Could Nikon be a better choice?

gman

gman

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Graham
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Always been with Canon really but now considering Nikon. I know this has been done to death but the more I look into this the more the 5D MkII worries me compared to the D700 or D3.

One article in particular here and quote:


No Nikon bodies (mostly D700s) failed in any way

.. compared to …

The largest group of failures through were among the Canon 5D MKIIs. Of the 26 samples of this camera onboard, one quarter (six) failed at one time or another, and while three recovered, the other three never did.

That's a bit scary.

I'm not interested in video to be honest (got a Ixus for that) and I'm not sure the large MP of the 5D Mk2 will be necessary, but the focusing system among other things of the D700 is really making me wonder if it's worth changing?

Any serious thoughts on this and is that article biassed?
 
it depend how heavily you invest on canon. I suppose the 5dII replacement will be improve but no announce from canon yet so is a waiting game.

The only complain i see on the 5DII is the low light focus but many just adapt the camera and they use it fine.

I use nikon system but i got to admit the D700 is a superb camera for pretty much everything except video/high mega pixel.
 
I've been contemplating switching to Nikon for wedding photography, mainly just because of getting annoyed missing shots from the AF struggling in low light (on a 5d mk I).

I am however interested into video, and the massive MP on the D800 doesn't really interest me.

Hopefully the 5D mk III AF and high ISO will be impressive and I'll pick one up when prices settle down.
 
I'm not sure, what with the D700 being £1,700 new and a decent D3 being had for £2,000 I'm really not sure if Canon (or I) can justify the cost for the 1 series. The 5D MkII gets a lot of praise on here but one thing that's bugging me is that I hardly ever see D700s being sold in the secondhand section but I see plenty of 5D MkIIs.

As for the 5D MkIII, I'm reluctant to even look at it because I feel the suspected improvements should have been in the MkII in the first place (in particular the focusing and perhaps the metering system) and not many years later with a suspected hefty price tag.

I'd be very interested to know if anyone has switched from a Canon 5D MkII to a D700 or D3 and been glad they've done so and why?
 
gman said:
I'd be very interested to know if anyone has switched from a Canon 5D MkII to a D700 or D3 and been glad they've done so and why?
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I switched from a MKIII and MKIV to Nikon, not owned a 5dii but have used one quite a lot, the Nikons are head and shoulders above Canon, they just work, no need for the massive amount of AF settings to adjust, stick on centre point, continious focus are fire away, i have a D3S and D700 working happily alongside each other and never getting any OOF shots.
 
gman said:
Always been with Canon really but now considering Nikon. I know this has been done to death but the more I look into this the more the 5D MkII worries me compared to the D700 or D3.

One article in particular here and quote:


No Nikon bodies (mostly D700s) failed in any way

.. compared to …

The largest group of failures through were among the Canon 5D MKIIs. Of the 26 samples of this camera onboard, one quarter (six) failed at one time or another, and while three recovered, the other three never did.

That's a bit scary.
Click to expand...



Are you planning any extended shooting trips to the Antarctic? If not then those figures are meaningless.....
 
Nikon's AF system in the D300/D700/D3 is IMHO as good as the Canon 1D MkIII and MkIV, possibly better in low light conditions.

More than just being as accurate, the big thing is that it does it with really minimal settings to tinker with and get wrong. Its really, really easy to setup and use - you truly won't believe how flexible yet simple it can be.

The 5D still has the same AF system as was seen in all of the 10D/20D/30D/40D etc etc which whilst isn't a complete failure, it never was the same as their flagship 1D product range.

Now its completely obvious that the 5D MkIII (or whatever it might be called - 5DX probably) will address this issue.

As for reliability, I'm sure your sample doesn't tell the real tale there.

You are right though, not many D700 owners ever want to give them up - bang for buck its one of the best value bits of kit you can buy.... and Nikon know it and have suffered because of it!
 
desantnik said:
You are right though, not many D700 owners ever want to give them up - bang for buck its one of the best value bits of kit you can buy.... and Nikon know it and have suffered because of it!
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D700 is a cracking bit of kit for sure, but also remember that the 5D2 probably sells vastly more then the D700, so that could help explain more being sold on the secondhand market.
 
ShrubMonkey said:
D700 is a cracking bit of kit for sure, but also remember that the 5D2 probably sells vastly more then the D700, so that could help explain more being sold on the secondhand market.
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interesting, what makes you think that?
 
Quick search on the Internet shows the same. One mid size European distributor shipped over 500 5D2s compared to 36 D700s
 
So that would make the D700 more exclusive? :naughty:
 
I'm currently in the process of selling all my Canon stuff and changing to Nikon. I love my Canon stuff and that's kind of why I'm changing. The 7D has a brilliant AF system but since getting my 5Dc I've come to appreciate a FF sensor. The biggest downside with the 5D for me was the AF system which was great when using the centre point but I was used to being able to choose any point and it act the same. In the end, after much thought, I decided to change, mostly because I prefer the feel and layout of the Nikons.

