Why did you choose Canon?

[RMC33]

I took photography in HS/College and used Nikon as that is what they supplied. My parents as college graduation gift got me a 30D a few months after it released in 2006 and that was that. Been shooting since about 1998 give or take. My first camera was Leica my parents had from the 60's and I used it till about 2000 until it died. I still have it at my parents house in a display case.

[Rmafive]

For me it was my grandfather's decision.  My grandfather shot with Canon, my father shoots with Canon, and, subsequently, I shoot with Canon.  I have always used a Canon camera for my entire life and I can never imagine going to Nikon.  Though, a few Leica's have worked their way into our family!

[Aglet]

to summarize, I was a Canon fanboy for decades and justifiably so for a while when Canon's DSLRs were leading the performance curves.  When I became more disappointed with newer Canon body performance compared to older Canon bodies and newer competition, I migrated towards the tools that do what I want, how i want.
I like them all!  The good ones at least.

the long story

I always like cameras, got started by borrowing my older sister's AE-1 in the 70s and having fun putting interesting shots on her film w-o her permission.
Got my own A-1 2nd-hand in '81, along w a few lenses. Shot for fun, shot weddings (hated it), shot some local fashion and event work.  Didn't have as much fun as a photographer as I thought I might.  Altho as a young man, being around a lot of lovely young ladies parading in strange outfits had some appeal.

Got a real job in my preferred area of technical expertise a few years later and then shot just for fun with the same Canon gear I'd always used.
First digicam I tried was a Canon A20 - the immediacy of the method had me leaving my A-1 on the shelf a lot after that!  The little camera was fun and easy to use so I started pushing its limits. That took about a week. A40, A60, Panasonic FZ20, A610 and a whole lot more I can't remember.  Didn't go DSLR when they came out because I couldn't justify the cost at the time. 

Nikon, Pentax, and others never even entered my mind yet.

Got a used Canon G3 compact somewhere along the way and WOW!  This thing really performed for IQ compared to the PnS types.  Started thinking about DSLR quality...  All my film was past its best before date now.

Friend got a 20D. I was envious but resigned to not buying a DSLR until they had at least 14bits/pixel and that live-view idea was also interesting.

First DSLR was Canon 40D (still have it) and it was AMAZING.  IQ and all the features really got my attention.  What the camera could do in raw reminded me of what I could do with film and paper in a darkroom w-o the smell and hassle.
Some I knew had Nikon before that, was not impressed with the ergonomics or user interface.  Canon DSLR and PnS were all very intuitive to use.
Fun and creativity returned to photography for me.
Went thru a whole mess of Canon Rebels, just kept them mounted on lenses cuz they were so cheap used.

Nikon and Pentax, still not on my radar tho close friend had D300 and loved it.  My 40D was comparable enough in IQ, I was still satisfied, maybe even smug about being a Canon user.

Nikon D70 at work, hated it, really clumsy interface.

5d2 came out, lots of hype.  I bought into it.
Most massively disappointing camera I ever purchased, raw files at base ISO were obviously noisier than my old 40D and even the Rebels.  I was led to believe, and had expected, much better from 5d2.  Fanboys were too busy raving about its virtues to see the flaws I found in the first few hundred shots.  Barely used it.  After 3+ years I sold it for half what I paid, cursed every fantastic scene I shot with it because post-processing was very limited.

Avoided 50D - was obviously too noisy without even trying it. What was happening?!?
60D, liked it, bought 2 of them.  Still have one, main everyday camera.

7D for wildlife with long slow lens, good camera but again, more disappointing low ISO performance. Sold it recently after a few years of light use.  Got some excellent shots with it, loved-hated it.

decided I'd better put my tech expertise to some use and learn more about imaging systems
Discovered Nikon (D90) and later Pentax (K5) were starting to really perform well in low ISO range I like to use.

Tried a D5100 because it was cheap and comparable IQ to D7000 which I didn't like the ergos on.
Astoundingly great IQ!  Bought pile of nikon lenses, new and used.
D800 - sounded very interesting, waited for test results.. I have to have this!  I have 2, love-love them.
Bought more cheap D5100s to use as back-caps on favorite lenses.
Started selling off Canon gear I wasn't using any more.

Bought a couple Pentax bodies... strange-love them!
Considering Olympus (OMD-EM5) as it feels good in hand and performs like 60D or better
Considering Fuji (X20 to start with) because they're niche and pay attention to detail and do things differently.

All my remaining Canon bodies are now older Digic 3 class... they just perform the way I prefer and need.
I'm considering a 6D, and hoping for a low-iso-improved 7D2 to put back on my long glass.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying Pentax more the more I use them and, along with the Nikons, I get the kind of high quality raw files for my way of working with images that Canon no longer provides. (6D and 1Dx possibly marginal exceptions)

I'll use whatever is the best tool for the shot I want to take.
I'm no longer a Canon fanboy, just a camera fanboy and I love to shoot with equipment that I know won't disappoint me when I finally get to spend some time rending the raw files to create the final look I'm after without a lot of photoshop work to compensate for shortcomings of the initial image capture, no matter how hard I want to warp that raw file.
This is a great time to be into photography.  Even perfectionists can find something satisfying to use.

