Nikon v Canon

ThirdMan

Which is the best brand overall?

DaireQuinlan

LOL.

Both.

Also, IBTL !

charybdis

Define "best" and "overall".

Thecageyone

Panisonykonanympus ftw!



Seriously though, they're both good. Nobody can say which is actually better. You'd have to directly compare individual models, not the brand overall.

PCPhoto

theres more than just Canon or Nikon ..... Pentax, Minolta etc etc

its horses for courses .... yes ! Canon and Nikon are the dominant forces....due to the fact they flood the market with loads of lenses and advertising.

I'm a Canon user and have been for 10-15yrs ... very tempted to change .... recently got a hasselblad ...need to play with that and see if I like it.

magicbastarder

digital hasselblad, i assume?

ThirdMan

charybdis wrote: »

Define "best" and "overall".

How do Nikon/Canon compare at different levels, entry level, semi-prp, pro, etc?

PCPhoto

magicbastarder wrote: »

digital hasselblad, i assume?

H1 .... didnt get a digi back (couldnt afford it - with holidays this year) .... so have a film and polaroid back for it.

PCPhoto

ThirdMan wrote: »

How do Nikon/Canon compare at different levels, entry level, semi-prp, pro, etc?

at different levels they are almost identical .... I think Canon have the edge in integrated video and Nikon have the edge in low light (High ISO) .... but only slight advantage in each case.

Heebie

The best way to decide between Canon and Nikon is to see which one feels best in your hands, and which one's controls feel more natural to you.

Quality-wise.. they're both going to be excellent, and you'll be able to get fantastic glass for either one.

ThirdMan wrote: »

Which is the best brand overall?

ThirdMan

Thanks for your replies everyone

Shiny

I find there is a larger selection of 2nd hand Canon gear.

Used to always recommend canon before, now there is
very little difference. :cool:

Barname

kelly1

ThirdMan wrote: »

Which is the best brand overall?

Are you trying to start a Holy War?? Answer is Canon

melekalikimaka

sunny2004

The best advice is to remember that you are buying into 2 very large companies both with long heritages, Nikon had the market for many years and where in fact listed in th Guinness book of records for the biggest kit, while Canon's heritage is deeply rooted in Photocopiers lol

MY point is simple, they are identical in many ways, and it moves from one to the other each time, so feel free to grab both in your hands and whatever you like buy !!! you wont be backing lemon with either....

TinyExplosions

Either will do you fine, and you'll find people who swear by, and swear at each one... my advice is if you have some friends who are into photography and are more experienced than you, go for what they have, so you can borrow lenses / get advice from them, or if you don't know anyone into it, look at the best deals you can get second hand... there's a lot of Canon glass on adverts at the moment, and that might sway me, if I wasn't already a Nikon shooter

There's no 'better', only 'different'

trishw78

really... are we really going to go down this route???

I suppose this type of thread is long overdue.

for my 2cents I'm going with good honest to God holga and all that sail with her

squareballoon

I use a canon and my partner uses a nikon. We both take photos for each shoot and I edit them together. I notice that in low light and indoors the Nikon deals with it better. For outdoor I would nearly always prefer the way canon controls the colour and light.

DaireQuinlan

trishw78 wrote: »

really... are we really going to go down this route???

I suppose this type of thread is long overdue.

for my 2cents I'm going with good honest to God holga and all that sail with her

Which route ? Everyone is being very level headed and sensible about the whole thing and is saying both are pretty much identical. Well except for kelly1, but we'll excuse him, he has some sort of weird religious stuff in his sig so it's understandable he'd want to choose sides.

Now as for you, with your transparent attempt to introduce a third front just to get people all confused and flustered and start maintaining that, well, film is much better than digital anyway don'tcha know

kelly1

Persecution!!!

DaireQuinlan

kelly1 wrote: »

Persecution!!!

Well, it's right that you're persecuted ! All canon users should be !

Besides which, Film is much better than digital anyway.

ThirdMan

Too confusing. Think I'll get a Kodak :P

Promac

Canon do seem to have more second hand gear on the market.

Also, not a measure of quality but, on the street I notice far more canons than nikons.

And - cat, pigeons, etc - digital is far superior to film

Morrisseeee

Olympus is best.......:p


/end thread please mods !!

