Nikons are too small, Canons are too cheap

agent orange

agent orange

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Hi

Just joined and a bit of an inflamatory title for a serious question. ;)

Looking to get back into photography after a 20 year break and had set my heart on a Nikon D7000 even though it was out of my budget by 250 pounds. I'm starting completely from the ground up again as have long since sold my kit.

I appreciate this is subjective but unfortunately I find the grip incredibly cramped and uncomfortable. I tried loads of other Nikon bodies including the larger D300s. All had awful grips. The 300s felt terribly balanced.

So I tried the Canon D60 - the grip is beautiful. The weight and balance perfect. Fits my hand like a glove. Just a shame it feels like a cheap glove compared to the D7000. All the other Canons felt small too but not tried 5D, 1D etc as all out of my budget.

So my question is this. Given I have average sized hands am I just being too picky? Should I be putting the handling of the camera so high a priority?

The D7000 is already out of my budget but I'm struggling to find a camera in budget that feels right.
 
(assuming you mean 60D not D60 (big difference))

Have a look at a used or manufacturer refurbished 50D or even a 40D. It's a similar body to the 60D but magnesium alloy rather than plastic.

Have a look at some others brands also. I'd consider the sony A700 and the pentax K20D as well in this sort of range, both well built bodies (especially the pentax).
 
i have a D7000 and average sized hands and mine fits loverly. also have a grip on mine which makes it even more comfortable to use. sounds more like u have larger than average sized hands to me lol

All depends what your used to i guess, i dont find canons very comfortable tbh
 
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Gary Coyle said:
Try one with a "grip" attached
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I'd be inclined to agree, it completely transformed my D90 even with my average sized hands!
I also looked at the Canon 60D and Nikon D7000 before my initial purchase, and imho the Nikon(s) felt much more natural regarding the trigger position.
 
There's the nikon D5100. In budget and same sensor as D7000. Stick a grip on it and it might be suitable? Most modern dslrs seem to be on the smaller size.
 
I like a chunky feel too. It was in part why I bought my K20D, but found subsequent Pentaxes too small. The 7D is a good solid lump too. I have grips on both. I agree with Gary and Azi.
 
LOL It is why I originally went Nikon because the range felt bigger and heavier than Canon. The D7000 does feel slightly smaller than my old D70 I have to admit but not uncomfortably so.
 
I am used to using D2x and wondered if the D7000 would be to small but with the grip I find it ok.
 
not picky at all, the one piece of advice that is repeated round here weekly when the 'what camera?' question is asked is, go to the shop and hold them, play with them, see what feels comfortable to you personally. I am an absolute Nikon nut, but they wont be right for everyone, though many of the guys I work with or have done shoots with are pretty big handed fellas and don't have a problem with the grip on them.

As suggested, try them with the addition vertical grip/battery packs for both brands and also try the offerings from Sony, Pentax and Olympus, somewhere out there is a body for you ;)
 
Try a Pentax - of all the cameras I've held they feel the best nutted together after Nikon and the size of them is nice too :)
 
Yv said:
not picky at all, the one piece of advice that is repeated round here weekly when the 'what camera?' question is asked is, go to the shop and hold them, play with them, see what feels comfortable to you personally. I am an absolute Nikon nut, but they wont be right for everyone, though many of the guys I work with or have done shoots with are pretty big handed fellas and don't have a problem with the grip on them.

As suggested, try them with the addition vertical grip/battery packs for both brands and also try the offerings from Sony, Pentax and Olympus, somewhere out there is a body for you ;)
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Totally agree with this advice.

I shot with D700 gripped, D200/S5 pro gripped as back ups and have been considering getting a D7000, tried one in the shop last week and felt fine but I do love the extra size/weight that you get by adding the grip.

Good luck with your choice.
 
agent orange said:
Hi

So my question is this. Given I have average sized hands am I just being too picky? Should I be putting the handling of the camera so high a priority?
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In a word NO, Handling must be a priority, I have aerate size hands and my Fiance’s 450D is just too small for me so I would never consider buying on or anything of a similar size.

After trying a few in 3 NW dealers I knew straight away the the Canon 7d was for me because it felt right. Having started doing a lot of portrait work I have added a grip and that again has transformed the camera, happily for the good but it could have made it’s handling not to my liking.

So as has been stated, get out and try anything within your price range (including lenses) and if doing portrait work try them again with a grip attached. :thumbs:
 
Blimey that got quite a response! :lol:

Yes I meant the Canon 60D. That body to me has the perfect grip and the camera felt perfectly balanced in the hand. The Nikon D7000 I could not get my the fingers on my right hand comfortable.

