Have you considered joining the dark side?...

[Canihaspicture]

AHHH I find it so frustrating... I want the resolution of a MF camera (which I cannot afford), I want Canon colors, Canon lenses, Canon controls, and Canon high ISO quality. Why can't Canon deliver... I would literally sell my right kidney on the black market for such a camera.

[Kamera Obscura]

No!

[JR]

AHHH I find it so frustrating... I want the resolution of a MF camera (which I cannot afford), I want Canon colors, Canon lenses, Canon controls, and Canon high ISO quality. Why can't Canon deliver... I would literally sell my right kidney on the black market for such a camera.

Only a matter of time before the mp come for canon as well.

[bornshooter]

never im invested in canon the difference between both system's is minimal its really all about the photographer!

[birdman]

Yes, I have been back and forth many times (3 times exactly) most recently from D700 to 5d2. I got a killer used deal on the D700 and sold for nearly $1,000 profit to fund 5d2 and my glass. The only premium glass I own for my 5d2 is the 35L...unless you consider the 17-40L to be premium. HAHA. Just kidding its merely mid-range at best.

As I've beaten to death on this site, I do have the D800 on order. I still have some decent AF Nikon primes (50/1.8 and 85/1.8 AF-Ds) as well as the Tokina 28-70/2.6-2.8. When my camera ships, I am going to RENT a 16-35VR and Nikon to Canon adapters from Lensrentals.com to test both cameras extensively. I will also shoot my Canon 17-40L on the 5d2 against the Nikon 16-35VR on the D800 body. Stopped down to f/8-11 this will tell me corner to corner sharpness differences at comparable FL (18mm,21mm,24mm,28,35mm). Lastly, I will test the Canon 50/1.8 mk. 1 vs. the Nikon 50/1.8 AF-D,each on their respective bodies. After running through lightroom 4, and many tweaks, and absolutely ZERO DOWNSAMPLING, this will tell me real-world results.

I expect the D800 and 5d2 to be very close at 3200 and 6400 at Full Resolution. I am not buying the D800 to use at 21MP, or 18MP, or 12MP. I want to see its ISO performance at 36MP. Can't wait to test these out!!

[traveller]

You say it's for simpletons. Partially true. But it's more for people without s*** tons of money to waste switching brands every generations. 

Like all the Nikon users that switched to Canon for the 5D MkII's resolution advantage... Switching is for professionals who believe it will give them a competitive advantage or for rich people who have run out of ideas for what to spend their money on! To quote Thom Hogan:

"I just don't understand the brand switchers. We've had at least four measurable migrations in 13 years, and really only the first two had enough difference in the other factors to be remotely justified. If you're switching brands now, it's because you're switching brands, period. "

I think that it's a bit pointless switching brands now, if you're after the latest and greatest and have the money to spend switching each generation then it's your decision.  For most of the rest of us, we may have to make that expensive and difficult choice in our lives and this usually occurs at a point when a majorly disruptive technology comes along.  By 'majorly disruptive', I mean like SLRs (mostly) replacing rangefinders, autofocus, or the biggest of them all, digital (mostly) replacing film.  For most people, changing brand with each generation of CMOS sensor is lunacy. 

That's not to say if I were starting from scratch I wouldn't consider a switch, as for my needs I feel that the current Nikon bodies have an advantage.  That said, the D800 vs. 5D MkIII DXO Mark results that everyone in getting so wound up about, mirror the situation between the D7000 and the 7D and I've not really seen any photos that demonstrate a meaningful real world difference between those cameras... 

[briansquibb]

Not sure I can afford selling my large whites plus all the other Ls, speedlights etc and buy the Nikkor equivalent

I have 6 x 580 speedlights - think how much they would cost alone to replace.

Brand loyalty? - no, financial sanity

[Bob Howland]

If the Canon 200-400 price is higher than the combined price of the Nikon 200-400, 1.4X TC and a D800 body, I'd seriously consider it. Even better would be a 16MP, 10FPS DX D400 for $1000 less than a D800.

[psolberg]

Let's see. Switching to the D800 will gain me 14MP, some more DR, a pop up flash and easy access to the great 12-24.
If I do that I lose some high ISO capabilities, 2fps, the use of the irreplaceable 50 1.2, 85 1.2 and MPE65, ergonomics and workflow that I vastly prefer, that certain subjective look of Canon images that I love and potential access to Magic Lantern.

For me the choice was easy. For me whatever advantages the Nikon body offers are dwarfed by the advantages the Canon system offers.