Nisio

Which sounds better backwards?

nokin
nonac

DaireQuinlan

Nisio wrote: »

Which sounds better backwards?

nokin
nonac

/thread

just-joe

Best thread of the day?! wtf...

magicbastarder

long story short - your choice of camera will have *far* less impact on your photography than your own innate talent and how much time and effort you're willing to invest.

melekalikimaka

your choice could effect your relationships in future tho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_H8TOKcfjg

Crispin

just-joe wrote: »

Best thread of the day?! wtf...

:pac:


LOL i think thread of the day is based on number of replies rather than the quality of the content.

This thread not only got all the canikon fanboys but also a bunch of people who felt obliged to comment along the lines of "sigh, not again, who gives a f*ck?"

Thread of the day fail.:rolleyes:

The Snipe

They are both really good brands, and over the past two years or so they have really taken the market by storm. Both making better and better cameras, so they are both great in their own right.

Canon have recently been increasing Megapixles, While Nikion have been doing ISO. So they are both good brands overall, so its a matter of choice in what you are looking for.

ThirdMan

magicbastarder wrote: »

long story short - your choice of camera will have *far* less impact on your photography than your own innate talent and how much time and effort you're willing to invest.

With respect, that's not the question being asked. The technical superiority of one brand/model over another exists independent of one's ability. No?

ThirdMan

Crispin wrote: »

:pac:


LOL i think thread of the day is based on number of replies rather than the quality of the content.

This thread not only got all the canikon fanboys but also a bunch of people who felt obliged to comment along the lines of "sigh, not again, who gives a f*ck?"

Thread of the day fail.:rolleyes:

Sorry to everyone thinking "not again", but I'm new on this forum and didn't realise it had been asked before.

For everyone thinking "who gives a ****", well short answer, I give a ****. I'm going to be buying a new camera pretty soon, and while I've used and like both Canon and Nikon, I thought I'd ask people on here for their opinion before I parted with my hard earned.

magicbastarder

it does, but technical superiority - especially within the piffling margins involved - is generally just a small part of the picture.
unless you have quite specific requirements, such as low light capabilities, how the camera feels in your hand should be a better guide to your choice than the tenths of percentage points difference involved in sensor and lens sharpness, etc.

Ghost Train

Canon are winning on flickr

But Nikon are closing in

Iphone is ahead of both of them

http://www.flickr.com/cameras/

charybdis

ThirdMan wrote: »

With respect, that's not the question being asked. The technical superiority of one brand/model over another exists independent of one's ability. No?

It's not that simple.

There are a huge number of considerations to take into account when choosing a brand/camera and only some of them will be relevant to the person using the camera and what it will be used for.

Broadly speaking, all the DSLRs are the equivalent of photographic Swiss Army knives; they're reasonably capable at doing a wide variety of things and the biggest difference between the abilities of various models is largely determined by price bracket and not brand. To my knowledge, there are no bad DSLRs. There are differences between various models, some of which may be desirable or undesirable to you, but they're all competent photographic instruments.

ThirdMan wrote: »

Sorry to everyone thinking "not again", but I'm new on this forum and didn't realise it had been asked before.

For everyone thinking "who gives a ****", well short answer, I give a ****. I'm going to be buying a new camera pretty soon, and while I've used and like both Canon and Nikon, I thought I'd ask people on here for their opinion before I parted with my hard earned.

I don't think anyone is saying that the camera isn't important; it's that the camera is only important to the photographer and therefore it should be up to them to decide what they need and, as such, trying to achieve consensus on "what camera is best" is pointless.

If you care about what camera you need, you need to make a decision for yourself about what to buy. Nobody can tell you what you need.

Crispin

ThirdMan wrote: »

Sorry to everyone thinking "not again", but I'm new on this forum and didn't realise it had been asked before.

For everyone thinking "who gives a ****", well short answer, I give a ****. I'm going to be buying a new camera pretty soon, and while I've used and like both Canon and Nikon, I thought I'd ask people on here for their opinion before I parted with my hard earned.

The reason it's tedious is it's a question that has not definitive answer. Pick a price range and compare the cameras in that price range. Don't ask for a brand comparison because it really depends on the individual cameras. Most magazines will compare similar cameras from the same brands to keep the canikon fanboys on their toes :pac:.

