Canon camp, Nikon camp, Minolta camp, Pentax camp...

[Minoltafan2904]

You can probably see from my username and profile pic what brand is my favorite but i don't hate other Camera manufacturers... sure i have my favorites but i don't hate any brand.

It's the same reason why we have favorite sports teams, car manufacturers etc etc.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

I give a guy at work grief over his Canon DSLR. One day I had an AE-1 with me and he was shocked. He always thought I was serious when calling him a traitor. Man a camera is a camera they all have merits and drawbacks for somebody. It's the image that comes from it that matters.

 

[removed account4]

people like belonging to something bigger. and blaming "stuff"
if the photographs don't work out " it would have been a great photo
if i used ( fill in the blank ) camera +lens "

 

[BradS]

I've always preferred Pentax and Nikon but I've had a few Minoltas, Canons, Yashicas...and a few others. I got on ok with all of them. I've never really understood the Nikon/Canon wars either.

 

[Dali]

People love things to be as simple as 'us and them'. And people love to feel like they're a part of something. Same reason so many people support a particular sports team or vote for a certain political party. They just want to know that they have a 'side' and that they're backed by many others who've chosen the same side. It's comforting I suppose, and perhaps empowering.

Cowardly behaviour if you ask me.

I don't see any cowardice in choosing a brand and being loyal to it. I am not sure that your offensive comment has anything to do with the topic and is more driven by your own state of mind that anything else.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I've always preferred Pentax and Nikon but I've had a few Minoltas, Canons, Yashicas...and a few others. I got on ok with all of them. I've never really understood the Nikon/Canon wars either.

Yes, but we all know that Hasselblad is better! <<wink>> <<wink>> <<nudge>> <<nudge>>

 

[BradS]

Yes, but we all know that Hasselblad is better! <<wink>> <<wink>> <<nudge>> <<nudge>>

I fondled a Hasselblad once...have wanted one ever since. Maybe, when I grow up, I can get one for my birthday...

 

[Ai Print]

Once I knew I was going to do photography as a career ( age 16 ) I followed the advice of my mentors and at the time, Nikon was the benchmark. So I got used to the equipment and that can really open your mind when futzing with equipment takes a back seat in the sense of mental gymnastics. But what has kept me with them over the years is a near seamless integration of film and digital equipment and the fact that NPS works so well in priority ordering of new equipment and especially for fast turn around on repairs with loaner gear if I need it.

Even though I now also use Leica and Hasselblad in a film and digital capacity to earn a living, my Nikon system is the primary tool for paying the bills. It's also an enormous system at this point, the options are literally endless.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Once I knew I was going to do photography as a career ( age 16 ) I followed the advice of my mentors and at the time, Nikon was the benchmark. So I got used to the equipment and that can really open your mind when futzing with equipment takes a back seat in the sense of mental gymnastics. But what has kept me with them over the years is a near seamless integration of film and digital equipment and the fact that NPS works so well in priority ordering of new equipment and especially for fast turn around on repairs with loaner gear if I need it.

Even though I now also use Leica and Hasselblad in a film and digital capacity to earn a living, my Nikon system is the primary tool for paying the bills. It's also an enormous system at this point, the options are literally endless.

Of course Canon changed their lens mount relatively recently while Nikon, Minolta, Hasselblad, and Leica has not changed their lens mounts.

 

[maximumPhoto]

Could someone please explain the reason for such rabid loyalty to different brands. The Canon "guys", vs Nikon "guys" vs others. I have always had Canons, except for my first SLR, a Ricoh and the Konica. Never even tried a Nikon, lol. I guess maybe it's like the Ford people or Chevy people. Maybe you develop a bias over time not even trying what the other camp has to offer.

Just like with cars, you invest in a decision that you felt you were sure of, and whether you remain sure of it or not, it's yours, so you adamantly defend it!

I've grown past that and my mentality is "Medium Before Manufacturer." Enjoy all the cameras, save them all, share them all, love them all.

 

[OlyMan]

Humans are colonial by nature. My race, my gender, my country, my football team, my camera manufacturer. We like the thought of surrounding ourselves with people who are the same as us. Gives us a sense of security and defence. I chose Olympus because my dad chose Olympus, albeit a lowly OM10QD, and I inherited it from him. And he chose Olympus for no other reason than the camera shop had the model on promotion.

It replaced a horribly unreliable Yashica FR-II that had twice stripped its nylon wind-on cogs, once while still under warranty (was repaired after a fight with the retailer) and once out of warranty. He only put about 15 films though it in three years, but I don't think he'd have been seen dead with another Yashica after that.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Like anything, personal taste is a factor. For some it might be the brand camera they learned on, or maybe that particular system as accessories that another doesn't. I have my favorites but I collect several brands (all mentioned and then some). My reason is that it is fun. I also shoot digital. For years I was annoyed with Minolta and Canon for changing their lens mount and leaving me stuck with old glass. At least my 1959 Nikkors can still mount on a Nikon DSLR, but now everything mounts on a Sony. Leica owners are the worst, they will never listen to anything negative about their system. Zeiss as well.
Use what you like, don't listen to anyone, and enjoy your hobby.

they are all good and the really good ones have 'Nikon' printed on them(!')

