Quote of the Week
This quote comes from Terry White from a review on his Tech Blog of the new Nikon P6000 point and shoot compact digital camera (here’s the link). Terry at some point in his review was going to mention that this camera from Nikon was probably positioned as an answer to Canon’s popular G9 and G10 compacts, and just mentioning that can bring some harsh comments, so so he wisely included a disclaimer right up front that basically said he didn’t want to turn this into a “Nikon vs. Canon” thing. Then came his short and sweet “quote of the week,” which was:
“…does anyone ever win those anyway?”
He’s absolutely right! Have you ever read a forum with people arguing back and forth on Nikon vs. Canon (or Mac vs. PC, or Ford vs. Chevy), where one person or the other finally says, “Ya know, you’ve got a point there—-I’m selling all my gear and switching to your brand!”? It’s probably happened once, but only because everything’s happened once.
Anyway, Terry had a great theory on why this silly “my brand is better stuff” goes on so frequently. He said, “It’s because nobody wants to feel like they made a mistake and bought the wrong one, and they get very defensive about their choice, because they don’t want to be the goober who’s not using the right, or better, stuff.” Makes sense. His theory—-not the whole “arguing the brand” idea. 
Just remember this; whichever brand of camera you do shoot, keep this in mind; you could take a $199 point-and-shoot camera that we wouldn’t even consider to shoot our neighbor’s kids birthday party at Chuck e-Cheese’s, and hand it to my Guest Blogger tomorrow; send him out the door for an hour, and he’d come back with a better photo than most any of us have taken in our entire lifetime. Which, (as you’ve heard for the millionth time) just proves once again (say it with me now) “It’s not about the camera!”
Have a great Tuesday everybody!
You best not bring up the Ford vs. Chevy war, thems fightin’ wurds and might git a few feathers ruffled.
Let’s argue over beer instead! Tastes great or less filling? You can always bust an empty bottle over someone’s the head who disagreed with you cheaper than using your camera lense. Anyway, I’m excited about the guest blogger- can’t wait!
People will always argue over what’s better but it all comes down to “user preference.” What works for one person may not work for another. It’s all about what you feel comfortable with.
Tomorrows guest blogger = Jay Maisel?
To some extent I agree it’s not about the camera. But here’s a story.
A few months ago my son was doing something at a Cub Scout Pack meeting. I wanted to take some pictures. I didn’t want to lug around my DSLR so I took my Nikon Point-N-Shoot which before the DSLR I took several great pictures so I know it’s capable. During the scout event I couldn’t get a decent shot. I forgot where menu options were for what I wanted to change and the shutter lag was unbelievably slow – almost painful.
So it may not be the camera, but my DSLR gets out of my way and lets me take a picture when *I* want to take a picture not when *it* wants to.
(* as a side note I keep on reading it’s not about the camera from photographers that have a $4,000+ one. Just makes you go hmmm – “it’s not about the camera, but check out my 32 gigapixel Nikon D4xs with the 14-200 f/2.8 lens with VR III” *)
Nikon vs. Canon …..
And the winner is ….
All of us!!!!!
About 20 years ago I had a group of scouts out for a week long canoe trip. One of the other fathers asked if I brought a camera. I had my wife’s Point-N-Shoot rather than my SLR gear. He said to me “I have my 35mm, so at least we’ll get SOME good pictures”. All week long the sun was blazing. We both took pictures of the boys around camp. He couldn’t figure out why I kept popping up the little flash on the PNS. He’d shoot available light and give me a sh** eating grin. When we got back and had the shots developed he found out that the caps the boys wore shadowed their faces in every one of his shots, while mine had the faces nicely illuminated. He asked me why my shots were better than his and I told him “it ain’t the camera”. It still isn’t. Terry used the same arguement I’ve been using for years. No one will concede that they bought second best. There is no “second best”, only preference.
I gotta tell ya, with your D-town and McNally’s new Nikon-centric book and Kelby-training videos, and Moose’s DLSW with the Nikon loaner-locker I am seriously thinking of putting my Canon stuff on ebay.
It not that the Nikon gear is better. The problem is that my favorite instructors are Nikon shooters.
On the other hand there must be somebody who can explain all the buttons and gizmos on my 580EX.
On the whole Canon vs. Nikon debates, if you squelch the debate, then we stop learning about why some choose one over the other. Of course, loyalty is often the case, but often as well choices are founded on some aspects, which others thinking about buying Canon or Nikon, haven’t thought of.
When we hinder debate, when we strive to squelch the God-given thought power man has, when we say, “stop debating,” we become slaves, for slaves are not permitted to question, not permitted to speak unless allowed to speak, and most of all, their quest for using their minds are hindered to the point of losing the ability to think at all.
I pray the debate continues with more fervor and vigor than ever. Those seeking to muzzle those wanting to point out why and why not a particular brand is chosen are insecure and afraid. What are you afraid of?
As I read somewhere, no one is going to say, look at that photo, looks like it was shot with a Nikon and the post was done on a PC. If you can’t do it with a Canon, you won’t be able to with a Nikon, vice versa. They are just tools, sure some are nicer than others and can make some things easier. I personally shoot Canon and when I see something like D-Town(very cool BTW), I look at what can I take away from it and use. Sure, some things are brand specific but generally things have an equivelant; matrix vs evalutive metering?
