I bought a Canon 10D last year, and I've been perfectly happy with it. I bought it with a long and short zoom. It's been sort of nagging at me that I don't have any primes for use with it, primarily for the wider apertures. I do miss being able to go shallower with the depth of field when I want to.

On the shelf sits my old Nikon FE, with 4 Nikkors. Fellow DVI'er Tyler Cartner got my juices flowing a bit by mentioning the Nikon D70S and that I could use my old lenses with this camera. I did some spec shopping and now I'm getting tempted to sell my Canon and buy into the Nikon.

I'm aware that autofocus lenses are de rigeur these days, but I do occasionally put my Canons into manual focus mode for old times sake and feel like I can adequately judge focus through the viewfinder enough to consider using manual lenses for a controlled shoot (headshots, etc.)

Anyone have any thoughts one way or another on this? Experience with both cameras, likes and dislikes?

Charles

Sounds like for what you are planning on doing with it it probably doesnt matter either way. There isnt much difference in the class of camera you are talking about.

Actually the D70 will be a slight upgrade from the 10D but a little below the 20D.

Canon and Nikon have very similar equipment.

If you need long telephoto lenses that is one area where canon is ahead and also a lot cheaper. Other areas are image stabilized lenses, Tilt-Shift and some specialty lenses such as the 70-200 F4.

Nikon on the other hand does a bit better with wide angle lenses and has the 200-400 F4.

I decided for canon because i had to buy a bunch of the long telephoto lenses and other pro lenses and the price difference was more than enough to be me an XL2.

If you dont have any special need then both systems will serve you well.

Forgot to add this. I dont know what focal lengths you are looking for but another option would be to get some primes for the canon. An 85 1.8 runs about $330, a 50 1.8 runs $85.

Agreed about the stabilized long zoom lens, that's a great plus. I have one of those and really like it. Got the stabilized Canon binoculars also.

Nikon has really become serious lately with their aggressive pricing of DSLRs. I trashed my 8 megapixel mini cam for the D70 and what a great device. Huge chip for the buck and straightforward menus (once you read the book) makes this a nice contender.
You just can't beat it for the value at 1500 bucks CDN.
Just add accessories ...

I have a Nikon D100. I've been waiting for a D200 as a second camera. Now I hear it will be after PMA next year. The more I read about the D70 and now the D70s I think I might get one. They are being used by pro's and the price of $899 is not bad. I'm thinking about the D70s with a 17-55 2.8 lense.

Charles,

I can't join the debate between the Canon and the Nikon, because I just don't have the expertice the some of you have, and I am certainly so photographer. The last Canon still I owned was about 30 years ago, but, I can say that I love my Nikon D70.

Since getting the camera about 6 months ago, I have probably taken a thousand pictures with it, (some actually very good). It is just so easy to use and seems to be set up so intuitively, that I can just grab it off of a boat seat or table and start shooting. I bought several lenses for it, from a really nice 20mm, to AF zooms to 400mm. All I can say is that I am very happy with it.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

Mike

Charles,


I own the D70, D100, and D2X. Nikon is gonna win this with the DX sensor because of DOF issues. The Nikon capure software is also the best at this point.

About the D70......The color looks alot like slides. Over saturated most of the time(skin tones glow).

John

Charles,

Keep the Canon gear and buy the D70S. Or at least buy the D70S before you sell the Canon. Unfortunately digital camera bodies have very little resale value. How much can you get for a used 10D and a couple of zooms? How valuable will it be to have the Canon system to run out the door with when you want the ease of AF and other electronic functions? Auto focus is not the only function you will lose when you screw an old Nikkor lens on to a D70S, the old lenses cannot communicate with the new body. I don’t track Nikon gear anymore but I would find out exactly what functions work with the old lenses and what doesn’t. I suspect you will find out it is like putting a Volkswagen engine in a Ferrari.

I would blow the dust off that old FE and go burn a few rolls to remind myself what a great system that was and is. Using your old lenses on a D70S may be similar to shooting with your FE except you will have a digital result.

Steve

Good points all. I should say that I do intend to replace my two Canon zooms with two Nikon zooms so that I have the same AF capabilities when needed; I would just be adding the additional possibilities of shooting with the single focal length lenses for portraiture.

Steven, the 10D seems to be commanding $6-700 on eBay, which isn't too bad--I spent $1000 on mine (factory refurb). I think it would be even more attractive with the lenses to the right person. The ones I saw for sale were body-only, presumably from folks who moved up to the 20D.

