I’ve gotten a lot of questions lately over why I’ve been shooting Canon gear. And rightly so. During the course of the year, I personally come in to contact with thousands of photographers who have seen me shooting Nikon. But lately, I’ve been posting some Canon photos here on the blog (I always mention the gear and settings I use when I post an image). And many of you have nicely (well, mostly nice) asked what’s the deal? Why Canon? So I figured I owed you an answer.
Interesting Side Note
I used to shoot Canon. My first DSLR was a Canon 10D back in 2003. In fact, I never got rid of it. My kids use it actually, and I still have a few lenses. I wasn’t very heavily invested though, and when I started at Kelby Media back in 2004, I switched to Nikon because everyone shot Nikon. I’ve always told people to “use what your friends use”. Mac/PC, Nikon/Canon, etc… That way you have a built in support network. You can ask questions, share gear, batteries, lenses, battery chargers, whatever… So that’s exactly what I did. I invested in Nikon over the years because that’s what everyone I shot with used.
Back To The Back Story
Okay, back to the story. First off, as timing would have it, I sent Scott an email a couple of days ago because I knew he mentioned the topic of how he personally switched to Canon on one of our shows, and I wanted to see which show it was so I could point to it. He sent me back an email saying he was actually covering the same exact topic on his blog the next day (yesterday). So, when you get a chance, go watch the video and you’ll get an idea on how our relationship with Canon, started at KelbyOne and why Scott switched.
As Scott mentioned in the video, Canon wanted to sponsor Scott’s Photo Walk and Photoshop World last year. And since we were all mostly Nikon shooters in-house, they simply hoped that we would at least mention/show that Canon has equivalents to many things we talked about. Makes total sense. And probably the right thing to do since, depending on which stats you go by, let’s just say a very large percentage of the people that watch our training shoot Canon.
How I Got Canon Gear
Our video team was clamoring for some Canon gear to shoot the Kelby Training classes. Canon is revered among the HDDSLR shooters out there, and they wanted to try some stuff out. Among the gear they tried, was a 5D Mark III. Well, last October I was heading out on a trip to Colorado and I figured I’d bring it along to try it out. I thought that it would be good to check out, as I hadn’t shot a Canon camera in nearly 10 years. I did still bring my D800 though because it was my first time out with a Canon in a while.
To me, it was perfect. Ever since I started teaching photography, I’ve been asked why I just teach using Nikon. That so many people shoot Canon and why don’t I give settings, tips, tricks, etc… for Canon cameras too. And I teach workshops all the time. It’s frustrating when a Canon shooter comes up to me and asks a question about how to set up their camera and I can’t answer.
So… this was my chance. I could now get familiar with Canon cameras too, and it wouldn’t cost me a small fortune in a body and lenses to do it. Since then, I’ve been bringing Canon gear with me when I go shoot. And honestly, I’ve liked it so much, that ever since the first shoot in October, the Canon is all I’ve taken with me.
Where Am I At Now?
I still have my Nikon gear and I have no plans of selling it right now. Both my Nikon D800 and Canon 5D Mark III have things I like about ’em. I’m not going to do a feature-to-feature comparison. They both make gorgeous images and we all know it’s more about the photographer behind the camera, and what you take a photo of.
I will say this. After spending a short amount of time with the Canon, my first thoughts are: I love the 5D Mark III as a camera body. I totally agree with Scott (you have to watch the video above) on how the camera feels. It just feels better. That was immediately my first reaction after using it for 5 minutes. Dials and buttons feel like they’re positioned better. The menus, settings. The way everything is accessible through a menu, which means I can save all of my different shooting setups without messing around with analog controls. Really nice for jumping between landscape, long exposures, night photography, and portraits. I like the bracketing on it better than my D800 too. I’ve long wished I could change the number of stops between brackets on my Nikon D800 because it fills up my memory cards too quickly. Seems like that would be such a simple firmware upgrade, but it’s never happened.
The one thing I do miss about my D800 is the file size. I may not always print large enough to take advantage of the D800’s file size, but I certainly enjoy having it. Aesthetically, there’s something about post-processing a photo of that size. And say what you will, but we’re visual people so that counts for something. Just like the “feel” of the camera counts for something, the “feel” of the image on the computer counts for something too.
So that’s it. To the conspiracy-seekers out there, think what ya’ want. This post isn’t in any way directed toward you, because no post I write will get you to not think that way. This is to all of the people who kindly have asked over the last few months about why I’m shooting Canon. Now you know why 🙂
Have a good one.
