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Nikon DSLR or Canon DLR work better with Macs?
- Thread starter matthewcap
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The Aperture tech specs page lists all the brands that are compatible with Aperture, including Canon and Nikon
http://www.apple.com/aperture/specs/raw.html
http://www.apple.com/aperture/specs/raw.html
You ask a good question, but ironically it excludes a significant difference between the two brands. I love Canon as a company, but I don't own a Canon digicam. I do own a Nikon D40. It is my understanding that Canon does not support USB Automount. Nikon does. If this is true, then Canons don't mount on the Desktop like removable drives. Canons work just fine in iPhoto and Aperture, but not in the Finder. Nikons work in everything.
What is USB auto-mount? Since I have not idea of what it is, let me tell you what happens when I connect my Canon camera to my iMac: the camera immediately shows in the list of connected devises at the left of the screen, and also pops on the screen as a hard drive does. When I am done downloading/uploading photos, I can either turn the camera off, or eject it by placing it in the desktop trash can.
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Ooops! Let me change something: I just connected my Canon camera to the computer, and it does show in iPhoto as a "Device," but it does not show on the desktop. If I use the card reader, then it shows on both iPhoto and the Desktop. I never paid attention to that until you mentioned it
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Ooops! Let me change something: I just connected my Canon camera to the computer, and it does show in iPhoto as a "Device," but it does not show on the desktop. If I use the card reader, then it shows on both iPhoto and the Desktop. I never paid attention to that until you mentioned it
If you are considering a brand of DSLR based on it's ability to interface with a mac, you seriously need to put more thought into your purchase. The camera will spend most of it's life out taking pics and very little attached to the computer. Even if it didn't interface at all, a $20 card reader would solve all of your problems. Buy an SLR system because that system takes pictures the way you want, has the lenses you want, feels good in your hand etc.. Just my two cents.
What is USB auto-mount? Since I have not idea of what it is, let me tell you what happens when I connect my Canon camera to my iMac: the camera immediately shows in the list of connected devises at the left of the screen, and also pops on the screen as a hard drive does. When I am done downloading/uploading photos, I can either turn the camera off, or eject it by placing it in the desktop trash can.
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Ooops! Let me change something: I just connected my Canon camera to the computer, and it does show in iPhoto as a "Device," but it does not show on the desktop. If I use the card reader, then it shows on both iPhoto and the Desktop. I never paid attention to that until you mentioned it
That's just a Finder Preferences setting whether a class of item shows up in the Sidebar, Desktop, neither, or both. You can also drag Finder items into the Sidebar independently.
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Both the same. However, now and then Nikon or Canon will release a new model camera. There is always some lag time between the release of the camera and Apple supporting that model. So there might be months at a time when many Canon users are upset with Apple or other months when the Nikon users are upset with Apple.
I'd choose a brand of camera based on the total system of bodies and lenses that you might want over the next several years.
Well said.
When you look into an SLR system try to purchased based on the lenses you think you will stick with. The second thing to choose is the camera that works with those lenses. The 234239th is what sort of computers that camera will work with.
I don't think this will work - unless you're suggesting there's a class for things like the canon??
I have a Canon point and shoot and a couple of Nikon dSLRs. They all work perfectly fine with my Macs. I can't think of any reason to pick a camera based on computer platform. Or vice-versa.
Tuffluffjimmy made an excellent point. Make your choice based on the type of photography you will be doing and the lenses you will be using. Buy the best lenses you can afford. The camera body itself is not as important as the glass in front. I have a lens that cost considerably more than the D70 I use it with and it will work with the D300 I have on order and any other Nikon I may pick up. The lens is the important part of the equation, not compatibility with a Mac.
I shoot Nikon - but I don't think this is a significant shortcoming on Canon's part. Most people couldn't care less if their camera shows up as a USB mass storage device. As a matter of fact, if you want to do tethered shooting you'll have to switch your Nikon into PTP mode anyway (that's the mode Canon uses).
I do find it nifty that I can use my D80 as a glorified card reader: when I want pictures printed, I copy them onto an SD card. It's not a big deal though. Certainly, I wouldn't base my purchase decision on it.
Use a card reader, it much faster at transferring images than connecting the camera and it doesn't make any difference what type of camera you are using.
That's not really significant for the amount of data I transfer. In any case, it's just a small thing I like.
I use both a card reader and my Canon cameras. The canon software allows you to download/upload photos from computer to camera, as well as to erase the card in side the camera, as well as using the computer screen as a camera's viewfinder to take photos. I imagine that the Nikon software allows you to do the same.
Nikon develops several different software titles for the Mac. However, none are really needed. You can use the Finder to delete one of more images from the camera's flash card.
That's true. I was talking about deleting images while the camera is connected to the computer, uploading photos from the computer to the camera, changing the camera's setting from the computer, or just using the computer screen to take photos with the camera. I am certain that the Nikon software has the same features.
Amen. You shouldn't be connecting your camera to your computer at all. Spend $20-$30 on a card reader...it's more convenient to not have to take your camera out of commission just because you need to read a memory card, and it won't drain your camera's battery.