Charles,

better have a look at the Nikon site. There should be a compatability list (there is or was one on the german site). On some combinations of lenses and digital bodies not even light metering let alone automatic exposure will work!

Simply speaking, the more expensive the body the better the compatibility. Unfortunately the D100 seems to be one of the less suited bodies for the "old" lenses.

Hi Charles,

I have been off the forum for some time due to work pressures and only noticed your post now, have you made the change yet?

If not, the distance between the camera bodies of the Canon and Nikon are different. The Canon being shorter, this leaves space for an adaptor that will allow you to fit your Nikon primes. The adaptors are inexpensive and worth it, I would check it out if I was you.

Many have the same problem and there is a big market for the old Pentax K mount (M42) primes as many don't mind the manual focus. There is some good old glass at very affordable prices.

I have a 10D and have been given the Novoflex 400 / 600mm combination with the Nikon mount. I have two choices, the one is to buy the Nikon to Canon adaptor (cheaper) or to by the original Novoflex to Canon which is more expensive but I think better.


Cheers
Andrew

Andrew: I think Charles is currently on dial-up and very busy with some job. I'll forward this thread again to him though. Hopefully he has some time to comment!

these are just the kinds of questions which keep me up at night! even when they are someone else's questions!

so the options are:

buy Nikon body plus two telephotos to match the two canon telephotos

or

buy a couple of primes for the Canon

seems like buying a few primes will set you back less $$$, especially if you sell the Nikkors to finance the Canon primes...you could probably break even.

therefore...it depends on how badly you're drooling over the possibility of a new Nikon body.

opportunity to drool over new camera body: priceless!

Andrew: I think Charles is currently on dial-up and very busy with some job. I'll forward this thread again to him though. Hopefully he has some time to comment!

Hi Rob,

thanks for that. Hey long time no speak, hope i find you in good spirits.


Cheers
Andrew

these are just the kinds of questions which keep me up at night! even when they are someone else's questions!

so the options are:

buy Nikon body plus two telephotos to match the two canon telephotos

or

buy a couple of primes for the Canon

seems like buying a few primes will set you back less $$$, especially if you sell the Nikkors to finance the Canon primes...you could probably break even.

therefore...it depends on how badly you're drooling over the possibility of a new Nikon body.

opportunity to drool over new camera body: priceless!


OR

buy a $30 convertor for each lens and use your Nikon primes on your Canon. That sounds like the cheapest option to me.

Cheers
Andrew

Hi Charles,

have a look here. You migh have to translate the page.

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.astrosurf.org/buil/adapter/ring.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DDIY%2Bsoftbox%2B550%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN


Cheers
Andrew

I've been using my Nikon lenses on my Digital Rebel for the last 6 months or so. I only have a couple though. I've been using a Nikon to EOS mount adapter I bought off ebay for about $30.

Here is a pic of my camera with nikon 50mm f1.8
http://www.pbase.com/roxics/image/47205173

You have to use the camera in aperture priority or full manual mode when shooting with the nikkors.

Personally I don't think the results are as good. It depends on the lens of course, but because the camera can't communicate with the lens you need more careful exposure tweaking when shooting AP mode. I prefer the look of my newer canon lens. The colors are brighter and more contrasty. That's just my personal opinion though.

I've also heard the older Nikon lenses perform better on Canon DSLR's with the adapter then they do on Nikon DSLR's. Don't know how true that is though.

Here is an example (not the best example by any means) to show the difference between my Nikon 50mm mounted on my 300D and my made for canon Tamron 28-105AF.

Nikon 50mm
http://www.pbase.com/roxics/image/57828804

Tamron
http://www.pbase.com/roxics/image/57828859

Unfortunately these were taken before I started shooting RAW with my camera, but it should stil give you a rough idea of how an older Nikon lens performs on a Canon DSLR.

Charles, I have an FM2T. It's a fine camera. I also have several great primes for it---since prices have dropped dramatically in the used market. Your FE is a great SLR too---probably even better in some respects. Hey, Zeiss/Cosina is coming out with f-mount AIS lenses, you know. However, for digital, I believe Canon is THE way to go. But then what do I know, eh? ;*)

Hi Rob,

thanks for that. Hey long time no speak, hope i find you in good spirits.


Thanks, I'm good. Just unbelievably busy the last half year. Hope everything
is good with you as well.