Love this Kelby crew, especially Matt!
My 2 cents on the matter.
To me it’s clear that Matt’s and Scott’s switch is due to Canon’s sponsorship despite the claims that Canon’s camera are so wonderful etc.
Having said that I dont see any problem because Canon makes camera as good as Nikon, both makes have their pros and cons but in the end they both manufacture great cameras and excellent lenses.
I’m Nikon at the moment and Nikon was my first DSLR, the F70 that I bought back in 1996.
I had bought it because of its brandname and its legendary reputation.
Nikon at that time was lagging behind Canon, two years later they made the first IS lenses the 70-300 and the 300 f4. I had started shooting soccer and also supporters’ choreographies which here in Italy plays an important role in the game and for that task IS was great as on the terraces at night games you have poor light. I got an EOS 5 and I can tell you it was and I think it’s still is a great camera with stellar autofocus. What I really liked about the EOS 5 compared with Nikon’s camera of that time was also the grip and the ease of use of its commands. I already had Nikon gear that covered medium and tele focal views so I decided to keep the Canon for the extremes, the wide angle – with the innovative 17-35 and the super tele with the 300 IS + 1.4 teleconverter.
Then in the early 2000s I put aside my hobby because of health problems and when I took up photography again in 2005 it was digital age. At that time I was about to embrace Canon all the way and sell my Nikon gear because Canon was the fist to market affordable digital DSLRs. At that time Nikon released the D70 and after trying it out and comparing with the other makes available I was Nikon all the way: solidly built, with a great grip much, much better than the old F70 or F90, excellent shutter and a new range of lenses which offered VR and AF-S. So I stood by Nikon and sold my Canon gear.
In those years Nikons were great even when compared to Canons, easier to use, solidly built, with a great auto-Iso function etc. With the D3 we had also terrific high ISO performance.
Canon on the other hand replied with a bunch of other great cameras which tried to solve their initial lackings compared with Nikon and they managed to do it.
At the moment they outdo each other every year and they are in big competition.
I fully understand Matt and Scott when they say that they really like Canon’s programmed buttons and the possibility to increase in AB the EV steps up to 2 stops. Nikon could do that but thay dont so this is good feedback if they want to remain competitive.
It makes me smile when I see that us amateur photographers always need to be reassured about our choices on gear by what a top pro choses.
I think most of us have enough knowlodge to decide for themselves if they have the right gear. Nevertheless we feel sensitive if a pro we have followed switches brand.
As Matt says I would suggest to chose your gear by trying it out and see what’s best for you also considering what you’re going to shoot.
Try it out and compare, if a make is not up to the task then it wont sell anymore.
With regard of Matt choice he said he will go on keeping his Nikon gear and I hope he will review other Nikon stuff to keep us informed but what I suggest is: make up your mind yourselves.
IMO, It’s a fairly sad state of affairs when people have to justify why they choose to change the equipment they use, and even sadder when there’s such a backlash.
Camera brands are possibly the least important aspect of photography to me, and certainly very much at the bottom of the list of reasons why I choose to read the blogs of other photographers.
hhmmm….on 8/23/12, this was all predicted and explained by Scott and RC in D-Town TV episode 127. 33:23 … no surprises……my guess was that Matt was so devastated, he couldn’t join that show 🙂
Last year I finally got finance to full frame switch. And was shoked – personally I was tired of Sony picture quality in lowlight and looks to the other fotobrands. And what I see – Canikon still use fixed screen for live view. And they both have fantastic and very comfortable in use screens on “crop” cameras. But when on shooting you see most photgrapers laying down on ground – when shoot girl near car scene for example – and you need just squat and pull screen back – its looks very funny. So while I tried 5DM3 and D600 (shooting reports or dance with 40 Mb RAW files is something unreal) Sony made special offer for there loyal customer – so A99 replaced my A77. And I’m still shocked – 2013 year – and I must choose – what fullframe body is less negative to purchase. Not better or perfect – just less negative. What a strange world we live in.
Kelby Training has been one of the biggest influences in improving my photography.
The Grid in particular has helped me a lot with critiquing my own work and I watch it on Youtube every Friday straight after work. A free show that runs for at least an hour that I find extremely helpful… I’m ok with some logos appearing down in the bottom corner for 10 seconds.
It’s very interesting (or is it amusing?) at some of the words being used to describe people’s feelings. I mean, betrayed! That’s a pretty strong descriptive! I can’t understand how a feeling like that can be nested so deeply inside someone.
