PixHound Loc: Marietta, GA

Go Cannon. I too learned on a manual film camera many years ago (Canon). And stayed with Cannon on my first digital (also some years back). But it was a fixed lens camera (G3), so as the technology marched on, I eventually decided to get back to an SLR. Having heard that zooms had improved somewhat since my film days, and concerned about getting dust on a sensor with frequent lens changes, I looked for a do-everything zoom lens to go with it. At the time, Nikon seemed to have a better option in that regard, so I jumped ship to Nikon. I'm on my third Nikon now (currently a D600), and while I have liked them all, I will not buy another. The reason is that the last 2 have had oil-on-sensor issues from the shutter mechanism. Nikon did "fix" my D600 at no charge, but a few thousand clicks later, I have yet another spot. So at some point, I'll part with all my Nikon stuff and maybe go back to Cannon. Or maybe jump to a mirrorless Sony. Not sure yet. But no more Nikon for me. Good luck with whatever you decide.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

They way I decided was that I had a friend with a Canon and I know I could get some pointers from her on how the camera worked. So I went that route. But I did a little research at the time and Canon equipment was a tiny bit less expensive than Nikon. That was also a little bit of a concern. But now I believe the tides have turned slightly toward Nikon being a little less expensive. So now it's a moot point. I think they go back and forth on how expensive they are.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

Good choice, I've been with Canon for fifty years great products and great service if needed. I've had little to no problems with my Canon gear.

lamontcranston

Sounds like you favor Canon over Nikon at the outset. You can't go wrong with either choice. Take the advice already offered to do your own research. Read the reviews on the photography websites and look at the comparisons on YouTube. Go to Bestbuy and handle all of them. I would encourage you to consider a mirrorless camera. Mirrorless cameras seem to be the wave of the future. They are smaller and lighter and take superb photos comparable to those shot with a bigger and heavier DSLR. I have Sony, Nikon, and Canon cameras and if I could have only one, it would be my Sony A6000 mirrorless that you can pick up with a couple of excellent Sony kit lenses for around $850. Do your research and make your own choice. You can't go wrong with any of your top choices.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

Because some folks just need a push not hard to understand!

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

Google it; " The camera manufacturers are intensely competitive. From the 1960s through the early 1990s, the pro SLR market belonged to Nikon, but hard work by Canon and missteps by Nikon, particularly with its early digital SLRs, let Canon bite off about half of the pro market. The two companies remain in a savage battle for market share, both pro and consumer."

karno Loc: Chico ,California

If you want dynamic range and low light capabilities, and the ability to use older glass get Nikon.
If you you want user friendly body and new lenses made in Japan, get canon.
I shoot nikon.

jmvaugh Loc: Albuquerque

If you have Pentax lenses that you want to use, why not rent a couple different Pentax bodies and see what you like before you buy. If you want to move to either Canon or Nikon lenses and cameras, research what you can get with your budget, then rent either crop sensors or full frame and try before you buy. Let’s face it, Pentax, Sony, Fuji, Canon and Nikon all make great cameras in DSLR or mirrorless. There’s a HUGE selection of wonderful lenses for each camera.
If you can afford full frame and want to stay with that format, there’s a ton of selection. If you feel crop sensor will meet your needs, your selection’s even bigger. Most Hoggers have their opinions on what’s great and what’s not, but try different cameras and lenses to see what you like. Trying, playing around, and shopping is the fun part.
Best of luck!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Do yourself a big favor. Look at mirrorless camera designs. The very latest ones are excellent. In no particular order, the best mirrorless cameras are made by Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, and Olympus. Sony makes them with full frame and APS-C sensors. Panasonic and Olympus make Micro 4/3 cameras. Fujifilm makes cameras with APS-C sensors. EACH of these brands is very different from the others. They all stress different feature sets, control layouts, and use cases.

The mirrorless camera market is changing rapidly, as these companies introduce faster cameras, better electronic viewfinders, more lenses, higher quality video...

If you want to stick with dSLRs for a particular need, Canon and Nikon are the two brands to compare. Their main claims are related to market share, which is huge, but declining.

Check out digital camera review sites such as http://www.dpreview.com. Also watch reviews and tutorials on YouTube. Reviewers will help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each model. There is no perfect camera, so you have to decide what features are most important to you, and optimize your choice based on that.

Most of the equipment on the market today is quite good! Digital cameras are very capable, very reliable machines. Unless you abuse them, or use them extremely heavily (hundreds of exposures per day), you probably won't need service for years, and by then, you'll want a new body anyway, because equipment changes so rapidly now.

Most brands sell their own lenses. Most make two or three similar lenses of different speeds and performance levels (sold at different price points). There are excellent third party lenses and lousy third party lenses. You get what you pay for, most of the time.

Beware Internet retailers offering "gray market" or "international version" equipment. It is quite a bit less expensive. The hardware is the same as officially imported, but you will not have the official USA warranty, so getting service may be difficult. Nikon gets particularly nasty about this. However, you may determine that the lower price is worth the risk, especially if you need more than a few lenses. I once bought six gray market lenses. None of them failed within the warranty period. In fact, none of them failed while I owned them. But I take very good care of my equipment and use heavily padded camera cases.

