Which Camera (Brand)?
See Which is the Best Camera? and Thoughts on the Direction of Digital and Where Go We With Digital? and The Best Part of Having No Lens Options.
Some of my comments are taken too literally by some readers asking (“which camera is best?”), and in a context-dropping manner, so I want to clarify a few things to add balance:
- Best for what?
- I prefer the Nikon D800E for its resolution, dynamic range, noise characteristics. My needs and goals are mine, not any metric.
- Each camera system solves some problems well, and some others not so well.
- The Canon 5D Mark III (and 1D X) are both very fine cameras, and Canon AF is almost certainly superior to Nikon for single-shot precision and accuracy with fast lenses, a theory supported by my field shots with fast lenses on both platforms. Fixed tests don’t work here; one has to shoot under a variety of subjects and lighting and lenses to get a sense for it. Bottom line: if you’re shooting a wedding or similar, rent and test the proposed new system before buying.
- Canon isn’t going to play possum forever, my hunch is that they’ll attempt a big leap past Nikon, perhaps as much as 60 megapixels. Watch out for pattern noise.
- Sharpness isn’t everything. The visual impact of an image depends on a variety of factors, including the lens “drawing style”, which in my book often outweighs pure sharpness considerations.
- The wetware behind the camera matters most (the photographer).
- Etcetera.