Matt, shoot whatever you want mate. I’ll still look to yourself and all the Kelby people for guidance regardless of what camera brand you all use because it doesn’t matter one little bit.
oh, and LMFAO at the guy that just knew something wasn’t right from the photos on your blog. He could tell they weren’t shot with a Nikon… Yeah, right! 😉
Over the past 50 years I see 3 kind of “Photo-users”: 1) The BRAND DEPENDENT 2) The people who see all brands as A TOOL FOR taking pictures – they do not bash ANYBODY or any brand! 3) “THE crazy brand-flashers” -sorry for a lack of a better term for them.
The Brand Dependent shooters (and I am talking about smart and well known photographers who do this for living and for business deals/contracts… etc). Who are happy with what they have as CAMERA-TOOL, or other reasons to change to a competing brands. They have friends who have the same brand and this is very important, because they can learn and get help…. Mostly these people do not get defensive about their brand.
The second group is very similar to the first group mentioned above, not much bashing from them and about any brand. They do not have the “expert of the brand” on their sleeve! HA HA HA
The last group is the collection of people who do not understand what photography is all about, but they will bash any other but their brand! They are like the crazy sports fan, who is NOT IN CONTROL OF HIM/HER SELF! These people do most harm to themselves and everyone they recruit or are in contact with. They are not photographers, they just use photography brand as a tool to unload mental problems they can’t cope with.
I do not associate myself with people like that. I can’t honestly learn from people like that except the wrong devotion for the brand – what for I ask?
Camera is just a tool to accomplish a job or a hobby and should not be abused for a personal gain to treat psychological problems. We have a therapists for that or a good friend who can help.
I like Matt and other great photographers, because they concentrate their energy on the PICTURE, not the brand they use. From most videos or classes I saw Matt and others teach, they make a point that they use mostly Nikon (now Canon) and that should not affect the techniques they teach, because they are not there to BASH ANYBODY or any brand, but teach you or share with you, how to take a better pictures -THAT IS ALL!
I applaud you for your honesty MATT and others, because you are straight forward honest and to the point. If some do not like that you are not using Nikon, they do not need to watch you. You will get more users/members because you share your knowledge and that is very attractive to real photographers!
Good luck to you all, and remember: “Photography is PAINTING WITH LIGHT!”
Tony (aka Czecht)
Over the past 50 years I see 3 kind of “Photo-users”: 1) The BRAND DEPENDENT 2) The people who see all brands as A TOOL FOR taking pictures – they do not bash ANYBODY or any brand! 3) “THE crazy brand-flashers” -sorry for a lack of a better term for them.
The Brand Dependent shooters (and I am talking about smart and well known photographers who do this for living and for business deals/contracts… etc). Who are happy with what they have as CAMERA-TOOL, or other reasons to change to a competing brands. They have friends who have the same brand and this is very important, because they can learn and get help…. Mostly these people do not get defensive about their brand.
The second group is very similar to the first group mentioned above, not much bashing from them and about any brand. They do not have the “expert of the brand” on their sleeve! HA HA HA
The last group is the collection of people who do not understand what photography is all about, but they will bash any other but their brand! They are like the crazy sports fan, who is NOT IN CONTROL OF HIM/HER SELF! These people do most harm to themselves and everyone they recruit or are in contact with. They are not photographers, they just use photography brand as a tool to unload mental problems they can’t cope with.
I do not associate myself with people like that. I can’t honestly learn from people like that except the wrong devotion for the brand – what for I ask?
Camera is just a tool to accomplish a job or a hobby and should not be abused for a personal gain to treat psychological problems. We have a therapists for that or a good friend who can help.
I like Matt and other great photographers, because they concentrate their energy on the PICTURE, not the brand they use. From most videos or classes I saw Matt and others teach, they make a point that they use mostly Nikon (now Canon) and that should not affect the techniques they teach, because they are not there to BASH ANYBODY or any brand, but teach you or share with you, how to take a better pictures -THAT IS ALL!
I applaud you for your honesty MATT and others, because you are straight forward honest and to the point. If some do not like that you are not using Nikon, they do not need to watch you. You will get more users/members because you share your knowledge and that is very attractive to real photographers!
Good luck to you all, and remember: “Photography is PAINTING WITH LIGHT!”
Tony (aka Czecht)
Matt said:
“I like the bracketing on it (Canon) better than my D800 too. I’ve long wished I
could change the number of stops between brackets on my Nikon D800
because it fills up my memory cards too quickly.”
