whitewolfowner

Each company has had one innovation or another over the other guy for years. Like it was stated in Popular Photography years ago; want to know who has the best camera; Canon or Nikon.....find out who put out their latest flagship camera most recently. It's a seesaw, back and forth and it is actually the best way for it to be because when one company comes out with a new camera, the other has to have their next one better that one from the competition. It keeps the competition going and the improvements coming. Imagine only one company having the monopoly on the market; then how often would they produce the next generation model?

SirNorsky

I am not quite certain about the validity of this question...

Honestly... Nikon pushes in one direction... How many years did it take Cannon to best the Nikon D810...

Yes Canon has a superior lens in the 70-200 2.8 Red Line...

But the Nikon bests then in the 105 macro 2.8..., 14-24 2.8 zoom... How many Cannon shooters have a converter for that lens?

So what is the Innovation that you so seek?

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Well, we can now wait for the next generation of cameras to come, be it Canon or Nikon, and others. Digital cameras go obsolete quickly nowadays. I remember when Nikon came out with the D700, full frame, came out in 2008. It was Nikon's most desired camera with 12.1 megapixels. Then came the D750 about 5 years later with 24 megapixels. Wow. And the D810 has 36 megapixels. While increasing megapixels is not a determined overall factor for camera quality. One thing it does do. It sells cameras. To those who can afford them.

SteveTog Loc: Philly

I have a Nikon D800 and D500 and I feel the same way as David.

But to take it further, if there's something that I can't do with these cameras, it's more on my skills that than the hardware. Canon gear is also awesome, although I have limited experience with the brand. Not because Nikon is any better, just because that's the brand I started with and developed on as a Tog.

If anyone has a recent APS-C or Full Frame camera from any major brand and feels they can't get the photos they want, maybe they should be looking to upgrade their photo skills rather than blaming the camera brand for not being innovative.

The brand wars are like a horse race. Nikon's up, then Canon's up, then Nikon is up again. Along the way innovators like Fuji, Panasonic and Sony come up with some truly great cameras. Hell even Samsung is innovating. In the end, if one can't produce a decent image with all the great stuff that's out there, it's probably not the gear.

I love the hardware that's out there these days and it's only gonna get better.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I am not a fan boy of any particular brand of camera. I like a lot of different brands. As long as the camera has the features I want and can get the images I want, I'll buy it.
And I don't really care who innovated what feature first in a camera. If I feel I need a certain feature in camera, I'll see which brand has it at the time I want it and buy that one.
I have more different brands of cameras than I really need, but I have fun using all of them.

will

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

LoL, Steve, I mean Tog, did you read the first post or did you just read page 10 and see this as a Tic for Tac post?
This post is about major INNOVATION, not about how poor of a "Tog" you are?! LoL
If you think 36 mp is a major innovation, say so but medium format has had that for years before it showed up in your camera!
Major innovation is like the first to put a pentaprism on an SLR!!! Maybe even if you where the first to take it out!! LoL
Tog, youre not alone, 90% of responders have answered like this was just "my camera is better than your camera" post, it's not!
It's more like who made the first plastic camera....., who cares if it worked, THAT was INNOVATION, a change that changes the course of how cameras are designed or used in photography.
Tog...., comprende?!?!
SS

SteveTog Loc: Philly

Well that changes things a bit... hmm. For me the biggest innovation was simply digital. As I have A.D.D., this was critical for me to be able to learn and keep track of my development. As soon as I went digital, I was off to the races. So that's on Sony as I think the Mavica was the first mass produced digital camera.

Everything since then seems like its coming at a snails crawl to me. As someone who's trapped in Nikon world, I'm not tracking Canon's development closely - because I'm not buying them. I love some of the stuff coming out of them though and respect them. The Buddha says desire is the cause of all suffering, but the Buddha never had to shoot a CD cover with a Nikon D50 and a Sigma 18-200mm lens without VR.

At this point in my development, I'm really happy to shoot with what I have. When someone invents a camera that can make Miley Cyrus smart, then I'm handing out an award. Till then, I respectfully withdraw from this conversation, except to say that I'm grateful that someone invented vibration control and they keep pushing ISO standards higher. (I really love shooting in the dark.) I don't care if it isn't Nikon who comes up with this stuff, so long as Nikon steals the tech and put it into the next camera I buy.

