Canon vs. Nikon

Looking for a new camera? Ask me which brand you should go with. A lot of people do and I tell them all the same thing, "You can't go wrong with Nikon or Canon." These two companies have specialized in making cameras for decades.

Nikon Corp. was founded in 1917 and has been making high-quality optics for not only cameras but also binoculars, microscopes and inspection equipment. Canon has been around since 1937 and also produces printers, scanners, binoculars, compact digital cameras, film and digital SLR cameras, and lenses. (Little known fact: Nikon used to produce optical lenses for Canon's first cameras.) Most people are looking for a simple point-and-shoot so I feel confident with my generic answer. However, SLR's are a little more complicated. Your world opens up to many more brands. I will, personally, still resort back to Canon or Nikon for the body of the camera. But when it comes to buying a lense for your SLR, the sky's the limit, so have fun shopping!

So then, which one do I prefer??? The pictures I post on this site are taken with either my Canon or Nikon. That's right, I own both! There are some camera enthusiasts who are committed to one or the other, but I'm happy with both - in different ways. My Canon Rebel is simple, no-fuss, light-weight and my go-to camera for quick pics (like for a majority of the photos you see on this site). My Nikon D80 is fancy, heavy, and includes a variety of lenses for specialized photos. Nikon rocks when it comes to lenses and is very flexible with the variety of brands that can be adapted to fit the camera body. For example, currently, I have a new digital SLR Nikon body, with a Tamron converter, and an old Nikon 105 mm micro lense that's well over 30-years old attached to the converter. Amazing! As a person who works in a creative field, in which I'm lucky enough to be able to work with professional photographers, I'm well aware that a lot of them use old camera bodies with new (and very fancy) lenses, however I didn't know I could use a new body with an old lense until I tried it the other day (thanks dad for helping me take the risk!).

Speaking of lenses. Want to see something amazing? Check out these photos. The first was taken with a standard Nikon 55 mm lense. The second was taken with the micro (also sometimes called macro) lense. Micros are meant for close-up photography as the picture clearly demonstrates, but also look at the amazing depth of field it creates. I'm going to have lots of fun with this new toy.

Other photo equipment I rely on include:
• Lowepro camera bags
• Bogen tripod
• A variety of memory cards (1 GB or higher)
• Dynex memory card adapter
• Mac laptop
• Photoshop


Have a photography question? Want to know more about, well, anything photo related. Ask me! And if I don't know, then I'll find out for you.