I am not sure I understand what you want. On my D800, I can change the number of bracketing exposures from 3, 5, 7 or 9 exposures and I can adjust the exposure (+/-) in increments of .3 f/stop.
What is it that you feel you can’t adjust?
I can’t shoot 3 photos two stops apart each. So instead I have to shoot 5 and with a d800 that fills my card up quickly and then I need to go delete them later.
Its clear to me after watching Scott and reading Matts comments (re their switch to Canon) is about marketing! Good marketing by Canon… They said “try it Scott, see what you think we’re not asking you to switch for us to support/sponsor you”… Very clever. Now what doesn’t Nikon do that! or do they if they do they don’t post it around enough. nikon are sitting to much on their laurels they have got to get out there and show the world what great products they have and are going to make. Look at the promo work that Sony are doing. Everyone is talking about the A7 and R… Good promo work gets you buyers.
Short story – I played a lot of golf once and indeed try to sell products to the pro shops… I had a set of Titanium woods (called Killer Bee) – pros were interested but they had to buy them from me to test them! “Why should I do that when a Titleist rep knocks on my door gives me two dozen ProV1 golf balls and a club to test free for a month.” they said… I had no chance…
This is marketing Pr work at its best getting the reps out talking to the pros asking them what they want and need. Thats what the guys did from canon with Scott and Matt.
All I’m reading about is how good this Sony A7/A7R is… I heard about 3 years ago ‘We intend to be the No1 camera choice’ said by a Sony rep… They’re getting close I think.
Its not about the camera its the photographer’s skill and teaching ability. Any comparisons to what you’re going to watch/listen to ‘cos of the equipment the teacher photographs with is ‘bull’ sorry…
Artgriffo – A Fuji user (Once a Nikon Nut!)
Welcome to the Canon fold. It’s about time!
After having read all these responses, I have question? I would love your advice! My wife and I love movies and we have always liked films by the same actors, recently my wife told me her favorite actor is George Clooney, my favorite actor is still Bruce Willis!!! We have been married for 44 years but I just don’t know what to do! Should I leave her???!!!
no don’t leave her. Get her to sleep with Clooney sell the story (and photos) to the highest magazine bidder and enjoy retirement
Bill… George Clooney! This is an outrage. I feel betrayed, cheated and annoyed that it’s even possible! There can be only one explanation as to why she likes Clooney…
He’s sponsored her!
Matt, one thought did occur to me as I thought about the posts last evening. I want to make sure folks reading this understand something, I’m not a Nikon devotee. I find plenty of things wrong with Nikon. Earlier this year I did a spreadsheet analysis on the cost of switching, the problem was to what? I find Canon just as messed up internally and Sony, well you are a fan so I won’t go there but the Sony’s I used didn’t cut it. Plus, I need a spreadsheet to track their lens mount of the month. I don’t see that Sony has a plan…similarly to the other two. Some times I think I should just try chiseling in rock instead.
If there is one system I could say I’m a fan of its my Fuji’s. Love ’em. Shot them side by side with my D800 in Utah about the time you were in CO. With few exceptions I prefer my Fuji prints. The Fuji’s took abuse while hiking, they offered great pics and the glass is VERY surprising. Maybe its time for a switch after all, but it won’t be to any of the big three.
My logic and reasons mentioned as far as K1 are still my views. I’m not changing my stance but thought Florian and others might feel better if they knew I’m not in love with Nikon. Enjoy those Canons.
At first I was pretty annoyed that Scott had switched to Canon, whether it’s for money or actually his real opinion… same goes for you, Matt. But, you both are great teachers, and if Canon has offered money for you guys to switch, then fine. If I was offered money to use Canon, Sony… etc, then I would contemplate it. 😀
After thinking for a while, I’d be a hypocrite to stay annoyed as i’ve just switched from Nikon to Fujifilm! Reason being, Nikon has been making a lot of mistakes lately, also the way they played me around to get my D700 and 24-70 repaired was the final straw. Thanks to that, I missed out and has to cancel wedding gigs and eventually dropped out of the scene. A company that looses respect – looses customers, and customer service has a big part to play in gaining that respect.
Sadly, to me, Nikon looks like a runaway train with no-one at the helm.
A lot of words for saying that, since Canon sponsored your boss to shoot Canon, you switched (or were forced/induced/persuaded to switch) as well…
Hey Matt, nice new layout!
