I'm back.... and loving it

Well folks. Many of you may (or may not) know that about 15 months ago I made the switch from Canon to Nikon. I had many reasons and was convinced that the Nikon system offered me more than Canon, and at the time it did. I was shooting with a 30D and the Nikon D300 just came out and was getting rave reviews. I liked the Nikon CLS Flash system as well.

While shooting Nikon I acquired some very nice glass but along the way there were many disappointments which started with two D300 bodies with AF problems and then a third body with main and sub mirrors out of alignment. Nikon always took care of me and serviced the camera under warranty and they were great but I was never completely happy. I owned the 24-70mm f/2.8 which is one of Nikon's sharpest lenses and I was not happy with that. After investing quite a bit of money and time in Nikon I was very concerned about being able to use the system reliably, and to use it reliably with clients. There was always a nervous anxiety about shooting and worrying about unsharp images and missed focus.

Ok, rather than bore you with any more details, I finally decided to come back to Canon and I just purchased a 5D Mk II and 24-105mm f/4 L IS to get the ball rolling and I am ecstatic. The camera is a dream to use. It only took me a day to readjust to Canon and I'm loving everything about it. I wanted to go full frame for some time and almost got a Nikon D700 but had such a bad taste in my mouth that the full frame 5D Mk II made more sense.

The 5D Mk II is like a breath of fresh air with image quality that is blowing me away. Dynamic range is exceptional, AF is fast and accurate, exposures are beautiful in aperture or shutter priority and I can see that Canon has improved white balance since I owned the 30D. Even AWB seems to produce much better results with great color and 'pop'.

I'm sure that to Canon and 5D users this is nothing new but I feel like a kid on Christmas morning with the 5D Mk II. It's a brilliant camera and I feel so comfortable with it. With Nikon I always felt like I was adjusting to it and never quite comfortable.

It's good to be home again. Thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the side of goodness and white lenses.

WOW! you mean nikon has issues just like canon does! from reading this site, i thought nikon was the messiah!

sweet.

bigcountry wrote in post #7763510
WOW! you mean nikon has issues just like canon does! from reading this site, i thought nikon was the messiah!

I know that many or most Nikon users are happy as heck and more than likely my problems were not universal but it's hard to feel good about gear that gives you that much trouble.
One thing that is popular knowledge is that due to the difference in anti-aliasing filters used, the images that come straight out of the Nikon bodies are softer and generally require sharpening. That was one of the first things I noticed and I didn't like that Nikon users accepted that and had this "you have to develop the image like you do film negatives" attitude. Canon images are without question sharper straight out of the camera and I like that. I don't care about the technical details and who is using what anti-aliasing filters. I just wanted sharp images that require little to no sharpening to look good. With Nikon I always HAD TO sharpen and always much more than seemed acceptable to me.

To my eyes, after having shot both systems, I can't help but notice the obvious difference in favor of Canon. This may not be everyone's experience but it certainly is mine.

I have to say, I don't see problems like yours on a regular basis, so you definitely had your reasons to switch. In fact I can't say I've ever heard of a D300 with focusing issues in my limited time as a DSLR user (since about 13 months ago). I am happy, however, that Nikon was able to fix your problems because they aren't known for excellent service. I haven't had to deal with them myselves.

The 5D2 is an awesome camera and I am having a lot of trouble deciding whether or not I should get a D700 and stick with Nikon or go for Canon. I'm surprised you noted its AF for being fast--from what I've read it's not nearly as good as the D300's system?

Also, as for IQ, you can't really compare the D300 to the 5D2. It would be the same night-and-day difference if you had upgraded from a 50D to a 5D2 (or D300 to D700) because one is crop and one is FF.

well you never left the lighting forum and i really appreciate having guys like you on the boards......welcome back from the dark side. the 5d2 is a remarkable camera. how do you like working with the larger files ?? cant wait to see some of your work with the new toy.

awesome to see you come back

What happened in the past few months Robert?

http://www.nikoncafe.c​om …s/showthread.ph​p?t=208218

You seemed to be ecstatic about your gear in January. Be nice to know what happened since then since that's when I picked up my D700 and 24-70 f/2.8.

foxesamu wrote in post #7763655
I have to say, I don't see problems like yours on a regular basis, so you definitely had your reasons to switch. In fact I can't say I've ever heard of a D300 with focusing issues in my limited time as a DSLR user (since about 13 months ago). I am happy, however, that Nikon was able to fix your problems because they aren't known for excellent service. I haven't had to deal with them myselves.

