Seriously considering switching to Nikon.

The23rdman

The23rdman

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I'm pretty much convinced switching to Nikon is the way to go for me. Virtually all of my work is small speedlight strobist stuff and I feel Nikon are ahead of Canon in that regard. Pros and cons? From what I've seen Nikon has better high iso performance and with an older second body much much better sync speed. I honestly can't see any reason to stay with Canon. Pros and cons, guys, without making it a war. :)
 
nikon pros are cls - it kicks ass

I feel canon will react to this at some point and that that reaction will be worth having, only a guess atm mind


biggest con for me is cost, I hit up camera price buster and it said 6k for a d3 24-70 70-200 2x sb900s and maybe a prime
I need more kit than that but I can't afford 6k let alone what I need
 
surely canon with the st-e2 is very similar to just using the nikon commander? built in commander isn't all that great, gotta fiddle with menus for anything rather than just hitting a button.

compare the prices too - sb800's are £210ish and bombproof, and have a pc sync jack, sb900s are 300ish? 580ex2's are way more.
 
yeah but its not as inuitive as cls seems in hot shoe diaries, unless thats just joe mcnally
I'm gonna stay canon cos I gotta good feeling but as yet its not AMAZING :(
 
When you say an older body... what do you mean? It's only the newer range of Nikons that have comparable or better ISO performance. The older bodies were known for the their shocking ISO performance!

I use Canon for strobist stuff, but I always use manual with pocket wizards so it doesn't really bother me not having a CLS type setup.

If you were to stay Canon, then the 7D has a master built in to it for off camera flash. How good it is, I don't know..
 
Nikon don't do a 70-200f4 only a rather more expensive f2.8 ;)
 
One of the biggest issues I have with Canon is the lousy af. I'll be looking at full frame for most of my shooting with something like a D70x for high-speed sync in daylight where iso isn't a factor. I shoot manual strobist stuff, but st-e4 is hit and miss from my limited use of it.
 
tbh g10 will give high speed sync and to sync really high you start clipping the power curve

its a dead tricky one
 
david1701 said:
its a dead tricky one
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not really lol, D300's are often sold on here for under £700, and many reviews put the high iso and AF on a par or above the 7D.... which costs how much exactly? :P
 
If I'm going to use high-speed sync I'll want to use a dslr. Dof on the g10 is limited. Really the deciding factor will probably end up being iso and af performance and the crappy sync speed of the 5dII.
 
If its full frame with top spec AF then D700 all the way. It sounds like you've already made your mind up tbh

I've really not seen much ISO difference between APS-C cameras from Nikon and Canon.
 
Personally I agree with Phil (Don't faint Phil, it does happen! ;))

Get to grips with shooting manually before deciding to spend an enormous amount of money changing over. I did change in Feb this year but it was the accumulation of a lot of factors that pushed me in that direction. There is not a huge technical advantage of CLS over ST-E2 and shooting manually negates any difference (Other than the SB900 zooms further than a 580exII) I still use a combination of the two (IR ETTL and PW Manual) depending on the application and that does not change with the manufacturer.

The biggest advantage (for me) was the higher ISO of the D700. I recce'd a chapel I'm due to shoot a wedding in last week and came out with f2.8 = 1/60 sec @ISO4000! No way would my Canons (1DsII and 5D)have coped with that! So that is where the biggest change for me is. Everyone has to assess their own needs though. :)
 
If you can afford the switch then make it, better to try it out than keep wishing you had Nikon. I can't speak on any level of cost but I'm glad I switched from Nikon to Canon when I had the chance and there's plenty I regret but more I'm glad about. There is no definite solution so pick the one you want, it's the photographer not the equipment, but you can't be a great tog unless you're happy with the stuff you have.

Can you tell I've no idea about strobism and so just went down the philosophical route?! ;)
 
itsdavedotnet said:
not really lol, D300's are often sold on here for under £700, and many reviews put the high iso and AF on a par or above the 7D.... which costs how much exactly? :P
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yes but the 7d is **** so the d300 is........... :p

if nikon had a 5d2 sensor in any of their bodies I'd say **** it and go, but the 5d2 rapes the d700 for IQ which makes it hard
 
Dean - I'll give you £50 for your 40D!!!

