A Reader Asks: Why Canon not Nikon? Why Crop Sensor And Not Full Frame?

Morning time is typically reader question time when I open email. I enjoy answering such emails because it usually forces me to put my thoughts into some type of logical rambling. Today’s questions were both sent in by the same reader who had been reading my 31 Days To Better Photography series. Simply put, his questions were:

- Why Canon and not Nikon?
- Why ASP[sic] and not Full Frame?

My answers were fairly standard, but I don’t believe I’ve shared them on the blog.

1) Go handle both cameras you will likely buy. This is important because they have the same feel nor are the controls in the same location. Also, the menus are laid out differently. It’s important that the camera is comfortable in your hands and easy to navigate. If it is not, you will not be picking it up because it will be a chore to use. You can find most lenses are available for both (especially if you go with other manufacturers) and while there are some specialty lenses only available for one or the other, for 90% of the photographers out there, both will work. Also don’t forget the likes of Pentax as a third option.

  To answer your question more directly, I liked the feel of Canon and the menu layout. It made more sense to me. I also like the white lenses in the L range. As campy a reason as that might be, there you have it. I will be borrowing a Nikon D7000 to take with me to Peru for 2.5 weeks and I’m excited to give it a try. I likely wouldn’t change at this point because of the money invested, but if Nikon handed me some top of the line gear, I’d use it.

2) For my specific choice, I wanted the 7D for the video over the 5D Mark II at the time. I had a 5D before and I ended up switching a lot of my lenses out, selling the old ones on eBay for about 70% of new price, so it wasn’t as painful. The noise isn’t too bad on the 7D and I regularly use it at ISO 800 for weddings, then use the noise reduction in Lightroom to smooth it out. The results are great and I loved having the crop factor ‘zoom’ while using a 300mm lens on safari in Africa.

If you have any further questions, please let me know!

pwc

One Reply to “A Reader Asks: Why Canon not Nikon? Why Crop Sensor And Not Full Frame?”

  1. Tim Proctor

    You hit the nail on the head for me Peter. I was undecided on canon or Nikon until I picked them both up. As soon as I picked up the Canon it just felt right in my hand. thanks for all the insight from your experience!

Comments are closed.