1/3 of a stop ain't all That much you're painting it to be. Barrely noticeable. Specially given the horrible CA issues at f1.2 and slow af which makes me wish canon would have decent 1.4 versions instead (cheaper and lighter too). If fps was an issue, I'd get a D700 which does 8fps for less than 1900 dollars used or go D4. You're just greatly exaggerating the pluses of a couple of lenses. I've though this thru and if the canon system was all that, I wouldn't do it. Clearly we all have different goals and I don't argue that the 5DIII may be the better camera for *some* people. Canon was the leader of the last decade. But things have changed a lot and I feel comfortable with Nikon's lineup to miss nothing in the canon line.

What will all the "system switchers" do when Canon leapfrogs with it's next camera? Sell your 2-3yr old equipment again and switch back?

Call me crazy, and this has nothing to do with brand loyalty, but isn't the point of investing in a system to save money? Your lenses can last a lifetime. There must be a lot of very successful and rich professional photographers on this forum.

I'd switch back if the leap is significant or the price is lower but yield better quality (what the D800 is to the 5DmkIII now). I just don't see a single reason why I'd spend more to get less of what I can get elsewhere. The 5Dmk4 won't be out for another 4 years. That's 4 years of images with the D800 I'm going to enjoy a lot. And we'll see where the D900 goes too.

[Chris Geiger]

15 year Nikon shooter here. Mostly event/product/wedding photography. I've never been a fan of super high resolution and 12mp was enough most of the time. I need clean low light images more than I need megapixels. I switched from shooting D3S and D700 to a pair of 5D3's. I am able to use the images up to 12,800 ISO. I find the images from the 5D3 to be as clean as the D3S was but the images are 22MP so that gives me much more flexibility for cropping.  I love the 600EX-RT flashes (I have three so far). I was using Pocket Wizard triggers but having the wireless is the best thing to come along in photography in along time. I am hoping they will add a smaller version with the radio wireless control. For weddings I don't need much light, it's mostly for ascents and just a tad of light on faces.

I have no need or desire to work with and store larger files.  I also want to be able to shoot all day without changing cards while still having a backup. With a pair of 64G cards in the 5D3 I am all set for the day. For me the image files of the D800 are just too much.

[DavidRiesenberg]

1/3 of a stop ain't all That much you're painting it to be. Barrely noticeable. Specially given the horrible CA issues at f1.2 and slow af which makes me wish canon would have decent 1.4 versions instead (cheaper and lighter too). If fps was an issue, I'd get a D700 which does 8fps for less than 1900 dollars used or go D4. You're just greatly exaggerating the pluses of a couple of lenses.

I wasn't listing the 50 and 85 because they are faster. They both posses a certain quality that is a combination of color rendition, contrast and oof quality that personally I don't find in any of the alternatives. That is why I purchased them in the first place and certainly I don't find the D800 offering anything substantial enough to warrant using lesser offerings instead.
Also, my post was a personal observation based on what I usually shoot but there are also other segments in which Canon offers better lenses. Super teles and tilt shifts on the wide end for example.

[Fotofanten]

I did consider it, especially since the D800 is considerably cheaper than the 5D3, but the D800 thumb rest design essentially put me off. Also, I had the NEX-5N for a while, and as much as I adored the size/weight to performance - ratio and the brilliant focus peaking mode, I never grew comfortable with the skin tone rendition from the sensor, as I felt that it brought a yellowish tone to nordic skin no matter what the white balance. I don't know if that is the case with all Nikon cameras with Sony sensors in them, but why risk it when I have grown accustomed to Canon color rendition. The 5D III seems to be everything I wanted it to be, except for the rather hefty price, but honestly I don't care and I will pony up the cash anyway. DxO measurements speaks to the rational mind, even though many of us and myself included are skeptical as to the real world relevance of the recent results. Canon primes speak to my heart, and that, in the end, is the real deciding factor, and the reason as to why I will not be joining the dark side, even if they do have a bit more DR and pixels to play with. And maybe even cookies.

[prestonpalmer]

Lots of people are switching. D800 is back ordered. My 5D3 is a great cam too...

[briansquibb]

Lots of people are switching. D800 is back ordered. My 5D3 is a great cam too...

Let them switch - that way the used market place will have plenty of top lens at knockdown prices

[prestonpalmer]

Lots of people are switching. D800 is back ordered. My 5D3 is a great cam too...

Let them switch - that way the used market place will have plenty of top lens at knockdown prices

No intention of selling my canon gear though