 

[Dali]

Humans are colonial by nature. My race, my gender, my country, my football team, my camera manufacturer. We like the thought of surrounding ourselves with people who are the same as us.

So I should be a Martian... I chose Olympus because the OM10 was the best camera I could afford 35 years ago, a huge majority of the photographers I knew then were using Nikon...

 

[David T T]

I have an RB67 = cool.

I have an Olympus XA = cool.

I have a Canon Rebel Ti = not cool. I feel that I would be a cooler individual if I had a Nikon, or at least an EOS 1n. Its all all about the film and lenses....but...yeah. I'll try the EOS 1n.

Oh yeah, my photographs are mediocre.

 

[John_Nikon_F]

My first camera was a Pentax H3v. After it began getting unreliable (flash synch kept going out), I began looking at other cameras to replace it with. Considered the Minolta X-series bodies (1985-86 time period), also considered getting a newer K-mount body, as well as a Nikon FM. When it began jamming in 1987, I almost bought a Nikkormat FTn with a 50/2. Partly because my father had a Nikomat FTn with the same lens. Instead, wound up doing $75 worth of chores and receiving his camera with lens, teleconverter, and bulb flash. Used that for the next few years, then decided to get my own body and let him have his back. Picked up an FT2 with 50/2 Nikkor-HC. Shot with that. Then an FM2n joined the arsenal and the lenses started coming in. In any case, it wasn't until 2005 that I picked up another Pentax, and 2008 before I decided to try a Canon film body (got a good deal on an FTb with 50/1.4 SSC). Nice camera, but couldn't find the proper diopter for my eyes' prescription, so I sold it off. Once the right F-1 comes along, I'll pick it up. Add it to the arsenal and shoot it alongside the F, F2AS, etc.

-J

 

[Les Sarile]

Could someone please explain the reason for such rabid loyalty to different brands.

I reckon I can't on account of I find them all fascinating . . .

I suppose some a little more fascinating then others . . .

 

[Jeff Bradford]

I'm heavily invested in Nikon and Pentax gear. I'm not above buying a camera body to get access to a lens I want to use, but so far it hasn't happened with Minolta or Olympus or Canon. I have nothing against Canon gear, but the most obnoxious camera-wielders I have met have all had Canons around their necks. It must be because Canon sells more cameras.

 

[tessar]

I've used Nikons for decades because way back, when I began as a newspaper reporter, all 9 photographers at the paper used them. I'd been interested in photography for a long time but didn't have a serious SLR yet. When I decided to buy one, Nikon was the obvious choice for me. I liked the way they handled, plus in the hands of press photographers they'd have to be durable. I gradually gathered a half-dozen different Nikkor lenses and saw no reason to buy into another system.
I have no mystic attachment to Nikon as a brand, but when someone asks me for camera recommendations I'd suggest looking into Nikons -- just because I was used to the system and was happy with it.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Mr. Sarile has made me want a Pentax LX. He's a very evil man. And we all know what will happen once the camera is purchased.

 

[Les Sarile]

And we all know what will happen once the camera is purchased.

What will happen, you'll accessorize and possibly get another . . .

 

[Theo Sulphate]

What will happen, you'll accessorize and possibly get another . . .
...

But the number of lenses and accessories is finite. It is finite, isn't it? Yes. Certainly it is finite. So, maybe... 12 or let's say 24 lenses. A few duplicates for the other bodies. Yes. Yes, this seems reasonable...

I don't think there's a problem.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Honestly I cannot wait for the cash to be available. Ooops...did I say that out loud?????

 

[cooltouch]

Of course Canon changed their lens mount relatively recently while Nikon, Minolta, Hasselblad, and Leica has not changed their lens mounts.

Of the cameras you mention above, Minolta most certainly changed its lens mount with the advent of the Maxxum system. They predated Canon, in fact, when it came to a mount change. I've often wondered why there wasn't near the hue and cry raised over Minolta's lens mount change as compared to what happened when Canon abandoned the FD mount. I think probably a better choice instead of Minolta would be Pentax, which has not changed mounts. As for Canon's mount change, I dunno if I'd call 30 years ago "relatively recently," but I guess it's a matter of perspective.

 

[OlyMan]

So I should be a Martian... I chose Olympus because the OM10 was the best camera I could afford 35 years ago, a huge majority of the photographers I knew then were using Nikon...

Back in the day I knew far too many people who thought they were the bees knees in photography just because they'd bought a Nikon or a Canon (actually more likely Nikon than Canon, it was in those days higher up the 'poser' scale). Nikon and Canon are both good reputable manufacturers so I'm certainly not going to dis them, but IMO they certainly did attract 'marque-snobs' that Minolta, Pentax and Olympus did not somehow attract.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Back in the day I knew far too many people who thought they were the bees knees in photography just because they'd bought a Nikon or a Canon (actually more likely Nikon than Canon, it was in those days higher up the 'poser' scale). Nikon and Canon are both good reputable manufacturers so I'm certainly not going to dis them, but IMO they certainly did attract 'marque-snobs' that Minolta, Pentax and Olympus did not somehow attract.

Absolutely. However none of the brands you mentioned are a bad choice.