Am I crazy to even think of switching to Nikon? Here's my gear...

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tonyp

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#1
My wife and I started up a photography business last year. I'm currently in the process of getting her a camera body. We primarily shoot family portraiture and are moving into weddings this summer. I currently have:

Canon 5d Mk2
Canon 35L 1.4
Canon 50L 1.2
Sigma 85mm 1.4
Canon 135L f/2
Canon 580ex II

I do have the mark 3 preordered but damn the D800 is tempted... I could sell everything and start from scratch... I would lose some money yes, but does Nikon have equivalent primes as Canon does?
 
#5
I don't think it's crazy, I know it's been done plenty of times. I got my 35L/50L from a wedding photographer that had 2 5DII's and almost every L prime under 200mm, definitely more invested than you are. The prints I saw in her place were pretty awesome, and I know she was really happy with the Nikon stuff. Be aware, everything is backwards, you have to click right to open the aperture and left to close it, and I think even the focus ring is reversed.
 
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#6
With all things considered... these talks about banding, DR, etc... Do you have issue with the 5d2 DR? 5d2 Banding? From what I can tell is this... DR... may be better than 5d2, may be the same, it's up in the air until we get production samples... Banding, I've never really noticed to be honest... Not to say it isn't there, but I'm more into the overall sellable image than pixel peeping looking for issues... the 5d3, from what I gather, removed banding in one direction but not the other? Anyways, if this was a major issue for you in the past, it may be an issue for you in the future... If you loved the 5d2 image quality, you probably will be amazed by the 5d3 with addition to up to 2 stops more usable ISO's, AF, metering, etc etc etc... Nikon has an impressive camera, i'm sure sony will have a very nice camera as well, but it really boils down to what you personally want/need and what issues you have with your current gear and what you need to take your photography to the next level
 
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#7
For weddings I suspect you would be much happier with the low light performance of the 5d3 over the extra resolution of the d800. Additionally, your file sizes with the d800 will be monstrous. I doubt you would notice any perceived differences in dynamic range (if they exist at all as I have not seen any real world tests done yet, only theoretical ones). Besides, if there is an extra stop of DR in the d800, it would be in the iso 100 - 200 range which I doubt you'll be shooting at. Lastly, 22mp is still a VERY large file and there are good algorithms that would allow you to blow it up to gigantic prints (you can still do that with it's native resolution). If you are planning on cropping in VERY tight or blowing up to VERY large images, the d800 might be better for you. But barring that, I think the 5d3 would suite your needs better.
 
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#10
tonyp said:
Well what's happened is I'm reading all these forums about dynamic range, dynamic range, banding banding and it's messing with my mind man! LOL
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Thats exactly why I'm trying to combat all that blather! :D Don't listen to it...it has no bearing whatsoever on the cameras ability to take excellent photos...its just a bunch of tech heads who like to tear apart hardware and data at a low level and find its flaws (or lack thereof, if that tickles their fancy.)

Its all meaningless in the grand scheme of things! Learn how to use your camera, use it effectively and efficiently, and those issues will only affect a very small percentage of your total photos. If you need real evidence of whether any one of the cameras on the market today, including the 5D II and by extrapolation the 5D III, just look for photos created by them on sites like 500px.com or 1x.com. You'll never see any banding, fixed pattern noise, or DR issues.

To try and set your mind at ease a bit more, we've all been bickering about DR at an extremely low level, and in terms of extreme situations, where you might need to recover shadows by more than 4 stops. Unless you have rather unique photographic practices where you are regularly photographing scenes with unbelievable DR and can't use an GND filter to balance contrast, its highly unlikely you'll need to recover that much low-ISO shadow DR...ever. Using the more real-world DR numbers from DPR (as contrasted with the very low-level numbers from DXO that have been involved in most of the DR discussions on these forums lately), here is how cameras compare today, in stops of DR @ ISO 100:

Sony Alpha A9009.4
Nikon D70009.2
Canon 1D IV8.6
Canon 1Ds III8.6
Nikon D3s & D3X8.5
Canon 5D II8.4
Canon 7D8.3
Nikon D7007.8

The grand total difference from the worst current Canon body, the 7D, and the best current Nikon body, the D7000, is less than a full stop. The difference is even less, from the 1D IV to the D7000, of about half a stop. In terms of more realistic, real-world shooting...you shouldn't concern yourself with the low-level nature of read noise and how it may affect the technical specification of DR.
 
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#11
I know... and I love the Canon bodies... I love the control wheel, I love the joystick.... I think I would miss those tremendously... as lame as that may seem... and I'd miss that 135L lens....
 
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#12
tonyp said:
Well what's happened is I'm reading all these forums about dynamic range, dynamic range, banding banding and it's messing with my mind man! LOL
Click to expand...

It depends. To switch systems based on rumors and sample images is silly. On the other hand, let's say you can actually try out a D800 first hand and compare it directly to the type of shooting that you do against the 5DIII. If you can distinguish enough of a difference in DR, noise, ISO, or whatever factors most greatly impact your type of photography, and determine that difference is enough to warrant switching systems, then that's another story entirely.

In this scenario, for me the D800 would have to be substantially better than the 5DIII in order to justify switching systems. If the Nikon were just marginally better for my type of shooting, there's no way I'd switch.
 
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#13
V8Beast said:
tonyp said:
Well what's happened is I'm reading all these forums about dynamic range, dynamic range, banding banding and it's messing with my mind man! LOL
Click to expand...

