Nikon v. Canon? Getting into photography...

[usayit]

Not this thread again....

Oh well.... at least things are a bit tossed up now that Pentax users are involved. (about time Pentax!)

As an old Pentax shooter and collector... I really like the K10D and what it has to offer (K20D is coming). The only reason why I would not buy a K10D is the fact that I'm already heavily invested in other camera systems. ( Cheap Ebay buy of a Samsung equiv of the Pentax *ist was/is enough for me to continue my love affair with old Asahi/Takumar/Pentax glass in my collection)

As a more recent fan of Canon.. I prefer to move up one level from the Rebels. I've shot with the D30, 10D, 20D, 30D, and now the 1D MII. All have been very good performers and I bet the more recent bodies are just as impressive. The Glass is outstanding if you spend a bit of money.

As a more reasonable person, the OP did say he preferred the feel of a Nikon. I'm no nikon fan BUT if it feels better, you should ignore ALL of us and just go with what you like. Most if not all DSLR cameras on the market are "more camera" than 99% of us posting here on this forum.

Get out there.. make a few visits and talk to your local camera shop guy.. and make your own mind up.

 

[usayit]

It's all relative. There's still far more used Nikon, Canon, and even Sony/Minolta glass out there than Pentax. Go search on KEH.com and you'll see. And the local pro shop is usually loaded with used N/C lenses, but just a small corner for other stuff. I think it's safe to assume that most newcomers are going to be sticking with AF lenses, and Nikon has a 10-to-1 advantage there vs Pentax. 27 pages of listings vs just 3 for Pentax on KEH. One lens I'm looking at for Nikon (an 80-200 f/2.8 telephoto zoom) there are 2 pages of listings just for that lens alone. I didn't see any Pentax f/2.8 telephoto zoom listings at all. That's what I'm talking about.

I have to disagree.... Pentax has one of the most widest selection in the market. KEH (is a good store) but using their inventory list as a general consensus to prove your point is completely illogical.

Just the fact that you say "3 pages of Pentax" shows that you didn't include M42 screwmounts in your search which leads me to believe you know very little about the history of Pentax. Don't forget to include, Asahi, Takumar, Pentax, Vivitar (Great glass back in their time) and a slew of glass made by other manufacturers. Don't forget that Pentax 645 medium format lenses. Don't forget the recent releases of K-mount compatible glass from Voigtlander and Zeiss. All that on top of the already nice selection of AF from Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina. There is a reason why the Spotmatics and K1000s were the most popular student cameras... I have a whole cabinet full of 40+ year old stuff that is fully operational.


Even now... a "real student" of photography could do a lot of experimentation, learning, and produce wonderful pictures for next to nothing if they are willing to use Manual Kmounts and Screwmounts. Most serious students of photography will have no problems using those lenses. All that old glass will outperform and out-satisfy any brand new glass OF EQUIVALENT price. The Takumar 50mm was known to be one of the sharpest lenses you can buy and the Pentax K-mount 50mm f1.2 is a fraction of the cost of a brand new Canon 50mm f1.2.


Yes .. you are right that most consumers of cameras are not going to older manual lenses.... and I bet this is the case with the OP. I just wanted to clear this misinformation....

 

[gendarmee]

IMO,
In this Nikon Vs Canon War one forgets Pentax.
They make some amazing cameras too, more importantly they are good VFM products, unlike Nikon or Canon.