[serendipidy]

Went to a camera store to buy my first film SLR in early 1970's. Don't remember why now, but they convinced me to buy a Canon FTb. Later I replaced that with the AE-1. Been with Canon ever since and no regrets. In 1998 I bought a Nikon film P&S. It took good photos but a year later as I got out of a cab, it fell off my belt clip and got crushed by the cab The only Nikon I ever owned...I figured it was karma.

[seamonster]

I was actually looking at getting a D7000 until bestbuy (of all places) had the 60D with the 18-135 and 55-250  and a lowepro bag and an 8 gb class 10 card for a thousand bucks even so I really only paid about $600 for the body. This was in the middle of 2011 mind you, before 60D prices plummetted. Since then I've sold both lenses but still have the 60D with EF lenses only.

[papa-razzi]

A couple of things led me to Canon.
- My first digital camera was a Canon Powershot.  My sister had one and loved it, so I picked one up.  I didn't do any research - except to play around with her camera a bit.  I had that thing for years.  Everything about the camera just worked, plus it would take a beating and keep working.  Took good pictures, menu system was intuitive.  I was very pleased with Canon as a brand given my experience.
- Several years later when I wanted to get a DSLR it was going to be Nikon or Canon.  I was partial to Canon given my positive experience with the Powershot, but I know the DSLR decision would have a much longer impact than the P&S purchase.
- I went to the local Costco and played with both brands.  Nikon felt small in my hands, the Canon Rebel XSi felt better in my hand.
- I did a lot of reading trying to decide between Canon & Nikon and I read a blog post somewhere (can't find it now) where the blogger talked about the DSLR really being an entire system (Lenses, Flashes, Bodies) and that overall, Canon had the best system.  That made a lot of sense to me.

So, I went with the Canon.  Eventually moved up to the 7D and bought several lenses.  Overall, I have been very happy and hope to get a 5DIII some time this year.

[stefsan]

When I started working as a journalist for a local newspaper almost 20 years ago, all the other reporters and photographers were working with Canon gear. So I got myself a Canon EOS 100. Since then it's pretty much a case of path dependency: Once you invest in a system (lenses, accessories etc.), it gets more and more costly to change. Therefore I still am a Canon shooter. And with the 5DIII they built kind of a dream body for my needs. I only have to find the funds to get it and some accompanying lenses – and I will continue to be a happy Canon user.

[Radiating]

Prior to 2005 I owned both Nikon & Canon, whichever seemed to do the job, in 2005 I sold my Company & retired, decided to get seriously interested in Photography, looked at which system offered the best all round benefits, Cameras in 2005 seemed much the same Nikon D70s or Canon 5D, but what directed me towards Canon were the Lenses, I didn't feel at the time Nikon had the same range or quality of Lenses, so I went Canon 5D & later to the 1 Series. Although I now have 1Dx, 1DMKIV, 5DMK3 & 5DMK2, I also recently bought the Nikon D800 to replace my 5DMK2 system for my Underwater Photography, seems to work well, crappy write speed of course, but the 36MP has some advantages, but the Menu system seems to have been put together by a Delusional Monkey on Crack Cocain.

Just waiting for Canon's large MP camera & I can get back to all Canon gear, at the end of the day though they are really just Tools, but you tend to make your bed once you get into the Lens side, not hard to jump ship on a couple of Camera Bodies, but a 100k on Lenses ?? I'm with Canon for the long haul I guess.

I will echo Nikon's terrible menu system designed by a delusional monkey on crack cocain. It's much less user friendly, but both get the job done.

[RLPhoto]

Geez aglet. Why u no shoot all nikon already?

[helpful]

I chose Canon because some of its lenses are unique and I wanted to use them.

I also choose Nikon for the same reason.

I use both systems almost equally, although most of my sports work is done with Canon.

[Hill Benson]

After owning a Sony Cybershot 505V I really wanted to step up to an optical viewfinder that I experienced during my SLR days. One day I was photographed on my motorbike by a 30D with a 70-200mm f/4L by a very skilled photographer and instantly fell in love with the image quality. So I started my Canon days with a 50D and a 70-200F4L in 2008. Absolutely no regrets whatsoever.

[RS2021]

I had no choice really. I am a thrid generation Canonite and there was always canon gear around. As a kid I was given an old hand-me-down A1 and a couple of FD's and that was it.

[timkbryant]

I went with Canon because a job I had just accepted required me to buy my own camera.

After asking my boss what the other people in the office had (for possible lens sharing, etc.) and not ever getting an answer other than "I don't like people to share lenses," and asking peers what they recommended and being told Canon or Nikon is perfectly good...

I decided since I already had a Canon P&S, and was somewhat familiar with Canon in that way, I would go with that.

Bought a 1000D, and have since added the Speedlight 580II and the 70-200 f/2.8 and then upgraded to a 5D3. Barring having all my equipment stolen or destroyed, I'm with Canon for the long haul.

[jdramirez]

I got a cheap deal on a body and a 75-300.  I had some grandma money from Christmas.  A few months before, I bought a few Nikon telephoto lens from a price mistake.  I was going to be a Nikon guy, but I got the price of the XS was a good deal. 

[Zo0m]

I liked the color of the telephoto lenses...