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I may switch to Canon -- help?

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Hi,

I went from a D1H and D1X combination to a Canon 1D. My main reason was that I wanted to return to shooting with prime lenses yet keep the AF performance of ultrasonic motors. Nikon does not make this combination under 300mm. I don't think that they will any time soon, either.

As it worked out, I was able to sell all my Nikon AFS zooms and the few AFD primes I had for more money than it cost me to buy new Canon USM primes. The same thing held true for the DSLRs. I sold the D1x for $300 more than it cost me to buy the Canon 1D. All selling was done on ebay, BTW.

Of course, it will cost me more money to buy a Canon 1Ds later on in the year. However, if I take the money I got for the D1H and subtract it off the cost of a 1Ds, I arrive at the cost of a Kodak 14n, so even this step winds up being break-even in the end.

Some people will point out that I lost the versatility of the AFS zooms vs. a bag full of prime lenses. But, keep in mind that this is exactly what I wanted. I traded versatility for image quality here. This will be extremely important if one is considering a high resolution DSLR with a 24x36mm imager while using 35mm system lenses.

My other plan was to go the 645 medium format system route coupled with a digital back. Now, that is expensive by comparison! :)
Douglas Hanks said:
Hi all ----

I have a Nikon D1X. Takes a pretty good picture. I'm pretty upset
about the 1.5x thing and the battery life stinks (300 RAW pics per
battery).

Also the lenses are expensive!

Here is what I have so far:

Nikon D1X
Nikon SB-80DX Flash
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4
Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.4-4.5
Sigma 17-35mm
Sigma 50-500mm

Am I in too deep to make a switch to Canon?

Would I benefit from switching to Canon or should I wait until the
next DSLR from Nikon later this year.

What would be the benefits and loses if I switched to Canon?
Click to expand...
--
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer
More info and list of gear is in my Posters' Profile.
 
Peter Phan said:
Iain West said:
Iain West
Douglas Hanks said:
Hi all ----

I have a Nikon D1X. Takes a pretty good picture. I'm pretty upset
about the 1.5x thing and the battery life stinks (300 RAW pics per
battery).

Also the lenses are expensive!

Here is what I have so far:

Nikon D1X
Nikon SB-80DX Flash
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4
Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.4-4.5
Sigma 17-35mm
Sigma 50-500mm

Am I in too deep to make a switch to Canon?

Would I benefit from switching to Canon or should I wait until the
next DSLR from Nikon later this year.

What would be the benefits and loses if I switched to Canon?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
read the post I responded to - and as I stated - I'm comparing the two lenses mentioned in their post - no they are not comparing aplles to apples and that's what i pointed out.
Peter Phan said:
Brian E. Chilson said:
according to B&H the two lenses you refer to the Nikon 85mm f 1.4
USA - not import - is $969.95, the Canon lens - 85mm f 1.2 usm -
USA not import is 1499.95 - how does this add up to being 15 - 20
% less expensive?
Click to expand...
You're not comparing apples to apples. That extra bit of speed is
costly.
Click to expand...
 
Jim Trunck said:
Or instead of switching, you could stop and really learn to use the
excellent tools you already have, including living with their
limitations. You will not be a happy photographer, whatever you
own, until you do.
Click to expand...
...................... Canon have and are offering better product right now over Nikon. I've been seriously thinking of switching because of Nikon's policies and limiting technology releases.

It has nothing to do with learning to use a system, you obviously don't know with a statement like that. It is because photographer's become aware and knowledgeable that they seek the advantages of other systems on their chosen brand.

I've decided that neither Canon or Nikon currently are actually offering me what I want, except for the excellent D100, that I've decided to start a Canon sytem this year and let nature take its course after that.
 
quoted from that site (which was an excellent read btw) "....Based on the slow focus speed of the Canon EF 85 1.2 L, I assumed that the Nikon would leave the big Canon behind in the dust of this tracking autofocus test. The USM motor came through with very respectable performance. Canon outperformed Nikon in the test.

The Canon systems outperformed the Nikon system in this extreme test of tracking autofocus function on subjects moving towards the lens in excess of 100 kph. The Nikon system was demonstrated to be a very sharp and fast-focusing system. Was its poor performance in this extreme tracking autofocus just an indication of exceeding its capacity to track moving objects or is there an inherent autofocus inaccuracy problem.

Anyway in that SECOND type of test: The TRACKING AUTOFOCUS TEST, the Canon 85 F1.8 mounted on an EOS-1V was 25 for 25 INFOCUS, the canon 85 F1.2 was 23 of 29 and the Nikon 85 mounted on an F5 was only 7 of 30, the rest were OUT OF FOCUS.

Here is the link
http://www.wlcastleman.com/equip/reviews/85mm/index.htm

I am surprised. I assumed that anything with ANY type of AF-S/HSM/USM type motor would SIGNIFICANTLY increase the speed of AF compared to a NON AF-S.
PerL said:
photoave said:
Hi Brian, Well that SPECIFIC lens isnt a fair comparison since the
Canon 85 has the equivalent of AF-S and is a half-stop faster.
Same thing with the 50mm F1.4 by Canon which has USM (AF-S). For
sports or other fast-action photography these two functions would
be quite advantageous.
Click to expand...
ÓAutofocus Tests
It takes at least 3 times as long for the Canon EF 85 1.2L lens to
change focus from infinity to 1.5 meters as compared to the other
two lenses. The EF 85 f/1.2 L takes an estimated 1 second for the
re-focusing operation in comparison to about 1/4 second for the
Nikon 85 f/1.4 and the Canon 85 f/1.8. What does this mean if you
are trying to focus on a performer or athelete moving directly
toward or away from you? If you are trying to take a split-second
grab shot of a athelete or performer, it means that you are going
to miss a lot of shots with the big, slow Canon 85 f/1.2L.Ó

From the test I refered to in an earlier post.
I agree with you that AFS would be nice in every Nikon lens, but
in this case the 85 1,4 from Nikon looks like a better buy.
Click to expand...
--
-photoave http://phillywood.com An Amalgam of images.
 