Can you clean out your PM box a bit????
 
Back OT for a sec ;)

I find the wonderful CLS system to be a PITA most times, as during daylight the commander often won't trigger the remotes, and moving around a subject where the background changes also changes the exposure

I ALWAYS use mine in manual mode - so for me the CLS part of your equation fails :(

DD
 
The23rdman said:
I'm pretty much convinced switching to Nikon is the way to go for me. Virtually all of my work is small speedlight strobist stuff and I feel Nikon are ahead of Canon in that regard. Pros and cons? From what I've seen Nikon has better high iso performance and with an older second body much much better sync speed. I honestly can't see any reason to stay with Canon. Pros and cons, guys, without making it a war. :)
Click to expand...


I'm not so sure....


For strobist work you don't generally need high isos and the sync speed on most modern dslrs is much of a much. The only real reason I could see to change is if you were considering using wireless TTL as at the moment that would force you into using Canon's awful flashguns. If, on the other hand, you shoot manual and already have an investment in Canon glass then a new Canon body and a load of Nikon flashes sounds more sensible to me.....
 
or Nissin flashes. (Apparently the most bang for your buck (translate to £) out there)
 
The23rdman said:
I'm pretty much convinced switching to Nikon is the way to go for me. Virtually all of my work is small speedlight strobist stuff and I feel Nikon are ahead of Canon in that regard. Pros and cons? From what I've seen Nikon has better high iso performance and with an older second body much much better sync speed. I honestly can't see any reason to stay with Canon. Pros and cons, guys, without making it a war. :)
Click to expand...

Nikon and Canon flash systems are fundamentally the same. Nikon got there first but there's really nothing to choose between them now. Remote second curtain sync is the only thing I can think of. Joe McNally would be quite happy to use Canon I'm sure; it's him, not the camera.

If it's higher x-sync you want, Nikon has really no advantage (apart from that D70 bodge - do you really want to use a D70? :gag: You can do it on an early Canon 1D with a CCD too). Canon 1D series has the highest native x-sync, but if that's what does it for you, a Canon equipped with the new Pocket Wizard E-TTL system blitzes anything else on that score. And it does remote second curtain too.

Their Hypersync feature will get a 5D2 up to 1/250sec at least, 1/400sec on a 40D, 1/500sec on a 1D. They can also enhance the High Speed Sync feature giving it more effective power, more range and faster recycling which is really the only way to go if you want flash at substantially higher x-sync speeds.

A couple of PWs will be a fraction of the cost of switching brands. Unless you just fancy a new Nikon toy of course ;)

Edit: PW link. Nikon can't touch it (yet) http://www.pocketwizard.com/inspirations/technology/
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Unfortunately Nissin flashes are a :nono: for use with wireless triggers.....
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The distributers (Kenro) say that current stock is okay, and that old models that at are affected can be modified with firmware FOC.
 
HoppyUK said:
The distributers (Kenro) say that current stock is okay, and that old models that at are affected can be modified with firmware FOC.
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Reports are that the firmware update doesn't always cure the problem, so for as far as I'm concerned when it comes down to compatability with any of the stuff I sell the answer is no, they're not.
 
Okay, interesting points made. Ali, all my strobist stuff is manual, just wanted the option of higher speed on the occasions it's necessary. Richard, you're right about the 1d - it's an option. Okay, putting the strobist stuff aside, the other big issue for me is af. I've used most of the Canon crop bodies and find recomposing is essential on all of them. The ability to have accurate af around more of the screen is a killer for me. The switch wouldn't necessarily cost me a lot. All my glass is second-hand and of a desirability that means I'll lose nothing. So, I guess it comes down to af performance and iso. I'll be looking at D300.
 
7D is surely up to a D300 on AF?

If you want the lot, Canon 1D3 or 4 looks favourite. I think you can pick up a mint 1D3 for about £1300. PW is the way for sync speed, even if you only use manual.
 
That's a good alternative. Some of my lenses are ef-s, but they'd have to go when I go full frame anyway. I'll see if I can get hold of one for a play. Thanks everyone.
 
