For those who have made the switch between manufacturers.......

Let me preface this post by saying that the purpose of this thread is NOT to argue which is better, why or why not, or anything else. We could argue about those things for days and never get anywhere.

I know that there are some of you on this site who have switched from Nikon to Canon, or from Canon to Nikon, etc. I'm NOT looking for advice on why or why not I should by A or B, or anything else, this is solely for folks who don't mind sharing their experiences either way. My questions are:

1) What were your objectives in making the switch??
2) Were they accomplished, and are you happy with your switch??
3) Would you do anything differently knowing what you know now (even looking into the future)??

Again, I'm looking for feedback from those who have done this. Nothing more, nothing less. Thank you in advance for your input. :cheers:

Didn't make the switch but did something close. I added bodies and full lineup of lenses from the other manufacturer to my existing lineup. I then shot with both side by side for months. I went through the honeymoon period initially where I focused only what the new setup did better. Eventually, I realized was that each had their strengths and weaknesses and that no particular manufacturer had "it all right". I also realized that had I done a complete switch I would probably not been happy in the longer term. In the end, I stuck with just one manufacturer, the one that seemed to satisfy most of my current needs. I realize that this kind of side by side shooting is not something that everyone can finance, but if you can swing it I recommend it.

If you're interested in one mans thinking, here's my story. I haven't made the switch, but I'm investigating. I've been shooting Nikon for some time and have acquired a decent kit including a D3 (recently sold), D300, 200-400VR, 500VR etc. I've always liked my D300 for the reach and use it most of the time but was becoming more disenchanted with the relatively poor ISO and AF performance of the D300 as compared to my D3. The D3's downside is insufficient MP for shooting wild birds in habitat. (I don't live in Florida!) Nikon's newer D7000 has better ISO performance over the D300 but AF is so-so and the buffer is limited.

So earlier this year I decided it was time to move to a pro body and longer lens to compensate for the loss of reach. For me, that implied the Nikon D3x and 600VR. The downside of the D3x is it's slow 5FPS, middling ISO performance and cost. The downside of the 600VR is it's size and 11.6 lb weight, which is particularly troubling as I shoot mostly hand held.

So before dropping another zillion dollars into Nikon equipment that would not be ideal by any stretch, I started looking at the Canon offerings and in particular the 1D4 and the new series II superteles. After the 1Dx announcement I decided the 1D4 was still the best body for what I do, and a couple of weeks ago I purchased a 1D4 and 400 5.6L to play with. My first impressions are that combo IS a great combination for BIF, but I am a little disappointed in the 1D4's ISO performance which is not as good as my old D3. That's not really surprising though, considering both models really harken from the same generation and the 1D4 has a much smaller pixel size.

Cutting to the chase, the impetus for me to look "over the fence" at Canon is the new superteles. It appears to me that if the new superteles live up to their billing, Canon will be one full generation ahead of Nikon, and Nikon's refresh rate in the supertele lineup runs as long as 10 years which is a long time to wait. Also, the fact Canon has a lot more to choose from is a big factor (e.g. 800 and 400 5.6 -- and I can only hope Canon does a better job with the new 200-400 than Nikon did with theirs).

That being said my early impression between the two systems is that although Canon long lenses look really attractive, I prefer current Nikon bodies, both for the ergonomics and IQ. One challenge I'm having with Canon is trying to find a good post processing substitute for my beloved Capture NX2+Nik plugins. I've downloaded trial versions of LR3, CS5 and the Nik suite, but so far nothing compares to the elegance, simplicity and IQ from Capture NX2. (I don't do batch).

I've compared notes with folks that shoot both Canon and Nikon (and other brands) including pros, and the universally repeated theme is that there's no perfect system. If you can only afford to shoot one brand the challenge is to really think hard about your specific needs and then match up with the vendor with the best options.

As for me, I have no idea what I'm going to do, but it is kind of fun playing with this stuff! :S3:

Gary, you might try DxO's Optics Pro for your RAW conversion with you Canon. They have a 30-day free trial.