So far I've got a D300 and a 50mm F1.8 lens. The IQ isn't much different to the 7D but this is going to be my 2nd body to a D700 soon I hope, but the AF system is fantastic, every bit as good as the 7D but easier to figure out. There's loads of little differences as well which may or may not make any difference to you. Things like the Nikon spot meters on the selected AF point rather than the centre of the frame, and you can choose the size of the spot. The Nikon also has an intervalometer, a better auto ISO setup, 9 bracket exposure as opposed to Canon's 3.
 
Was just about settled on a secondhand D3 over a new D700 as secondhand doesn't bother me and I feel for an extra few hundred quite it offers more. But now I'm taking a little more interest in the D800! You can get a used D3 for £2K so perhaps it's worth spending an extra £400 for brand new technology with the D800?

My editing rig will cope comfortably with 36MP images so that side of things isn't a problem but will the D800 be as weather sealed as the D3? Will the battery life with a grip be as good as the D3? And will the D800 fps increase with a grip as it does with the D700? The dual cards is something of great interest.
 
Sorry, I was meaning the D3 original - not the X or S. The D800 is really starting to appeal now.
 
gman said:
will the D800 be as weather sealed as the D3? Will the battery life with a grip be as good as the D3? And will the D800 fps increase with a grip as it does with the D700?
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No, no and yes but only to 6fps and then only with £300+ worth of grip which will take it to the same price as a lightly used D3s. A D3 will shoot at 9fps...
 
Gary Coyle said:
I switched from a MKIII and MKIV to Nikon, not owned a 5dii but have used one quite a lot, the Nikons are head and shoulders above Canon, they just work, no need for the massive amount of AF settings to adjust, stick on centre point, continious focus are fire away, i have a D3S and D700 working happily alongside each other and never getting any OOF shots.
Click to expand...

Do that with a 5D and you will hit every shot too. The centre point is crossed where the outer points aren't. Hence the renowned AF misfocus occurs.

Which brings me to the question. Why switch over to Nikon if you are shooting with the centre point only? What AF settings to adjust are you talking about anyway? It is either spread or single. It's hardly a lot of choices are there? :thinking:
 
Raymond Lin said:
Do that with a 5D and you will hit every shot too. The centre point is crossed where the outer points aren't. Hence the renowned AF misfocus occurs.

Which brings me to the question. Why switch over to Nikon if you are shooting with the centre point only? What AF settings to adjust are you talking about anyway? It is either spread or single. It's hardly a lot of choices are there? :thinking:
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Of course that was meant just as a start to shooting, i also use different focus points if shooting a player in portrait mode, managers, players off centre frame etc, etc. if you actually take the time to read my post you will see i was comparing to a MKIII and MKIV, there is no comparisson with a 5dII as its rubbish, rubbish fps, dodgy af including the centre point under certain conditions, horribly slow tracking, useless tracking in low light, do i need to go on or should i just point you to google.

:nikon:
 
Given the fact that we all know the D700 has a better AF, me included. Fanboys aside.

Your post is really patronising.
 
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Gary Coyle said:
Given that you failed to read my original post correctly and yours was a tad arsey, it was meant to be. :thumbs:
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I am not sure if it makes it better or worse that you had a 1D and just "stick it on centre point, contineous shooting and fire away."

Or that you are criticising the 5D for an aspect of its design that it was not designed for. Sports. Fast pace sports at that. It is almost saying a Ferrari 430 is crap because it can't go off road.

If my post came across as arsey I apologise, it was not my intention. but thank you for confirmation of yours being patronising?

Also, please clarify these "massive amount of AF setting" you were on about. I am actually curious to know what you mean by that.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
I am not sure if it makes it better or worse that you had a 1D and just "stick it on centre point, contineous shooting and fire away."

Or that you are criticising the 5D for an aspect of its design that it was not designed for. Sports. Fast pace sports at that. It is almost saying a Ferrari 430 is crap because it can't go off road.

If my post came across as arsey I apologise, it was not my intention. but thank you for confirmation of yours being patronising?

Also, please clarify these "massive amount of AF setting" you were on about. I am actually curious to know what you mean by that.
Click to expand...

Ray, You seriously need to go back and read my original post again, nowhere did i say and i quote you,
that you had a 1D and just "stick it on centre point, contineous shooting and fire away.
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please read the post thoroughly

there are quite literally thousands of different AF combinations on the 1DMKIV, again im referring to the MKIV and not the 5DII which has 2 possible combinations, "AF" or "Wont AF"

I should apologise for being patronising though, i can be a tit at times.
 
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When I said 1D, I didn't mean the one that came out in the 90's. I meant the mk3 and 4 that you had.
 
I'm lost...
 
Raymond Lin said:
When I said 1D, I didn't mean the one that came out in the 90's. I meant the mk3 and 4 that you had.
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I know what you meant and if you READ THE POST i never said anything about sticking any Canon model on centre point and just shooting, im done trying to explain it to you as you wont read the post correctly, i said thats all you need to do to Nikons to get them working correctly NOT CANON
 
There's only one way to find out. Try both systems under the same conditions and see which takes the better pictures.
 
srichards said:
There's only one way to find out. Try both systems under the same conditions and see which takes the better pictures.
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Youre right and also depends wht you use it for, if i were primaraly a wedding/landscape shooter i would probably have gone with a 5dmkii :thumbs:
 
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