AliB said:
Personally I agree with Phil (Don't faint Phil, it does happen! ;))

Get to grips with shooting manually before deciding to spend an enormous amount of money changing over. I did change in Feb this year but it was the accumulation of a lot of factors that pushed me in that direction. There is not a huge technical advantage of CLS over ST-E2 and shooting manually negates any difference (Other than the SB900 zooms further than a 580exII) I still use a combination of the two (IR ETTL and PW Manual) depending on the application and that does not change with the manufacturer.

The biggest advantage (for me) was the higher ISO of the D700. I recce'd a chapel I'm due to shoot a wedding in last week and came out with f2.8 = 1/60 sec @ISO4000! No way would my Canons (1DsII and 5D)have coped with that! So that is where the biggest change for me is. Everyone has to assess their own needs though. :)
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Is it wrong that I automatically assumed you were disagreeing and read through everything 3 times trying to spot where... before reading the first line properly? ;):lol:

:thumbs:
 
The AF on the 1 series is very nice, the only time (once I think) i've ever recomposed is when I was focussing on something that was simply outside of the focussing elipse, which is of course not the camera's fault. I don't know about newer 1 series bodies, but my 1Ds 'classic' (2003) has a button which can allow you to automatically focus using a selected AF point. If I set this button to use centre point, and the normal focus button to use the rest of the AF elipse, it means I can instantaneously choose between centre point focus or ALL the focusing points, and have two seperate buttons to do so. That feature has proved to be the single most useful thing since I upgraded from a 450D, and if you use centre point a lot I suspect it would be useful for you as well.
 
The23rdman said:
That's a good alternative. Some of my lenses are ef-s, but they'd have to go when I go full frame anyway. I'll see if I can get hold of one for a play. Thanks everyone.
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You can bodge EF-S lenses to work on 1D series - google. Ed Bray has done it I think. Basically just remove the rubber gasket bit on the back and it'll clear a 1D mirror.

Popular workaround on the 10-22 as getting a really wide angle on a 1.3x cropper is the only real drawback of that format. 16/17mm on a 1.3x is only 21/22mm equivalent, but 10mm is 12mm equivalent (if it will cover the sensor). If you could do it with a 17-55 2.8 that would be really sweet :love:
 
Ooo, very handy indeed! Fanks!
 
What's the iso performance like with the 1d series?
 
The23rdman said:
What's the iso performance like with the 1d series?
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Depends which model you mean. They're all right up there. 1D4 is Nikon D3 level. 1D series is built for speed and reach, and overall they're better at it (arguably) than anything else.
 
david1701 said:
yeah but its not as inuitive as cls seems in hot shoe diaries, unless thats just joe mcnally
Click to expand...

Oh no, it is, it's so easy to get to grips with, what can make it tricky is when you're using multiple groups of off-camera flash in TTL mode.

But being able to control all three groups from an SB-900 on my hotshoe in manual power settings, it's heaven. :)

Edit : Just read a few more of the posts on the thread. Why do I always seem to get the impression that a lot of people think that CLS is *ONLY* TTL and that people should learn to use manual power first? umm.. CLS will let you set manual power settings on your slave flashes, the two are not mutually exclusive. It just means you control it all from your hotshoe and don't have to waste half your day wandering around to different lights to manually change the power. :)
 
Kaouthia said:
Oh no, it is, it's so easy to get to grips with, what can make it tricky is when you're using multiple groups of off-camera flash in TTL mode.

But being able to control all three groups from an SB-900 on my hotshoe in manual power settings, it's heaven. :)

Edit : Just read a few more of the posts on the thread. Why do I always seem to get the impression that a lot of people think that CLS is *ONLY* TTL and that people should learn to use manual power first? umm.. CLS will let you set manual power settings on your slave flashes, the two are not mutually exclusive. It just means you control it all from your hotshoe and don't have to waste half your day wandering around to different lights to manually change the power. :)
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but then its is not having to move vs unimpeachable reliability for the same manual control, which is fairly tricky
 
I've yet to find a situation where I thought CLS would work and then found it unreliable.

On places where I knew immediately that CLS wouldn't work I use radio triggers and do it the old fashioned way right at the start, but if you know you're in a situation where CLS is going to work (even with manual power settings) why would you not try to do the job more quickly if you're able to?
 
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