Thinking about switching to "the dark side" (another one)

[Philippe Collard]

Greetings,

I have been shooting with a 20D for three years. I like the camera but it has drawbacks of course, mainly AF speed in some situations. I am just about to purchase a used 1DMKII but then a friend just suggested me that a D300 is about the same price, and could be a better choice.

I must say that every time I see an image from a D300 I find it looks really great. There seem to be something very special about the colors and dynamic range that I feel I will never be able to achieve with the 20D, or maybe even the 1D MKII.

So here I am, thinking about Nikon. My main lens right now is the 300mm f/4L non-IS and I figure I would need the AF-S 300mm f/4 from Nikon. For those of you who used both how do you feel they compare? I also had a 400mm f/4 DO that I sold a few months ago, I don't need to ask you if the Nikon 200-400mm f/4 would be as good. That I know :)

Your thoughts are really appreciated...

Thanks a lot and best,

Philippe.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Philippe Glad you are giving the Dark Side a consideration

I use both D300 and D3 Both can recommend Lens wise the 300 is a great performer Seems like we should be seeing an update sometime in the near future but nothing announced as of now On the D300 it becomes a 450 f4.0 With a converter (1.4) a 570 f 5.6 Great combo

Wide angle lenses traditionally are better as the flash system

One thing to not is the metering system The new Nikons read light in RGB mode and seem to do a better job Early morning it senses the warmth and tells the meter to compensate We have been noticing that we can shoot even at sunup but Canon needs to add light

Bottom line you can't go wrong with either but I prefer the Dark Side !!!

[Lana Hays]

I have some questions about a switch as well. I've cut down considerably on my Canon equipment. I'll stick with what I have for now but it would be an easy move for me now. . I just have to make sure that I can get a 500mm VR.

1)Last year I went on a pelagic trip and used the Canon MkIIN and the 400mm f/5.6 lens which worked well as you much shoot all day handheld on a rocking boat. The AF on the camera and lens was fast and the lens was light. If switching to a D300.......what lens might be comparable to the Canon lens?

2) I use the Canon 24-105mmL lens as a "walking around" lens. What would be a comparable Nikon lens?

[KK Hui]

1. AF-S 300/4D ED + TC14E II
2. No equivalent, the nearest to it is the AF-S 24-120/3.5-5.6G ED VR

Both are full frame lenses.

[Lana Hays]

1. AF-S 300/4D ED + TC14E II
2. No equivalent, the nearest to it is the AF-S 24-120/3.5-5.6G ED VR

Both are full frame lenses.

If they are both full frame lenses then does that mean that they won't work on the D300? I don't understand the Nikon lens system yet.

[Art Peslak]

If they are both full frame lenses then does that mean that they won't work on the D300? I don't understand the Nikon lens system yet.

Nikon designs certain lenses for the crop factor cameras. Those lenses are designated as DX lenses. The other lenses are designed for full frame cameras but will work fine with the D300.

I purchased the new Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G lens. It is a superb lens although it doesn't have quite the reach of the Canon 24-105L. It is a tad heavier than the 24-105.

[Alfred Forns]

Lana the Nikon system does have its peculiarities and can be frustrating

The 24-105 and 300 will work on the D300 in crop mode The 1.5X factor will come in

Will be checking a lens from NPS soon The 18-200 VR Have friends in the flyfishing world that use it They do high quality work so have taken notice I'm sure is sharp but don't have much info on AF speed etc

The 300 f4.0 without the converter becomes a 450 f 4.0 !!!! Nice lens

KK do you have some Nikon gear? The new 600 VR is a thing of beauty Love using with the D3 !!!!

[Lana Hays]

Al
The 400mm on the Canon 1DMkIIN is 420mm and I need all the reach I can get sometimes on the pelagic trips. The 500mm is just too much to hand hold on a rocking boat for 12 hours. I would hope that Nikon 300mm f/4 with a TC would give me adequate speed to focus. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

[Gyorgy Szimuly]

I am not sure which brand is on the dark side... maybe not the Nikon :D
Szimi

[Jim Fenton]

ALL full frame lenses work perfectly on Nikon DX cameras....you just have to figure in the DX as that's the perspective you'll be shooting at. For example, be it a manual focus 500 AIS, 500 AFSI or II, or the new 500 VR, they are all going to give you a FOV of 750mm.

In reality, many of the Nikon so called full frame lenses work lots better on the Dx format as you're utilizing only the center / best area of the image created by the lens.

DX lenses...and there are only a hndlful of them...are not meant to function on a FF format.

With the new Nikon D3, they will work, but the camera automatically senses them and reverts to the Dx crop mode all by itself.

