hankswan

Did any camera brand ever meet all of our requirements? Tried most all of them at one time or another. Anyone ever shoot with an Ikoflex TLR? How about a Topcon D? I used Canon (rangefinder then SLR) starting in the 1960's. Did not like the fact that they changed mounts and it would be time to buy mostly all new lens and accessories. Even back then most Professional Photographers were shooting Hasselblad or Nikon. I had a Hasselblad 1000F, great camera, just too expensive to expand with additional lens and accessories. I started then with Nikon and still use them. In 1987 I had my first introduction to Auto Focus lens, what a great step forward. Canon has a good line of cameras' and accessories, but I still think Nikon has the greatest depth in cameras and equipment. Have I had some issues with my Nikon equipment? of course, all manufacturers and not just camera mfg. can have problems. The most important thing about Nikon is that many of my accessories still work on my current model cameras. I can use virtually all lens made by Nikon since 1959. Then only Canon that I really miss is the Canon 7S with the f 0.95 lens. What a beast! Even after all of this time and the many models, lens, and accessories we still are looking for that camera that takes photos as sharp as a Technica 4x5, an infinite zoom lens, and it folds up and fits in your pants pocket. The choice of the photo equipment that you buy has only one requipment, That it does what you want and is comfortable to use. IMHO

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

Started with rangefinders in 1956 - a Kodak Retina II (fabulous Ektar f/2 lens) and then a Leica IIIf. Those took me through high school, college and law school. My first real job was as an Air Force JAG in 1968, at a base that regularly sent B52s and tankers and crews to undislosed locations in Asia, from which they always returned with piles of audio and photographic equipment. So after a while I took the opportunity to get a Nikon F, because that's what one of my roommates had and it was a pretty nice tool. I added lenses and accessories for it over the years (anybody remember Spiratone?) My lens investment kept me in the Nikon fold through an F3, F90 and finally F100, before I switched to digital.

I used a lot of other cameras over the years - Leica Ms, Hasselblad, Rolleiflex, Minox, even a Crown Graphic 4x5 on occasion. But always the Nikons were there to do the heavy lifting when I needed wide angles, or long telephotos, or close up stuff, or easy TTL flashes - because I already had the lenses. New bodies always took the old lenses (even if they often required new flashes, which, sadly, are becoming almost as expensive as new lenses.) And there was never a point where I was thinking of upgrading the camera body, that it made any economic sense to give up all the Nikon "infrastructure" I already had on hand in order to switch to the Canon or Olympus or Pentax.

So I'm a Nikon guy because I started there almost 50 years ago, and never had enough incentive in the meantime to change brands.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

When I went digital my Nikon D40 was $50 (US) cheaper than the Canon 40D.

RonM12 Loc: Washington State

Started out with a Minolta in the mid 70's, then went to Nikon. When I made the switch to digital I considered and almost switched to Canon. I've just stayed with Nikon.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

For me it has always come down to my requirements rather than a brand. In the film days, I wants a camera system was small and light. My Olympus system back then was smaller and lighter than Canon, Nikon, and other brands. It even impressed my teacher who was a professional. And it was slightly cheaper than the other brands while retaining equal or better quality. Since I owned Olympus lenses, when Olympus went digital, I looked at them first. But they went 4/3rds instead of full frame! Now I did not know what to think. So I just kept shooting film for the time being until I could figure now I wanted to get into the digital age. Eventually, it came down to the same factors as before: size, weight, and cost. This time I had two brands to choose from; Olympus and Panasonic. I chose Olympus again mainly because of the lenses that I already owned and could be adapted to the new digital camera.

hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

My first 35mm camera was a Argus C-3, then a Canon FL-QL in the 70's. Don't remember why I bought a Pentax K-1000 and lenses later. Went Digital with a Nikon E-995 (5 MP-- that is 5 this was 80's) This was a point and shoot, no interchangeable lens. When I went to check out a true DSLR my previous Canon lenses would not work on the digital Canon cameras. However, my Pentax lenses would work on a Pentax K-X. So that is the way I went. Currently have a Pentax K-50 and a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS60.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

"No one else makes camera bodies to accommodate legacy glass as well as Nikon." You're kidding right? Try Pre-AI's or legacy F(1) '59-73 lenses on a D3100 or D810 with out some "surgery". I can use M42 Screw Mount Takumar lenses on a my K-5 or a K-1 (FF) if I had one. Sure with Nikon you are in better shape to use vintage glass with restrictions than Canon or Minolta (Sony) DSLRs.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Mine could not be simpler. I was a student in Spain in the early 60's when I fell in love with the beautiful photographs made with Nikon cameras. I bought a Nikon F and a Sekonic hand held reflective type meter. I immediately noticed a change in the contrast and sharpness of my photographs that I was not experiencing before with my Konica. Today I still shoot Nikon.