It depends. To switch systems based on rumors and sample images is silly. On the other hand, let's say you can actually try out a D800 first hand and compare it directly to the type of shooting that you do against the 5DIII. If you can distinguish enough of a difference in DR, noise, ISO, or whatever factors most greatly impact your type of photography, and determine that difference is enough to warrant switching systems, then that's another story entirely.

In this scenario, for me the D800 would have to be substantially better than the 5DIII in order to justify switching systems. If the Nikon were just marginally better for my type of shooting, there's no way I'd switch.
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Exactly... everything is still up in the air and no real world samples have been provided... So many unknowns... So many assumptions and testing of unreleased photographs... The 5d2 was flamed for being soft, too much NR, low DR when it was first announced... Since then we know that the 5d2 more capable and higher quality than initially mentioned.
 
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#14
awinphoto said:
Exactly... everything is still up in the air and no real world samples have been provided... So many unknowns... So many assumptions and testing of unreleased photographs... The 5d2 was flamed for being soft, too much NR, low DR when it was first announced... Since then we know that the 5d2 more capable and higher quality than initially mentioned.
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To expand on that point, I find "test samples" a little silly as well. Take that Imaging Resource thread that was recently posted with 5DIII ISO samples. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't take photos of napkins and crayon boxes, and olive oil bottles sitting on a table. If I did take images of napkins, crayon boxes, and olive oil bottles under identical lighting conditions, then I suppose the test would be valid. But I don't.

Ultimately, all that really matters is how your gear performs under the conditions and shooting style that you subject them to. Otherwise, everything else is an apples-to-oranges comparison.
 
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#15
good luck with D800 for the wedding..
just be prepare for longer post and bigger cf cards.

BTW.. What is 5d2 holding you back? and regard to the switch with your current gears, ur amount of gears only fall within mediocre range.. so yes, if the switch should be made.. do it now.
 
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#16
My simple-minded answer is simply, yes. You would be looney to think of such a switch. Here's why.

You're in the first stage of building a business. You've got some fundamentals and tools established, and apparently they're working. Why would you consider shaking everything up and essentially starting over? That would add not only another variable to your business plan, but it could put the whole enterprise in jeopardy. It looks like you've got a good set of tools in place that satisfy your needs and you're building on those.

If you've succeeded five years from now, that's when you look at Nikon and see if they have tools that could give you increased success. If they do, you wouldn't be crazy to think about it then. Today, yes, it's crazy.

Best wishes for continued success with your venture!





tonyp said:
My wife and I started up a photography business last year. I'm currently in the process of getting her a camera body. We primarily shoot family portraiture and are moving into weddings this summer. I currently have:

Canon 5d Mk2
Canon 35L 1.4
Canon 50L 1.2
Sigma 85mm 1.4
Canon 135L f/2
Canon 580ex II

I do have the mark 3 preordered but damn the D800 is tempted... I could sell everything and start from scratch... I would lose some money yes, but does Nikon have equivalent primes as Canon does?
Click to expand...
 
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#17
I'm keeping everything (although I'm thinking of liquidating the 24-70) and next month -depending on the reviews & comments from 1st month guinea pigs- I'm seeing myself in line for a D800 with a 14-24 or 24-70.
I wont give a single penny to Canon till they get some sense about their pricing policy and the effort they seem to put in their slrs.
And in my opinion, 5dmk3 doesn't worth the investment right now since I think its price will tumble down more than 500-700$ in less than a year.

I'll always be a Canonite (just look at the beauty of any L lenses comparing with those yellow-black disproportionate things!) but i'll take a break for a bit.
 
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#18
If you do decide to switch, it'd be a great idea to actually hold a Nikon camera to see what they're like. My girlfriend has a Nikon, and whenever I pick it up I have no idea where anything is, or how to change certain settings, their layouts are pretty different, and I think Canon have a really nice layout on their bodies, I guess it's personal preference, I'm sure you could get used to anything though! The other thing is that their lenses go on the opposite way, and their zoom rings are opposite also!
 
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#19
poker_jake85 said:
The thing that made my decision to switch to NIKON was the price. Extra 500 for the mk iii and it has a worse sensor.
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A worse sensor? By what standard exactly? mp? If you think that is the criterion to judge a sensor by, have at it. Maybe we could all start shooting with the 41mp Nokia 808 phone. And everyone with a 1D4 can trade in their cameras for the 7d because it has more megapixels.

If there is some other reason the d800 sensor is better than the 5d3 that has actually been proven, then I will eat my words.

I will concede, once the hands on reviews start coming in and it turns out Sony has produced a miracle sensor that seemingly defies the laws of physics, I will have a great deal of egg on my face. Until then, we'll see.
 
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#20
Yes in think you are crazy. For wedding and portrait photography the 5d3 would be much better. The D800 will require more effort get good focus with those smaller pixels and won't get usable images at anywhere near as high iso. Surely you wont be printing anywhere near big enough to need 36 mp? Seems to me 5d3 is the ideal wedding photographers camera. D800 looks better for landscape are studio people.

I am actually considering switching myself. I print 20x30 regularly and want to go bigger. The extra detail is enticing me. The Nikon 14-24mm is another thing that has any Canon landscapers who are thinking of switching tempted... Canon just doesn't have an ultra wide angle that's corner to corner sharp. I'm not trying to make this about me... Just pointing out that I don't think the reasons most canon owners that are considering the switch really apply to you.

As a wedding photographer you should be grinning like crazy over the prospect of the impending arrival of your 5d3... Not torturing yourself over what to do like me :-)
 
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