Loyalty

I believe there are individuals who are fiercely loyal to one brand of camera. Nikon has its followers. And so does Canon. Noone in either group will consider switching, no matter what the opposite side is offering.

I am in neither of these groups. I research many brands of DSLR's before I made my decision. And I used a Canon, albeit a film SLR, before I got my Nikon D80.

One advantage of being loyal is that when you move up to another camera of your favorite brand chances are the lenses you have with the old model will be compatible. Perhaps there lies the reason for the loyalty. If I just spent 2000 dollars on a Nikon zoom lens (I didn't) I would be less persuaded to buy, for example a 21 megapixel Canon.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it better to be loyal to one brand? Or are the advantages greater by researching all the makes and models and going with the one you like best?

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Will: I shoot Sony/Minolta so I'm happily not engaged in that debate. I commited to Minolta a number of years ago with some major lens and accessory purchases. At the time I had a Maxxum 7 film camera that was just a joy to use, especially with the good glass. I never owned a Minolta DSLR. I was about to pull the trigger on the Minolta 7D but when Sony bought them out I decided to sit tight. I bought the A100 as soon as it became available simply because I can't afford to replace my lens line. If money was no object I would be happy to brand jump every time something new hits the market but Money is a big object for the kind of lenses I like so I'm very content to stick with what I have and hope Sony comes out with a more advanced body soon. >=))>

It's silly to be loyal to one brand for brand name alone. Capabilitits, price, etc should be the deciding factors. Of course, as you said, once you've invested in lots of glass in one brand or another it's harder to switch.

Thanks Bill.

I mentioned only Nikon and Canon, but I know there are other brands with their loyal followers. You strenghten the main reason for staying with one brand. Many photographers build upon the cameras they have and starting over is a huge investment. And if the camera serves you well why change? A Sony A100 was high on my list of considerations and very likely I would have been as happy with it as I am with the D80

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Alice, thank you. I agree being loyal for brand name alone is not practical. Therefore I think first time buyers are not as loyal. Once the initial decision is made loyalty could start manifesting itself. Perhaps a big consideration is how one can build on the brand he/she has bought. If one offers better and sharper lenses then that is the one to go with. For me Nikon offered some very sharp lenses and my project of making 36x24 prints would not be possible otherwise.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

I have so much invested in Canon mount glass at this point that the body is just an accessory to the lenses.

I could sell, but I wouldn't. But before I switched to Canon at the point where I went to DSLR, I shot Pentax SLRs for years and years. Both M42 and K mounts. I don't have a brand loyaly issue, but I am tied into a system at the point. If Fuji or Samsung mad a camera in my lens mount, I'd have no problem with using it if it fit my needs best.

Amen, it's more a financial decision than a brand loyalty decision at this point for me, as it probably is for many.

I have a hard time just setting aside money for something as "cheap" as the new Canon 40D. I won my current workhorse 20D in a Canon photo contest...otherwise who knows, I still might be shooting my old digital Rebel.

What I have done, though, is buy nice Canon "L" glass when I can...400 5.6L, 70-200 4.0L, 17-40L. For someone like me, where this is anything but a full-time job, even those relatively "modest" priced lenses are a major, major investment.

Right now, I personally do believe Canon is ahead of Nikon in terms of DSLR's. But even if the situation were reversed, there's no way financially I could shift brands now.

To me, a camera is a camera. Same for lenses, within a price class of course. I just don't see that if I switched to Canon (or any other brand) my photos would look any better. Plus, I'm too lazy to pack everything up and put it on eBay and then have to buy essentially the same gear all over again. I just don't get that excited about camera gear any more.


Kent in SD

I switched from Nikon to Canon when going from film to digital (not all that long ago). I don't have a special brand loyalty, but it was a pretty big deal to reasearch, pay for, and replace my Nikon glass with Canon. It seems like there is never the perfect camera set up and I've considered Nikon glass and options better than Canon and Canon camera choices better than Nikon. But once you start down one road or the other the switch becomes more difficult and a reason to stick with a particular brand.

To me, it's the investment more than the name.

I started with a Ricoh SLR over twenty five years ago. It was purely manual. Why Ricoh? I don't know--it was probably one of the cheaper SLRs available. I had the 50mm lens that it came with, and then I bought a cheap 80-200 zoom. I didn't have much money--this was all bought with proceeds from a paper route! Then I thought I'd upgrade to a camera with automatic exposure. I knew that would be pointless without getting a new lens, but I figured I could save some bucks in the short term if I got a camera which could still use the 80-200 zoom lens, even without controlling the aperture. Ricoh SLRs used the Pentax K mount. I then bought a Pentax SLR with the KA mount, which would allow me to continue to use the 80-200 zoom. Of course, I bought a KA mount 50mm lens to go with it. It wasn't long before I realized I wanted the auto exposure on the longer lens, too, so I then went and bought an 80-200 KA zoom... (Thereby meaning the decision to buy Pentax was flawed--I could have started fresh with any system.)

