Which Camera Brand Do you Prefer?

[Sinsinnati]

Tell us what brand you are most loyal too and which brand you have had the worst experience with.

 

[IlluminatedSage]

I prefer Canon myself. have a canon 5d, awesome prof camera. also have matching film body for lenses.

for point and shoot, have a lil sony, but considering the lumix/panasonic new one.

 

[SpankyPenzaanz]

Right now I am in the middle of transitioning off of my canon equipment to leica. I had a terrible experience with a nikon n80 about 8 years ago and it soured my experienced. Don't get me wrong they make some good cameras but I will never throw money their way again. I got a canon and was very happy and still am but unfortunately for them I am growing out of them. I recently got a mamiya medium format and fell in love with the glory that is medium format. In doing so I am getting me a leica digital setup to go along with my existing mamiya setup. I love shooting b/w and slides with the medium format.

 

[Mr. G4]

Very happy with my olympus E-500 with 2 lens kit.
I upgrade one of the lens to a faster one 14-54 f2.8 and added a 35mm for macro.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Olympus.

Had the OM-1, bought it used back in the mid 80s, replaced that with a Centurion APS in the late 90s (excellent camera, totally wrong system). Then I went through a couple of bad cameras until I got a µ digital 600 for Christmas last year.

Now I'm saving up to get me an E-400 once they are released. Ok, so technically I have to look at it first, hold it, feel it, you might say, but I want it badly...

 

[Quboid]

I have a serious affinity for the panasonic lumix DMC-TZ1K 5MP. Funcional and pretty nice looking. In my opinion (not even close to professional) optical zoom comes before mega-pixels.


G4 for life

 

[imacintel]

Nikon all the way. They are ****ing amazing cameras.

 

[sjl]

Nikon all the way. They are ****ing amazing cameras.

Yeah, but they've been ridiculously difficult to get stock for, at least in Australia, according to friends of mine who are in something of a position to know. Now that Nikon is opening up a branch in Australia (rather than going through Maxwell Optics), that situation may - should! - change.

My personal belief is that it doesn't matter if you shoot Nikon or Canon - they both have similar capabilities and lens lineups. Drooling after a 5D, though, I must admit (getting some extra money in my pay packet this week, and in two weeks, that should go some way towards glass that I can use on that body. Drool, drool.)

 

[miloblithe]

I prefer Nikons, problably almost entirely because the first real camera I used (when I took photography in highschool) was an old Nikormat. It had a built in light meter and it was built like a tank. I proceeded to lose that camera (which was my mother's) so I bought a Nikon N2000 to replace it, which was nice but lacked the gravitas of the Nikormat.

My first camera that was really mine was a fully manual Ricoh, which was great for me although certainly not a great camera. However, I felt like I was missing a few shots because I wasn't quick enough so I bought a point and shoot Pentax and used the Ricoh for black and white.

My first digital camera was an Olympus 2020Z, which I bought because I liked the idea of the big f/1.8 lens. It was a great camera and served me well for over 5 and a half years until I just bought a Canon 400D.

I've really never had a real camera that I thought was less or more than I expected of it. Obviously I haven't been loyal to one company. Nikon to me sounds right. But at the time of purchase, other cameras have usually made more sense for one reason or another. Since I bought the 400D, I expect I'll become a Canon man as I accumulate lenses.

 

[GKThursday]

Pentax, through inheritance

My Grandfather took up photography as a hobby in the early 70s, and decided that Pentax made the best "pro-sumer" (yes, I know the word hadn't been invented yet) camera. He had a MX and a ME Super, along with a good array of glass for both. I just inherited them, so I am a Pentax guy now. (prior to this I was shooting with a Fujifilm S5100/5500) I will probably stick with Pentax, just because that way I can use the glass I have now. And, the new Pentax K10D looks really nice, so maybe I will buy one of those in a year or so.

~Thursday

EDIT: w00t! I'm not a n00b anymore!

 

[kwajo.com]

I've been a lifelong Pentax SLR user, they have always been reliable, affordable, well supported, always have the newest technologies, amazing image quality, and I love not being a sheep to N___n and C___n

You just wait for the 30MP 645D early next year, you'll all be drooling

 

[Silentwave]

Nikon. Big time.

Can't stand Canons at all, though they do produce fine images and such.

I'm thinking of shooting Leica rangefinders to supplement the Nikons in college, probably an M8.

 

[eMagine]

Where's Hasselblad? I use a Hassy H2D.