Thanks for all info posted in here gents. As fine as my FE is, I'm too smitten with shooting digital stills to imagine when I would want to shoot film again (anyone want to buy it and the lenses???!) About the only thing I miss is the shallower DOF due to the larger image area in 35mm.

The adaptor sounds promising--but Mike's images illustrate a definite issue of some sort (backfocus? light leak?)

Guess I'll have to start investing in some more lenses to satisfy my needs.

Guess I'll have to start investing in some more lenses to satisfy my needs.


all i can say is, uh oh....nothing will bankrupt you faster than lens lust! not even camera lust is quite as insidious.....

At least with old cameras and M-mounts, you can find great deals on lenses in the used market. Works for me. :-)

Hi Charles, Hi Frank, it's been a while and good to post with you again. In my opinion Nikor lenses have the edge in the wide angle category and Canon has the edge in telephoto lenses. Match your shooting preference with the lenses superiority and your set. If you're using a full frame camera i.e. Canon then the Canon WA lenses will show their weakness when you go large (bigger than 8x10). Since Nikon doesn't make a full frame camera then the WA issue may be a mute point. Many Canon full frame users choose to go with Zeiss for their WA needs. Of course this means giving up AF, but this happens in the pursuit of perfection,

Hi Charles, Hi Frank, it's been a while and good to post with you again. In my opinion Nikor lenses have the edge in the wide angle category and Canon has the edge in telephoto lenses. Match your shooting preference with the lenses superiority and your set. If you're using a full frame camera i.e. Canon then the Canon WA lenses will show their weakness when you go large (bigger than 8x10). Since Nikon doesn't make a full frame camera then the WA issue may be a mute point. Many Canon full frame users choose to go with Zeiss for their WA needs. Of course this means giving up AF, but this happens in the pursuit of perfection,

Actually comparisons have shown the nikon WA's to be very much the same as the canon. For example the nikon 17-35 compared to the canon 16-35. Someone who owns both systems has compared them by shooting both lenses on a Canon full frame body

Obviously if you compare the nikon 17-35 on a 1.6 crop body to a 16-35 on a full frame body you see some differences in the corners but you are comparing 16mm to 27mm. In order for the comparison to be valid you would need a 10mm lens on the crop body

IMO lens quality wise there isnt much of a difference between nikon and canon. Canon still has more IS lenses especially in telephoto and also has more lenses where USM and IS (nikon AFS and VR) are combined in the same lens.

Actually comparisons have shown the nikon WA's to be very much the same as the canon. For example the nikon 17-35 compared to the canon 16-35. Someone who owns both systems has compared them by shooting both lenses on a Canon full frame body

I've seen many comparisons too and in my opinion the Nikon WA lenses are generally superior to the Canon WA lenses. The same comparisons have included Zeiss and Leitz (Leica) lenses as well and they trump both Canon and Nikon. You pay for what you get, unfortunately you lose AF with non supported brands.

I've seen many comparisons too and in my opinion the Nikon WA lenses are generally superior to the Canon WA lenses. The same comparisons have included Zeiss and Leitz (Leica) lenses as well and they trump both Canon and Nikon. You pay for what you get, unfortunately you lose AF with non supported brands.

I would love to see some of the comparisons you mention if you could point me to them. What cameras and lenses where used and where can i see them ?

Thanks

Hi Charles, Hi Frank, it's been a while and good to post with you again. In my opinion Nikor lenses have the edge in the wide angle category and Canon has the edge in telephoto lensesI believe you are correct. One of these days I'll have to buy that super sharp Nikkor 28mm F2. However, those new Zeiss F-mounts are sharper, or so I've read. Anyway, when I do go digital, it'll be Canon. Canon seems to be a jump ahead of the competition at every turn.

(Bought my 2nd Bessa R3A body a couple of weeks ago.)

I think I'm getting the bug to switch too. I love my 300D but.. and this is going to sound silly. I really want a black camera and that D50 is looking awefully nice with it's black rubberized grip and everything. Plusing having a couple older Nikon lenses with my FE has me tempted.

My 2 Bessa R3A's are black. The gray ones are more expensive and I did want something professional. :)

If it's depth of field you're worried about, and price, I'd run down to my local dealer and pick up a Canon 50mm 1.8 for about 70 or 80 bucks. It feels cheap and plastic-like, but with the 10d it will give you a beautiful 85mm 1.8, marvelous for street shooting, excellent for portraits. It's probably the most underrated inexpensive lens available.