Not tried Pentax but did try the Sony Alpha 55 as had a surprise recommendation from a colleague. Again didn't like the grip but equally I'm not prepared to go down the Sony road. Been there before with Vaio laptops a long while ago and got burnt with proprietary issues. TVs yes, cameras no.

Handling wise it, unfortunately from a price perspective, seems my entry point is the Canon 60D. I say unfortunately because if it had a mag alloy body I'd have bought it already. The 7D therefore is probably perfect but really starts to push my body budget which has already crept in the wrong direction!! Still if its right I might have to push the boat out a tad further. :cuckoo:

Interesting people have commented on the Canon 5D, 7D etc. as on my list is a Canon 1D MKII. I'm wanting to try motorsport photography and, along with a decent lens, the 1D MKII has repeatedly been recommended as a good body for motorsport.

Unfortunately difficult to test drive used cameras.

Does the current 1D or another model use exactly the same body as the 1D MKII or MKII N?
 
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I am not sure whether the 1D mkiii, iv use the exact same body but the button placement etc is roughly the same, I love the MKii it replaced my 20D. and AF is great I use for BIF and such.
 
I had the same problem, buying my first DSLR and I felt the Nikons were far too cramped and felt awful when I was holding them. The Canons felt so much better, so I went for the 500D.
 
agent orange said:
Not tried Pentax but did try the Sony Alpha 55 as had a surprise recommendation from a colleague. Again didn't like the grip but equally I'm not prepared to go down the Sony road. Been there before with Vaio laptops a long while ago and got burnt with proprietary issues. TVs yes, cameras no.
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Obviously it's your choice, but interested to know what was proprietary on a Vaio (that isn't on laptops in general), and likewise for a camera?
 
agent orange said:
Unfortunately difficult to test drive used cameras.
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Any London Camera Exchange stores near you?
They have helpful staff (mostly) and will allow you to hold cameras - well they are hoping for a sale ;) some may let you take a few pics in store (poss - doorway of store too...)
 
Faldrax said:
Obviously it's your choice, but interested to know what was proprietary on a Vaio (that isn't on laptops in general), and likewise for a camera?
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External connectivity on the vaio. Had its own unique connector for cd Rom etc. Long time ago on the pcg 505. Once bitten twice shy although I do appreciate maybe not rational.
 
I found the same when I first started getting interested. I simply didn't like the feel of the canons and found that I could not get m fingers comfortably between the grip and lens so went for Nikon purely because it felt better in the hand. I bought the d5000 but this was a while ago and may not be in the price range you are looking at but I love it.
I was advised quite strongly to only buy nikon or canon by some experts I know
 
ecniv said:
Any London Camera Exchange stores near you?
They have helpful staff (mostly) and will allow you to hold cameras - well they are hoping for a sale ;) some may let you take a few pics in store (poss - doorway of store too...)
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Yep two of them. Actually maybe three. Live near Southampton and Winchester.

Anyway I've just bought a Canon 1D mk2!

I've realised that I personally cannot hold a Nikon without feeling that I'm going to drop it at any moment.

It therefore has to be Canon so it was a case of trying to get everything I want within my budget of £1200 which has already grown from 1000. A used 50D was a serious contender and I may still regret not going for that.

Thanks for the insights it has been very useful. I think the one thing I've taken away from this is that, within reason, forget camera specs and brand go with what feels right as its the camera you'll always be holding.
 
agent orange said:
Yep two of them. Actually maybe three. Live near Southampton and Winchester.

Anyway I've just bought a Canon 1D mk2!

I've realised that I personally cannot hold a Nikon without feeling that I'm going to drop it at any moment.

It therefore has to be Canon so it was a case of trying to get everything I want within my budget of £1200 which has already grown from 1000. A used 50D was a serious contender and I may still regret not going for that.

Thanks for the insights it has been very useful. I think the one thing I've taken away from this is that, within reason, forget camera specs and brand go with what feels right as its the camera you'll always be holding.
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Clever man, it's a great camera. I don't think you'll regret picking it over the 50D.
 
Nikon or Canon, they are both great.

There are more users of Canon than Nikon and it seems prices for Canon lenses are slightly cheaper. Having not used Nikon I can't comment on teh build quality comparison. Either way you'll be buying a great system.

My advice is to buy the best lenses you can and build from there over time, that's what I done.
 
I wasn't too sure about the feel of a grip on my D90 in the shop, but when I was out and about it was great.

Make sure you get the proper grip, not a replica or whatever they are called.
 
