Nikon / Canon DSLR ... other makes ?

[DocFrankenstein]

wait, you mean that canons can meter with nikon MF lenses attached? whoa. if that's true, i'm going to grab some old nikkors, definitely. those have got to be killer with a FF viewfinder (like you, i plan on getting a 5d/1ds next). PM me with info, i'm interested.


sorry for hijacking your thread, james

ROFL

The canon bodies don't disable any metering, whether they have a lens or not. So you can use spot/weigted/matrix freely and they aren't changed. The adapters allow focus to infinity too.

Canon wide angle glass sucks, so my dream setup would be something like 1Ds and the nikon lenses.

 

[Rob]

wait, you mean that canons can meter with nikon MF lenses attached? whoa. if that's true, i'm going to grab some old nikkors, definitely. those have got to be killer with a FF viewfinder (like you, i plan on getting a 5d/1ds next). PM me with info, i'm interested.


sorry for hijacking your thread, james

I shoot with a Canon 20D with Nikon MF lenses on (AI I think they're designated?). You switch the camera into Aperture mode or Manual (I use Av) and dial the lens to f-widest. This is because there is no shutter/aperture combination - you need to focus wide open then stop down for the shot. That's the only inconvenience. The metering works absolutely fine. I understand that the MF Nikon lenses do not work on any Nikon digital cameras, but I have no proof of this - anyone???

Oh, and FWIW, get one adaptor for every lens - they slice your fingers cos they're badly tooled chinese aluminium.

Rob

 

[Big Mike]

On a side note: The movie, The Corpse Bride, was shot entirely with a Canon body (1Ds mk II, I think) with Nikon lenses.

 

[Jeff Canes]

wait, you mean that canons can meter with nikon MF lenses attached? whoa. if that's true, i'm going to grab some old nikkors, definitely. those have got to be killer with a FF viewfinder (like you, i plan on getting a 5d/1ds next). PM me with info, i'm interested.


sorry for hijacking your thread, james

Camerquest is one of the few place in the US that sales lens adapters, never bought any thing from them myself so I can not comment on there quality or service. The other place to look for them is Ebay, that’s where I got FD to EOS adapter.

 

[DocFrankenstein]

I understand that the MF Nikon lenses do not work on any Nikon digital cameras, but I have no proof of this - anyone???

I beleive on "most" The professional cameras D2X? (forgot the letters, sorry) do work. And I think D200 too?

D70 and D50 don't support them AFAIK. So it actually makes more sense to get a canon body.

But I may be wrong. I'm a canon guy. I tried to mount a lens on nikon F once and couldn't figure it out.

 

[thebeginning]

On a side note: The movie, The Corpse Bride, was shot entirely with a Canon body (1Ds mk II, I think) with Nikon lenses.

yep. i think it was actually the 1d Mk II though. surprising. i read an article about it and they said they manually focused and exposed every single frame :shock:

 

[DonSchap]

This camera is a Nikon-lensed powerhouse... if you want to try something a bit radical.

See the link and give it a think:

http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital/lineup/s3pro/index.html

 

[JodieO]

You can't go wrong by going with Canon or Nikon - both will give you great quality and you won't have any problem finding good parts (i.e., lenses, accessories, etc.). The most significant difference I personally have seen between Canon and Nikon is it seems that with Nikon you can produce a better color image EASIER straight out of camera (although with just a bit of tweaking, you should get Canon to do the same), and Canon tends to have less noise at higher ISOs... at least, that has been MY personal experience.

That said, I went with Nikon because I had already started investing in good lenses. I have had the Nikon D100, D70, and now the D2X. As far as 6 MP being a barrier. No, I don't think so. While I love my D2X being 12 MP, I have blown up 6 MP images and had super clear wonderful results as well (here's a quick image of two that are around 20 x 28, they are tack sharp and beautiful)

Now, personally I can see a difference between my D70 images and my D2X images (D2X gets more "film like" and contrasty but D70 tends to be flatter), but to the average person who doesn't stare at images all day lolol! , there is no huge difference.

 

[Tiberius]

This camera is a Nikon-lensed powerhouse... if you want to try something a bit radical.

See the link and give it a think:

http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital/lineup/s3pro/index.html

The Image Quality is great, but the S3 is dead slow compared to even the Nikon D50. It's not a bad camera, but if you're going to be doing anything at all that you need speed for, even wildlife or anything, I'd look elsewhere.

As to DSLR brands - Whatever camera you get, make sure it accepts either Nikon or Canon lenses. There's no sense in getting a camera that doesn't accept either. Looking for used lenses, or looking to rent a lens for a weekend event, those are the companies that will be available. Smaller brands usually will not. You've also got more guaranteed future compatibility, since neither Canon nor Nikon will be going anywhere for a while.

 

[JodieO]

The Image Quality is great, but the S3 is dead slow compared to even the Nikon D50. It's not a bad camera, but if you're going to be doing anything at all that you need speed for, even wildlife or anything, I'd look elsewhere.

ITA. While the S3 is supposed to have great dyanamic range, I need my shutter to be able to go "pop pop pop pop" and be able to review the images immediately on the LCD... that is NOT going to happen with the S3... it is SUPER slow. Also, they have decreased the price way down... maybe that means an S4 is coming? If so, if they have fixed the slow problem, it would be worth looking into, but until they get that issue resolved, it isn't worth taking a second look at IMO for most photographers.

 

[DonSchap]

They're talking inroduction of the new Fujifilm Finepix S4 at Fotokina, next September. IMO, I'd save your sheckles and get ready to blow a good wad to get this one. You know you want want one... I can see it in your eyes.

 

[Don Simon]

Whatever camera you get, make sure it accepts either Nikon or Canon lenses. There's no sense in getting a camera that doesn't accept either.

No sense? I dunno, I consider getting great quality old Pentax lenses cheap (because everyone else is after the Canons and Nikons) pretty good sense.

You've also got more guaranteed future compatibility, since neither Canon nor Nikon will be going anywhere for a while.

True, but who's to say they won't be changing their lens mounts? Plus they might have future compatibility, but Nikon certainly doesn't have much past compatibility, not when it comes to manual focus lenses anyway. Canon is a different story since their DSLRs let you use a whole variety of old lenses (including manual focus Nikons!) with TTL metering.

 

[Tiberius]

Zaphod, Nikon's used the F Mount since 1959. All of their AI and newer lenses (35 years' worth or so) will mount and shoot properly on all their DSLRs. Admitedly, the pre-1984 Lenses without CPUs will not meter light properly and will require the use of manual settings (but with a histogram this is not a terrible problem) on the D50 and D70s, but they WILL still shoot fine and will even meter on the D200 and D2 series.

 

[Don Simon]

Yeah but I consider TTL metering to be, well, reasonably useful and I still don't see why it makes no sense to go for something that isn't either Canon or Nikon. If you're not a pro (which the original poster didn't say he was) you're unlikely to need the guarantee of being able to find that one specific lens in any shop anywhere in the world at any time... lenses for other brands are available, it's not like only one store on every continent sells them. Now if the people using Pentax cameras and lenses were finding it impossible to get a good shot, or the people using Konica-Minoltas were cursing the day they bought them and using them as paperweights now the company's dropped out of the business, then I'd understand your point. But they're not. Canon and Nikon make very good cameras and very good lenses - but so do other companies, and most people will be happy with the results from a good lens on a good dSLR, whatever the name on the front.