Fast forward many years... I had replaced that Pentax body in the meantime, with one that was newer but no new features. I had also purchased a 28-70 zoom.

Then I decided I wanted a new camera. I convinced my wife based on two factors: auto focus and TTL flash. (Pentax was a bit slow on that--at least on their lower end models--neither Pentax SLR that I owned had TTL flash exposure.) We had a baby on the way, so this was an easy job to convince her. (Actually the baby came just a few hours later.) Using the same logic as before, I got a Pentax AF SLR. The MF lenses would still work on this body. Of course, I bought a 28-80 AF zoom, but this meant I could still use the 80-200 MF zoom that I already had. Less than a year later, I bought a consumer grade Pentax 100-300 AF zoom, making the *second* decision to stay with Pentax as flawed as the first.

Then I started to get serious. I bought a Sigma 50-500 in the Pentax mount. I kept Velvia in the MF body and still used it, while the AF was used more for wildlife, with Provia or Sensia as the film (depending on whether or not I would be pushing the film). I accidentally lost my 28-80 lens, so I went and bought a very nice prosumer grade lens that was 28-105, or something like that--I forget the exact specs, because I only had it for a week.

At that time, everything was stolen. Everything except the cheap MF 28-70 and 80-200 zooms, that is. (Why couldn't they have taken those, too?! I still have them if anyone wants them!) This time, I had learned from my earlier mistakes. I also had so little at stake any more--those two lenses weren't anything I was using anymore, and had such small value relative to what the rest of my gear was worth, so I wasn't concerned about staying compatible with them.

I used the insurance settlement to switch to Canon, and haven't looked back. The Canon vs. Nikon decision was easier back then than it would be now, especially with the latest announcements. But I have no intention of switching again! (If all my stuff got stolen again, I would think about it, but the prices on those new long VR Nikons would weigh heavily against the advantages of Nikon...)

-Paul

Kent, I agree a camera is a camera. I am not sure if it is the same for lenses. The 35mm and 50mm lenses I have for the D80 are very sharp and the price was very right. About 500 dollars Canadian for them both. Definitely better than the 28-80 zoom I was using before. The downside is that they are not as versatile as the zooms.

Terry, likely the loyalty is founded in the financial consideration.

And as you say, Mel, one can get tied into a system without being truly loyal.

So does the group of loyal followers I mentioned really exist?

Thanks to all.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

I don't have brand loyalty. I get into jousting matches with Nikon shooters just for the fun of the back and forth, not because I think my Canon stuff is necessarily better than their Nikon stuff. I was a Canon shooter for many years as a hobbyist, including the EOS series, before I switched to digital, and I didn't have any good glass.

That meant the switch I made to digital four years ago allowed me to re-imagine the whole thing, knowing I was going to build good glass as well as bodies. I researched carefully and it eventually boiled down to N vs C. And at the time, the clear choice for me was Canon. Still is, even with the newly announced Nikon bodies. But at this point, there's so little that separates the two in totality as systems that it matters hardly at all which a dedicated photographer chooses. They (and a few others) are so good at what they do that I don't care which brand I have any more and am working harder and harder to refine my vision than to worry about which gear I use to express it.

I'll be staying with Canon because I know the EOS system and am very comfortable with Canon controls, don't feel like taking the time to learn a new system of controls just for the sake of switching, and can't by any means afford selling my used L glass and Canon bodies and coming up with the needed $ to switch to any other system. Even if I win the Powerball it'll still be Canon because it's the devil I know instead of the devil I don't.

Alas, I am the limiting factor in the quality of my photography.

Pete D.

"Even if I win the Powerball it'll still be Canon because it's the devil I know instead of the devil I don't."

Steve, that has to account for loyalty beyond the financial consideration. Stick with what you know.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

When I first considered buying a "real" camera, I liked the Elan 7 more than the comparable Nikon model. Also, at the time, Nikon didn't have something comparable to the 28-135 IS lens, in particular the IS function. Between the body and the lens, my choice was the Canon. I figured the IS was a nice feature and I could disregard it if need be and I have some cash to spend anyway.

Now that I know better, that probably wasn't the best logic in making the selection of Canon vs Nikon vs anyone else, but I am happy with the choice.

