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Digital Cameras

Canon vs Nikon - a fanatic's(? approach

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#1 of 15 Posted Oct-31 11:29 AM

From Fred O. - BDL Posts 328 Last 1:40 AM
To All [Msg # 34897.1 ]

Seen on pp.52 ff of the Nov. 2009 Popular Photography -

<<"....using a tripod-mounted Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a custom-adapted 14-24 mm f/2.8G AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ......">>

Is this the best of both worlds, the worst of both worlds, or merely a technical tour-de-force?
Fred

#2 of 15 Posted Oct-31 12:16 PM

From Cristen Posts 2345 Last Nov-24
To Fred O. - BDL [Msg # 34897.2 34897.1 ]

> Is this the best of both worlds, the worst of both worlds, or merely a technical tour-de-force?

A former Nikon owner with a new Canon? <G>

I've heard of people doing this with their lenses, but usually it's for the sake of a lens the other doesn't have.

Cristen

#3 of 15 Posted Oct-31 7:30 PM

From Bob Cohen Posts 231 Last Nov-24
To Fred O. - BDL [Msg # 34897.3 34897.1 ]

I've heard of using Nikon lenses on a Canon with an adaptor, but I don't know why (other than testing cameras and having just one lens to reduce variables) one would do that. Canon has excellent lenses. As does Nikon. Seems like something people would not normally do if they're just interested in taking pictures.
--
Bob

#4 of 15 Posted Nov-1 1:21 AM

From Fred O. - BDL Posts 328 Last 1:40 AM
To Bob Cohen [Msg # 34897.4 34897.3 ]

<<"but I don't know why (other than testing cameras and having just one lens to reduce variables) one would do that.">>

Bob -
I figured that someone who shoots Nikon would explain to me that the Nikon lens in question (a 14-24 mm f/2.8G AF-S Zoom-Nikkor) is so superlative that there is no alternative lens in the Canon line. <G>.
Actually, it sounds like a nice lens, undoubtedly expensive. And, I rather liked the waterfall picture that leads off the article.
Or, maybe the guy is just gradually moving "up" <G> to Canon, as Cristen explained. However, since he is a professional, I'd think he could afford a Canon lens if one met his needs.
Fred

Edited Nov-1 by Fred O. - BDL

#5 of 15 Posted Nov-1 1:04 PM

From bstnteap Posts 214 Last Nov-24
To Bob Cohen [Msg # 34897.5 34897.3 ]

>>I've heard of using Nikon lenses on a Canon with an adaptor, but I don't know why (other than testing cameras and having just one lens to reduce variables) one would do that. Canon has excellent lenses. As does Nikon. Seems like something people would not normally do if they're just interested in taking pictures.<<

That may be, but if you're looking for an ultra wide for a full frame camera, Canon's minimum focal length offering is only 16mm. That particular Nikon is probably the very best full frame ultra wide zoom on the market today (and for a list of over $2K, it darn well aught to be). Of course, you could always do what Ken Rockwell does - use the 14mm fisheye and correct the distortions with software - thus producing an even wider result! As far as just taking pictures goes, of course, all one really needs is an old (working) Argus C3 and a few rolls of film, although I see that Ron seems to have retired his (as have I mine)! :-)

Ahmed

"Our greatest primary task is to put people to work."

--Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933

“We believe present conditions are favorable for advantageous investment in standard American securities.”
--Hornblower & Weeks, October 24, 1929

Edited Nov-1 by bstnteap

#6 of 15 Posted Nov-1 1:19 PM

From Bob Cohen Posts 231 Last Nov-24
To Fred O. - BDL [Msg # 34897.6 34897.4 ]

Fred,

I use Nikon equipment, but that's for personal preference reasons, To me the equipment I'm using is merely a tool. I'm comfortable with the gear I have, and for anyone who's starting from scratch I'd suggest they at least consider the brand I'm using, but there can be many good reasons for selecting something else. It's not a matter of fan-dom. I root for the Yankees, not for Nikon. <g>

Other than hoping that Nikon is economically successful (unlike a brand I used to use which is now defunct) and continues to produce good stuff, I don't like to get involved in stuff like "Nikon vs. Canon." A month or so ago I was at a dog training class and saw a woman trying to take photos of her daughter working with their dog, using a P&S from too far away and in difficult indoor-lighting conditions (the facility is like a big steel warehouse). I recommended that she get closer to her subjects and try to avoid situations where her subjects were backlit from the windows. The fellow who (with his wife) owns the facility started talking to her about buying a Canon Eos system. That wasn't the automatic solution for her, and didn't help her out at the time. I think he must have seen an expression of disapproval on my face, and he later brought up the subject with me. I explained that I happened to use Nikon gear but thought that there were any number of entry level SLRs that might be suitable for the woman, just recommending Canon DSLRs wasn't necessarily the best advice for her. And didn't help her while she was trying to use the P&S she happened to have.