 

[tech4all]

I currently have an Olympus dSLR and a Canon P&S. Both do what I want them to do just fine. Can't really say which brand I prefer, they're both good for what they're designed to do. However I may go to Canon or Nikon in the future for my next dSLR due to more wide accessory selection of accessories and lenses and build quality. I don't have much experience with Canon and Nikon dSLR's, but I do feel that my Olympus dSLR doesn't feel the most solidly built IMO, but that doesn't mean I don't like it.

P.S. Love the option of, "Screw Photography, I draw my images" Imagine drawing your pictures of a football game at 5 FPS

Can't stand Canons at all, though they do produce fine images and such.

Then why don't you like them? I would think that if a camera can produce fine images and such that would be a good reason to like them?

 

[IlluminatedSage]

My personal belief is that it doesn't matter if you shoot Nikon or Canon - they both have similar capabilities and lens lineups. Drooling after a 5D, though, I must admit (getting some extra money in my pay packet this week, and in two weeks, that should go some way towards glass that I can use on that body. Drool, drool.)

Love the camera. still learning it though. it takes amazing pics

now i need a mac pro to use with it as my "lab"

 

[Over Achiever]

Started out with a Minolta XG-1 film, then as I was young, moved to a cheap point-and-shoot Pentax film which got me through senior prom. I finally moved to digital last year when I finally travelled out of state, getting an amazing Panasonic FX-9 which had great battery life, solid build, but so-so pictures inside. I didn't learn and replaced it with a Ricoh R4, which I loved the reach (7x zoom) in a compact body, but it also had a noisy CCD. Finally now, I have a Fuji S6000fd, and I love the performance in high ISO, and the grip of it.

So while I've moved from Minolta to Pentax film to Panasonic to Ricoh digital, finally ending up with Fuji. I really like the superCCD technology, so right now it's my current favorite. In a few years, I'll probably move up to a Nikon or Canon entry dSLR. I feel like I've moved through most of the manufactures, searching for the camera that fits my evolving needs.

-OA

 

[cgratti]

I shoot Canon, tried Nikon and hated the feel of the camera. Canon seems much more comfortable, and the buttons are much easier to navigate. For me at least.

Canon all the way baby!

 

[Silentwave]

Then why don't you like them? I would think that if a camera can produce fine images and such that would be a good reason to like them?

I'll put out a few words here:

Usability

Image Feel
Ergonomics
Body feel
Flash system

Frankly I am a polar opposite of cgratti's opinion. Same thing with many of my frends. Everyone that bought/is buying a camera this year in the photo club (i'm president) at school is buying a Nikon because they love the feel of my cameras.

I also just prefer the nikons' output in general.

 

[Clix Pix]

Nikon here....

I've been shooting with Nikon cameras since the early 1990's.....Handling any other sort of camera body just doesn't feel "right" to me; I'm hooked on Nikon's ergonomics, not to mention their fine array of lenses!

 

[maxi]

Nikon for dslr and film (D80, FM2 and F4) and lomo for medium format (ohh how I wish I could afford a rolleiflex right now...).

Medium Format is pure awesomeness, I just hope film doesn't die.

 

[tech4all]

I'll put out a few words here:

Usability

Image Feel
Ergonomics
Body feel
Flash system

Frankly I am a polar opposite of cgratti's opinion. Same thing with many of my frends. Everyone that bought/is buying a camera this year in the photo club (i'm president) at school is buying a Nikon because they love the feel of my cameras.

I also just prefer the nikons' output in general.

Fair enough.

 

[fivetoadsloth]

i like the nicer canons, but who doesnt?

 

[bousozoku]

...
Then why don't you like them? I would think that if a camera can produce fine images and such that would be a good reason to like them?

Perhaps, because they work backwards when compared to any other brand. It's rare to find anyone who can switch between Canon SLRs and any other brand regularly. The ergonomics are just too different. All of the other brands are quite similar.

I prefer to use Olympus SLRs but Pentax and Nikon are my alternate choices. For point and shoot cameras, I've only had one and I wasn't comfortable with the guessing game.

 

[rowdy268]

I'm a Canon guy - mainly because I became convinced while using the dv cameras they make. I had a friend who is a photographer full time and she recommended the Canon...that's when I learned - once you buy lenses, you don't look back!

 

[Mike Teezie]

Canon all the way - I'm absolutely in love with my 5D. I am head over heels about the full frame sensor in my camera. It's a thing of magnificent beauty.

When I add a few more bits 'o L glass to complete my lens collection this year, I'll feel like I have the ultimate setup(for me).