Photography - Canon vs Nikon - Why I still sit on the fence

Canon vs Nikon? It is an age old comparison of the two best known brand heavyweights in the SLR category,  more so in the amateur arena where there is a much larger choice of product available.

Let the Confusion Begin:
There is a certain 'fan boy' element in this equation, die hard brand lovers with blinkers on who have fallen in love with the name rather than the merits.  Chuck into this mix the 'stats geek fanboy', an uber fanboy  who likes to talk pure numbers and settings and you are left with a huge vortex of confusion for those trying to start off on the beginning of their own DSLR adventure.

Expense is obviously a limiting factor; brand lenses are not cheap to make, and thus not cheap to buy for the average consumer.  Various factors require them to be built as proprietary hardware so they are not very interchangeable between different brands of camera bodies without some compromise or the purchase of additional adapters.  The reality for most people is once they start down the road of a particular brand it isn't financially viable to switch later if they decide they want to try a new model from a different brand.

It is true their are definitely noticeable differences in the 'look' of pictures that come out of these brands and their associated lenses and debate will inevitably touch on the topic and the merits of each 'look',  and this is where I sit on the fence.

I have the good fortune currently of owning both these brands of DSLR, a Nikon D90 and a Canon 7D with a small compliment of lenses, and I can safely say I still can not decide which ones I like best, either in terms of functionality or the 'look' of the pictures I produce from them.

Click to Enlarge Image

The picture on the left is taken with a Nikon D90 & 50mm f/1.4 lens.  The picture on the right was taken with a Canon 7D & 10-22mm lens.  Both compositions will appeal to different people in different ways. Model - Katie Abraham.

Visual imagery is a highly subjective area, there is no one particular look that will appeal to everyone. I have never found that arguing the merits of the end product. ie the photographs, can be rationalised by statistics of any kind.

In reality the people viewing your photos will enjoy them for what they are, quite probably with only a cursory interest in how they were taken or what settings were used.  My own thinking is just get out there and enjoy taking pictures.  I have plenty of still shots taken with my old standard 'point and shoot' consumer camera that people comment on as being fantastic simply because the shot was well composed, they often are surprised that those shots were not even from an SLR.

- Auki

Thanks to Katies Cottage for letting me publish these photos in this article.