Brand choice question.....

dinners

dinners

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Phil
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Simple question really.......

I've owned various cars over the years and therefore have a preference based on experience.

I've supported my football team since 1976 yet would never change my allegiance.

Photographers seem to fall into both of the above mind sets.

Do you still shoot with a particular brand because you've simply upgraded / invested since that first (go and see what feels right) advice given to you as a novice - or are you using a particular brand because you've made a choice based on a wide range of experience with different brands ?

It's not a 'leading' question - I was just keen to know how many die hards got to where they are now through tough choices rather than just obvious progression.
 
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I used Olympus and Nikon film cameras many years ago, but bought a Canon 300d when I got into digital and have stayed with them ever since as I have several Canon lenses - the cost of changing to another brand would be prohibitive, and I have never really been tempted anyway - I believe that Nikon might suit some of my photography better (low light) but have never used one, though do not feel any brand loyalty towards Canon as a company, nor would I ever slag off any other make. If I was looking to buy a new lens I would want one that suited me best, be it a Canon, Sigma or whatever.
 
I started with Olympus film cameras then moved to Olympus digital, so I suppose I am loyal to the brand.

However I also have a load of old film cameras from various makes (no loyalty there :lol: ) and have been thinking about getting D700 to make use of the older Nikon fast glass I seem to have collected :D
 
My first manual SLR was a Ricoh KR-10 (Pentax fit lenses). It offered the best functionality at a price I could afford when I was a student.

My first autofocus SLR was a Minolta. At that time Minolta and Canon had a clear technologiocal lead over the other makes in the AF stakes, but I thought Canons were baffling and illogical compared to the Minolta.

When I wanted to buy my first DSLR, the clear choice was between Canon and Nikon. I tried them out in a shop, and (to my surprise) I thought the Canon model was easy and intuitive, and the equivalent Nikon was baffling and illogical. So I bought the Canon.

(I've subsequently met people who used exactly the same process with exactly the same cameras and reached the opposite conclusion, so I guess it's quite a personal thing.)

But now I have a certain amount of money invested in the Canon system, switching would be expensive. If I were a pro that expense might be justifiable if a different system offered some compelling features. And back in the 90s and 00s, new features such as autofocus and digital sensors were compelling. But for someone like me it's getting harder and harder to see new tech that will make a real difference to me. Plus of course all Nikon cameras share the same DNA, so (to my mind at least) they're still baffling and illogical.
 
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1st camera was an old box camera!
1st SLR was a Zenith and later went to Pentax and Olympus.
When I wanted a reasonably good camera I turned to Nikon, had various low grade models until getting an eBay bargain D1X which was an unused end-of-line from a closed camera shop.
Served me well until I got the D3 and just this week a D70 as a 'carry-all and chuck about' for everyday use in the motor.
As above, the lenses dictate the camera now, unless I did a complete swap of brand and that would involve too much ££ loss to make it sensible IMO.
 
I only chose Nikon as that what I could afford at the time plus there was a good deal going on at the time (body + lens)...

After having a Nikon I got used to the set-up/controls so kept with them -

<takes a long breath & goes for it....>

I started with a D40 (which I still/kept owned till recently altho a family member was using it) as I then got a D60 - sold that to get the D80 sold that to get the D90, that then went to get the D300s - then yep sold that in order to go FF with a D700 as I then had "pro" glass & felt that a "crop'd" Nikon wasn't giving justice to the glass I aquired over the last year.......

In short I stayed with Nikon as I wouldn't have a clue with the set-up of a Canon nor do I understand their naming of bodies to whats a FF or cropped & the same goes with their lens's....

I've had different makes of car's thou over the years - finally settled with a Volvo @ the mo on the fact that its "bloody safe" with air bags, sips etc all round the car in every place possible :lol:

:thinking: Or is it that I'm getting old - Now alistener to Radio 4 (Archers & the other plays that are on between 2-3pm & sometimes at 11am) & also now a regular listener to Radio 2 (apart from Steve Wright - only listen to the golden oldies @ 3 then turn over to something else till 5pm for Simon - thats mainly for the confessions...:$)

:thinking: God I can go on can't I.... Did I actually reply to the OP asked??
 
