Canon Vs. Nikon

[jrcrackers 0]

I'm starting to shop around for a digital cameras. I looked at the Nikons and can't figure out why anyone would buy one. more money for less picture quality. The only thing that stand out is you can fire off alot of shots very fast and sustained.So far it seems that the digital rebel is the best bang for the buck. I'd like the 20D but that it bit more $ than I can justify.
everyone here uses canon, so I was just wondering why some use Nikon.

[diablopilot 2]

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so I was just wondering why some use Nikon.

Probably because the already have alot of Nikon, or Nikor lenses.

The Digital Rebel is ok, but I have seen some full of problems, and causing users trouble.

My 10D has bee 100% a joy to use and issue free, and I expect the 20D to be similar. The Digital Rebel uses the same guts as the other two, so being that it's 1/2 the price or less, they must have cut the fat somewhere.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Deuce 1]

I was a Nikon guy before skydiving got me. I like the metering and autofocus better on my Nikon N90s. THey have to be modified in a way that voids the warranty to use a tongue switch.

I went Canon with the 10D, and in the next year will probably upgrade to the 20D.

I also think Nikon lenses are better, subjectively. But I'm shooting more Sigma now, so the lens thing is not as big a deal.

[jrcrackers 0]

That a good reason. I was thinking that some people thought the speed was a good trade off.
As for your 10D, several people here have them with zero issues. I have already seen several problems with the rebel. however they are easily fixed. I'm going back and forth between the 20D and rebel. Being that our season is short, it's a bit hard to go the extra mile. I have a feeling that I will suck it up and get the 20D though/ I'm still convincing myself.

[diablopilot 2]

[starsky voice] DO IT! [/starsky voice]

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[tonyhays 86]

I second that...it's an incredible camera.

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

[videointhesky 0]

Get the 20D you won't regret it!!
I have a 10D & 20D

My Problems have been

10D
The CF card was not pushed in all the way so I got the error 99

20D
I went to wake the camera up with by taking a shot before climb out and I got nothing, when I got on the ground the display screen was blank, I thought had a dead battery but I thought I would unlock & unseat the lens, I have had the same problem with my 35mm Minolta, after I relocked the lens I had battery power in the display and I was ready to go.

[jrcrackers 0]

Sounds good, I'm still himin and hawin over the price. But that won't last.

I saw your embroidered logo @ Valinda's the other day. It looks really good. Just like your avitar

[videointhesky 0]

If you can afford it I would get the 20D body not the 20D kit with the 18mm-55mm plastic lens, save the $100 and put it towards a canon ef 20mm lens or the sigma 15mm fisheye lens.

I like my 20D so much I may have to sell the 10D
and get another 20D for the ground shots

just my thoughts

Hey

Thanks for the info about my logo@Valinda's
She does do excellent work

I need to make time so I can get over the Hill and have a look see for my self

[murrays 0]

The dpreview.com writeup is very positive towards the D70.

Thought you might find it helpful.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[dragon2 0]

Less picture quality?? Says who?? Norman Kent, Gustavo Cabana, Henny Wiggers all shoot Nikons.

The light metering system on Nikons is better than on Canons.
The lenses, personally I think they are comparable as long as you're using fixed lenses of either Nikkor or Cannon. Sigma's etc of course can be used but are less compatible and may cause problems later on.

If you don't already have expensive lenses of one brand or the other, the best reason to buy a Canon (NOT the digi rebel/300D) is that you get a great camera with a remote option already built in. (The digi rebel in my book is anything but a great camera.) But even so, my D70 is one heck of a great camera for a lot less money than the 10D was at the time. Henny's old D100 makes awesome shots too. The new Nikon D2X will be a great skydiving camera too.

Also, Canon and Nikon are not the only options. Wendy Smith uses a Sigma digital camera, also, great pics really. Don't know about the other digi cams (Pentax).

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[jrcrackers 0]

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Less picture quality?? Says who?? Norman Kent, Gustavo Cabana, Henny Wiggers all shoot Nikons.

I was comparing megapixel to price, thats all. but that why I was asking cause I see these guys using Nikon and wonder why.

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the best reason to buy a Canon (NOT the digi rebel/300D) is that you get a great camera with a remote option already built in.

Do you have to modify the Nikon?

[Deuce 1]

Yeah, you have to modify the Nikon in a way that will void the warranty.

Mike McGowan also jumps Nikon.

And I am his butt-boy.

[dragon2 0]

More megapixels does NOT automatically mean a better picture!

Henny's and Norman's camera's are 14 MP, personnally I don't really appreciate that for most pictures, because my laptop has trouble dealing with a lot of pictures that size But of course for the occasional great picture

Gustavo's camera is 'only' 3 MP. But if it's a 'good' 3 MP, you can sell front page images for sure. And I know, I work for our skydiving magazine....

A 3 MP digital reflex camera is not comparable to a 3 MP (or much bigger) regular digital camera! Anything from 3 MP up (the Canon D30 was a decent camera too ya know) will do, although the 6 MP I have now are great.

Anyway, don't just look at the amount of pixels, that's what I wanted to say


The Nikon D70 can be modified 2 ways, the nicest way (I think) will void the warranty for sure. But you can also tinker with the infrared remote.

