I should probably introduce myself first before opening pandora's box. My
name is Michel Fortier and I've recently switched to Nikon pro gear from
Canon. I'm a staff photographer at the Naples Daily News in Florida. Now
before you chalk one up for Nikon, I was forced to switch to Canon and never
would have done so on my own. I've joined the list to learn more of the
intricate details and how to get the most out of my Nikon gear. I'm using an
F5, F100, 80-200S, 1.4x, 20-35, 24, 60 macro, and SB-26's. Although we don't
have it yet, arrangements are being made to purchase long "S" glass as well.
Having been a Canon shooter for around 17 years, this is a HUGE change for me
and one I'm not necessarily happy with, mostly because I feel Nikon is simply
playing catch up.
They had given me several F4's to shoot with which I found completely
inadequate in many ways especially coming from EOS 1n's with nothing BUT
ultrasonic lenses. I didn't use them unless I had to and instead used my
uninsured Canon stuff. A Nikon rep was brought in and with him an F5, F100,
and the 80-200S. We were allowed to play with them for around a week and
while I liked the way the cameras handled better than the F4's, IMHO they
still weren't as "functional" as the EOS stuff. I had a chance to grill the
Nikon rep too. One important thing for me is the full time manual focus
afforded by the ultrasonic motors in the Canon lenses. I asked if Nikon was
planning to update other lenses with the silent wave motor and he saind no,
probably not as the only reason to have one is to push a large piece of glass.
This troubled me to say the least. While using the gear, there were many
things that I felt Nikon had done JUST to be different from the way Canon's
operated. Instead of choosing to do things in a more simple way that may
emmulate Canon, they've stuck to tradition. Case in point, two rewind
buttons instead of one. No custom function to leave the leader out. I
personally think if Nikon doesn't do something quickly, they'll be relegated
to second place indefinitely.
With that said, I really am here to learn about the Nikon system and how to
take advantage of it's features. After all, I'll be using them to make my
living and my results will be judged by my peers and my boss :-) I wanted to
state that although the Nikon F5 and F100 are certainly competent cameras,
Nikon still has a ways to go. Sure the 8fps autofocus is impressive but not
much else is. The new EOS 3 matches the Nikon in autofocus rate using regular
batteries, has a real off camera remote flash system, a larger autofocus area,
is more ergonomic, and costs less than the F100 to boot. I do enjoy using the
F5 and the 80-200 is great if not a little too large. Why dump Nikon?
Because you'll have to wait ten years before they've really begun to catch up
to the range of lenses in AFS that Canon offers TODAY. Imagine where Canon
will be 10 years from now. Everything from my 17-35, to my 50, to my 400 were
ultrasonic. Everything. It's a big advantage especially for
photojournalists. Canon offers a 24/1.4, 28.1.8, 85/1.2, 135/2, 200/1.8,
etc...all with ultrasonic lenses. Even their lower cost lenses feature the
ultrasonic motors. Not to mention image stabilization and other various
features that actually benefit the photographer and don't just cling to
tradition. As I'll be shooting Nikon for the foreseeable future, I sincerely
hope they get serious about creating a camera for today's photographer, not
yesterdays.
Michel
> Nikon appeared to be
> stuck in the mud, offering a very expensive F5, but missing things
> such as silent wave motors in its smaller lenses, IC, multiple
> focusing points in the less expensive bodies and so on.
>
> Today it would appear that the folks at Nikon have finally woke up.
> Why dump your Nikon gear now when things begin to look promising,
> after suffering all of these years?
>>PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE "dump" all your poor low technology Nikon
equipment on me. I would be very happy to help you make space for those
nice new shiny AF-S lenses.
Besides, I don't care how it may look mounting those pre-AI, AI and AIS
lenses on my F5... just care that staying with Nikon allows me to do
that! (yeah, yeah, I converted my F5 to accept pre-AI's)
I really don't think that I nor my images have "suffered" the 25 years I
stuck with Nikon.
happy shooting :) Roland<<