Quick question: I shoot macro, and use live view to focus manually, but the amount of noise using live view makes that quite difficult sometimes. Does Canon do a better job at that compared to Nikon?
Argh! *Froth at the mouth, stomp my feet, hold my breath* A curse on both your houses! Your father smelled of elderberries! How dare you switch brands!?!?…
Yeah, ok, not really. As a former Canon shooter, current Nikon shooter, and proud new owner (and absolute fanboy of) a Sony a7, I say go with whatever brand blows your hair back! And, if they also happen to provide gear for free, well, that’s not so bad either. Now if you suddenly told us you were ditching Lightroom for iPhoto …
Keep doing what your doing, living your rock and roll photo lifestyle, and thanks for sharing all of it with us. It is greatly appreciated. Keep loving life and don’t let the haters get you!
Ha! Thanks Charlie! Dude, I’d shoot the Sony A7R in a heartbeat if I had one. I got to shoot it for a few days back in October and loved it. I keep hoping Sony will send some “review” units our way. I may have a hard time giving it back if they do. Great camera, great lenses, and great features 🙂
Hope all is well my friend!
Hey, Matt. Glad you are enjoying some Canon gear. I’ve watched you field Canon questions at workshops, so I know it will really help Canon users for you to be as knowledgeable about Canon as Nikon. I have owned both Canon and Nikon gear over the years and loved both. Now I’m looking at Fuji mirrorless. Between Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji, Olympus, etc. we have great options as photographers these days. It’s really fun to try different things. Thank you for all you do to help us be better photographers no matter what gear we use.
Matt, I know this will run counter to what everyone else says or thinks. While I truly believe you shoot with whatever you want, I always feel a bit more affiliated with those that use the same equipment as I do. I shoot Nikon and Fuji myself but my co-horts I share a studio with use Sony, Canon and Olympus so I do get to try them all. I used to shoot Canon and went Nikon because its controls and menus are so much better to me. Plus every Canon I have handled except the 1DX feels like a plastic toy.
Your affiliation with Nikon lead me to you and it also lead me to Kelby Training as a subscriber. I don’t watch much content anywhere when Canon is the player so this will be my last year when my subscription expires. I noticed your move to Canon awhile back and already have your feed loaded lower in priority so it may or may not get looked at. I’m just saying that brand loyalty still means something to me, and I’m not going to spend money with shops and services that don’t support my brand or go out the way to not support it. Canon sells a lot of cameras. I’m sure you guys will do fine without me, but I think there are others that feel similarly. I’ve still got McNally to watch, and Fortney is Fuji now too so I’ll do okay.
WMK, I’m not sure what camera system a person uses has to do with learning the use of PS and Lr, or how to shot landscapes, or use long exposure, or shoot a wedding or all of the other education things that go on in Kelbyone’s training and teaching. I’ve been a Canon user and came to Kelby training for the insight and teaching. And watch kelbytv for the same. I don’t even use Lr. I’m an Aperture guy. Oh, and they even had a class on that! I come to here for all of the exposure to all of the great photographers that give of themselves to help us all get better. And they all use different systems. For me, I may take something or try something from a particular lesson to see if it works for me. If so, I’ll use it. If not, I’ll toss it away. I couldn’t care less what brand of camera the teacher was holding in his or her hand when they were teaching. Last time I looked at the classes available, there are all sorts of basics for all of the various camera systems. That’s what a company whose service it is to aid and assist photographers of all levels should do. So Scott & Matt are now using Canons. They still own their Nikon equipment and I bet you they will still use them if they feel the need or if the photographic situation they want to address calls for them to do so.
Florian, the Canon logo is plastered all over the K1 site. To me thats a statement. If it didn’t matter there wouldn’t be any logos. I can get the training that K1 offers most anywhere and some of the sites are truly neutral. I can watch McNally on Adorama TV for instance. Sure K1 has some great programming but I simply don’t feel like spending my money at K1 given their blatant endorsement.
Here is but one analogy…I like football, I have a favorite team and when they play and I can manage it I watch them pay with passion. When I can’t watch them I do have access to other games and teams but I simply don’t have as much interest. My favorite team isn’t in the Super Bowl this year. Will I watch it? I don’t know. I have no plans to but I might be at a party or something when its on. I won’t remember the score a day later…but if my team was playing I would be able to deliver a play by play.
