Who makes a better camera; Canon or Nikon?

[Graham Law]

Like the debate between Ford and Chevy owners, Nikon and Canon people can't seem to agree on who makes a superior product.
Which do you prefer, and why?

[Patrick O'Connor]

With the advent of the most recent Nikon lineup, the argument has become more heated, and more important to anyones buying decision.

Now that Nikon has momentum with their switch to CMOS sensors, and 24x36 chips, many people are saying that Nikons are hands down better, and that people should not buy into Nikon cameras, but in fact lose money in switching from other brands (read: Canon) to Nikon.

The reality is that the Nikon D3 is the best camera to date with what it does, and the D300 is a top competitor in its price range. With each generation of digital technology, you can expect a incremental increase in speed, reliability, functionality, and decrease in size, weight, cost, etc. For the past six years, give or take, Canon has been the only company to have several key features that made this a non-arguement. Thank you Nikon for joining the fray!

I shot canon, so let it be know that I have some strong arguments for my own brand. I have been shooting digital SLRs from the top to the bottom of the range, since each's inception. In light of the current Nikons, I would still point out that my canon 1dIII is a 10FPS, high ISO performer that I have shot for a year, with the slightly more capable D3 from Nikon only now even becoming limitedly available. I would say that Canon has more manufacturing strength and will continue to leapfrog Nikons lineup several times, with great success, in the next year.

Even so, many people have just as many valid points against Canon, from the current QC issues Canon seems to have, to the treatment of the Canon buyers by their Brand. The ending point I would stress gives a answer to "which is best", has nothing to do with the camera features but the lens features and functionalities. Canon cameras happen to have a larger lens mount, capable of far more adaptations from Zeiss, Leica, and other MF exceptional lens. Canon lens, particularly L series, are, in all testing situations, superior to any other professional lenses. Nikon has made giant leaps with their new 14-24 lens, but in all, canon has a far more capable lens lineup. Camera bodies will continue to leap frog each other, but Canon lens have been better for decades.

[Brett Klenk]

I've used Nikon's for 28 years and for me its a brand thing. Its like the first team you support as a sports fan, that's the team you stick with. There's pro's and con's on both sides, I could be better off with a Canon or not... Nikon is in my blood. Kinda like a Mac vs. PC thing as well.

[Patrick O'Connor]

Well, nice to hear from you Brett:

It is ture that it starts at some point, I have the same history with Canon that you do with Nikon, a few less years, but the idea is the same :)

Of course with Mac vs....or Chevy VS.... you have no added investment beyond the item, with cameras you have lenses and a full system to invest in. Use "old hands" can discuss this in a different way than people just buying into one or the other.

You are right though, when one brand, for some mysterious reason, gets under your skin, it is difficult to imagine it being any other way :)

Hope your photography endevours are continuing to be enjoyable, and 2008 treats you kindly!~

[Rod Sager]

I have been shooting Canon since 1979. Canon rules!

[GeOrge C]

Well, it does continue.. Being a Mac kinda guy, when I first decided to leap I checked out Olympus, Canon, Nikon at MacWorld, in San Fran.. back and forth.. the Reps at Nikon were just more open, friendly, didn't matter if you were a newbie or pro, they focussed on your interests.. So my first digital was a little Nikon 880. the Roma pic is from that, I took off cold afraid to even change memory cards while we traveled. Down the line I realized I needed longer lenses to reach out for the birds, critters so again at MWSF quizzed the gurus.. the D70 wasn't yet released, but he clued me in, told me to wait a while, and sure enough, up it came.. It's been great, altho the shutter failed last year, long past warranty, but repaired, back in business.. So far the 24-120mm VR, 12-24mm, 105mm macro, SB800, other mid lenses, mulling over the 18-200mmVR, was on the list, but it didn't make in time for Spain, so I backed away a bit.. And now the D300 has my attention, just need to find a way to rationalize a bit more.. the higher ISO is a grabber, so, I watch, wait.. The D70 has been around a while, trips to London, Australia, Spain, Banff, and now we're heading to the SouthWest.. See what develops!

geOrge

[Eric Engstrom]

As most respondents have noted, where you start is generally where you end up.

I started with a used mid-60s era Nikkormat FT and started with an original 1984 Macintosh - I still use Nikons (a film F3 and a digital D70s and a pocket CoolPix purchased from Seawood) and currently have a Mac Powerbook and an iMac. A change at this late date (I'm in my 60s) is probably not going to happen.

Both the Nikon and Apple products have performed very well, and I've had very few problems. The big advantage for me has been the ability to use my F3 lenses on the D70s for maximum flexibility.

[Hank Miller]

Hi Eric and fellow forum members,

I have been shooting with Nikons for over 50 years starting as a high school student in Manila during the 1950's. tried the Canon Digital Rebel a couple of years ago and sold it on craigs list as fast as possible. what a mistake! If you'll note what Canon has to do to catch up with the Nikon mania is to offer trememdous promotions to professionals to switch from Nikon to Canon. Additionally, Canon couples with National Geographic, Art Wolf Productions and the National Park Service to hold seminars and workshops promoting Canon. Nikon has similar workshops etc but they don't need to entice other users to come to their camp. The Nikon products speak for themselves being used by over 75 % of photojournaists and war photographers because of their superior performance and product support in Nikon Pro.

[Scott Hess]

I'm debating between buying the Canon D5 Mark 2 and the Nikon D 700. I'm a Nikon D 200 owner now so it would cost me to switch but I hear great things about the D5. Has anyone on this list actually compared large prints made with these two cameras? What are the finer pros and cons- other than
the obvious very large file size of the Canon and the addition of hi def video? What about low light performance, autofocus performance, etc?