Canon or Nikon?

I have a D80 & a D50 and i can say that if you want to take good quality pictures it’s extremely easy with the D80,one or two looks through the relevant settings page in the manual & your away,i use a sigma 70-300 apo lens & it does bare sharper images than the standard nikon equivlant,it’s huge value for money too at €250(~£160?),i got my D80 body off ebay from one of the hong kong sellers(really good value),plus they gurantee no tax from the UK.

After all, one can think of photography as painting with light.

Indeed one can, although I wrongly assumed you were shooting aviation with the 2x converter. My bad, thanks for explaining. 🙂

Paul

Where on Earth were you shooting to need a 2x coverter on the 50-500? I’m intrigued! 🙂

Paul

For shooting wildlife, also sometimes pair it up with a 1.4x converter on the Bigma. Took a picture of the moon with this combination but at some angles of elevation on a tripod, even a sturdy Manfrot’, the assembly can be unbalanced with a lightweight camera, even is a bit this way with the Dynax7D which is fitted with a vertical grip (as is the Dynax7).

This tool opens up creative opportunities.

A converter is also useful for obtaining a different perspective with landscape photography although atmospheric moisture is accentuated, particularly as the sun come round toward the front of the camera. Although with some subjects the effect can add atmosphere to a picture. Indeed the picture of the parade of sail on my web site was shot with this in mind. The ships in the picture were down near Southampton Water and I was stood at Gillkicker Point, near Gosport. I had this very effect in mind when I added the 2x (although I omitted that detail in the caption) converter. This picture printed out at various sizes is hanging in a number of houses some look quite different whith some filters applied in PS.

After all, one can think of photography as painting with light.

The Sigma 50-500mm EX when used with a 2x EX converter can be awkward by forcing manual focus, dont plan on this for the long shot of a fast moving target even on film.

Where on Earth were you shooting to need a 2x coverter on the 50-500? I’m intrigued! 🙂

Paul

If you already have Canon gear, your lenses may be of some use but if they’re old and/or cheap, a DSLR body will really show up their flaws – so don’t let them affect your decision too much.

Good advice in general.

However recent third party lenses EX from Sigma and the Tamron range of full 35mm frame coverage have few issues. Consider that the smaller frame size of most CCDs (or CMOS) sensors will use the central area of the lens where there are fewer aberation issues.

Certainly my experience with EX lenses on a Konica/Minolta Dynax 7D and Sony Alpha has thrown up no problems. The Sigma 50-500mm EX when used with a 2x EX converter can be awkward by forcing manual focus, dont plan on this for the long shot of a fast moving target even on film.

There are some very useful Minolta glass examples out there second hand. A recent f8 500mm Reflex purchase is proving useful.

With the Sony one has no need of IS lenses by virtue of the built in camera AS which seems to work OK with all lenses in my collection, which all move between the Dynax7, Dynax7D and Sony Alpha without problems.

Still take out my SRT101s and X700s from time to time to keep them in shape.

I shoot an aged Canon 10D, my wife shoots a Nikon D50……..don’t make me go there! I won’t say which one is better!

You really do need to get hands on. Feel how they feel in your hands. See where the controls are located. Whichever one is more similar to your old SLR may be the better choice as to reduce the time it takes to get comfortable with it. I prefer the feel of my old 10D to the newer grips and controls of the new Rebel line, though at 10 mpxl to my 6……I may have to bite that bullet.

Damien… I wish I’d have seen your post before I sent mine as we’re saying almost exactly the same thing! 🙂

Paul

This will bring the hardened Canonites and Nikonians out of the woodwork!

The simple answer for me is whichever feels right to you! They’re both superb cameras and both have a very wide range of lenses available. I shoot Canon (having the 30D, 350D and three other Canon cameras!) But I’ve spent some time with Nikon gear as well (mostly the stupidly awesome D2x).

There are many people who use either one or the other and derive great pleasure from throwing insults at what they consider to be the ‘rival’ company. This behaviour is similar to that displayed by mindless football thugs with no real interest in football. It’s the same thing, so if anyone does say either ‘don’t touch Canon’ or ‘don’t touch Nikon’, ignore them! They both make superb gear.

I think the best thing to do would possibly be to visit your local camera shop, try the two bodies out and see which feels better to you personally. If your old film SLR is Canon you might find the 30D feels more familliar and comfortable. Then again the D80 might sit better in your hand. There’s no real technical reason I can give to go for one over the other, except possibly the fact Canon’s are generally considered less noisy but I really don’t think that would sway me if I were starting out in the DSLR world again. Just try them both and see which feels best in your hand. 🙂

Hope that’s of some use, and feel free to PM me if I can help anymore.

Best of luck with your choice!

Paul