Why canon?

[Neeneko]

Like what?

The main two would be UV sensitivity and compatibility with a wide range of machine vision lenses.  Nikon's F Mount in general has a much richer third party market since the mount is used by more manufacturers then just Nikon in their bodies.  Many of these, like the noct and medical lenses do not really have Canon equivalents.

Trap focus would also be nice, but I understand there is a way to hack Canon bodies to do something similar.

[glzq]

I had a Canon point and shoot (SD700IS) which was a great camera, but not so good in larger environments, so I'd been pondering a DSLR for a while. A friend of mine who is a sound engineer was at an event where one of his employees was taking pictures with a Canon DSLR, a telephoto lens, and a monopod. At first I thought that his tripod had broken and felt sorry for him
I then asked him about DSLRs and he was a big Canon fan. He said a lot of good things about it, but wasn't really objective, so I asked another friend of mine who is a professional photographer, and uses Nikon. He said that it boiled down to personal preference and need more than one brand being superior to the other. At the time I was looking at the Canon Rebel XSi (450D), and was comparing it to the Nikon D60, which was cheaper. While both cameras offered a lot to a newbie like myself, the Canon had more points of focus when compared to the Nikon. So I waited and waited, and then one weekend BestBuy dropped the price, and I had some Reward Zone certificates and a gift card, so I ended up buying the XSi with the kit IS lens and have never regretted it!
I recently upgraded to a Canon 7d, and to be honest, I didn't even look at the Nikon equivalent. I don't mean that in a negative way, it was just because I could use my existing lenses on the 7d, and I have a friend who has one and loves it!

[karminator]

Had a Nikon 35mm film point & shoot for years.  Just loved it, one of the best cameras I ever owned.  After many years it broke.

In the early days of digital, my sister had a Canon PowerShot & loved it.  I played with it and decided to get one.
I really liked the User Experience - small form factor, even from the little arrow on the battery to let you know the correct way to align it in the camera.

When going to SLR, I read one site that mentioned you are not buying a camera, but an entire system - lenses, flash, bodies, etc.  The overall Canon system was superior, and I already had good experiences with the brand.

Now I'm into it too deep w/ lenses, etc. to ever change.  Bodies come and bodies go, sometimes Nikon is ahead, then Canon responds.

Overall, I'm very happy.

[kennykodak]

a friend told me to buy a Canon F1 and play with it when i wasn't flying in the Vietnam war to keep from going nuts.  through the years i have had Nikons and Hasselblads (even digital) and keep returning to Canon.

[CanonGuy]

Well two simple reasons:
 1. Fit in my hands much better than Nikon's what I've tried
 2. All the buttons, for me much better places (in 7D) than like D300s

These two reasons made me use Canon over Nikon or other DSLR producers

[bvukich]

Like what?

The main two would be UV sensitivity and compatibility with a wide range of machine vision lenses.  Nikon's F Mount in general has a much richer third party market since the mount is used by more manufacturers then just Nikon in their bodies.  Many of these, like the noct and medical lenses do not really have Canon equivalents.

Trap focus would also be nice, but I understand there is a way to hack Canon bodies to do something similar.

Ok, perhaps a fringe case... but that's a really good reason if applicable.

Magic Lantern provides trap focus (and a bunch more cool features).

[m3tek44]

my reason is simple.... For those of you who started with point and shoot, I had A300 using 2 AA batteries and slowly upgraded to S45 (4MP and wow,,, that's was a brick point and shoot).... and every year I was upgrading to S55 and S770 and so on....

Finally I gave in and decide to upgrade to EOS body to 60D and found out I need to upgrade my lens and never looked back..... Just royal Canon user for 10+ yrs.

[K-amps]

For me it was because I got a bunch of hand-me-down lenses to get me started.

To be honest, I kinda regret going with Canon, but at this point replacing all my lenses with Nikon equivalents would be costly. 

Canon cameras lack a lot of capabilities that I would really like to have.

Like what?

I'd like to know too.

Besides the basic trait of Nikon differentiating performance tiers by resolution, and Canon by AF; there are no features I can think of that Nikon has, that Canon doesn't have on their equivalent model.

One stands out to me: (more so because there are Third Party hacks for it) Nikon Mid range bodies can do more than 3 AEB's, something that I have always wanted. Canon does 3 AEB for all bodies except the 1D series, where it allows 7 AEB. Why not allow a 5AEB in the mid-range line (Yes ML gives us that option, but it should be standard).

[bvukich]

For me it was because I got a bunch of hand-me-down lenses to get me started.

To be honest, I kinda regret going with Canon, but at this point replacing all my lenses with Nikon equivalents would be costly. 

Canon cameras lack a lot of capabilities that I would really like to have.

Like what?

I'd like to know too.

Besides the basic trait of Nikon differentiating performance tiers by resolution, and Canon by AF; there are no features I can think of that Nikon has, that Canon doesn't have on their equivalent model.

One stands out to me: (more so because there are Third Party hacks for it) Nikon Mid range bodies can do more than 3 AEB's, something that I have always wanted. Canon does 3 AEB for all bodies except the 1D series, where it allows 7 AEB. Why not allow a 5AEB in the mid-range line (Yes ML gives us that option, but it should be standard).

That was the only feature I could think of too, but since ML lets me do 9, I disregarded it.

[Taemobig]

A year ago my neighbor was a photography enthusiast and he sometimes needs an assistant for some of his shoots so he asks for my help sometimes. I got interested in photography at that point and he recommended getting a canon 40D because that was the same camera he was using then. I found one on craigslist for $400 and the seller was nice enough to sell me a 50mm f2.5 macro for $50. My neighbor had some L lenses that I was able to borrow as well. It made sense to stick with canon so both my neighbor and I can share lenses.

Now he uses a 7D and I upgraded to a 5d mkII recently. I borrow his 7D when I need speed, and he borrows my 5D mkII if he needs a wider frame.

[Z]

Because "canon" sounds cool.

... But moreso because my father shot Canon, and my first camera was a gift from him.

[traveller]

Like many of the decisions that we all find ourselves stuck with: "it seemed like a good idea at the time..."

Like a marriage, for better or worse I've stuck with my decision thus far... Mostly it's been "better", but that doesn't mean we don't still look at what other people have!   

[Imagination_landB]

A big deal on the 60D.. Controls on and in camera are a lot better IMO and easier to start with. Larger lens selection available. Longer telephotos, better macros and the list goes on.. for sure nikon does have some advantages but canon is canon.

[smirkypants]

I never could figure out how to pronounce "Nikon" properly.

[K-amps]

I never could figure out how to pronounce "Nikon" properly.

   

You get an applaud for that.