Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

An interesting observation: Check out the Audubon Awards for 2020 and 2022. In 2020 almost all the shots were made by Nikon and Canon with very few by Sony and a couple by Olympus and one by Fuji. Fast forward to 2022 and you will find Canon was dominant with 43 of the top 100 shots followed by Nikon with 30 and Sony with 23. Olympus and Fuji both had 2 each. In both years Nikon's D850 and D500 (especially the D500) were the most used cameras while in 2020 the Canon shots were by a wider selection of their cameras but in 2022 mirrorless cameras like the R5 were widely used. With Nikon, only a couple of shots were done with mirrorless. Sony nearly caught Nikon in popularity. Olympus and Fuji were almost closed out similar to 2020.
Why is this significant? Because reports of how the big news companies have all gone to Sony -- well those statistics can be greatly skewed. Take autos for example -- If someone looked at what autos "pros" (police and sales organizations) were using in the 70s through the 2000s, one would assume the big Fords and Chevrolets were the most popular even though imports like Toyota and Honda were taking over the consumer market. For all we know, Sony made deals with news organizations that were better deals than what Nikon and Canon made. I like looking at what the public is using rather than what just the pros use. One thing that stands out is how mirrorless is making giant inroads against DSLRs. It also shows how Nikon lagged behind both Sony and Canon in the use of mirrorless cameras. While Nikon is quickly catching up, it will most likely take another two generations for them to be on par with the best Canon and Sony cameras. With the addition of the z8 they have taken a giant step forward and I would expect the 2023 awards to reflect this -- it will be interesting to watch. Canon's R6 is the camera Nikon needs to address. It is a much more affordable and better camera in that price range than either Nikon or Sony. Nikon needs to come out with a pro crop-sensor camera to supplant the D500. the z50 is not the answer.

azted Loc: Las Vegas, NV.

There is no question that there are tens of millions of Canon and Nikon DSLR users who had systems prior to the advances that Sony made. Those people stayed with their systems using adapters when they went mirrorless, as I would have done. The teachers and books and videos all supported the older legacy systems. The more amazing situation is that Sony was able to grab a foothold at all! What is occurring now is the leveling out process as Nikon and Canon attempt to catch up with Sony on newer advanced bodies, and they seem to be doing an admiral job. How far can these image capturing systems progress? It is fun watching the market! It is also fun watching the older people with legacy systems justify their brand loyalty.

n4jee Loc: New Bern, NC

Discussions of brand loyalty are a waste of time. Those who tend to identify with a particular brand won't change. With cameras,for most of us, it's more of an economic thing. We get locked into a brand because of our existing investments in lenses and accessories. News photographers use what is given them. The management of these companies know that their photographers are going to produce good results with what ever they give them as tools. Their decisions are based on the bottom line. If they get the best deal from a different manufacturer, the only downside is the grumbling from the photographers that have to learn a new system. Even that goes away after a short time.
Popularity should be based on sales, not who wins photo competitions. It's the skill of the photographer that those awards are based on, not the hardware used. Also that the guy with a camera was at the right place at the right time. If that camera was a Brownie he still might have got the award.
A camera is just a tool. Maybe we should discuss which 1/2" open end wrench is best, Craftsman or Dewalt?

Dalek Loc: Detroit, Miami, Goffstown

What about AI and the contest rules?

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

BrianFlaherty Loc: Wilseyville, CA

A camera is just a tool. Maybe we should discuss which 1/2" open end wrench is best, Craftsman or Dewalt?[/quote]
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Exactly! Especially because DeWalt does NOT make an open-end wrench! Or, did they begin while I was asleep last night??? <smile>

Robert1 Loc: Davie, FL

What legacy systems/Brands have to do with anything when taking a photograph?
You use whatever camera type you have and take the picture as you envision it, I mean if you know what you're doing to begin with.

Since the advent of photography, photographers have been taking award winning photos with what was available to them at the time. You don't need the latest wonder in order to be able to take a picture.

I have a Norita 66 from the 70s, are you going to tell me that because it's a legacy camera and lens from the 70s I can't take pictures with it any longer?

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I wasn't trying to do a discussion on brand loyalty or promote one brand over the other. The three points I wanted to make are that mirrorless is overtaking and passing DSLRs, that Sony despite someone's announcement that all major news outlets use their cameras, hasn't translated to the consumer market, and that despite Nikon's z line, not many camera enthusiasts have traded in their Nikon DSLRs to go mirrorless. Nikon is making progress but this was not seen in the equipment used for the Audubon competition. I just thought the comparisons were interesting and revealed a few things that others might find interesting.

whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

Sales can sometimes indicate trends when all brands included are pretty much on a level playing field. In the case of cameras, there are two companies who have way more money than the others: Sony and Canon. The others have to find niche fields, depend on loyalty, or just produce a quality product that someone is willing to purchase. I have watched the camera business for quite a few decades and have found that some innovations have driven customers to products and therefore has sustained sales for that company over a fairly long period. Nikon had the upper hand when their slr was the choice of pros. Then Canon introduced the EOS system and they ruled for a long time. Sony was first to produce a full frame mirrorless camera and has sustained growth in recent years. Then their autofocus system has been the one to beat after that. These two innovations has almost brought Sony up to Canon. I think they are trying to capture the market and they have the money to throw. It may well be that they gave some very sweet deals to the news outlets. In the near future, will it be the stacked sensors and the shutterless or global shutter cameras that rule? Who will develop them first? Wait and see.

User ID

OM has the best AI !

User ID

Audubon ???? ROTFLMFAO.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've had Nikons since the 1970s, but I've also bought Canon, Fuji, Sony, and Olympus. I think the idea of brand loyalty is slightly exaggerated. Of course, there are some people who think the universe revolves around their brand. In many cases, "it's more of an economic thing," as you said above. When someone is loaded with lenses, batteries, and chargers for one brand, switching to another brand can be expensive. another consideration is operation of the camera. I know the Nikon system pretty well, so getting another Nikon doesn't involve a learning curve.

The same thing applies to cordless tools. Batteries are often just as expensive as the tools, and I don't want to spend a fortune on different brands of batteries. I do have a Dewalt/Ryobi battery adapter, so that helps.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

It may have something to do with "latest and greatest" being completely unrelated to "talent and skill" in the art of picture making. I'm fortunate to have some fairly up-to-date equipment alongside some pretty experienced legacy equipment. Aside from a few differences that arise from the technological advances and end up pretty far down the comparison list, I can make the same photographs with the older equipment as with the newer.

I enjoy shooting with modern equipment as much as anyone else, even though I choose to exercise enough self control not to buy a new camera every other week. But equipment is not what limits most photographers.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

It is a great piece of photography skill to know when you've found the best camera brand.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

Camera choice is a choice that we made when starting and stayed with probably for comfort, finalization and have that brand equipment rather than start over. The cause of change, I believe, is a problem or dissatisfaction with what we had. It's a comfort level.