Also what makes it more mind-numblingly tedious is that a google search of "canon vs nikon" brings up 31, 400, 000 results (yeh I just tried it out of curiosity :rolleyes: ).

magicbastarder

i think the only real test which would provide an answer would be to compare photos taken by nikon users against photos taken by canon users across a reasonably large demographic. it'd be difficult and common sense would predict the results anyway. you'd probably find bugger all difference.
you'd see a much stronger trend for quality of photos against price (rather than brand) of kit, but that would be more down to the fact that more experienced camera users gravitate towards more expensive kit, more so than the effect the gear itself has on the outcome.

ThirdMan

Crispin wrote: »

The reason it's tedious is it's a question that has not definitive answer. Pick a price range and compare the cameras in that price range. Don't ask for a brand comparison because it really depends on the individual cameras. Most magazines will compare similar cameras from the same brands to keep the canikon fanboys on their toes :pac:.

Also what makes it more mind-numblingly tedious is that a google search of "canon vs nikon" brings up 31, 400, 000 results (yeh I just tried it out of curiosity :rolleyes: ).

My price range is fluctuating between €500 and €1200. I'll know better in 2 weeks what I have to spend. In the mean time I was just trying to get a general heads up on specific brands. I'm very new to photography, and I'm just looking for some help. My apologies if this strikes you as being tedious.

Of those 31,400,000 results, how many are actually comparing Nikon/Canon, and how many are forums that I can join in on and ask questions?

ThirdMan

charybdis wrote: »

It's not that simple.

There are a huge number of considerations to take into account when choosing a brand/camera and only some of them will be relevant to the person using the camera and what it will be used for.

Broadly speaking, all the DSLRs are the equivalent of photographic Swiss Army knives; they're reasonably capable at doing a wide variety of things and the biggest difference between the abilities of various models is largely determined by price bracket and not brand. To my knowledge, there are no bad DSLRs. There are differences between various models, some of which may be desirable or undesirable to you, but they're all competent photographic instruments.


I don't think anyone is saying that the camera isn't important; it's that the camera is only important to the photographer and therefore it should be up to them to decide what they need and, as such, trying to achieve consensus on "what camera is best" is pointless.

If you care about what camera you need, you need to make a decision for yourself about what to buy. Nobody can tell you what you need.

Good advice, thanks.

ThirdMan

magicbastarder wrote: »

it does, but technical superiority - especially within the piffling margins involved - is generally just a small part of the picture.
unless you have quite specific requirements, such as low light capabilities, how the camera feels in your hand should be a better guide to your choice than the tenths of percentage points difference involved in sensor and lens sharpness, etc.

Cool, point taken.

charybdis

ThirdMan wrote: »

My price range is fluctuating between €500 and €1200. I'll know better in 2 weeks what I have to spend. In the mean time I was just trying to get a general heads up on specific brands. I'm very new to photography, and I'm just looking for some help. My apologies if this strikes you as being tedious.

Of those 31,400,000 results, how many are actually comparing Nikon/Canon, and how many are forums that I can join in on and ask questions?

If you're very new to photography, you'll learn a lot more by reading than by asking questions. Have you read the sticky? There are a huge number of resources on the internet dedicated to comparing and suggesting cameras. You really shouldn't need to ask any questions unless you come to an impasse in what you can learn from by reading.

We don't mind people asking questions, but it's frustrating when someone asks a vague question that could've easily been answered with a little effort on their part.

Crispin

ThirdMan wrote: »

My price range is fluctuating between €500 and €1200. I'll know better in 2 weeks what I have to spend. In the mean time I was just trying to get a general heads up on specific brands. I'm very new to photography, and I'm just looking for some help. My apologies if this strikes you as being tedious.

Of those 31,400,000 results, how many are actually comparing Nikon/Canon, and how many are forums that I can join in on and ask questions?

Lol, I was just pointing out how many times this question is asked and yet never answered. Ignore my bad mood

Best bet is definitely to pick a price range and compare the various brands in that bracket.

ThirdMan

charybdis wrote: »

If you're very new to photography, you'll learn a lot more by reading than by asking questions. Have you read the sticky? There are a huge number of resources on the internet dedicated to comparing and suggesting cameras. You really shouldn't need to ask any questions unless you come to an impasse in what you can learn from by reading.

