From Canon to Nikon – The Switch

Over the last month I’ve switched everything over from Canon to Nikon and I’ve had multiple photographers asking if I am going to post my reasoning, so in a blog post aimed strictly for the photographer folk out there, read on to find out why I turned to the dark side.

Now in no way whatsoever do I believe that switching to Nikon is going to magically make me a better photographer, it’s not, though I wish it could, and in no way do I think Canon sucks, cause they don’t, so why switch?

Well to clarify, I’m going to be comparing everything against the Canon 5D mII, because in the entire Canon lineup it’s the only camera body that I have any interest in. The reasoning behind that is that the 1D mIV is a cropped body, and I will never buy another cropped body, and the 1Ds mIII is four year old technology, and I am not spending that kind of dough on technology that old, that’s just crazy talk. Now, this is where some people are likely saying in their head, “But what about the 5D mIII?”. Well, that camera is still currently fictional, and I needed new cameras now. Also, I know Canon wins in the video department, but I’m a photographer, I shoot stills, so again I’m not taking that into consideration, and if you even mention mega pixels we are no longer friends, they don’t matter. So let us begin:

Reason #1 – Weather sealing
On the rare occasion that the weather gods are out to get me (which isn’t often, I’m super lucky that way), being able to shoot in drizzle or even light rain without having to wrap my entire camera body in some sort of plastic bag making it nearly impossible to use is a huge bonus. Now I know Canon offers weather sealing in the 1D mIV, but as I’ve already stated, cropped body, and Nikon offers very good weather sealing in all bodies from the D700 and up. Nikon wins.

Reason #2 – Focusing (especially in low light)
This is an argument that Canon shooters shouldn’t even get into, because everyone who shoots a Canon knows that once the lights dim down all hell is breaking loose. The Canon 5d mII has 9 rather spaced out focus points with the outer focus points being rather small (and in my experience really unreliable), Where as the Nikon D700 (its direct competitor) has 51 focus points that are all fairly large and super accurate even in low light (again just my experience so far). Nikon wins.

Reason #3 – High ISO
Yes, the Canon 5d mII has some good high ISO, but Nikon’s is again better, and if you compare anything Canon against a Nikon D3s, it’s not even a competition. Nikon nailed it with that camera, hands down. If you haven’t seen it, you need to shoot a couple of quick files with one at your local camera store and take the files home to your computer. It’ll blow your mind into pieces. Nikon wins.

Reason #4 – Lens quality
I know, I know, Canon makes some super nice glass. My Canon 70-200 f/2.8L USM was amazing, and easily my all time favorite lens for years, but even so the Nikkor AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 ED VR II that I replaced it with is sooooooooooooooo unbelievable. I don’t think it’s possible to make a sharper lens, I’d even put it up against any prime from either company, its just flat out crazy. Now this wasn’t an actual reason for the switch, but I’ve yet to put a piece of Nikon glass on my cameras and not been impressed. Nikon (barely) wins.

And there you have it, my main three reasons for the switch along with a fortunate find afterwards. For those of you wondering what I now have in my bag, the original plan was to have a D3s and a D700, but with the current situation in Japan, stock on either body is extremely hard to come by, but I managed to get my hands on two D700′s with grips so I jumped on them, then added the Nikkor AF-S 24-70 f/2.8G, the Nikkor AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 ED VR II, and the Nikkor AF-S 60mm f/2.8G Micro.

So that’s it, that’s all, and I’m not saying anyone should make the switch, but for my needs, Nikon just makes sense right now, and I hope it makes sense for a good long time, cause this switching business is pricey. If anyone has anything to add or a suggestion on a piece of glass I should try, sound off in the comments. Nate out.

P.S. – For those asking, the shot of the camera was lit with a single 12×36 stripbox with grid, and I used a black t-shirt taped to the wall for a backdrop because I am just that fancy.