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

The thing is there is no pain , and people can live a long time like this , and when it gets to the stage that you can't move in bed , the only thing that moves is your eyes and you can swallow, that's it , and you carry on in this state totally dependent on them to clean up your bodily function,s , and this can go on for many years as you still still die from old age not this . I'm out of here before that comes I , still have my rifle and hunting licence every year .

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

You have my respect, Sir, and appear to have great courage and fortitude. The very best of luck and fortune to you.

bkellyusa Loc: Nashville, TN

[quote=SharpShooter]Yes, we need to RING IN the new year with a good'ole fashioned UHH discussion! You know the one..., the one with raucous and colorful discourse!!!
So as the title says, why can't Nikon innovate on it's own? I don't mean natural evolution like a few more pixels or another f-stop of DR.
I mean like real innovation that changes the course of photography and camera design. Nikon sits and waits(conservatively) and then tries to improve it, sometimes winning, sometimes flailing awkwardly.
Examples:
The Canon T90. It changed the world of camera design and the way EVERY camera looked in the future, including Nikons.
Electronic coupling(EOS). EVERY brand went to it.
IS(VR), It's only been the last 5 years Nikon finally put it into its Super-Teles.
Anti Flicker, I was sure Nikon would have it in a year, it took two!!
These are a few reasons why in 2003, Nikon fell to number 2, and Canon has not looked back!!!

Canon has deeper pockets than Nikon and that is hurting Nikon. The real question is why can't Canon innovate like Sony? The answer may in part be the same but it's worth noting that Sony, besides having deep pockets, has been super aggressive in a market that is in serious flux where mobile phone cameras maybe the future in all but pro level cameras.

The cameras that are very interesting these days are things like Panasonic, Fuji and Olympus. These brands seem to have found their niche and are excelling at what they do best. However they stand the most chance of being replaced by cell phone cameras.

BebuLamar

I don't think TTL flash is one of Nikon innovation. It was invented by Minolta but first used in a camera by Olympus. Think of it besides the matrix metering Nikon was the first to use the piggy back mirror. But I must say Nikon has a lot fewer innovations than Canon but I don't really know why. I don't think because Nikon doesn't have the funding for R&D.

adm

I am tired of reading Nikon vs. Canon threads. Both make excellent products that are capable of professional results. It is okay to have a preference but do we have to keep attacking products and each other? I declare a truce. I have used both products over the years. Interestingly, I used Canon when they were the underdog and am currently using Nikon now that they are apparently the underdog. I used the old Canon FD system and was mad at Canon when they went to the EOS mount, which rendered the old system obsolete. However, I can see that this was the best business decision for them, just as keeping the "F" mount was the best decision for Nikon. I have to say that I prefer Nikon, since to me they have the best balance between tradition and innovation. However, I can see how others would prefer Canon over Nikon's stodgier image. The real battle today is between real cameras made by Nikon and Canon and others and the smartphone. It is time lay this shopworn topic to rest.

Leitz Loc: Solms

Well, the UHH has sunk to a new low with this one!

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

For me, a smartphone or tablet will not ever be able to replace my DSLR because I don't think it's physically possible to stuff an 11x zoom range into an item only 1/4" thick. I suppose, given enough pixels one could just photograph everything in wide angle and crop down to simulate a long lens. To me, that seems to be a wasteful application of technology when other options exist. To achieve a photo the equivalent of a 12Mp taken with a 200mm DX lens with a camera with a lens able to be the equivalent of an 18mm DX lens would require a sensor with 123 times as many pixels, or 123 x 12Mp = 247Mp. Some day it may be possible to create a sensor with that many pixels in a tiny size, but we aren't there yet by a long shot. So I will just stick with my DSLR and zoom lens.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Jeeez, adm, didn't you get any presents for Christmas???!!! LoL
Hey, just kidding, you probably got way more than I did.
adm, this isn't a brand war, or even what brand we shoot! It really was supposed to be a topic about innovation....., BIG innovation!
The title is just my observation from many years as a camera user.
But I was prepared for it to be anything it turned out to be.
Nothing wrong with being passionate about ones brand, but I will say, being apathetic is a disease today!!
adm, feel free to participate, nothing wrong with teaching us something!!!
SS