Nikon, Sony, canon etc etc etc

[tom00_uk]

There are a few well known makers of dslrs out there, most magazines seem to feature shots from canon and Nikon.

Is this because they are “better”?
Or
Are they just more popular and so much more likly to get a mention?

Looking at the deals Sony seem to start cheap and with £50-£100 in cash back deals makes them very cheap,

but what manufacture has the better range of lenses on offer and which also has decent lenses available at a sensible price?

I’m only just making the switch from compacts having owned/used most of the main brands out there

The body its self will not be top end since im going to be learning how to use it first before going gun-ho for the more expensive feature rich bodies. Its a stepping stone whilst i learn and work out what way I’m going to take my snapping, since up till now its been mainly landscape type pictures and not that often animal/people as the main focal point.

[Ukwildlifeo]

This is one of those ask 50 people get 50 diffferent answers questions!

Canon and Nikon dominate magazines because they have more users. They also advertise alot more than the others and pay most the bills for magazines so some magazines you have to take the reviews for these brands with a pinch of salt.

As for lense range Canon I believe is regarded to have the largest selection with Nikon close behind. Some of these lenses have image stabilisation and some don't. A lot of the old canaon lenses won't fit the modern bodies and some Nikon lens won't fit some of the cheaper Nikon bodies.

Sony lenses have a decent range thanks to the fact they cant firt some of the old minolta lenses (they bought out Minolta + have their mount)

Olympus/Panasonic have the 4-3rds mount which I believe has few lenses than the others (I may be wrong) BUT has the advantage of a 2x crop factor so a 300mm lens turns into a 600mm lens (which with the exception of the full frame cameras on the other mounts it would be 450mm)

Pentax (+ Samsung K mounts) have a decent range of lenses, if a bit limited at the long end.

But one thing to bare in mind is all the above mounts have Sigma and Tamron Lenses that can be used

In the end unless your buying a top spec camera there isn't much to choose between the brands which all have there minor advantages and disadvantages. The best bet is to go to a decent camera shop (Not the major one beginning with J!) with the major brands and try holding some cameras and see what feels best. Personally I tried holding a couple of canons and didnt like them but held my friends Pentax K10D and it felt solid and just fit into my hand perfectly, so I went a bought the identical but higher speced K20d and havent looked back. So go pick a brand that suits you best

PS as for the cashback most brands seem to have one running most the time so check to see if the others are. I pretty sure Pentax have one but I havent looked at the others

[RichBrew]

Originally Posted by Ukwildlifeo

A lot of the old canaon lenses won't fit the modern bodies and some Nikon lens won't fit some of the cheaper Nikon bodies.

Not quite accurate. Although Canon have changed their lens mount several times in the past, Nikon still use the F Mount, which appeared in 1959. So, all Nikkors will fit modern cameras, but with some models you will lose metering functions, and in some cases, autofocus - depending on the camera model.

RichBrew

[willing to learn]

The 7D (canon) seems to be be the camera of the "moment", till Nikon bring out their latest all "singing and dancin latest model". I went down the Canon route and never regretted it. Thes best quality images in the Gallery seem to be taken with Nikon or Canon set ups. Though there is some really good work from bridge camera's, and when looking through the Gallery its always worth a check to see what equipment has been used.
Regards
Colin

[wizzo]

Well Tom, I agree with the other replies above. You are right to not jump straight in at the high end too. There's nothing like using equipement, that's far too complicted, for putting you off a hobby. I think, if you stick with the main four, i:e Nikon, Canon, Pentax and Sony, it's generally easier to pick up lenses, flashguns and accessories from independents such as Sigma. Also the second hand market is also a good source for these makes. I would say though, that Canon and Nikon make cameras of superior build quality imo, with Nikon, for me, being better than Canon. Pentax too have always made good cameras, although I don't know how they stand in the DSLR market. I would also say that Nikon are generally regarded as being better specified that Canon. Personally, having owned Canon and Nikon, I like both. Obviously, I've not mentioned Leica cameras, but that's a different ballgame altogether! Have fun choosing mate, and don't rush in lol - Wizzo

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by RichBrew

Not quite accurate. Although Canon have changed their lens mount several times in the past, Nikon still use the F Mount, which appeared in 1959. So, all Nikkors will fit modern cameras, but with some models you will lose metering functions, and in some cases, autofocus - depending on the camera model.

