"Is that like the Nikon?"

Two friends and I were taking night shots in Huntington Beach tonight, and at one point a man approached my friends while I was to the side, snapping:

Man: "Hey, can I ask what cameras you guys are using?"
Friends: "Ehm, well, these are Canon..."
Man interrupts them before they can finish.
Man: "Oh! Is that like the Nikon?"
Friends become silent for a few seconds, and I pause on my shooting to listen.
Friends: "Ehm... Well, yeah, Canon and Nikon are both pretty good brands. We're both using the Digital Rebel XT, which is a great entry dSLR, and our friend there [me] is using the new 40D, which is a level above."

While I began snapping again, they went on to explain to him that selection of lenses usually determine whether one chooses Canon or Nikon, and that the lens used, technique, and skill of the photographer all play important roles in shooting photos in addition to the type of camera. He also asked if we were professionals, but my friends humbly replied that all three of us are far from being so.

What was striking to me was not so much that he made a comparison to Nikon upon hearing "Canon", but more so that he stated "the Nikon", as if he was aware of only one Nikon camera, or that "Nikon" and "Canon" each stand for only one type of camera. It was, in a way, amusing to hear it such.

In any case, for photos of tonight, please see here: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?p=3994782

krepta wrote in post #3994823
Two friends and I were taking night shots in Huntington Beach tonight, and at one point a man approached my friends while I was to the side, snapping:

Man: "Hey, can I ask what cameras you guys are using?"
Friends: "Ehm, well, these are Canon..."
Man interrupts them before they can finish.
Man: "Oh! Is that like the Nikon?"
Friends become silent for a few seconds, and I pause on my shooting to listen.
Friends: "Ehm... Well, yeah, Canon and Nikon are both pretty good brands. We're both using the Digital Rebel XT, which is a great entry dSLR, and our friend there [me] is using the new 40D, which is a level above."

While I began snapping again, they went on to explain to him that selection of lenses usually determine whether one chooses Canon or Nikon, and that the lens used, technique, and skill of the photographer all play important roles in shooting photos in addition to the type of camera. He also asked if we were professionals, but my friends humbly replied that all three of us are far from being so.

What was striking to me was not so much that he made a comparison to Nikon upon hearing "Canon", but more so that he stated "the Nikon", as if he was aware of only one Nikon camera, or that "Nikon" and "Canon" each stand for only one type of camera. It was, in a way, amusing to hear it such.

In any case, for photos of tonight, please see here: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?p=3994782

the silly elitism pervades many photo shopsand staff and shooters to this day

just smile to yourself knowingly when these ignorami open their mouths

He'd probably just watched so many episodes of CSI that Nikon is imprinted on the brain.

Or maybe he watches Baseball, here in NY they have Nikon in big yellow signs everywhere in the stadium but for some reason most of the photographers have these big white lenses, go figure?