We don't mind people asking questions, but it's frustrating when someone asks a vague question that could've easily been answered with a little effort on their part.

And if I'd prefer to make my enquiries via a forum? And I have made a 'little' effort already, including travelling some distance to get a hands on feel of both Nikon and Canon models. With respect, nobody asked you to comment on this thread, and unless you can't resist the urge to comment, I suggest you save yourself the frustration by not commenting again.

ThirdMan

Crispin wrote: »

Lol, I was just pointing out how many times this question is asked and yet never answered. Ignore my bad mood

Best bet is definitely to pick a price range and compare the various brands in that bracket.

Cool. Thanks, Crispin.

DaireQuinlan

ThirdMan wrote: »

And if I'd prefer to make my enquiries via a forum? And I have made a 'little' effort already, including travelling some distance to get a hands on feel of both Nikon and Canon models. With respect, nobody asked you to comment on this thread, and unless you can't resist the urge to comment, I suggest you save yourself the frustration by not commenting again.

TBH it -is- a completely vague and directionless question. Most forums I frequent apart from this one, if someone with a low post count posted what you did above, the thread would probably be immediately locked and the poster banned on suspicion of being a troll.

Have you actually READ even a tiny fraction of those 31 million results (that I get at least for "nikon versus canon") ? What makes you think that you're going to get a different response here ? Or that because a handful of local randomers on one particular forum answer in a particular way that it's more valid than the millions of results going "meh, they're much the same". It's conceited to expect that you're in some way special and deserve a personal response, and arrogant to give out when someone points out that a little investigation could have answered the question equally as well.

charybdis

ThirdMan wrote: »

And if I'd prefer to make my enquiries via a forum?

You'll learn more slowly than you would by conducting your own research and probably won't get conclusive answers to vague questions.

ThirdMan wrote: »

And I have made a 'little' effort already, including travelling some distance to get a hands on feel of both Nikon and Canon models.

Great. You should have some idea which one is better for you so.

ThirdMan wrote: »

With respect, nobody asked you to comment on this thread, and unless you can't resist the urge to comment, I suggest you save yourself the frustration by not commenting again.

I believe you asked me to do so by posting the thread in the first place, and by respoding directly to what I've said you're further inviting me to reply. You could be a little more courteous to the people trying to help you.

ThirdMan

Don't like the topic, don't answer. Simple as. I'm not doing anything wrong.

joepenguin

To be fair to the OP there is a lot of conflicting and and commercially driven opinions on the interweb and as a beginner to photography its hard to tell whats what. A forum where you value the opinion of the posters is the perfect place to ask such a question. Perhaps there should be a "questions on buying new equipment" thread where first time buyers feel free to ask questions.

OP i went with canon because there seems to be better deals on second hand equipment and i was on a budget looking for the best bundle deals that i could find. Plus any photographer i knew (not many tbh) had a canon so its a brand i seen people using and producing good results. I was told on a few occasions that nikon werent good which probably made me stear clear but as it turns i seem to shoot a lot in low light setting and have just found out nikon have the edge in that department, but meh, im only learning and i imagine it'll be a long time before i outgrow my gear.

ThirdMan

joepenguin wrote: »

To be fair to the OP there is a lot of conflicting and and commercially driven opinions on the interweb and as a beginner to photography its hard to tell whats what. A forum where you value the opinion of the posters is the perfect place to ask such a question. Perhaps there should be a "questions on buying new equipment" thread where first time buyers feel free to ask questions.

OP i went with canon because there seems to be better deals on second hand equipment and i was on a budget looking for the best bundle deals that i could find. Plus any photographer i knew (not many tbh) had a canon so its a brand i seen people using and producing good results. I was told on a few occasions that nikon werent good which probably made me stear clear but as it turns i seem to shoot a lot in low light setting and have just found out nikon have the edge in that department, but meh, im only learning and i imagine it'll be a long time before i outgrow my gear.

Thanks for the sound advice, Joe. And you're right, the reason I asked here is because I value the discussion on Boards.ie. I had another account on here some years ago, which I received useful advice through regularly, for everything from Xbox games to tantric sex. But it seems some areas of this sight are more forgiving and welcoming than others.