Ger Bee said:
I've decided that neither Canon or Nikon currently are actually
offering me what I want, except for the excellent D100, that I've
decided to start a Canon sytem this year and let nature take its
course after that.
Click to expand...
Natural selection applied to camera equipment. Interesting.
 
Hendrix HK said:
How much is 1Ds? it also will have noise for long exp!
Click to expand...
That's true -- but Canon has managed to push the envelope quite a bit, as just what counts as a "long" exposure. A D60 can expose for anywhere from five to ten minutes without showing any signs that the image came from a digital SLR and not a slide of Velvia 100, depending on the tempature and the particular D60. The 1Ds is supposed to be much better in this regard, even with it's noise reduction disabled!

This was a twenty minute exposure (!) at f/5.6, with about the field of view you would expect from a 26 mm lens on film:



Looking at the pixels at 100%, there are a few hot pixels ( most visable in the trees ) and a magenta "cloud" on the right extreme of the frame. This is much more disturbing to me, because it's more obvious ( the hot pixels went away by themselves when I downsampled ) and forces an 8x10 crop of every truly long exposure I take. On the other hand, though, outside these two strange artifacts, the noise itself isn't any worse than if the exposure had been for 1/200th second.

Not that that's any reason to jump ship -- a $300 film SLR will allow you to do the same thing -- but it's very exciting news for digital photographers in general!
 
(on the Canon 1,2) "slow single shot autofocus function make it a challenging tool for action/performance photography unless you can rely heavily on zone focusing techniques."
It was in the tracking tests (moving cars) Nikons lens falled behind.

(on the Nikon 1,4): "Autofocus speed for single subject acquisition seems to be nearly as fast as the EF 85 f/1.8. It is hard not to be impressed with this lens for its overall sharpness, contrast and autofocus speed and accuracy in single subject focus acquisition."

That speed is of course related to use on a F5, it may be slower on a D100. But it also looks as the Nikon has the best optical performance in low-light.

The author (a Canon-shooter) finally choosed the Canon 1,8 for his action shots.

Anyway, these are all extremly good lenses, but in my thinking the Nikon looks like the one with the best balance of performance vs trade-offs. But of course it should have AFS.

(BTW great concert shots on your site, some good bands too)

--
http://www.pbase.com/interactive
 
Ger Bee said:
It has nothing to do with learning to use a system, you obviously
don't know with a statement like that. It is because photographer's
become aware and knowledgeable that they seek the advantages of
other systems on their chosen brand.
Click to expand...
--

Ger Bee:

But I do know. I've had my D1x for over 18 months and my D100 for nearly four months now. And I have been taking photographs for several decades. The more I use my existing equipment, the more I learn. The more I learn the better my images. Sure it would be nice to have 11 Megapixels (ie Canon 1DS), or the Canon 400mm DO lens, but they are not necessary. Better tools than I currently have? Yep. But can I do without them and still get great images? Yep!

Most of the comments no longer have anything to do with photography; instead, they are mostly technobabble about hardware.

I for one don't think being aware of, and buying, the biggest, best, newest or most technologically advance item is NOT necessarily the holy grail. The real advantage is the vision behing the camera AND knowing how to use the tools you have...

Having said all of the above, if you need to stay on top of the curve to achieve whatever it is you wish to do, then buy away and happy shooting.

JT
 
photoave wrote:
85mm/index.htm
Philly Wood said:
I am surprised. I assumed that anything with ANY type of
AF-S/HSM/USM type motor would SIGNIFICANTLY increase the speed of
AF compared to a NON AF-S.
Click to expand...
If you go to the Canon USA site and look at the cross section of the 85/1.2L you will understand why. The lens elements are quite large and thick so there is quite a bit of mass to move about. Also, the 85/1.2L was among some of the first EF lenses introduced so it is quite possible that the USM is not as powerful as Canon's latest offerings.

--
Richard D.
http://members.aol.com/richdong
 
I can't really add anything mighty James has written. People these days seem to value technical specs over skills and composition; it's like "gee which camera will tell me if I'm composing it properly, get a perfect exposure every time, and come out with professional results by just me hitting the shutter button!" and "oh you need expensive glass otherwise what's the point?" I'm not saying the technical end is useless--far from it--but at the end of the day, it seems people are trying to buy the latest and greatest in an effort to make up for their lack of creativity.

--
Dave
 
at the end of
SpinThis! said:
the day, it seems people are trying to buy the latest and greatest
in an effort to make up for their lack of creativity.
Click to expand...
.

.......................... but I won't start with the well trodden problems again again!!!!

Suffice to say that one can work with ANYTHING --- a fork and a bit of back work can cultivate the lawn, but a sit on and drive around cultivator is more fun and for the contractor, it gets the job done without the backache.
 
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