Canon Vs. Nikon... let the debate start...

[Kunundrum]

Greeting all,

I have been shooting With SLR for a few years now an I know my way around a camera, however that being said I don't make a living at it. In the past I have owned Canon gear and have been happy with it.

I own a few lenses though none of them that "extraordinary" or extravagant. and also own a few other canon accessories, that are brand specific.

here is my delema.

Currently I own a 20D, it's been a great rig, reliable , shoot well underwater, really no complaints and I have been looking at picking up a 5D Mk2 shortly after the 5D Mk3 is launched as I would expect the price to drop to clear out the now "obsolete" model.

Now a good friend of mine shoots Nikon, and has plenty of very nice and expensive lenses, and said I can use them anytime I wanted... if I had a Nikon body.

I am looking at going full frame on this upgrade, and on the Nikon side means a D700 or the soon to be released D800.

I like shooting Wide angle under water, so low light is key and I know Nikon's are a better a focusing/shooting in low light conditions, yet the D700 is about half the resolution of the Canon and I expect the D800 to be double the price of the Canon when it's available. (though rumors have it at 36mp:shocked2

then add that I need to still buy a new housing for the camera (who knows how long before it's available for the D800) yet it's already available for the 5D, hell I could probably find a nice used one too, and still be under the cost of the D800, not including any money I recoup from selling my 20D and housing.

Unless there is a reason the D700 is better even though it has a significant Megapixel disadvantage that I happen to be missing ?

 

[PatW]

I have read that Nikon has discontinued the sales on the D300s (which is Nikon's top of the line DX camera) and the D700. I don't think anyone really knows the specifics on the specs of the upcoming replacements. I would think that Nikon would not go for a 36 mp camera though. Their existing FX cameras have 24 mp and the D800 would probably follow that. The D700 had only 12 mp but it was very popular because of it was superb in high ISO performance and in lack of noise. I would think that Nikon would be hard pressed to maintain those standards with a 36 mp camera. Also, with that many mp in a full frame footprint would probably lose effectiveness because of diffraction problems. As you increase your F stop, you lose resolution in a camera. The bigger your sensor chip, the higher the F stop you can run before you have problems with diffraction. I would think that most photographers would prefer more dynamic range, higher iso performance, better color fidelity and less noise over just increasing mp.

Some people are saying that the new cameras will be announced on Feb 17, other people think that they might be delayed because of the disruptions that Japan suffered in the Tsunami last year. It might be awhile before the camera comes out and then it will be a bit longer before the housing manufacturers manage to design the housings and get them on the market. You might not be able to get the camera and housing (if you take a camera underwater, it sure helps to have a housing), until about year end if that soon.

Now, I am being cautious. I tend to follow the rule that everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much as one expects.

 

[bvanant]

Clearly with full frame wide angle you need to think as much about the lenses as the camera. For Canon you have the 8-15 and I don't think there is anything like it for Nikon but for Nikon you have the 10.5 fisheye while both have 15 mm fisheyes. Do some research on which wide angle lenses do best behind which ports you are interested in and your choice will be made for you I think.
Bill

 

[ASA400]

I am a working photojournalist and have used both the Canon and Nikon systems. I started out with the Canon FD series and then went to Nikon when autofocus became the thing. Recently, my paper has decided that I am no longer allowed to use my personal Nikon gear and will have to use the issued Canon gear which includes a 1DmkIV and a 1DmkIII. My personal Nikon gear includes a D700 and a D300.

I find the IQ on the D700 to be superior to the 1DmkIV, but the Canon autofocus speed is screaming fast compared to the Nikon. That may be a big consideration underwater where both your subject and you are moving around.

Currently, the newest Nikon announced is the D4 which has a 16mg full-frame image with a $6000 price tag. It will begin to ship in Feb. The current D3X has a 21mg image but the camera costs 8k so I don't know anyone who has one. The D800 has not been officially announced, but best rumors say it will be announced sometime after Feb. Nikon rumors say that the D800 will be a 36mg image and will be substantially more expensive so it can not realistically be called a "replacement" for the D700.

As for the fisheye lenses, the 10.5 that Nikon sells is a DX lens, meaning that if you put it on a full-frame camera, it will knock down the image size to 6mg (on the D700 or D3). I have the 10.5 for Nikon and 15mm for Canon and to be honest, the 10.5 looks more 180 degree on the D300 than the 15mm looks on the mkIV. But the 8-15mm is really interesting.

Actually, if I was to get a Nikon for underwater work, I would have to seriously consider the D7000. It's a dx camera, so the 10.5 can be used and other dx lenses are smaller than full-frame lenses. The camera is a 16mg image and has great IQ and low-light capabilities.

At this time, if full-frame is an absolute, I would lean towards the Canon system, if for no other reason than the focusing speed.

 

[decidedlyodd]

I have read that Nikon has discontinued the sales on the D300s (which is Nikon's top of the line DX camera) and the D700.

I was looking around at full-frame options the other day too and noticed that my local camera shop doesn't even list the D700 anymore online. B&H lists it but it's "temporarily unavailable". Hmmm.

 

[Kunundrum]

The more I look at it the more I think I'm best going the Canon route, the Cost Vs. Benefit is just not present for me to change over to Nikon. with the money saved I can pickup some nicer lenses. 16-35mm F2.8 Canon and Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 are what I am thinking to add to my collection.

Not to mention housings are currently available for the 5D MK2, who knows when one would be available for the D800

 

[azscubadude]

Greeting all,

I have been shooting With SLR for a few years now an I know my way around a camera, however that being said I don't make a living at it. In the past I have owned Canon gear and have been happy with it.

I've been shooting wildlife for years with Canon gear and underwater with the G-series cameras but from another thread you will see that I am thinking of upgrading underwater to my Canon 7D since I have just about everything needed except a housing.

All I can add to this thread is that through the years (years before the earthquake issue) all I read about on wildlife forums is that Nikon gear is so hard to get your hands on, at least in the long lenses. Not sure about bodies and short lenses.

It seems like some guys that have money in hand wait forever and still can't get their hands on Nikon equipment. Maybe the short lenses for UW would be different.

To me, you can make the finest gear in the world but if you can't get it to the market place what use is it.

Not sure, just thought I would chime in.

 

[ASA400]

All I can add to this thread is that through the years (years before the earthquake issue) all I read about on wildlife forums is that Nikon gear is so hard to get your hands on, at least in the long lenses. Not sure about bodies and short lenses.

It seems like some guys that have money in hand wait forever and still can't get their hands on Nikon equipment. Maybe the short lenses for UW would be different.

To me, you can make the finest gear in the world but if you can't get it to the market place what use is it.

Not sure, just thought I would chime in.

Not sure what your guys were looking for, but a couple of weeks ago, the Nikon NPS rep was in our photo dept. telling us that if we switch over from Canon, she could provide each of us with a 300 2.8 (6 total), and the dept with 2 400 2.8 and a 600 f4 within a couple of weeks of ordering. Now, since this was NPS, things might be different than for an individual buying. I've personally had no problems (well, until the earthquake) getting any lens or body ever ordered from a reputable dealer (mostly B&H). In the past two years, I've personally ordered: D300, D700, 24-70 2.8, 14-24 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 10.5 fisheye, 12-24 F4 DX, SB900 and assorted small items. Everything was shipped to me within 3 days by the dealers. This was without flashing my NPS card and asking for expedited shipping.