Pc or Mac, Chevy or Ford, Nikon or Canon.... all the same arguments can be made. I chose Nikon as all the guys at Sports Illustrated that I worked with had 'em. I also notice, now, a lot of Canon (gray) telephoto lenses at major sporting events. I have Nikkor lenses from 10mm fisheye up to super tele 1000mm.

My brother also shoots Canon. He bought one of those 1200mm super telephoto lenses. I don't know why. He never does any photography.

Yes, Bill, but with a lens like that I bet he looks like a photographer!

Voightlander Bessamatic
a blast from my past.

I was shocked at your spelling, until I got past the first coma. lol!

Always liked Nikon starting with a Nikon F2S, which I still have, but now shoot with a Nikon D60. I rely on indirect sunlight and avoid flash for close-up of my magic apparatus that I load on my site or on Andy Martin's. The rest is Photoshop.

Back in the days of traditional film most hardcore photographers did buy Nikon. Nowadays it is digital photography and Kent is right both brands are almost the same. Therefore, it becomes a personal choice of either Canon or Nikon.

I love your C&B work Kent, but I am still a Canon fan.

I have a Canon A-1 camera and always got fantastic results from it, it's too bad I can no longer use it. When I interned with Annie Leibovitz back in 1987 I borrowed her Nikon with a wide angle lens and did not care for it much. I believe she is shooting digital for test shots but still using her Mamiya RZ 67 for final shots. My Mamiya RB 67, Mamiya C33 twin lens reflex, and my Canon A-1 are just sitting on the shelf collecting dust.

have fun folks, let's continue with the Magic,
Keith

Ferrari Hasselblad baby!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controll......tails&Q=

All joking aside,

Rangefinder cameras really are the best freaking cameras in the world.

I still use an old Leica my dad bought years ago. No SLR will ever really compare to the images that come out of a properly adjusted Leica camera.

I work for Nikon. I think we build the finest SLR cameras in the world. If you really want the best camera in the world with the best possible optical design. Do a little surfing on rangefinder cameras. I can, with no reservations, completely recommend the Leica M9. I can't afford one. I may have to buy one anyway.

KG

A friend of mine has had a Hasselblad for about 25 years. He says that if you buy one, remember, the first half of the name is "Hassel."

His quote -- "that @#%%@ camera has been back and forth to Sweden more times than I have."

Hard to beat a Leica. That's for sure.

The one special thing about the Leica is how quiet they are. It's nice to be able to take a picture of someone without them heaing the camera going off and scaring them off, that is when a Leica camera comes in handy.

Being so used to SLR cameras and their viewfinders makes it so easy to focus the lens, focusing on a rangefinder is not so easy and is something you will have to get used to.

I disagree with Kent that Nikon is the finest camera in the world.

It all depends on the application. For ultra close-up shots, I would use a Nikon/Micro Nikkor. Only because it is the way I've done it for 43 years. That doesn't necessarily make it better than a Canon. Of course, if that photo had to be blown up to 60 feet, I would go with 4x5 film and my trusty Linhof.

Funny, I recently sold a great old Leica III for parts. It had met with a horrible accident but still sold for $600., the same price as the new 12 mpixel Nikon 3100. Amazing how far digtal has come but film isn't dead yet by any means.

For digital photography, we need to be aware of sensor characteristics and electronic circuits, just like we knew about film and lenses in the old days. There are big differences and they evolve rapidly. Canon had no idea that the 5D MKII would be so widely embraced by cinematographers. Now it's a whole new market and everyone is jumping into it.

We have two real camera stores in Houston that deal in supplies for doing film work. They also have an excellent lab.

EP Levine just opened a big new store here that is mostly dedicated to film. They were selling Kodachrome right up until the end. (sniff)
http://www.eplevine.com/

I used a Minolta srt101 for most of my early instructions. I even used a "brick" for a while (Argus c-3).

http://fakechuckwestfall.wordpress.com/

beware strong language!

This is a spoof blog.

Indeed Bill, it's there in the title!

I agree with Kent that Nikon are making the finest DSLRs on the market.
But I love my Canon glass

I notice that Leica cameras are generally twice the price of Nikons. Why?

I have done a lot of macrofoto in my life. Before the digital era you had to go SLR. If you were just shooting dead things a little closer than usual the cheapest was to mount close-up lenses in front of your standard 50 mm lens. Next step was a set of macro extending tubes to mount between the lens and the camera. With those you could get up to 1:1 with exellent quality when the lens was stepped down to f:16.

If you needed more enlargement next step was a set of bellows. But they were expensive.
If you had to work in the field hunting living insects or just needed maximum quality you had to buy a dedicated macro lens. I have lived with a wonderfull specimen for decades.

Now everything is turned around. The easiest way to get nice macrofotos are with a point-and-shoot digital camera in the middle class (or upper class). You can get a camera for around 300 $ with a close range around 2 or 3 cm.!

Of course you get a potential better quality with a greater camera with interchangable lenses. But if you only need pictures for the web or the screen you really need nothing more than 4-5 MP.

I now have a digital SLR camera in the 1000 $ class, but a dedicated macrolens costs as much as the camera alone.

I think it is with camera brands as with card brands. The man behind is what really counts.

Just one more thing: forget about the fancy ringflash sets. They are designed for medical use to avoid any kind af shadow. It makes your pictures flat and dead. Sunlight from the side or a flash on a cord is all the light you need.

Good luck!
Troels