I've just upgraded from a Canon 30D to the 60D and my immediate thought was "god this feels cheap". The 30D feels so much more substantial, solid and switches have a satisfying chunky click to them. The 60D dial feels like it could fall off at any minute, and I don't like the fact that some buttons have moved to incorporate the flip out screen (which I thought I'd be using more than I do, which is not at all!). Also I've noticed that there is a lot more noise in the 60D RAW file than in the 30D; probably due to the large MP increase. With some careful PP it's removable or leaves a grainy look to shots, which isn't bad actually.

I have to admit that if I'd realised how different the camera was, I'd have waited a few months and bought the 5DmkIII when it comes out, or got the mkII.

Overall I do like the camera though, it's just got things I need to get used to that changed from the 30D. I've been using it almost solid for a week now, and have worked out most of the niggles, but it's strange :D
 
Nawty said:
Try a Pentax - of all the cameras I've held they feel the best nutted together after Nikon and the size of them is nice too :)
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Yup don't discount Pentax. The K-5 has upped Pentax's game considerably
 
Bluesmachine said:
I've just upgraded from a Canon 30D to the 60D and my immediate thought was "god this feels cheap".....
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Played with one last week for the first time. Features are great - the video function is already helping us shoot web featurettes - but Canon seems to have put it in the shrinking machine because it feels diddy compared to the 30/40D that I used to use day-to-day. That screen too; it loves nose grease and is a b****r to clean - we struggled to review what we'd shot unless we were in the shade.
 
In terms of percieved quality my OM1 simply crushes both my DSLRs.
 
agent orange said:
External connectivity on the vaio. Had its own unique connector for cd Rom etc. Long time ago on the pcg 505. Once bitten twice shy although I do appreciate maybe not rational.
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Ok, my recollection from the days of external CD / floppy, etc was that each brand had it's own customer interface (same as for docking stations, batteries, etc), but I understand the reasoning - there does appear to be a minimum price tag for anything with the word 'Sony' on it - though I suspect this may also apply to Canon and Nikons as well.

Still, hard to argue with a 1D Mk II as a choice, the advice is always to go for better glass over a body upgrade, but a quality camera body just makes every lens feel better :)
 
Buy a big expensive canon,there are some out there job done.
 
specialman said:
Played with one last week for the first time. Features are great - the video function is already helping us shoot web featurettes - but Canon seems to have put it in the shrinking machine because it feels diddy compared to the 30/40D that I used to use day-to-day. That screen too; it loves nose grease and is a b****r to clean - we struggled to review what we'd shot unless we were in the shade.
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I was having that problem in strong sunlight the other day. It's really annoying! It is definitely smaller (I'm looking at them side by side as I type), and due to the larger screen, the buttons moving around have resulted in the wheel being reduced in size, which is also an annoyance for my meat hooks!

I'm not sure I like the battery grips method of loading the batteries either. This seems like something else that could break and need replacing, especially if dropped, where that wasn't an issue with the front loading 30D.

On the plus side, the images seem clearer on the screen and the actual captures are more detailed with this 60D, so that's good (and one of the main reasons I upgraded). I've only been using it properly for about a week, despite having it for well over a month now, but if you've never owned an xxD model then I doubt you'd have any problems as you'd have no comparisons to make.
 
Faldrax said:
Ok, my recollection from the days of external CD / floppy, etc was that each brand had it's own customer interface (same as for docking stations, batteries, etc), but I understand the reasoning - there does appear to be a minimum price tag for anything with the word 'Sony' on it - though I suspect this may also apply to Canon and Nikons as well.

Still, hard to argue with a 1D Mk II as a choice, the advice is always to go for better glass over a body upgrade, but a quality camera body just makes every lens feel better :)
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There were other issues with the vaio too but suffice to say that and other experiences have taught me not to stray too far from the path trod by many with technology.

Conservative yes but everyones experiences are different.

I'm hoping the 1D is a good choice. Worst case scenario it gets sold and I go 60D or go completely mad for a 7D.

I can't go Nikon though and that's a pain not least because I've just "lost" about 8 Nikon mates in the last day!! :lol:
 
The main thing is that you are happy with the camera you have - so when you're out taking shots, you feel it is helping you achieve the results you want, rather than hindering.

Have fun :)
 
Yeah - I wouldn't bother with the likes of the Sony 700 or 900, I mean they do everything you want, have a great menu system, paired with the ziess or G glass they are superb not forgetting the whole range of the Minolta / Konica glass available. . . . .

Just go and buy a Canon or Nikon and join the flock ;)

.DAVID.
 
Pick up an E-5 and you will appreciate what real build quality and handling is :cool: :olympus:
 
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