Keep in ind also, that almost all of the previous Nikon MG lenses (AI and AIS in particularO can be used on these bodies with excellent results. They will meter, once you input the lens data....you just have to turn the little aparture ring yourself :)

[Blake Shadle]

Keep in ind also, that almost all of the previous Nikon MG lenses (AI and AIS in particularO can be used on these bodies with excellent results. They will meter, once you input the lens data....you just have to turn the little aparture ring yourself :)

That's the one thing about Nikon that I couldn't live without. Right now my Sigma 500 f/4.5 has no contact strip on the rear mount (it started to corrode as was causing AF problems), so we took it out (getting it fixed soon - I HOPE)... I'm using the 500 f/4.5 as a completely manual lens, I've just input the data into my D200 and away I go. It's a must for a photographer with budgetary constraints... like me!!

[James Prudente]

Al
The 400mm on the Canon 1DMkIIN is 420mm and I need all the reach I can get sometimes on the pelagic trips. The 500mm is just too much to hand hold on a rocking boat for 12 hours. I would hope that Nikon 300mm f/4 with a TC would give me adequate speed to focus. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I believe that the 400 on a Mk IIN is 520mm equivalent. 400 X 1.3 = 520.

Jim

[Lana Hays]

James
Doh.......I teach.....I change lives. Blame it on a typo!!!

[Mike Dale]

With the new Nikon D3, they will work, but the camera automatically senses them and reverts to the Dx crop mode all by itself.

Not necessarily. It's a parameter setting. [Auto Crop]. You can choose to use the DX lens in FX mode. You will get some vignetting in the corners however.

[Jim Fenton]

Works just fine with AF....I've used it plenty of times for BIF images.


The 1.7 on the other hand, slows the AF a fair bit, but it is still ueseable. It is not as clean as the 1.4 and really needs to be shot at f 7.1 or higher.

[Alfred Forns]

Jim, have posted some sample images of the 200-400 and the 600 VR with a 2.0X

I know in the past using the 2.0 was not recommended since sharp images were not possible I think now with VR and being able to use higher ISO they are possible !!

I use the 1.7X on my 200-400 with excellent results The AF slows but still performs well enough for capturing bif Goes without saying if a 1.4X can do the work there is no sense in going to the other !!!

[Philippe Collard]

Wow lots of info here! OK back on tracks :) Can anyone tell me if the D300 + AF-S 300mm f/4 will focus as fast as a 20D + 300mm f/4L? How about AI servo? How about converters?

Thanks and best,

Philippe.

[Blake Shadle]

I'd like to say that it would focus faster :D You can't compare the 20D focus system to the D300's 51 point, 3D dynamic point AF system... The D300 is the only camera to use the same focusing system as the Pro body made by the same manufacturer. Personally, I wouldn't shoot a 300 f/4 with anything larger than a 1.4xTC.

[Alfred Forns]

Agree with Blake there is no comparison !!! Have been using the 51 point 3D dynamic most of the time !!!

[Philippe Collard]

Thanks a lot for the wisdom all!

The D300 looks really great, as well as all the Nikon lenses suggested but after much debate I decided that switching would involve too much work in sales, and too much money lost. So I'll make the switch another time I guess, I just purchased Walt Anderson's 1D MKII. Can't wait to get it ;)

Cheers,

Philippe.

[Blake Shadle]

The 1DMk2 is nothin' to sneeze at (meaning it's a good camera)... That's a very nice step up from the 20D. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it. Enjoy!

[Alfred Forns]

Not a bad decision Philippe The 2n is a fine capable camera You will also be able to af with more lenses/converters !!!!

[Philippe Collard]

Not a bad decision Philippe The 2n is a fine capable camera You will also be able to af with more lenses/converters !!!!

Thanks Alfred. In fact it's a MKII without the "n". I would have prefered a MKIIn but they seem to sell for a premium these days, probably because people refrain from buying a MKIII. I got the MKII for a good price, see the classifieds :) Can't wait! (did I write this before?)

[gary rouleau]

The problem with the markII no N that I found was the battery use. It sucked up the electrons faster than you could shoot the digital bits.

my two bits.
gary

[Ric Grupe]

Thanks Alfred. In fact it's a MKII without the "n". I would have prefered a MKIIn but they seem to sell for a premium these days, probably because people refrain from buying a MKIII. I got the MKII for a good price, see the classifieds :) Can't wait! (did I write this before?)

Here is a lightly used IDMIIN for a decent price.

Last fall I bought one to replace my 30D...it's not comparable.

Try it...you will love that frame rate and AI servo focus acquisition speed.

[Gene C. Callison]

Agree with Blake there is no comparison !!! Have been using the 51 point 3D dynamic most of the time !!!

Alfred,

Does this mean you are using all 51 points activated as in let the camera decide which focus points to use. Or ring of fire in Canon speak?:D

Gene