The 5D2 is an awesome camera and I am having a lot of trouble deciding whether or not I should get a D700 and stick with Nikon or go for Canon. I'm surprised you noted its AF for being fast--from what I've read it's not nearly as good as the D300's system?

Also, as for IQ, you can't really compare the D300 to the 5D2. It would be the same night-and-day difference if you had upgraded from a 50D to a 5D2 (or D300 to D700) because one is crop and one is FF.

There actually was a known issue with AF with the first batch of D300's. It was resolved fairly quickly but many dealers that had those first bodies had lots of returns and complaints. Even though Nikon serviced my D300 many times I was never convinced that things were ever working correctly. I found it very unpleasant that I could have an $1800 camera and a $1700 lens that didn't perform and produce sharp images. I just didn't feel like trying to convince myself that things were ok when they clearly were not.

I didn't like the larger AF points on the Nikon D300 and found that when shooting and trying to focus on an object that had high contrast between it and the background, the AF could easily be pulled away from the subject in the foreground. The 51 point and 51 point 3D tracking were useless to me, as I am not a sports or action shooter. When I had the 30D I was able to use AI servo and track movement without a problem but it's not what I really shoot. I'm sure that how we perceive AF speed is an individual thing and will certainly be based on the subject matter.

I'm not making a direct comparison between IQ. I'm simply stating that it's a night and day thing and from what I saw after shooting a D700 a few times, I believe the IQ to be better on the 5D. Again, an individual thing. I'm also looking at sharpness and for what it's worth, since the first day I got my D300 I had been saying that I didn't think the D300 was producing images as sharp as the 30D. Take it for what it's worth.

I'm not here to 'dis' any brand or model. My point is really that we, as photographers must use the gear that helps us produce the best quality images and in my case I also want the 'fun factor' to be there. It wasn't there with Nikon for me. It is there with the Canon 5D Mk II.

slowdad wrote in post #7763691
well you never left the lighting forum and i really appreciate having guys like you on the boards......welcome back from the dark side. the 5d2 is a remarkable camera. how do you like working with the larger files ?? cant wait to see some of your work with the new toy.

I never left the POTN lighting forum because I consider it to be my home and I don't believe there is a better lighting forum available. With lighting, the thing I like is that it doesn't matter whether you shoot Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Hasselblad, Mamiya, etc. Light is light and that is what excites me.

I'm still using my 20" iMac and honestly I'm not really noticing much difference in the handling of these larger files. In Lightroom there is a slight lag in rendering the 100% preview but nothing that makes me feel that I have to go out and replace my computer (for now, lolol).

tekkie wrote in post #7763787
awesome to see you come back

Thanks man.

Welcome back Robert! Enjoy.

Welcome back, 5D MKII is a great camera.

Bob_A wrote in post #7763789
What happened in the past few months Robert?

http://www.nikoncafe.c​om …s/showthread.ph​p?t=208218

You seemed to be ecstatic about your gear in January. Be nice to know what happened since then since that's when I picked up my D700 and 24-70 f/2.8.

Hi Bob,

There was a brief time that I thought everything was ok and then I discovered that from day to day I wasn't getting consistent results. When I first got the 24-70mm lens that was just after Nikon had supposedly fixed my camera. Things seemed fine and I was ready to move forward but it was not consistent. Also, if you look back at posts of mine prior to that on NikonCafe, you'll find many posts questioning sharpness, asking questions about AF and sharpness and expressing a great deal of dissatisfaction in what I was seeing.

After I made the post that you linked to I had a shoot with a paying client that was a disaster and I had to spend huge numbers of hours salvaging images that were not just unsharp but were clearly suffering from AF issues and I had to struggle to find acceptable images. My keeper rate went down and I was do distraught and pi*sed off.

Generally, when I posted to the Cafe with positive comments or showed images, that was because I had a good day. The problem is that there were more bad than good days and I can't work that way, whether it's for paying clients or just shooting ducks and geese in the park.