ka_ho_wong Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 I am wondering who make better lens, Nikon or Canon ? How good are their lenses when compare to Leica lenes ? Most important thing, I still want to be the one who takes the picture, not the camera. These Japanese cameras are known for their computer thingys that I would never need... Who gives the user better control? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mendonphoto Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Did you mean to post this question in a Leica forum? You're going to get some pretty biased answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Ka-Ho Wong, Your questions are far too broad to be answered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ka_ho_wong Posted December 3, 2004 Author Share Posted December 3, 2004 I post it here because I am a M user too. I want to have some advice from fellow Leica users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brambor Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Try Nikon D70. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael s. Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus, and (within the past several weeks in the U.S.) Minolta -- all offer fine dslr's, fine lenses, and offer automated or full manual control. Nikon and Canon have been at this longer and have more models to choose from. New ones are being introduced regularly, making some of the just-replaced models attractive buys (unless you require features they don't have). I think it would be worth your time to find a well-stocked camera store and handle the ones in your price range. That will give you more to go on than internet back-and-forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elek Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Give it a try. The only downside is that if you don't like it, you're out $1,000. But you probably could sell it and not lose too much money. And if you like it, then you're good to go. In general, most Japanese SLRs are highly automated: autoexposure, autoadvance/autorewind (not with digital, of course), autofocus. It's the technologically advanced, modern-day equivalent of the Kodak Brownie -- push the button, the camera does the rest. You barely have to be conscious. Really, however, you still have to compose your shot, and so if you don't have to concern yourself with the other aspects, then you should get better compositions. And if you don't like it -- zap, it's gone. Perfect for our disposable society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_lu Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 both give you good control, after all, if you're an m user, you just need to be able to manually focus, set aperture, set shutter speed, what else? for what it's worth, most nikkors (excluding the g's) allow you to set aperture on the lens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 You must climb to the top of a mountain and sit and meditate for a few days. The answer will come to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin m. Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Al, somebody ought to give you photoshop elements for Xmas. You might be singing a different tune.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Kevin, there's no electrical outlet on my mountain top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jan dirk geertsema Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Canon takes Leica R mount lenses by using a Novoflex (or other brand) adapter. Nikon or KM don't. Jan Dirk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin m. Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 You have a <i>solar-powered</i> enlarger on that mountaintop, Al? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socke Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Most SLRs, digital or not, have a manual setting and you can turn off autofocus as well. Set ISO to your liking as you do on a non DX aware metered camera. Think slide when exposing as dSLRs have a limited dynamic range close to slide film. If you don't like darkroom work, give your memory card to a minilab and you're done. But take care! It's addictive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolaresLarrave Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Ka-Ho, I went and handled a Nikon D70 yesterday. Best Buy even has a finance plan for the gizmo. The rotating knob on the right side of the camera has a series of programs, one of which says P and the other says Auto. Avoid them and that'll make the camera a "mechanical thingy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 >> I am wondering who make better lens, Nikon or Canon ? << They both do. Their best lenses are very good but their cosumer grade zooms are not. >> How good are their lenses when compare to Leica lenes ? << Their "prime" lenses compare very favorably in performance. Where they may differ very noticeably is in their "signature" or bokeh. The Nikkors usually display a sharp-edged line or crosseyed look on the out of focus areas, while the Canons are more smooth but not approaching some of the most celebrated Leica/Leitz lenses. If you want to have full manual control and use your Leica M lenses, why not get an Epson RD-1? It will be much more expensive than the cheapest Canon and Nikon (threefold maybe) but you will save on glass as you may already own several lenses for your Leica. As a bonus, the handling will be practically identical to your M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_r._fulton_jr. Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 I have used Leicas and Nikons for a long time. I have a D100 Nikon. Therefore I would have to recommend Canon. If I were starting again in SLR I would go with Canon. They keep ahead of the curve over Nikon. Don't get me wrong. Nikon makes good stuff and I'll be buying a cupla the D2Xs when they come out, but I really think Canon is better. The Canon D20 would appear to be an excellent camera to start with. Canon also makes a 24 f1.4 that translates to 35 f1.4 in digi land. Closest Nikon has is a 28 fl1.4. [OTOH, I really would like that new 200 f2 that Nikon's introduced......but that's another story.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbq Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Might be a stupid answer, but how about going to your local store and trying one out (or finding a friend who has one, or renting one)? If you want to use manual exposure a lot, avoid the Digital Rebel as it's annoying in that case. BTW, on the "cheap" Nikon DSLRs you can't set the aperture with the aperture ring, you need to use the command wheels. Also, those cameras can only meter with CPU-equipped lenses. Set a Canon SLR to manual-focus and it falls back to center-weighed metering, if I remember correctly. Someone managed to change the screen of their D70 to replace it with a split-prism screen appropriate for manual focusing. Higher-end bodies will give you more flexibility in terms of focusing screens, (on the Nikon side) in terms of which lenses you can use, (on the Canon side) in terms of wide angles thanks to their larger sensors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 how much do you want to spend? without a doubt, the D70 is the best bang for the buck, comes with a huge 30 year choice of lenses, and the best flash system, over canon. if you want to spend a huge amount of money for great 3200iso noise results, go with the canon MKII. for the price of the D70 and what you can do with it, you wont lose a dime. the d20 is a great camera, but released too soon and too many are being returned to canon. and the flash sytem sucks on canon, big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 "Someone managed to change the screen of their D70 to replace it with a split-prism screen appropriate for manual focusing." Really? I'd like to know more Jean-Baptiste... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbq Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Changing the screen of the D70: <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008r74">http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008r74</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbq Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 "30 year choice of lenses" This isn't quite true. Nikon's first AF camera (and therefore their first CPU lens) was released in 1986 (ignoring the edge case of the F3AF), and current Nikon consumer SLRs (including the D70) don't meter with non-CPU lenses, the oldest of which is 18 years old. Yes, you can use the lenses without a meter, and yes, some lenses can be modified to include a CPU that allows the meter to work. But no lens older than 18 years will provide a good out-of-the-box experience. On the other hand, Nikon's non-G AF lenses work fine with all Nikon bodies made in the last 25+ years, and with an easy modification can be used all the way back to the original 1959 F (and if you have a body without a meter the modification isn't necessary). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 you can still use them, so they're still a choice. of course you can't use a manual focus lens in af mode, nor will it meter. but i still use them, still a choice. use the lcd and a few test shots. half the leica users here don't have a meter in the camera at all...And how many mounts does canon have again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulstenquist Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Pentax *istD has the same sensor as the Nikon D70, but it will meter with Pentax lenses going back forty years or more. It's much more compact than the Nikon. Much closer to the M6 in size and feel. Marc Williams initiated a thread about it a year ogo or so. Pentax lenses are second to none in optics and coatings. You can get outstanding bokeh and great flare resistance at a reasonable cost. On the other hand, Canon is undoubtedly the industry leader in DSLR cameras. The 20D seems to be a great camera. And Canon IS lenses are unmatched for sports shooting and other similar applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakley Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Al wrote: <p> <i>Kevin, there's no electrical outlet on my mountain top.</i> <p> Heck, Al, this summer there wasn't even electricity in your HOUSE a lot of the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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