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

A plague on both their houses. Nikon and Canon make great DSLRs but the handwriting is on the wall. Mirrorless cameras are the future of photography. Watch a press conference on TV and listen to the noise of the mirror slaps from the DSLRs. It is annoying and distracting. Technology does not stand still and the future for DSLRs is like that of electric typewriters. Even Nikon and Canon are working frantically to produce good mirrorless cameras. Mirrorless cameras are lighter, smaller, have less moving parts and are cheaper to manufacture. It is only a matter of time before DSLRs are surpassed by mirrorless cameras.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

If I had it to do over again, I would give mirrorless a serious look. There are more and more good lenses that will work with these cameras. If you are starting out in digital right now and get a mirrorless with a few basic lenses, by the time you are ready for much better glass, which might not be there right now, the glass will come.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Best to do your research & decide for yourself as others opinions may not be the same as yours. Best to handle any camera you may be interested in as ergonomics is a big part of it. Be careful of base model cameras as most lack features so as to offer them for less money. Personally, I'd go for mid-grade or better lines. Don't worry about brand names as Canon & Nikon leapfrog each other in features with each new release. I chose Nikon as I already have a plethora of older Nikon "Pro" AF & MF glass that I am able to use on the bodies I have. I also have a few Olympus mirrorless cameras that I can use my older Pentax, Canon, Leica, Minolta, Konica & other lenses on with adapters. As I said though, do your Due diligence and don't be swayed by the opinions of others as opinions are too subjective.

RodB Loc: Dallas/Mckinney

I use Nikon... they are a little more user friendly than Canon and fast. I also have a sizable investment in lenses. The newer Canons are incredible too. You should read on all this from Ken Rockwell..... He mostly reviews/educates people on Nikon and Canons...but a few others are included now and then if they offer very specific parameters.

www.kenrockwell.com There is no better analysis of the pros and cons of specific cameras and lenses. He is extremely knowledgable and does not lie... only straight honest information. He buys and uses and tests all cameras/lenses he reviews and has great well explained "set up" details for all. I have used him as a source for years and never found him to be anything but "right on" as far as analysis.

Recommended cameras by Rockwell: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

If you read the "recommendations" at the bottom of each review of any specific camera you will see he is all about pointing out how a camera is to be used and the features that he thinks are mandatory or not that important. You will gain an education by just reading his site for a couple hours. He also offers some great insight as far as the cost and benefits and the rationale as to where to spend a little more or less depending on your needs and budget. I have seen no better source of information on deciding which lens or what camera one should invest in. Additionally, he offers smart details on setup for most cameras which is great in deciding how to set up any camera as you learn what each setting does/controls. He cuts through the BS and illustrates what is pertinent and what is not.

Ken Rockwell has no bias as far as choosing Canon or Nikon and clearly points out why he would prefer one over the other depending on the features, model or exactly what he is going to do photographically. If you are starting from scratch, I believe he says some of the newer Canon's are amazing... you also have to look at the cost of a few necessary lenses for your "target set of equipment... camera and lenses". You should always invest in the best lenses you can afford as they will last you years and bodies will be changed as technology progresses. Ken will give you a good sense of a basic set of lenses per what you plan to do with your photography and give you plenty of information to help decide on your budget and choosing the best for that budget.

Ken's only source of income is this website so if he is helpful its nice to paypal him a few bucks.

Good luck,

R

alfeng Loc: Out where the West commences ...

What type of lenses do you currently use? Wide angle, telephoto, zoom?

Are you generally happy with the results you get with those lenses?

Do you mind manually focusing the lens OR do you want lenses which can autofocus?

As noted, you can use your current lens(es) on some camera bodies ...

As an aside, I will say that if your current choice is limited to Canon & Nikon, then I think that you (and, others are on the decision cusp between ONLY those two brands) would be better off in the long run if you chose Nikon BECAUSE (and, this may not seem like a good enough reason to some) almost every Nikon lens made for their SLRs (their 19mm lens which does not have the retrofocus elements may be the only exception because the elements which protrude into the camera body will be in conflict for the space which the electronic contacts (and, mirror!) occupy) in the past 50 years can be used in MANUAL MODE on their DSLRs.

As many already know, Canon has chosen to modify their lens mount with the consequence being that their original SLR (FL/FD, for example) lenses are not readily usable on their DSLR camera bodies due to the longer flange-to-focal-plane distance on their DSLR camera bodies..

For the same reason that I might opt for a Nikon digital camera body over a Canon digital camera body, if I had Pentax lenses then I would probably be inclined toward getting a Pentax digital camera body.

So, you need to ask yourself if you are switching because you want auto-this & auto-that functions or because of some of the possibilities which the digital images you produce might have + the conveniences (e.g., 100s of shots vs. 36 shots per roll).

FWIW. MY current preference is for mirrorless camera bodies. I have one, quite primitive-and-humongous 4/3 SLR which preceded the m4/3 mirrorless bodies. The SLR viewing is great up to a point. I find that I'm in the camp that appreciates what a reasonably good EVF (electronic view finder) can do ... and so, what the person taking the picture can theoretically do when composing the picture.

Not all EVF finders are created equal. The older ones are probably best thought of as being more for framing the scene when compared with more recent iterations.

While I can use my vintage (mostly Nikkor) SLR lenses on the 4/3 camera body with a thin adapter, I can use almost ANY lens which has its own focusing barrel on an m4/3 camera via an adapter (so the Contax/Nikon rangefinder lenses are among the exceptions).

While my heart may want a camera with a "full frame" sensor, my brain-and-wallet tell me that a camera body with a "crop frame" is more than adequate for what I am doing.

THAT MAY BE A LONG WAY OF SAYING that if you decide what lenses you have used in the past are what you want to use (OR their digital equivalents if you feel a need-or-desire for autofocus/etc.) OR if there are other lenses you think you want to use than the ones you own then you will probably go a long way toward making a decision which you won't regret ...

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

I vote Canon, because that is what I shoot.