, but then again he's just good and is one of those who could make a plastic camera shot look amazing.

I know its not the gear that makes the photographer, so I'm not chasing that, I'm just a gear head and like the gadgets and toys, and photos are my hobby. So mixing all that means playing with all the cameras and not taking any of them real serious. I don't shoot for money, so its about the fun and thrill of the camera in my hand and the good shot once captured. I appreciate all the advice here, haven't been on POTN in a while and the people are still as nice as they were 6 years ago when I signed up here to talk about my 5DMK2.

ChrisMc73 wrote in post #17566069
I have heard these good things about the 4/3 gear, I rented something last summer to take to Colorado, to carry around in the coat pocket, it was ok. I didn't get the same thrill I get with my DSLR, but it was a lot easier to manage. I can't remember what I rented, I wasn't really impressed though. The simpler mechanics bugged me maybe? Those Sony's do look nice and I've seen some photographer's work with them that amaze me, but then again he's just good and is one of those who could make a plastic camera shot look amazing.

I know its not the gear that makes the photographer, so I'm not chasing that, I'm just a gear head and like the gadgets and toys, and photos are my hobby. So mixing all that means playing with all the cameras and not taking any of them real serious. I don't shoot for money, so its about the fun and thrill of the camera in my hand and the good shot once captured. I appreciate all the advice here, haven't been on POTN in a while and the people are still as nice as they were 6 years ago when I signed up here to talk about my 5DMK2.

I like the m43 stuff quite a bit in addition to my DSLR kit, but I wouldn't want it as my only gear.

I was with Canon for years, went to Nikon for a couple and came back to Canon. I don't like the way Nikon renders skin tones. And Canon has better lenses IMO.

Just remember this every major sport NFL NBA canon cameras are the official camera , even the president photographer is a canon user.. I would never go to Nikon..

N2bnfunn wrote in post #17568256
Just remember this every major sport NFL NBA canon cameras are the official camera , even the president photographer is a canon user.. I would never go to Nikon..

lol, ok, thanks!

So how long do you all keep a body before you upgrade? Like I said I've had my 5DMK2 since 2009, thought about an upgrade to 5DMK3 or one of the newer ones, not that this camera isn't giving me what I need. I like the lure of some of the newer features from this modern era, like sync with WiFi etc.

I'm surprised you are switching without trying a newer body first, even if it is only a rental. the 5D3 and 5D2 are miles apart AF wise... if you are still ok with the image quality of the 5D2, then go for the other features first, and start buying some ef primes, I think you'll be ahead of the game.

But if there is something specific Canon can't provide you have to have, then by all means, go for it.

Xsi 2 yrs, 50D 5 years, now 7D2 and 5D2. (but a 5D3 is on the horizon, probably in the next 6 months. )