Other Nikons have the remote build in, or in the optional vertical grip in the case of the D100 (not so good).

Nikon does distinguish between reporter camera's and studio camera's, the studio camera's having more MP but the reporter cameras having way more fps. Gustavo has one of the reporter camera's.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[genoyamamoto 0]

I got a canon 10D when it first came out because it was the only digital SLR in the market that I could afford. I would still buy it now because I have always been heavily invested in Canon EOS lenses and the cost of switching isn't worth it for me.

Having said that, however, if I were to start from scratch and want to get a skyding setup, I would seriously consider the Nikon D70 for these features which I wish canon had in their pro-sumer lines:

1) Shutter speed 1/8000 max.
2) Full curtain sync (external flash) 1/500th second
3) Continuous shooting at 3fps, buffer 12jpg's of full quality. They were smart in that they buffer the final image and not the raw stuff so if you save smaller jpg's, you can buffer more pics.

The pro lenses from both manufacturers are very good and comparable optically. I think you cannot beat canon's ring-usm focusing drive.

Bottom line: I think the D70 is superior to the digital rebel and in some cases better than the canon 10D.

Gotta go... plaything needs to spank me
Feel the hate...
Photos here

[jrcrackers 0]

Ah ha, finally a pro Nikon. I would be very reluctant to go that route after finding out you have to void the warranty to make it accept a remote switch. The alternative would be learn to shoot manually with my hand. I've seen it done but I don't think my flying skills are all that. I'll leave that to those that can.

[ChangoLanzao 0]

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Yeah, you have to modify the Nikon in a way that will void the warranty.

Mike McGowan also jumps Nikon.

And I am his butt-boy.

No need to modify the Nikon. I got an IR remote for my D70 and carefully peeled back the membrane switch on the remote and scotch-taped a pair of wires in. The other end of the wires have a 2-pin male micro connector. The corresponding female piece goes to the tongue switch that I made from a SPST Mini Momentary Pushbutton Switch.

To use the setup, I just strap the IR remote, which is only 2" long to the lens (Velcro is our friend!)with the IR LED pointing back at the IR detector on the camera body and connect the wires.

I've been using this rig for a couple of months without any problems. My only complaint is that the D70 doesn't let you use the IR remote in continuous mode, so I'm limited to about one shot every couple of seconds.

Here's some stills I've taken with my D70:

Clicky!
and
Clicky!!

[jrcrackers 0]

Wow, that's quite a lens. What is it?

[ChangoLanzao 0]

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Wow, that's quite a lens. What is it?

AF Nikkor 10.5 mm fisheye ... I love it

The standard AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm Zoom that comes with the D70 package is also a very nice lense

Clicky

[ffejdraga 0]

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Ah ha, finally a pro Nikon. I would be very reluctant to go that route after finding out you have to void the warranty to make it accept a remote switch.

I'll chime in here, being anothe on the Nikon side of the world.

I have a D70, and I do have it modified. Yep my warranty is void, but most things that are likely to happen to a camera as a result of taking it in freefall are anot covered by the warranty anyway.

It takes sweet pics, and there is *basically* no limit to how many pics you can get in freefall. It fires as rapidly as i ever need it to, and once you are off the switch, the buffer refreshes really quick. I shoot it with a conceptus tongue switch, and i havent missed a shot yet. That camera is great, I truly love it.

jeff D-16906

[mcGowan 0]

well i used to shoot nikon but the 20 d was just to much camera in such a light package. so now i am shooting canon and so far very glad i made the switch. why? lighter, fast and accurate focusing, great buffer and write speed but most of all, everything equal the canon produces a better image (very low noise)

truth is though it isn't really the camera brand that is most important. it is the passion you have for creating the image that makes the real difference.

"what kind of piano do i need to buy to play like Mozart"

[BioJumper 0]

The Canon-Nikon debate is about as old as the companies themselves, is long, sorted, and feuled by people who have thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars invested in either system (which tends to make people suprisingly opinionated.) The truth is quality wise both make beautiful cameras that are in reality both nearly as capable in quality. I personally shoot Nikon equipment on the ground, I could go on as to why, but it's really a subjective opinion, and not relevant here. I have a Canon D60 for in the air. Why? Despite the fact that I have a lot of Nikon glass around the canon is lighter, has a faster frame rate, larger/better buffer and has a hard electric release. I'm not enthralled with it's ease of use, features, Autofocus or metering, nor have the 10D or 20D really impressed me much in these areas, but I see them of little importance for this application. In the end you have to make a decision on what tool will best fit the job you are after, I think it's the Canon line despite my love of Nikons. People here have give very good advice as well, and McGowan is absolutely right, the camera's only job is to allow the user to do his job.

-Chris

[mcGowan 0]

any of you canon 20d shooters had trouble with the err99 issue?

[AndyMan 7]

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any of you canon 20d shooters had trouble with the err99 issue?Frown

The usual Canon err99 is an older Sigma (or other 3rd party) lens with an incompatible chipset. Sigma is reportedly willing to 'rechip' the lens in this case.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[brenthutch 384]

I just got a 20D and have had no troubles with the 15mm sigma that I bought last year. BTW the 20D is wicked fast and has a huge buffer. It has a faster flash synch than the D10 and turns on instantly, (no more waiting for the camera to boot up).