Canon doesn’t hold any interest for me. Nikon does. Matt and K1 used Nikon so there was more interest, now they don’t for what ever reason although honestly, given the sponsorship its pretty easy to figure it out. Thats ok, like I said use what you want. But I can’t help it if I’m less interested when the content is Canon based. Thats just me.
Hey WMK – I can totally respect your opinion. I guess I’d just hate to see some one miss good training, because they simply don’t like the camera some one uses.
Your analogy seems a little off though. Your football team analogy is more like seeing a course on K1 about landscape photography, and you’re really in to portrait photography (two different teams). Of course, the landscape class is of less interest and you probably wouldn’t care much to watch it.
But saying you don’t want to watch a course from Rick Sammon because he shoots Canon, is like saying you wouldn’t want to follow/watch Phil Mickelson (if you were in to golf as an example) because he uses Callaway clubs, when you’re a Taylor Made club user. There is not one part of what Phil does that doesn’t relate exactly to any other golfer out there, regardless of what club he swings.
Anyway, I hope you’ll reconsider. The only camera things I talk about in my photography classes are mostly aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and bracketing. All things that just about every single camera out there does exactly the same as the other. Thanks 🙂
Matt, I can and do watch Rick Sammon because I find the guy in other places. I see him on MAC Group feeds most recently. I can see Tim Wallace, Drew Gardner, Lindsey Alder and a host of others as well. They shoot Canon at times, and medium format. No problem. And you as an individual are plenty agnostic since I don’t see your site plastered with Canon logos. I’m cool with that and cool with the lessons presented. But K1 is Canon intense, a bit over the top. Thats Scott’s deal, his choice. I love your LR and PS lessons, Matt, its part of what made me re-subscribe last fall. As good as they are and as much as I respect your teaching, those LR and PS lessons are available in a number of places. Part of the reason I went with K1 is the affinity for Nikon. It was a difference regardless of how the rest of the world sees it. Sorry, but it mattered. You won the toss when you were Nikon, you lost it when you are Canon.
I do follow the golfers you mention but I don’t have the same affinity for all of them as much as I do for certain other players. For instance, I might have Tiger Woods autograph but not Phil Mickelson’s. Phil is a tremendous player but I may identify with Tiger more.
Marketing is all about pushing the right buttons for that selected target. K1 selected and pushed and so am I.
WMK, to each his own and I value and respect your right to your opinion. You obviously feel strongly about this and that’s OK. Feelings are neither right or wrong. But just for the record, i don’t see where the Canon logo is “plastered all over” kelbyone. I’ve seen the Canon logo along with the other sponsors, such as B&H, clustered together at the bottom of only two of the various pages on the website. And I have seen other sponsors logos pop during the training videos and on kelbytv, such as Wacom, etc. I think that’s the whole idea of having sponsors; they help defray the cost of putting on the programs we all benefit from. Anyway, good luck and continue to enjoy your photography. 🙂
WMK- Based on your logic, since I’m a Canon shooter I should have never joined Kelby Training 2 years ago. At that time almost all the main instructors/photoshop guys were using Nikon. That didn’t stop me from learning from them.. I just don’t get your logic, I don’t care what camera someone uses- the final product/image is all that matters.
Maybe you shouldn’t have Toni. Thats your choice. Like I said, if you bothered to read my post, my stance will be very different from the mainstream. I’m not a politically correct person. One of my favorite sayings is, “Friends don’t let friends shoot Canon.” I say that in jest, since I have many many friends that do. They aren’t close 🙂
Once more, there are so many places to get the exact same training K1 offers. When I chose to join, they were all Nikon so why not go with the favorite? Now they aren’t so give someone else a try.
Matt… I do kind of get what wmk is saying and in a way it does feel a lil bit like betrayal as I felt it as well. I didn’t even know there was any canons involved I just saw some of your recent pics and not really paying too much attention but they didn’t look right and I just assumed you got a wild hair up in there and threw up some iPhone shots and then I saw canon and it made sense. In theory your example with the golf clubs sounds right but in reality there’s a difference… in your case your nikon images are deep and lush and these new canon ones are flat and punchless :-/
In my other post I said this as well. Ultimately what you use is your decision and if you like it thats all that matters.
As a huge fan and student of yours Matt here’s my dilemma… I don’t care what brand you shoot, it’s how the results look and you’re kind of in a spot like Apple is where you’ve set the bar for yourself where we expect to see certain results and now suddenly the results are different and at least for me not in a good way. Here’s why, let’s say I’m on 500px and you just added a new photo and when I see the pic i could usually tell which were yours without looking to see who shot it. In other words you were in the promise land of photographers and for people like me thats everything. It’s was an instant visual match with a name, thats what every marketing campaign tries to accomplish and thats what you guys had but I fear you also just threw a lot of it away.
