The Canon vs. Nikon Conundrum: Part 1 – My Personal Journey’s Backstory

Disclaimer: Now before I begin, let me first start with a disclaimer. This story is one from my own personal experience, and is not one where I will preach that one brand is photographically better than another. Whatever I am about to reveal is very much my own personal opinion, and I do believe everyone has their own right to decide for themselves. So without further ado, here is my story.

My photographic journey really began when I was given my first digital camera by my parents before I went abroad to commence my Year 3 of Electrical Engineering in Melbourne way back in late 2003. This camera happened to be the Canon Powershot A70. This was a camera I did a lot of research on before buying, and as such, having done my due diligence, knew at the time that for the money, I not only had a simple and easy-to-use camera, but also one which had Program Mode, Aperture Mode, Shutter Mode and also Manual Mode. It was with this camera that I embarked on a journey through photography. The same journey which I’ve mentioned in an earlier post that I am still on.

Now the beauty of having being introduced to a camera with so many functions, was the ability to appreciate the benefits of spot metering, macro, long exposures, high ISO (more like to ‘avoid it’), and also panorama stitching. Back in the day I did not know how to use Photoshop, and I pretty much relied on whatever software Canon provided to make the most of my JPEGs.

Then in late 2006, when I was about to start my first official full time job, I decided to reward myself with a new camera, and this came to be the Canon 350D DSLR camera. The decision to get a Canon back in the day was relatively simple. My dad had owned a Canon film SLR. Also, since my first camera was a Canon, in seemed almost natural to transition within the same family. Not only that, I had a very limited budget, and my only other option at the time was the brand new Nikon D40 (which reviews didn’t speak well of due to the missing AF motor) and also a more expensive Nikon D80 or Canon 400D. Back then, I had yet to meet peer who really did any DSLR photography, so I went pretty much on a whim and bought the camera, along with the 18-55mm kit lens and a 90-300mm telephoto.

And from there I went through Phase 1 of my journey, discovering the limitless potential of DSLR photography, and along the way ‘poisoned’ a number of friends to pick it up as well. Phase 2 came swift and fast, and I bought the plastic fantastic 50mm f/1.8. This was not the end of it though. Within the first year of DSLR photography, I had acquired a 17-50mm f/2.8 Tamron lens, and also a 50-150mm f/2.8 Sigma lens, whilst selling the first two lenses my camera had come with. Soon afterwards, I learnt the painful way that Sigma lenses had front focusing problems, and thus after a service, decided to sell the Sigma. In its place came the 85mm f/1.8. In an unfortunate incident, my Tamron lens also suffered a poor fate. After rolling off the bed one day and landing with a loud ‘thud’ on the carpeted floor, I had to send it in for repair due to a serious photographic fault. It came back as good as new, but my confidence was shaken, and so as good as the lens was, I sold it.

What happened next? Well, in the midst of all this lens changing, I went through Phase 3 and covered a wedding along with two buddies of mine whom had also just picked up DSLR photography. I even managed to source a very cheaply priced 2nd hand 10-22mm ultra wide angle lens. Soon after, however, things got a little tricky. I loved the Tamron’s versatility and as such needed a direct replacement. I was left with a simple conundrum, but one which ultimately proved to be another case of learning the hard way. I tried to decide between two shortlisted lenses; the 17-40mm f/4.0 L lens, and the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS. I went for the former as I was sold by the possibility of one day moving to full frame. To some enthusiasts, this is considered ‘the dream’. The lens served me well. It even survived the extremities atop Mount Kinabalu, and also the pouring rain in Milford’s Sound in New Zealand.

However, one day in a rain drenched adventure at Franz Josef Glacier on the West Coast of New Zealand, my camera bag got soaked in torrential rain. My camera basically went through a serious malfunction and it refused to switch on. I was at a complete loss. My heart sank and I felt a cold shiver running repeatedly throughout my body. I was in a foreign land, with no camera, and at the time I had yet to even see Milford and Queenstown in South Island, both the photographic highlights of my supposed landscape photography extravaganza. After a heart-wrenching night in front of the fireplace drying the camera out, by a sheer miracle, the camera came back to life. The damage? The orientation sensor no longer worked and thus the camera no longer knew if the image was taken in portrait or landscape format in the review mode. Small matter really compared to the worst case scenario.

After going through a week of landscape nirvana in New Zealand, I felt rejuvenated. But there’s always a problem after seeing ‘heaven’. That problem is that you start comparing with ‘heaven’ and very soon I started to get very deflated, and such Phase 4 happened. Upon my return from New Zealand, I sent my trusty, battle weary 350D (a camera which had seen and gone through so much, which aside from the malfunction in New Zealand, also survived a fall against hard rocks up on the summit of Mount Kinabalu) in for a diagnosis. The prognosis was disturbing. Aside from the orientation sensor which was obviously damaged, Canon also found water damage in various other areas and quoted me a repair bill of more than 1000 RM. With a huge resigned sigh, I decided to take it back unrepaired, as it still functioned as a camera. But as a result of the prognosis, in my mind, the camera’s days were numbered. It did not help that I was finding that my images were mis-focusing every now and then.

Right around this time, I started to ponder an upgrade. However, I was dissatisfied with Canon’s attempts at the 40D and 50D, especially in the face of the Nikon D90 and the D300, the latter two clearly more feature packed cameras for the price brackets. As the cost of switching camps was too high for me to consider at the time, I carried on using my battle scarred 350D. In the midst of this, I also considered the jump to full frame by pondering the venerable Canon 5D. Then in early 2009, I purchased the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens and sold the 17-40mm, as I could no longer resist the addiction to fast glass and also the benefit of IS, which until date, I had not been able to personally experience. I pretty much sealed my fate in the APS-C camp. Or so I thought. As I said in an earlier paragraph, I learnt the hard way.

But as life should have it, Phase 4 would hit me longer and harder than I thought it would. My camera started to mis-focus more frequently, and my self-confidence started to deteriorate tremendously. This was not helped on by the fact that a fellow photographer friend mentioned my images were not looking sharp either. After a lot of thought, and putting some of my closest friends through my fickle mindedness, I did the unthinkable. I sold all my Canon gear with the exception of the camera and the 50mm f/1.8 lens. It would be wrong to sell a faulty camera off, and my conscience would not allow it. I kept the 50mm f/1.8 as I felt it was only fair that I kept one lens to use with the film and also the trusty 350D if I ever felt a sense of nostalgia.

What I did next stunned even more people. I purchased a Nikon D700. A huge leap of faith. Not only did I switch camps but I went from a APS-C sensor to a full frame sensor. The big question people ask is why did I switch camps? Why did I not just stick to Canon? Why full frame? Why not just consider the 5D Mark II?

Well, with the backstory covered, I can now go on to the real meat of the story.

To be continued…

The Canon vs. Nikon Conundrum

Part 1 – My Personal Journey’s Backstory
Part 2 – The Feedback Letter
Part 3 – The Marketing Machine
Part 4 – The Grass Is Always Greener