Spicing things up!

We all reach a point in photography where things starts to get a little bit “too easy”. And so after a decade with Nikon, I decided to switch to Canon (okay, and nobody really cares haha, but if you want to know why, this was my thought process).

Hear me out: Nikon’s great! The autofocus 3D tracking is the best, the sensors (full frame) are the best, the ergonomics are the best… But I wanted a new challenge. I wish I could have went full Fuji, but Fuji isn’t a serious option for wildlife photographer in my opinion: the battery life is too poor and the lens' choice too limited.

It cost about $7000 CAD to get a Fuji 200mm f/2.0 with a 1.4x tc. It gives me a nice 300mm f/2.8 lens angle of view and add to that the 1.5 APS-C sensor of my X-H1 and you get 450mm f/2.8. It is good, but obviously not enough for birders. I need more.

A Canon 500mm f/4 IS can be find for about $5k CAD on the used market. So there’s that. It all depends what one wants to do.

If only Fuji had a 400mm lens! But it’s more than that too: even if they launch a series of long telephoto lenses, there won’t be any used market yet. I never buy a lens brand new, that would be a crazy thing.

There are differences between Canon and Nikon. It is a common myth that “both are the same”.

No.

Both take pictures, yes. But both are not the same.

Canon JPG and RAW files are more pleasant to the eyes. I can deliver the RAW files (well, convert them in JPG then deliver) almost without any tweak. Nikon requires a little bit more work (but rewards you with way better dynamic range –comparing bodies until 2014, let’s say-)

Nikon’s autofocus is way superior (tracking wise). My Nikon D300 from 2007 tracks better than a Canon 1D Mark IV flagship from 2009.

Nikon has a great series of cheap f/1.8 lens: the 20, 24, 28, 35, 50, 85 f/1.8 are great! Canon has the 85mm f/1.2 L USM II, but Nikon the 105mm f/1.4 E. Canon has the 135mm f/2.0.

The ergonomics of a Nikon are better, in general. The power switch makes more sense.

The image quality is very depending from body to body. A Nikon D800E/D810 are still the king in my opinion (with the D850), but I haven’t tried a 5D Mark IV (and honestly don’t care about the small size body such as the 6d or 5d series).

Photography is about expressing ourselves through the art of freezing what is not meant to be frozen into a frame, and both will help you do that.

Oh, a few more things. Nikon has always a better battery life than Canon. That’s evident. Canon has better value for the dollar, I found. A Canon 6D full frame can be found at around 500-600 CAD, which is an extremely good deal. Canon has lenses with no equivalent on the Nikon’s side: the 24-105mm f/4 IS stabilized is one of them. There are also so many cheap 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM non-stabilized version available on the market for quite cheap too.

Canon has better video in general. WAY Faster autofocus in live view! You can actually use live view for things with a Canon. Nikon? Hahahaha…. Nope. Canon’s dual pixel autofocus is amazing. So if you are a vlogger, just go ahead and get a Canon.

Anyone wondering what’s better between Canon and Nikon, I would say “better at what?”, then “which body”.

I rather have a used Canon 1D Mark IV (reviewed here) from 2009 then a 2018 plasticy Nikon D3500, that’s a no brainer.

A 1D camera allows you two store in memory to exposure mode and two autofocus points, using two separate bottoms at the back (the AF-ON and AE-L): this is a feature that Nikon did not have until the D5 (and even then, I am not even sure the D5 has it, I think I read it somewhere.

Once in a while, it is important to spice things up: we don’t want to fall into normality and in the boringness that comes with it. Time will tell if I regret, but so far so good. I have been extremely impressed with the image quality (color tones) of the Canon 1D, and that’s the most important. Well, no. The most important is this: does a Canon body makes me want to go shoot somewhere remote in the Amazonia? Yes.

I sold almost all of my Nikon gear (600mm f/4 Vr, 300mm f/2.8 Vr, d800e, df) and keep only the D300 and F5 (reviewed here). That’s all I need. Travelling soon to Brazil with the 300mm f/2.8 Canon + 2.0 TC III. That’s it.

If one does not do video, nor care about it, I suggest a big body, such as a D3s/D4 from Nikon or 1Dx, over a brand new D850 or 5D Mark IV. The viewfinders of these cameras are simply excellent, and always made me want to go shoot more. The shutter lag is also extremely short, which contributes to the fun of shooting.

I wanted a new challenge to break the routine and Canon offers that. I have to re-learn how to operate a camera, and with that comes a new opportunity to go shoot, and therefore more keepers. I think that I will add that to my new life rules: “Cannot keep a system for more than 10 years”.

Cheers,
JP