MidnightManiac

Love Photography, started out in 1973 with an Olympus OMG. Loved that camera and still use it today. Since I have tried a few different DSLR's both Canon and Nikon. Both great cameras but decided on Canon and will never change. Have many Sigma, Canon and Tamron lenses for my Canon bodies and all have their place and purpose. My suggestion is decide on a brand and grow from there, most stick with the brand and lenses they have chosen because of the cost of changing. I'm a Canon guy so I suggest Canon and grow with that brand...Great camera bodies and fantastic lenses. Both Full frame and crop sensor cameras are the best as I own both and using FF lenses on a crop frame camera works great so if you decide to upgrade in the future to FF you are all set.

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

My first camera was my father's Argos C3. Based on the serial number it was made in 1940. When I graduated college, I got my first SLR, a Canon FT-QL with in camera exposure metering and a metering booster for low light shooting. My next camera was a Canon TX with a kit 50mm f1.8 lens that said it was the official lens of the 1980 lake Placid winter Olympics on the lens cap. My first digital camera was a Canon S30 3 megapixel point and shoot with 3x zoom. It had an aluminum case and took CD cards. A few years later, I bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 8 megapixel bridge camera and gave the Canon S30 to my son. I still use the bridge camera on occasions. My first was DSLR was the Nikon D5100. The camera was only out a week when I bought it. I chose it over the new Canon T3i because I liked the view screen interface better. The D5100 is my go to camera and gives me satisfying results. I have bought prime lenses to supplement the kit lenses that came with the camera. I have no loyalty to any camera manufacturer and will select my next camera based only on my needs and how well the camera meets them.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

Nikon because when I was first able to afford a top line SLR, Nikon had the rep for having the best glass. I had been through Olympus, Canon P/S, Fuji but felt I would get the best iQ from Nikon. So I have a lot of excellent Nikon glass and have been several SLR bodies and three DSLR bodies, all Nikon. Never unsatisfied. I do also use a Canon SX-50 for the reach and a Sony FX-5 to experiment with mirrorless. When I want the best image, I reach for Nikon D800e and my Nikon glass.

coolhoosier Loc: Dover, NH, USA

Not counting a Praktica, my first serious camera was a Minolta SRT101; in fact, made my first photo money using that camera and a Yashica MAT124 (good medium format, but no future). But, didn't make enough at photography to live, so switched careers to defense electronics software development where I stayed until I retired. During that time, I kept the 101, but shot mostly with a Minolta AL-F rangefinder. Used the ALF because it was small and light and I was traveling a lot.

After I retired from that long time job, I decided to pursue what I had always really wanted to do: photography. Didn't know what brand to buy, but had started with Minolta and knew that line had evolved through merger and buy-out to Konica/Minolta to Sony, so I started looking at Sony. Bought an A230 and quickly outgrew it. Then bought two A850s off of EBay, followed by several a-mount lenses. The 850s have long since paid for themselves, but I still have them and they are still going and are still trustworthy (In fact, just bought a couple of Compact Flash adapters so that I can use these with SD cards). Right now, my number one camera is an A99 (unfortunately, not the A99 II) and an A7R (again, unfortunately, not the A7R II) Happy with both and will probably end up with whatever follows the A7RII (I don't need 20 frames/sec as in the A9).

Since I'm obviously going the e-mount route, a consideration is glass: the new e-mount lenses are bloody expensive. Fortunately, accepting a-mount lenses with an adapter makes a huge number of lenses available (from the used market -- EBay is your friend). And since landscapes and still lifes (including commercial) are my specialties, that's good. The judicious purchase of a good portrait lens will just about fixe me for a while.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

In the 1960s, my father obm sold cameras in his drug store. The Nikon rep used to snuff out his cigarette on the front element of lenses to show how strong the coating was.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

I shoot Micro Four Thirds. I know, micro four thirds is not a brand - but it's a format spread over several brands. I have two Olympus, one Panasonic, and one Kodak. They all use the same lenses.

This started way back in 1981 when my SLR was the Pentax Auto 110. There were many good film choices back then, but as the market shifted to 35mm compacts the choices went away and the film quality went to heck. Now the same size format is 4/3 digital, and I'm still using my old lenses with adapters.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

Did you finance your 4/3 gear at 5/3 Bank?😜