RichBrew

Good point 'not fit' wasn't exactly accurate - I meant what you said about f mount but worded it badly! (Horizontal Dave actually explained it to me only a couple of days ago! lol)

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by RichBrew

Not quite accurate. Although Canon have changed their lens mount several times in the past, Nikon still use the F Mount, which appeared in 1959. So, all Nikkors will fit modern cameras, but with some models you will lose metering functions, and in some cases, autofocus - depending on the camera model.

RichBrew

as far as i'm aware canon have only changed their lense mount once in recent times - from the FD system to the EOS/EF system in 1987

more recently they have made some digital only lenses which won't fit on full frame cameras but all the EF system glass will fit on all the digital models and you can get fd to EF adaptors should you want to use the older system - tho i cant think why you would.

One point to look out for with older lenses tho is that some older EF fit sigmas won't work with Canon DSLR without being rechipped which can be expensive if you havent owned the lens from new (this is particularly true of the older 400mm f5.6 lenses which you often see for sale second hand for peanuts)

[wrogers]

Originally Posted by tom00_uk

There are a few well known makers of dslrs out there, most magazines seem to feature shots from canon and Nikon.

Is this because they are “better”?
Or
Are they just more popular and so much more likly to get a mention?

Looking at the deals Sony seem to start cheap and with £50-£100 in cash back deals makes them very cheap,

but what manufacture has the better range of lenses on offer and which also has decent lenses available at a sensible price?

the others have explained the ins and outs of the lens mounts, so I will focus on the rest...

Canon and Nikon are most popular because they have a longer history of DSLR's and so there are more accessories and lenses for them, and so later upgrades are easier. and in theory they should have better cameras etc.

Sony are good, the A900 is popular with landscape photographers but the smaller cameras are good as well. but the Sony lenses can be more expensive and there are less of them.

Nikon is popular because they have a good reputation and their whole range is good (however some are still better than others) they also have a good supply of extras like lenses.

Canon are popular because again a long history and good reputation, but also have lots of stuff for as your outgrow your first camera.

Pentax are popular because of price and have good features for the price I.E. the K20D has weather sealing and anti-shake. not many current lenses but older k-mounts will fit

Olympus are popular because of size, and price, but not many lenses etc. and it has no older lenses as it is a new mount.

overall people prefer Canon and Nikon based on reputation of recent cameras, long list of equipment and upgrades and mostly because they appear more in magazines. however they appear more in magazines because they are more popular, so it is a never ending cycle!!!

as for better lenses, they all have good lenses, but canon and nikon have a higher number of 'Good' lenses, however most are of course more expensive.

however Sigma make lenses for all mounts and the 10-20mm EX is very popular for landscapes, as is the 18-50 F/2.8 EX.

overall if you do follow the sheep and go for canon/nikon, you wont be disappointed. just remember the lens provides sharp pictures, not the sensor in the camera!

I hope this helps

Will

[Geoff F]

Put it this way, how many pro photographers use something other than Canon or Nikon? There are a few who like the challenge of using basic point and shoot cameras, but not many.

Brands like Olympus etc have their followers which produce good work but because lenses are expensive I would advise thinking well ahead. But I do have a friend who prefers his auto Sony to his Nikon.

If you want to learn everything about photography I would recommend starting with a decent sized 'real dslr camera' instead of a 'learner' camera. If finance is tight, and I would be thinking of around £1500 here, then get a secondhand model. It may have fewer pixels and a slower frames burst rate, but that doesn't really matter too much unless you are working in the pro department.

Possibly something like a secondhand Canon 20D or 30D would be ideal and still be keepable as a second body when you upgrade. I still use my Canon 10D for 'rough work' where I don't want to risk my 40D.

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by wrogers

Olympus are popular because of size, and price, but not many lenses etc. and it has no older lenses as it is a new mount.

Although there are not many lenses, they _all_ work on _all_ bodies, covering the range from 7mm to 300mm (35mm FOV equivalent to 14-600mm). They also all work with the Olympus teleconverters giving complete coupling of focus and exposure and taking the range up to 1200mm. The range is considered to lack primes (3 IIRC), but the performance of the quality zooms exceed that of many other-make primes. As image stabilisation is built into many of the bodies, you get it on all lenses.

What more do you want?
;^)

Jim