These new canon shots just don’t have “it”… now I can’t tell which shots are yours, they look exactly like every other 5d users shots, they just don’t have that lil bit of personality that shows your personality. If that’s what you want then amen and hallelujah . For me personally it saddens me to because something as dumb and trivial as a camera just took you from photo royalty to just another face in the crowd and that sucks, hopefully you’ll find a crack to get you’re own look with it. By no means think i’m being mean or hateful, i wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you and Scott and I feel like you deserve honest thoughts from someone who you do what you do for.
Im certainly not a great photographer but because of you guys my photos do extremely well wherever i put them, like on 500px mine will hit popular in 7-30min because I have “my style” but they day i lose my style and my pix end up the same as everyone else’s is the day i put the camera gear on a fence post pull a rifle out and do some target practice and thats why as of today I will not use a canon again, i don’t care how great it might feel in my hand.
I started with a canon 30d… god awful camera, got a D200 and everything felt and looked right… unfortunately last year all my gear took a swim in tampa bay and couldn’t afford new stuff but a buddy sold me his sony a550 for cheap and I used that a few months until i just reloaded with nikons, the sony was ok but that flip out menu is a joke and I hope nikon doesn’t add that.
To me canon’s more worried about fiddly gadgets instead of image quality and Nikon is doing more with the sensors and bringing higher end features down to lower models. I’ve watched all these d800 vs 5d shootouts and usually they choose the 5d because it feels better or has better video or they like the menus better, all these things except for one thing… actual image quality… and actually the better reviews have full view comparisons and when you look into the fine details the nikons just smoke the canons, i just cant stand where the canons run out of dynamic range and it goes to mush, sure most people never see that but I do.
So heres how I see it compared to the reviewers.
1. Personally canons feel like fragile toys in my hands and I feel like im walking on egg shells when holding it but a nikon in my hands gets a firm solid grip that feels right… thats just me but in the end any camera you have you get used to and since 90% of what I shoot is done on a tripod this isnt a big deal.
2. Canon has better video…. personally I wish they’d take video out and use the space and resources to better the cameras original function… as a camera, if you want video they have these crazy new gadgets called video cameras… amazing huh 😉 lol
3. canon has better menus and gadgets… sure… does that help the sensor take a better picture? no of course not.
other stuff is nominal.
What matters to me is the end file i load up on my computer to edit, I want the best possible file, I want every ounce of dynamic range and color I can get (i think my d7000 gets 2.7 stops more dynamic range than the 5d and thats a lot of range difference. If I just shot portraits and wedding I’d probably use a 5d but for landscapes a canon is pretty far down my list.
As to ” its the photographer not the gear”… to me thats completely BS, it makes a difference, a big difference. Well that does depend on where and how thats being judged. For example lets say you take a D40 with the 55-200 vr as one system and a d800 with 70-200 vr2 and drive out to ft desoto to shoot the skyway or the birds out there… Sure you can shoot a decent shot on the d40 and load pix from both camera onto an iPhone or tablet because thats your end viewing destination and probably not much difference but if you’re being paid buy a client or making prints to sell then even if god took the pix on d40 they aren’t going to be in the same league as the d800, I’m sure we can agree on that. And thats my problem with a canon, until their sensors are in the same field as everyone else I wouldn’t even consider one, not to mention pay more for it. If they gave me one I might try it and who knows but I’m sure I’d rather pay full price for a Nikon over sacrificing my work to use a freebie.
Perfect analogy with the golf. Enjoy the new camera/s
I could care less who shoots with what. I have shot both systems, canon and nikon and now I actually want to get a fuji setup. Fact is, they all take great photos. I’m sure there is an underlying reason why people like Scott and Matt switch back and forth. I’m sure it has more to do with sponsorship and freebees than they want us to believe. I don’t blame them, but I’d have much more respect if they just came out and said it rather than make claims that these small issues are the reason they are switching… Scrolling through pictures faster? Bracketing? Ergonomics? Really? I guess this may be the first “conspiracy” posts 😉 One can find reasons to shoot with any system as they are all slightly different. Sony was willing to push this I’ll bet you could find many compelling small issues to switch to Sony as well. Keep up the good work Matt. Love the blog, just having a hard time with you and Scott both switching at the same time and making it sound like it is the small issues that are triggering it.