I'm a member of a local photo club. Members can upload photos to a site where we can show them and discuss them at a meeting. You can't tell the brand of equipment used to take the picture when you're looking at the photo. And often can't tell whether it's been taken with a P&S or an SLR. The talent and skill of the photographer are more important.
--
Bob

#7 of 15 Posted Nov-1 1:23 PM

From Bob Cohen Posts 231 Last Nov-24
To bstnteap [Msg # 34897.7 34897.5 ]

Ahmed,

If one needs to use a 14mm rectilinear lens, the camera manufacturer doesn't offer that, and you can use another brand with an adapter, I guess that's a reason to go that route, but that's a rather special requirement. For the price, I think most of us would (unless we'd fall off a cliff or something) just back up a bit.
--
Bob

#8 of 15 Posted Nov-1 7:53 PM

From bstnteap Posts 214 Last Nov-24
To Bob Cohen [Msg # 34897.8 34897.7 ]

>>If one needs to use a 14mm rectilinear lens, the camera manufacturer doesn't offer that, and you can use another brand with an adapter, I guess that's a reason to go that route, but that's a rather special requirement. For the price, I think most of us would (unless we'd fall off a cliff or something) just back up a bit.<<

I couldn't agree more. I can't imagine why that extra 2 mm is so important. Maybe it's just one of those silly "infomercial" write ups that photography magazines are sometimes guilty of to sell somebody's product(s) (like maybe Nikon's?....just a thought....). Canon's 16-35 mm is a very very fine lens, although Nikon's model shows very good extreme border resolution (how important is that, anyway?) at all aperture settings whereas Canon's doesn't at anything below f/5.6 (especially at 16 mm). On the other hand, Canon has an ominous EF 14 mm f/2.8 II). In any case, the magazine editors are trying to sell magazines, and products, and since they've successfully generated a stir and at least one discussion, I'm sure they consider their little mission accomplished....

Oh, don't we all feel so uuused!!.....<G> |:-o

Ahmed

"Our greatest primary task is to put people to work."

--Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933

“We believe present conditions are favorable for advantageous investment in standard American securities.”
--Hornblower & Weeks, October 24, 1929

Edited Nov-1 by bstnteap

Edited Nov-1 by bstnteap

#9 of 15 Posted Nov-1 9:00 PM

From Bob Cohen Posts 231 Last Nov-24
To bstnteap [Msg # 34897.9 34897.8 ]

I haven't seen an issue of Pop Photo in a while, but I suspect there are big Canon ads - and big Nikon ads. And there's little doubt that Pop Photo is read by people who are interested in buying equipment. And I doubt they print very much about problems with equipment. If you want to read about problems with banding in this camera, or autofocus problems with that camera, I sort of doubt you'll read about it in Pop Photo. At least not until the problem is ancient history.

So it goes without saying that such a magazine will be trying to promote the sale of photographic products. No cynicism required.

OTOH I doubt you're going to see any outright favoritism of one major brand vs. another. They're not going to bite the advertising hand that feeds them.
--
Bob

#10 of 15 Posted Nov-2 10:58 AM

From Cristen Posts 2345 Last Nov-24
To Bob Cohen [Msg # 34897.10 34897.6 ]

> I recommended that she get closer to her subjects and try to avoid situations where her subjects were backlit from the windows. The fellow who (with his wife) owns the facility started talking to her about buying a Canon Eos system.

That's a completely insensitive response on his part. How could he know if a) she could afford an expensive system, and b) if she could, she'd use it enough to make it worth the effort not only paying for it, but learning how to use it? And recommending one system over all else isn't very thoughtful, as one person's hands and interests aren't the same as everybody else's. Coming from a family that owned 3 major brands pre-digital and never had a single argument about it, I can't see the value in pushing a brand name. (At least, not unless they want to pay ME the big bucks to do their advertising for them. LOL)

We can usually assume that people know other, more expensive and complex camera systems exist. We can't presume to know, and it would be intrusive to ask, why everyone in the world doesn't own, at the minimum, a $$$$ system to take snapshots for the scrapbook. You were very kind to help her use the equipment she had. That was far more likely going to be valuable from that day going forward than being told she should buy into the Canon EOS system -- as nice as that system is.

