Flexible or Disloyal? You Be the Judge.

I shot this photo of my Canon EOS 60D with a Nikon V1. Was that wrong?

I have a confession to make: I lack any loyalty to any particular brand of equipment and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Since I began an active photographer I have owned equipment made by Canon, Mamiya/Sekor, Pentax, Olympus, Minolta, Leica, and Nikon. When I started this blog I was using a Canon EOS 30D, then for a year or so I shot with an Olympus E-520, which I bought as to use as my smaller, "travel" camera.

When I discovered that the E-520's image quality was good under ideal conditions, I tried the Pentax K-7, followed shortly by the Pentax K-5. Both were on extended loan from Pentax, which appreciated having a highly visible photographer using their equipment. The K-5 was a big improvement on the Olympus E-520 and the EOS 30D. I loved the small size and weight of the Pentax primes. What I didn't love was the weight and ergonomics of the body. The grip was so short that there was no room for my pinky finger and I saw no point in adding a battery grip to make the camera larger and heavier. The K-5 and lenses went back to Pentax, which had provided them on extended loan.

To their credit, Pentax had never asked me to actively promote their equipment. I simply acknowledged using it and posted samples of my work to show that it was capable of excellent results. Still, I felt a bit guilty about not being a more vocal advocate and was frankly relieved to send it back.

It doesn't much matter to me what brand or type of camera I use to get street shots like this, as long as it helps me get them and I'm happy with the results.

Around this time I began writing articles for Canon Digital Learning Center. That obviously meant I had switched to Canon, right? Not quite. I sold the Olympus E-520 and Canon EOS 30D to buy a Nikon D7000. I didn't buy a Nikon because I didn't like Canon. I chose it the Canon EOS 60D or 7D because I thought it was the best fit for my needs and budget at the time. About a year later, I bought a Nikon V1 with 10-30mm zoom (28-70mm equivalent) to use as my mirrorless compact "everyday carry" camera. 

Sounds like I "converted" to Nikon, right? Wrong again. I was never able to get reliably sharp images from the D7000 without essentially using it as a manual focus camera (via Live View and manual focus) and I didn't want to go through the hassle and expense of sending it to Nikon for service--so I sold it and used the proceeds to buy a refurbished Canon EOS 60D. I even saved a few bucks on the deal. The 60D is basically the same size and weight as the D7000, can use my pre-existing Canon EF lenses (28mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2.0, 50mm f/1.4, and 85mm f/1.8), and focuses them all quite well, thank you very much. I use the now-discontinued 28mm f/2.8 (45mm equivalent on APS-C) as a compact normal lens, which is all I need while street shooting.

My intention for the time being is to use the 60D for paid assignments and for when I'm shooting with Serious Intent, and the Nikon V1 for more casual shooting. If I find something that suits my needs better and doesn't require me to shell out more than I can afford or think necessary, I may buy it--or not, regardless of what brand it is or whether the revelation might surprise or disappoint fans of a particular brand. 

Although this means that you can never be certain that we share the same tastes in equipment for any extended period of time, you can rest assured that I'm using a camera or lens only because I like it and not because I'm in some company's pocket, or hope to be, or hope to gain a few bucks through affiliate ad sales (not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with affiliate advertising). You also have the benefit of knowing that I'm  familiar with more brands and ways of doing things than the one I currently own. Besides that, my hope is that if you find yourself impressed with the results from a particular camera or lens, it will mostly likely be because of who is using and how it rather than what they are using.

Comments

[Tim McGowan]

Gordon, did not realize you hopped around that much.
So, after all the sampling, and money was not a huge issue, is there one system that you may prefer? Also, could you expand sometime on what you do & do not like about the V1?

[Tim]

I get what you're saying Gordon.
I own a Canon 5DMK2 mostly because it was at the time of purchase THE camera to have. I'm really happy with it and have made what I believe to be many "good shots" over the years but it wasn't until I bought a Panasonic GH2 and 20mm f1.7 lens that I realized that the 5DMK2 was entirely wrong for my shooting style and requirements. The image quality of the Canon is clearly superior BUT, the Panasonic gives me the goods more often and at what I've discovered to be more than acceptable quality for my needs. And so it is.

[Tim]

I know the feeling.

I've used variously Kodak, Olympus (one film, one dSLR), Nikon (*2), Canon (3 dSLR, one film) and now Panasonic.

Most are bought to satisfy the desire and/or need at the time. The only consistent failing is that all my Canon experiences have been quality disasters - the EOS 300n that was my first, film, SLR, developed a fault with the spring beneath the shutter button; the 550D took an unexpected dislike to raindrops; the 60D was rather nice while it lasted but fell foul of a salty wave at the coast (that might not have been entirely its fault!) and the 500D's image-quality was so lousy it pushed me to learn about super-resolution and stacking.

[Ranjit Grover]

Gordon,
Recently my friend (who earns his bread and butter through photography) and I (just interested in taking some photos) decided to buy new cameras for ourselves. He chose Canon 60D and I opted for Canon 600D. My choice was based on the price factor. In a developing country like ours the choice of camera is not to be taken lightly. They are very expensive by our standards.
Fortunately my choice turned out to be better for me. My camera has an exposure compensation button while I could not see that on his camera. Exposure compensation button is the most commonly used control for me. More over I hate heavy cameras. I think the results are comparable for both the cameras.
Come to think of it, there is no such thing as a perfect camera. That is why you had to jump brands that often. The camera companies will never learn from their mistakes or from the opinions of the users.

[Will]

You either like something or you don't... I too tried the K7 and loved it's small size, and how it looked... but - the buttons were stiff and small, and although it's boxy shape looked great, it seemed to be all corners. A mag alloy camera is wonderful except when it keeps poking you in the ribs with all it's hard metallicness!

My upgrade path went into reverse and got a K10D which fits me like a comfy old battered sofa.