AL-FAMOUS said:
hahah, what a crock of ****
have you felt the d70, thats a toy! if anything canon is more like dell because they have the best equipment and technology, the best glass - its just there not as expensive
noise, no thanks - obviously canon users worry less about the feel of there camera (although my 20D feels fantastic and the 1 series are the best feeling cameras bar non) and more about the quality of there photography
Eh. I'd have to disagree that "canon has the best equipment and technology, the best glass, etc." I give that nod to Olympus. Canon and Nikon both could learn alot from the OlyFolks.
IMHO, Olympus is the company to watch. They're actually trying to RETHINK the SLR for digital. They're the apple-like company. Nuff said.
That said, Nikon's wide angles and normals spank canon's around the block with image quality. I know a lot of canon pros who buy sigma wide lenses cause the big red C can't keep up-- Canon wide angles have ALWAYS lagged behind the big yellow N's. Nikon's 12-24 has been out forever, giving DSLR folks a true wide. Canon just finally caught up on that.
Nikon had 802.11b & g a year before canon did. Canon is just catching up there.
Telephotos? Canon wins with more long IS glass and some decent price/performance in that range.
Noise? Sure. Canon might exhibit less noise (all bets are off if you don't know how to expose with ANY camera.. but I digress) Canon has less noise but....
Focusing? Canon might be a sliver faster, but every canon i've used (save for the one's I rented, if only because someone else did it for me) requires the body and lenses to be sent in for calibration. WTF is that? In the end, the speed is a toss-up, but Nikon wins hands down for accuracy. I've had more luck with Nikon being 100% accurate, and it's failures are more user influenced whereas Canon does have a BIG back focusing problem on the whole.
Sharpness. Nikon's files are infinitely sharper out of the camera than Canons. Canon chooses to do much more image processing in the camera, Nikon like to leave the processing to the end user. As a result:
Nikon = sharper + slightly noisier files with better highlight detail
Canon = slightly softer + less noisy with better shadow detail
Ergonomics? I know many a folk, even canon users, who agree that canon's UI is kludgier than nikons. The gap narrows as you get to the pro level stuff, and canon has better weatherproofing, and on the pro level, it's 6 in one hand, half dozen in the other, but to whit, there's no doubt the D70 crushes the rebels in build quality. Face it. It's a better built camera more on par with the 20d. Nikon also has most every advanced and non-advanced camera control accessible via a button.
Some PHOTOGRAPHERS might like that better. TECH GUYS seem to like canon's menu-driven style better. Me? I personally like not move my eye away from the viewfinder to change settings. In my experience with canon (having owned a 10d, tested and spent much time with a digital rebel, and having recently borrowed a 1d followed by a 1d2) I can honestly say that, for me, and for many other pro photogs, Nikon's UI and controls are better.
Couple that with the i-TTL features which I use extensively, and i'll say Nikon wins in ergonomics and integration, except for the lack of a PC sync for use with studio strobes.
Now recently, with the nikon white balance issue, I had the opportunity to test a Canon 1d2 vs D2h vs 1d. My conclusion is that, with propoer knowledge of photographic theory, one can achieve IDENTICAL photos, image quality wise. If you zoom in 200% you can see disparity in both--softness in canon, noise in nikon. Luckily both can be eradicated easily with software.
Canon wins on the mpix on the lower end, and for value with the 1d mkII. Nikon's D2x has shown it beats the 1ds/1ds2 and is a more well rounded, affordable digicam. I wouldn't touch the 1ds2 on the high end. At $8000 and with lens performance a huge issue, i'd avoid that one, as well as the FF kodaks.
For me, I prefer the ability to change settings on camera while I compose in the viewfinder. I'm a multi-tasking photographer, and Canon's UI is not for me.
I like Canon's noiseless images, but I wonder at what cost to image quality. I hate the fact that Nikon's images are noisier, but I love the sharpness and fidelity that I get from my nikons--i don't like a camera doing much of any work for me except exposing!
Canon's flash system is infinitely inferior to Nikons. Inconsistent, underexposed images from the flash led some of my canon images to have as much noise as nikons... with softer detail to boot! I use a flash often. E-ttl doesn't do it for me.
I'm less telephoto, more normal and wide. I like the intimacy it gives. Canon has the tele range locked down, though Nikon has some nice choices (200mm f2.0 VR AF-S!) but for the most part, canon gets the tele nod, Nikon gets the wide/normal nod. Nikkor 12-24 f/4 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 on a D2h with an SB-800 using i-TTLthat's a wicked combo that you really can't find a compliment for on the Canon end.
So in the end, it's a determination of what the shooter is shooting. If you want real innovation, look to Olympus, who's actually miniaturizing components and maximizing color/performance from their 4/3rds. It'll pass and obsolete 24x36mm full size sensors, IMHO, if only because it'll be easier to make faster lenses, which results in less need for hi-ISO, which alleviates the noise problem on the 4/3rds. Give olympus some time... but I think they'll really eat away from N & C.
If you want good wide, sharp images, and great normal/wide lens choice with great ergos, pick Nikon. if you want noise-free images that need less post-processing to go with your big gun teles, go Canon. The image quality at the end for either is more than we could get from 35mm film!
Although it seems like knowledegable Canon folks get too caught up in tests and ratings and mp and and and....and that's what REALLY bugs me about canon.
People like edesign but a camera and shoot. I like those cats.
The canon-zealots get too caught up in it to realize that, GASP, just as nikon has issues, SO DO THEY. Both canon and nikon service suck, canon seems to have endless upgrades to firmware, nikon tends to have problems shipping, and i could go on. I hate Nikon's white balance decisions. And i got my hands on Canon equipment to see how it stacks up. It does, and it's great--every bit as good as Nikon, better in some areas, worse in others.
But the people who just praise Canon.... Man. I checked some canon forums, and there's no helpful advice at all (
http://www.dg28.com is an exception, but it's less canon and more general). In canon forums, all i see are shots of brick walls to test for back-focusing and people laughing at nikon because they don't have a an 8mp mid range prosumer SLR. Weird. Weird. Weird. Nikon forums, especially
http://www.nikonians.org, made me decide to stay with Nikon, even with this WB thing on the fore...