Would I switch now if money was a non-issue? No. Is this the result of brand loyalty? No. As a product line, I view both Canon and Nikon to be overall equivalent. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. I just have too much time and knowledge invested in understanding how the Canon equipment I own handles to really have any interest in making a switch. It works. I get good results. I'm happy.

Now if Nikon wanted to sponsor me, I'd switch in a heartbeat

"Would I switch now if money was a non-issue? No. Is this the result of brand loyalty? No. As a product line, I view both Canon and Nikon to be overall equivalent. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. I just have too much time and knowledge invested in understanding how the Canon equipment I own handles to really have any interest in making a switch. It works. I get good results. I'm happy."

Dan, you said it better than I did, and with fewer words.

For me, loyalty is definitely a two way street.

I chose Canon for my entry into digital (D30), in spite of an extensive set of Nikon gear. When I later felt betrayed by Canon, I dumped their gear. Nikon had me on edge with their lens offerings over the last few years because I thought they had not upheld their end of the bargain.

Today's announcement of the two new G series lenses may alieve that, but if I'm not happy by the time our D2X's are tattered, it will be a move to a more responsive company.

I started out with a Pentax ME Super and always liked it, using it for 10 solid years. When newer SLR models came out, I naturally stayed with the same brand due to the lens factor. Of course in going digital, I stayed with Pentax, again because I had the lenses, but also, because I liked the way the cameras fit my hands. The shake reduction feature in camera in the latest upgrade certainly didn't hurt!
In all the years I have been using Pentax, only twice did I have to send the camera back for service because of a problem. Loyalty? Yup!

Will,
I was waiting for 5D prices to go down, but they did not. Came D80 which is a much better camera than 350D I decided to sell it. I'm quite happy with D80 and can print 30x45cm without any problems, I rarely print beyond that. I also have few lenses so would not mind if Canon offers a better deal on say 5D. (wishful thinking, out comes 6D and 5D starts going for 1500 something).

I'm a Nikon user, but had considered switching to Canon because they seemed to have more of a lens selection with IS than Nikon had with VR.

I've been debating purchasing the D80 or the D200 for weeks, but also kept my mind open to the possibility of buy a Canon. My first SLR was the Canon AE1, so I was not opposed to Canon as a brand.

But I found a super sweet deal on a D200 that was used for only two months and the person upgraded to the D2Xs and offered the D200 at a price I could not pass up.

I often photograph with other people who use Canons, and really the only differences I see in the final images aren't about the camera, it isn't so much about the lens, it is about the skill of the photographer.

Lia,
I personally hate the crop factors. I'm not a long lense shooter so that is not a problem for me. I like to carry couple of lenses at a time, 24/50 or 35/85 and a FF body. I would love to get a FF camera but as of now it is out of my budget.

Prashan,

I usually carry 3 lenses, the 70-300mm w/VR, for birds & critters, the 18-70mm for landscapes, and a 28-105mm Macro lens for close ups of flowers and bugs.

What I wish is that there were a universal mount on Nikons & Canons so we would have the option of using the other one's lenses. That I think is just too much to wish for.

For me brand loyalty is "A", because of my large investment in glass and "B", because I really like the ergonomics, build quality and image quality of the camera I'm using. My previous 35mm system was Olympus OM and all of my OM glass will work on Oly E-system digitals so it made sense to go that route. I did however, do what some might consider an odd move. I started in the E-system with an E500 8mp consumer class body. I was very happy with that camera as I found the color rendition and IQ to be very accurate and "film like". But my camera store lent me an E1 for a weekend and I fell in love. I took a 3mp drop in resolution to buy that E1 and have not been sorry. IQ is actually better that the 8mp E500. I gave the E500 to my wife. The E1 is all magnesium and weather sealed and it has survived life in a canoe, on the backpack trails and rocks and rain and creeks where anything else priced less than $5000.00 would surely be dead by now. It's got scars and stories to tell. I've had it two years; it's never been cleaned and my sensor is still spot free.

Bob

Paul, I enjoyed your response. I counted 7 different lens purchases over the years. I too had a "thing" for the 28-80 zooms. This year is the first time I got two prime lenses.

Wether there is any loyalty or not, the important thing is to have the camera equipment that you are happy with so you can go on and concentrate on creating great nature photography.

Thanks to all.

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Ii belong to two camera clubs which are strongly into nature and scenics. It seems as though they mostly, but not exclusively, use Nikon. Though I started out with Leicas, I just had to go to AF because of eyesight problems. It wasn't too difficult to make a film body choice. With a considerable investment in lenses from 20mm to 500mm I was pleased to see that nikon has brought out a premium full-frame digital body. Compatability counts for a lot in my opinion!