Cristen

#11 of 15 Posted Nov-2 7:59 PM

From Bob Cohen Posts 231 Last Nov-24
To Cristen [Msg # 34897.11 34897.10 ]

Cristen,

I have no idea whether she could or would want to buy any SLR system, but even if I'd been using the SLR body and lens with which I've taken a lot of photos of dog agility, I'd have wanted to (a) get closer than she was and (b) shift to manual exposure or take other measures to deal with the bad lighting situation.

I was mentioning to someone else today that taking action photos can be hard. Even for experienced photographers with equipment that ought to be up to the task. In August I asked a fellow to take photos of me and my dog when we were competing in a rally obedience trial. The guy is a member of the local photo club and also uses a Nikon DSLR. But he didn't take very good photos and, thinking about it after I looked at the photos he shot, I realized that the stuff he shows at the photo club is generally of static subjects like classic autos.

Anyway, to get back to the subject of this discussion, one brand vs another isn't necessarily relevant to a situation, or solution to a problem. You need to know how to use what you've got. (And I'm always in learning mode!)
--
Bob

#12 of 15 Posted Nov-2 8:07 PM

From Fred O. - BDL Posts 328 Last 1:40 AM
To Bob Cohen [Msg # 34897.12 34897.6 ]

<<"I use Nikon equipment, but that's for personal preference reasons, To me the equipment I'm using is merely a tool. I'm comfortable with the gear I have, and for anyone who's starting from scratch I'd suggest they at least consider the brand I'm using, but there can be many good reasons for selecting something else. It's not a matter of fan-dom."">>
<<"I explained that I happened to use Nikon gear but thought that there were any number of entry level SLRs that might be suitable for the woman, just recommending Canon DSLRs wasn't necessarily the best advice for her. ">>
Bob -
I could not agree more. That's why I was interested in the case where someone felt he had to adapt his superlative Nikon lens to a superlative Canon camera.....
<G>
Fred

#13 of 15 Posted Nov-3 8:06 AM

From Lee Kreider Posts 768 Last Nov-23
To Bob Cohen [Msg # 34897.13 34897.6 ]

Give me a Nikon D3 with a $3,000 lens and an assignment. I could take some good photos.

Give the same assignment to some of the better professionals along with a P&S camera and they would bring back some great photos.

#14 of 15 Posted Nov-3 8:41 AM

From Bob Cohen Posts 231 Last Nov-24
To Lee Kreider [Msg # 34897.14 34897.13 ]

Lee,

Yep, it is the eye and talent that really distinguishes photographers. Not that there aren't talented amateurs with good eyes for a photo.

Equipment can make things possible, however. When I started taking photos of dog activities I was really held back by the P&S I was using - it had poor low light capability and lots of shutter lag. When I got my first DSLR the lag issue disappeared and low light level performance was improved. In each successive generation I've obtained better AF and better high ISO (low light) performance. Plus the simple fact that I don't have to limit myself to a small number of select photos, as I had to with film. The DSLR and ancillary equipment I'm using now gives me freedom to take action photos in less than ideal lighting that I did not have with my film SLR.

But that statement is a generalization that is largely true across brand lines.

Yesterday my lady friend was asked by a local humane society for permission to use in a fundraising calendar two photos of her cats she'd submitted to the humane society's photo contest in June. The woman from the humane society said in her e-mail "They are beautiful. Are you a professional photographer?" My friend had to say that she hadn't taken the photos and she'd ask me about them. I responded to the woman, thanking her for the kind words, and saying that no, I'm not a professional photographer, I just enjoy taking pictures of animals. (BTW the photos are nice, but not *that* good!) The lady from the humane society didn't say "They are beautiful. They must have been taken with a [insert brand name here]."

But, back to your post: offers to donate to me a D3 and medium f/2.8 zoom for my equipment collection will be gratefully accepted. <g>
--
Bob

#15 of 15 Posted Nov-3 9:57 AM

From Cristen Posts 2345 Last Nov-24
To Bob Cohen [Msg # 34897.15 34897.11 ]

> But he didn't take very good photos and, thinking about it after I looked at the photos he shot, I realized that the stuff he shows at the photo club is generally of static subjects like classic autos.

Not only wasn't he comfortable with action in general, possibly, he probably knew nothing about the subject, so he couldn't anticipate any of it. You might have done better to ask someone who knew less about photography, but everything about what was going to happen during the trials.

Still, getting to the subject, not standing way back and letting the subject fill about 1/10 of the frame, backlit silhouetted at that, is a good thing to know before attempting something like this. It does take failing a few dozen times first.

Cristen

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Digital Cameras

Canon vs Nikon - a fanatic's(? approach

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