Besides if everything were the same, what would be the excuse?
So why don’t we do just that – give a talented photographer a simple point and shoot camera and see what they come up with? Take away the monster DLSR, $$ lens, etc, and let them have at it. By the way, no post processing either – no photoshop, no lightroom, etc. I think it would be very instructive.
Canon has a “P” setting for program, Nikon has a “P” setting for perfect!
…and vice versa.
Tip:
You CAN do anything with a point and shoot (even sports photography at night). Because even if your photos come out blurry and unrecognizable, you just convert them to black and white and call it “fine art”. The pros have been getting away with that one for years.
You know, that quote is a great way to put it. I have a few friends that are Canon users and a few more that are Nikon users. I have used both and just feel that Nikon is a more comfortable fit for me, my needs, and personality. I love the feel of it vs Canon. To me, it is preference.
I always appreciate hearing that it isn’t the camera. Especially on a blog site that announces every new lens, lightroom update, and photoshop trip. Although my ‘wish list’ for things grows as I learn more and more about photography, I also understand that I have everything I need now to take a great picture. Thanks for your great comment Scott.
“you could take a … point-and-shoot camera…, and hand it to my Guest Blogger tomorrow; send him out the door for an hour, and he’d come back with a better photo than most any of us have taken in our entire lifetime.”
No doubt that his photos would look very nice, but can a pro build a business on a P&S? If so, why don’t they do it? They would save a lot of money!
Would a young couple getting married be happy with the *results* of their wedding photos being taken with a P&S? Can the photos from a 14MegaPixel P&S be blown up to 20×30 for a wedding enlargement without revealing ugly grain or noise or bad clarity or whatever? Sure the framing and the lighting could be perfect, but what about the image quality?
In my opinion, yes, you can get nice photos from a P&S, but when you want to sell your photos, I don’t think a P&S would cut it. So sometimes, the camera does matter. There is a reason why pros/prosumers buy the expensive cameras – if there wasn’t, there wouldn’t be a market for them.
We all know this to be true Scott.
It is also true that words are cheap.
And that actions speak louder than words.
Clearly all the criticism hit a nerve.
there *is* a benefit to nikon vs canon: the competition makes them both better and cheaper. what do you suppose the price of a digital slr would be if only one maker sold them? other than comic relief, we don’t benefit directly from canon and nikon owners throwing insults at each other, but we do benefit handsomely from the lengths to which one maker is willing to go in order to woo the owners of their competition.
Another point people miss when they dismiss people dabating the merits of one camera system over another. Many people read them, as they have yet to choose which to purchase.
As for the camera not being important, nonsense. I have no interest in the camera name, as long as it does the job I need it for. If it cannot do the job, then it’s useless. A pocket camera my be better than a DSLR at times and a MFDB may be better at other times – it all depends on the particular job/situation.
I chose Canon over Nikon a few years back as FF/good high ISO/fast wideangles was what I needed most and Nikon said FF wasn’t important and high ISO was not too hot. Thankfully they have since realised that was a mistake.
*|Tom Said – “If you can’t do it with a Canon, you won’t be able to with a Nikon, vice versa.”|*
That was not true at all when I bought my system. As a result of buying Canon, I got shots I would not have been able to if I’d bought Nikon, stongly underlined when a fellow pro photographer struggled to get decent shots with his Nikon at a low light event that I managed no problem with my faster W/A lenses and better high ISO. He considered swapping systems to Canon after that incident as the camera let him down badly. He couldn’t afford to do just then having just bough new bodies and when he had more money, Nikon had finally brought out some decent competition for Canon.
The right tool for the job is very important. Being able to use tools properly is also important and one of the skills of a good photographer needs is choosing the right tool. And for some, long lens sports photographers for example, Nikon would have been great, but I’m not one of them, so they were a bit pants for my needs. That was then.
If buying a new system now, I’d have a choice of three systems, which is much, much better, than the single choice I had when I switched from film to digital.
Sony is not as good at high ISO, so that leaves two contenders for my needs.
Would I still choose Canon over Nikon? Possibly, as 20-30mm is the range I shoot the most in and swapping constantly between a 14-24mm + a 24-70mm would irritate me no end and the extra 2mm width of Nikon is not so important. But then Nikon flashes seem much better than Canon’s, so it would be a very close thing as opposed to no contest when I last invested in a new system.
My view is brand loyalty/money invested in glass kept Nikon afloat until they caught up and in some ways beat Canon. And I’m very glad Nikon and Sony are giving Canon competition as I think Canon became complacent.
Here’s another story credited to Chet Atkins, who I had the pleasure of recording a few years ago (before I got into photography).
Chet was playing guitar on a session in Nashville years ago…as usual he was playing great. At one point while he was playing, the producer pressed the intercom button and said to him, “Chet, that’s a great sounding guitar.”
Chet stopped playing, set the guitar down on the floor next to him and said,
“How does it sound now?”
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