My first SLR was a Canon T50 35mm, which I later upgraded to a T90 and over the years I collected a number of excellent lenses. When I decided to go digital, I had the dilemma whether to go Canon, Nikon or Pentax. After reading lots of reviews and articles on digital photography I realised I could still use some of my FD lenses using an FD-EOS converter, so went for Canon and so far not regretted one minute.
________
Vapir no2
 
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My first decent camera was an Olympus, but felt that the Canon 350D was better than the Olympus offerings when I made the switch to digital, upgrade once since then and can't see any reason to change brands, all are competent in the same way as cars are these days, just personal preferences.
 
You can't really compare football club support or car ownership to changing camera brands though, because of the cost of the change.

If for example every time you moved from Vauxhall to Ford, you had to replace your garage because the new car didn't fit, and you needed special shoes to drive it, so they all needed replacement then you might not keep changing car brands.

Personally, I've chosen Nikon because it's what my dad shoots (although my first camera was a Praktica) and now I've converted Mrs OutLore, and my sister also shoots Nikon. I say I don't like the way Canon feel in my hands and I don't understand the button layout etc - if my dad were to have shot Canon, no doubt I would be saying the same thing about Nikon!

The cost of changing just my kit over would make it impossible, let alone Mrs. OutLores, so unless you're a pro who can justify the cost of a system change because they need something the other brand does or you just have plenty of spare money - it's not going to happen that often I don't think.
 
My mate was first to get serious about photography, film then digital. His first DSLR was a Canon 300d when they were first released and felt very impressive to a person who only had a p&s but way out of my budget. I found a Nikon bridge camera that suited my needs and when the time came to upgrade after about 4 years it only felt natural to stay with Nikon and 2 years later I can safely say it was the right choice for me.
 
Bought my first SLR, a Canon, in December 1988. Can't remember why I bought Canon, perhaps because I had a Canon compact. I've had a number of SLR's and DSLR's since then and they've all been Canon. Never even crossed my mind to change to another brand.
 
My first SLR was a Nikon because of the ones that the guy in the shop recommended it seemed the nicest and had the clearest viewfinder.

When I went digital I switched to Canon because everyone said that they were the best but if I didn't have nine lenses and if I wasn't too tight to spend the changeover money my next camera would not be a Canon.

So, I suppose I have no brand loyalty and only the hassle and expenses of changing manufacturers stops me from doing so.
 
First SLR was a Canon T70 which got stolen by my lodger on his last day, from there went on to a Fuji digital MX-1700 1.3mp P&S and then a Canon IXUS 430 (4mp). Decided to get something better, asked advice on loads of forums and eventually ignored them all and bought a Pentax K10D from the USA nearly 3 years ago.

Recently sold it for what it cost me all those years ago and bought a K-7 for a very low price (mistake on Ebay) , used that for a few months until the K-5 was released when I sold it at a very good profit to buy the new model.

I did try out a 7D for a week which I thought was very good (especially the AF speed) but the image output didn't do anything for me at all.

The amount I have invested in Pentax would be enough (if I sold) to finance a very high end FF Canon/Nikon outfit with 3/4 quality lenses but to be honest I have no inkling to do so.

If I did sell I would more than cover my intital equipment costs as I have always bought at a price where, should I feel the need to change brands, I would actually make money on my Pentax gear.
 
First 35mm film camera was an Halina. It needed a separate exposure meter and rangefinder.

First film SLR was a Pentax KX and I've also owned Ricohs.

First digital camera is my current one - a Panasonic FZ28 as I did not want a lot of gear to carry around. It is an excellent camera but I can see its limitations and as I still have a few lenses with the original K mount I think I may look out for a used Pentax DSLR body and try them out.

Dave
 
Had a few cameras from allsorts of makes, and Olympus have aleways been the best for me, until DSLR time when I find the E system annoyingly lacking in a few departments, and have now got a Panasonic GH1 as main camera, though It's ecellent, some features need a bit of work to improve on and I'm thinking of getting an Oly as a 2nd camera for the situations the Panny can't hack.