Hey, some one had to be the first right? 🙂
Btw… I LOVE Sony. I love what they’re doing and if they sent over an A7R kit, guess what you’d see me trying out 😉
I think I want to try Fuji even more than the Sony. I mentioned it to the wife the other day and she almost flipped. I had a hard time trying to convince her I needed a smaller, lighter setup for travel. I had to give it up. I will try again later this year. Really want a X-E2 + 14mm F2.8 + 58mm F1.2 for a small, light travel kit.
Hehe, I was thinking exactly the same thing. I don’t really give a hoot about what others are using, but the lengthy explanations about how people in Kelby Training are suddenly getting a personal conviction to switch to channel right after a sponsor swoops in and throws gear at everyone there…. well, I think the personal integrity might have been better off by not trying to make it sound so coincidental. But who cares? No reason not to keep reading the blogs, I’ll just take the opinion pieces on gear with even more salt now 🙂
It’s kind of a catch 22 isn’t it Tomas? You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t right? If I left the questions unanswered, then I’d be hiding something. I answer the question, and now it’s too “coincidental” with Scott’s post (and we actually don’t communicate on our blogging schedule). Had I actually waited a few weeks, would it have been better to spread it out? If anything, that should give you an indication that there’s no sinister force going on here – just two guys trying to answer the questions their readers are asking them.
At the end of the day, all I can do is answer the questions, thoughts, insights and feedback I get here on my blog. And that’s exactly what I did today 🙂
Nice to see you respond with such grace and dignity to some of these posts. Kudos to you Matt. Keep doing what you’re doing. Love the pictures, the stories, and the classes.
I agree with you. Reading all these posts and seeing some that feel betrayed is kind of silly. What I don’t get is why try to rationalize it, If the folks at K1 are switching due to sponsorship then so be it. I suppose there is a concern that this may be considered “selling out,” so we hear about these other factors that honestly just ring hollow. An ‘Apple feel’ to the camera, faster FPS, spinning wheels, etc just sounds like my kid trying to give me reasons why he should have something when it truth he just wants it. Like I said I don’t care at all what camera they use, I don’t care if Matt and Scott and RC and whoever else all post about it or not- I really don’t. I just care that if they choose to address it, to be upfront about it.What I’m hearing sound more like rationalization to save face rather than an explanation.
Can we still count on reviews of Nikon products or is that a casualty of this switch?
Nope. If anything, I hope this makes a more complete picture of things. As I mentioned, I still have my D800 and no plans of getting rid of it.
Canon..Nikon..Sony…Pentax. As I replied to Scott’s posting of his change to Canon, they ALL make great cameras and the more the competition between them for our consumer dollar pushes them to continue to create great products, the better off ALL of us are no matter which system we use. As has been stated many times, the camera system is only a minor player in taking a great picture. And the more you and Scott and the Canon users who already existed at Kelbyone or come for training videos can share that info on the uses of the camera along with the Nikon info WE all win. This discussion should not degenerate into an argument of which system is better, or selling out to the highest bidder. As a Canon 5DIII owner, I really can appreciate the camera and what both Scott and Matt have come to experience in its features. I am sure the D800 owners out there love their cameras just as much and fell just the same about their system. There is no right or wrong in either.
Good to have you back on the Canon side! See, when you shoot Canon, you can actually SAY you “Shoot Canon”… get it?….LOL….hard to do that with Nikon….
You can say this again:
“They both make gorgeous images and we all know it’s more about the photographer behind the camera, and what you take a photo of.”
Until folks will stop thinking it is “all” in the camera, this “brand war” won’t end!
Does the 5DMKIII have a touch screen and wireless? I love my Canon70D for THAT more than you know…LOL Plus, can’t beat the quality of Canon L glass!
Welcome to the Canon side! Now when’s the shooting star’s class coming?
Matt,
Very interesting! I have always personally liked Nikon. I am also in the IT industry as my main profession. I find the comparison between Nikon and Canon to be the same type as between NVidia and AMD/ATI video cards. They are both GREAT products. To get the most out of each, it depends on what you need it for, what makes you comfortable and really about the person using the product. Good for you in stepping out of your comfort zone and moving back to a product that you use to use! I really enjoy reading your blogs!
Very tempting but I just got to play with a Lumix GX7 and am even more tempted to look into the mirrorless direction. I was told by a Nat’l Geographic photographer that the sensor is better than either Nikon or Canon. What do you think?