 BetterPhoto Member |
camera choices Hi! I am about to purchase my first 'real' camera. I am looking for something that will allow me to take great shots to begin with, but that has good features I can grow into when I start to learn more. I am interested in scenic, nature, and people shots. I am looking at the Canon Elan 7/7E and the Nikon N80. I was told that it is similar to a Ford Vs. Cheyvy argument, that neither are better or worse just different and it depends on personal opinion. Can anyone give me a reason for choosing one way or the other? Thanks!
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Laljit S. Sidhu |
You are right it is primarily a personal choice. I own a Canon EOS 3 and hence, my opinion is probably biased. One real advantage that Canon has over Nikon, particularly for non-professionals like us, is that they release their new technology in their mid range equipment first; unlike Nikon where new technology first appears in their higher end equipment. Generally, I feel that Nikon caters to a professional crowd more so than Canon. We Canon users have the advantage of having access to top quality technolgy without having to necessarily by top end equipment. Anyway, this is just a biased view from a Canon user. Your mileage will probably vary and in reality you will probably be happy with either.
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John A. Lind |
From another angle . . . and I own neither Canon nor Nikon . . . Canon has historically not maintained backward compatibility with its lens mount. When the EOS AF system was introduced, NONE of the Canon FD manual focus lenses could be used with the AF bodies. OTOH, Nikon has maintained backward compatibility. You can mount manual focus AI and AIS lenses dating from the Nikon F2 era on their AF bodies. That said, you have to manually focus them, and they won't communicate much to the camera body, but they can still be used. Similarly, you can mount a current Nikon AF lens with manual focus ring on an older F2, FE/FE2, FM/FM2, F3, etc. body and use it as if it were an AIS lens . . . it won't auto-focus though. This may or may not be of value, but thought it worth mentioning. It boils down to what feels right in your hands and how much of a system you are intending to eventually build. With whatever choice you do make, there will undoubtedly be some tradeoff. Both have excellent bodies starting above the lowest priced ones. Both make excellent lenses, but they're also not the lowest priced ones in their lens lineups. I don't hold that high an opinion on any manufacturer's lowest priced lenses (includes Pentax, Minolta, etc.). They're made to satisfy the market segment that shops lowest possible lens price without considering much else, such as optical qualities and durability. -- John
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