I still use an Olympus in film
 
I bought a centon slr because I really wanted a minolta and it was the nearest thing! Then I got a minolta slr but it was a bit annoying. Got some better lenses for it and it was less annoying. I got a canon powershot digital but discovered that for all the name I got fewer features than if I'd gone for less well known brands. Switched to panasonic for digital as I got much better features for less money and loads better battery life. Got the panasonic bridge which kept me quite happy but got a second sony dslr to use with the lenses I already had. I'd probably only consider a switch to pentax as I think in body stabilisation is the way to go.

I think if you're on a budget you can get more bang for buck with sony/pentax. A friend has a 7d so it'll be interesting to see how much of a gap there is between the a580 and it.

Why hasn't anyone made an adaptor that would let you stick nikon lenses on a canon or vice versa??
 
Brand choice to me is simply one of convenience, same with cars. I've used Nikon for the past 7 or 8 years simply on the basis of the system I've invested in. For my compacts, I'm currently using a Panasonic, previously had a Fuji and originally an Olympus.
Much as I enjoy using cameras and stuff, they're not something I get passionate about in the same way I do a football team.
 
I started with Minolta film..upgraded to canon. Moved to Olympus digital. However after much research I opted for canon. Mainly due to the lenses. Friends had Nikon but for some reason it wasn't for me.
 
srichards said:
What's the catch then?! If it exists and the AF and everything else works fully then the canon/nikon argument is redundant....
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Only nikon on canon, no canon on nikon.

And there's no AF or auto aperture control.




I went with canon not that long ago for a couple reasons, one being I preferred the grip style/button layout, two canon make the MPE-65mm to which nikon has no equivalent, and I am very interested in getting this lens in the future. I have no loyalty to canon as a brand, all of the brands have innovations and advantages, but it happens that canon is the one that works for me.
 
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My first really good camera was a Olympus OM1n.
I went out to look at Nikon's but found them out of my pocket :D

In those days you had to go to a dealer on the high St.
My local dealer/Photographer used OM2s so hence the push towards Olys
I never regretted it,lovely little camera........

When going for a DSLR I actually went out to buy Canon as my bridge camera was a Canon,but I found the feel of the Nikon D80 seemed to fit my hand better.......Now got to many lenses to change, but I'm happy with my D300......................:D
 
my first digital camera was a HP Photosmart 3 megapixel jobbie (around 2002), with no manual controls, but i got some nice results. i then upgraded to a pentax optio 550, which was a great little camera for the time (2004).

i then purchased a canon powershot sx1 in 2008 - mainly for the really versatile lens. i thought it was a great camera.... until i used my mates canon eos 450d and fell in love with it.
 
I started out with a 2mp Canon compact which struck me a a beautifully engineered piece of kit. It was duely replaced with a 7mp Canon compact.

I then decided to buy a proper camera. Having had positive experiences with the two compacts (other than the fact that their shutter lag was measured in seconds) I decided to buy a real camera and went for a Canon EOS 450D. This, too, stuck me as being a beautifully engineered piece of kit. More importantly, it delivered the goods in the image quality department.

Since then, I've acquired a collection of Canon-fit lenses and accessories so when I decided to replace the 450D, I went for a 550D. I haven't decided what my next camera will be (it's a bit early for that) but it will definately be a Canon.
 
dinners said:
Do you still shoot with a particular brand because you've simply upgraded / invested since that first (go and see what feels right) advice given to you as a novice - or are you using a particular brand because you've made a choice based on a wide range of experience with different brands ?
Click to expand...

When I first wanted to get back into photography, I tried on my shortlist and picked the one that felt best. Since then, I've built up a decent selection of lenses etc (some of which I looked for for a year or more before they turned up locally 2nd hand) so sticking with the same system makes sense. I did think about changing to Canon when they first released a DSLR for under a grand but having tried it on, it just didn't feel righ, so I waited for the D70 to drop into my budget.
 
I ended up with canon because after a hiatus with just compacts and finally earning a wage, when I could afford a camera the only decently priced DSLR was the 300d. I had that until earlier this year when it got replaced with a 40d. As I have a few lenses and an expensive wife and child I am more than happy to remain with Canon. However when I win the lottery I will get top range canon and nikon and see which I prefer! ;)
 
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