Yeah, I'll definitely be getting a macro lens eventually :red_mouth
I love my EOS 20D. You're gonna love that one!
Oh I'm sure I will
Welcome home Elmo! lol Glad to have you with the Canon Fam.
Awesome hardware my friend.
I'm curious... what made you convert?
btw, the 135L has got to be one of Canons BEST lens. I use to own one and absolutely loved it!
Thanks Speedie! I was waiting for you to show up, and for someone to ask hehe...I had a few major reasons:
Lens Selection/Price: Canon just has a lot of cool lenses Nikon doesn't. Now of course the reverse is true as well, but I'm just interested in the ones Canon offers, plus it seems like Canon has more of the cool lenses that Nikon doesn't than the other way around. For example, the tilt shift lenses that can actually tilt and shift unlike Nikon, or the 135L. Tied into that is lens prices. While the newest releases from Canon are wayyyy more expensive than usual, most Canon lenses are still a steal. Just the fact that for $100 more than going used rates I was able to buy all brand new lenses says a lot. For example the 17-40L and 135L....one doesn't exist (nothing actually good anyways) on Nikon and the other would have cost me $1200 used for what I got brand new for $700 with Canon. I also got lucky in that B&H was offering some nice instant rebates and giving 2% back in store credit when I was ready to buy.
White Balance: I grew to loathe the green cast present on all Nikon images. Okay, its not so much a cast as it is the way Nikon handles white balance....they just always lean to the green side. Now sure, Canon white balance tends to lean to the red side with a slightly red/pink cast, but I'd much rather have that which blends nicely with skin tones than to fight with green alien white balance. I realize there's profiles for these things. I did that, and still ended up always fighting with the Nikon.
Service/Repair: I live 20 minutes from the Canon repair facility in Jamesburg, NJ. Being able to drop off and pick up my gear from service in a couple days between weddings will be a huge help, plus Canon is actually fast with their service instead of having to wait around for weeks on end with Nikon, only to be given abysmal service with a horrible attitude.
Resolution: While 12MP is great, 22MP is the perfect balance for what I do, Not too much like the D800 with crazy file sizes, and not too little to where I'm wanting like I was for my personal landscape work with Nikon and 12MP.
And MOST importantly...Video!: I'm starting to get into a lot of commercial work with video. Nikon caught up a lot on video recently, but they're still way behind Canon. I've seen the tests with comparison footage, and while the Nikon has more dynamic range, Canon wins with everything else, including high ISO in video, in which all the Nikon's look attrocious. There's also a few other key things in favor of Canon like more, aliasing, etc...including; you guessed it...white balance! Nikons have a very green white balance in video mode whereas Canon is incredibly accurate. Don't believe me? Watch this comparison video between the Canon 5D Mark III and Nikon D800:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuozUxh_tOU ....Now of course the D800 will provide sharper footage because of it's 36MP, but it comes at the expense of extreme aliasing and moire. The 5D footage looks less sharp straight out of camera, but Phillip Bloom (famous film maker) released a video showing how easy it was to sharpen the 5D footage in post and how good it looks afterwards here (its in his video review of the 5D Mark III):
http://vimeo.com/39292404
So why is that all video related stuff important you say? Well, like I said I'm getting into a lot of commercial work for video. I'll be doing some work soon that's paying me $2k and is paying for an additional $2k worth of equipment of my choosing, which will include a glidecam, wireless mics, shotgun mics, audio recorders, tripod, etc. that of course I get to keep.
So, needless to say, when people are throwing money at you, you want to have the best tools for the job.
So anyways, thats just a few of my reasons for switching, but those are the main ones. I certainly weighed it out and thought it over a LOT, and it was a logical move backed up with facts and necessity, even the video alone was enough reason to switch for my needs.
I have to say, having never used Canon before in my life, one of the first things I noticed with the 5D and lenses today was how accurate Canon is with focusing. I used to fight with Nikon constantly and though I mostly did fine with it, there was always something with Nikon hitting focus but not being totally in focus. I think it has something to do with the Canon mount being all "electric", but that's just a guess. It wasn't anything to do with my Nikon lenses needing adjustment, as I noticed it on several cameras and even after fine tuning. Now granted, it wasn't a huge deal and I could still get great results with either camera, it just seems easier to pull off with Canon in my new experience. Apparently I'm not the only one who noticed, as this review between the D4 and 1DX mentions in their video and in the blog post:
http://xerodigital.ca/canon-1dx-nikon-d4-compare-wedding-photographers/
So, thats mainly why. I was honestly mulling over switching for a while, and I was going to go with a 1DX and an old 5D2 as backup to sit in the bag and not use, but then I wised up and came to grips with the fact it was more important to have a reliable backup (and not deal with the Mark II's questionable AF), hence the 2 5D Mark III's (other one is on the way), plus I really had much more use for more resolution with the 5D's 22MP vs the 1DX's 18MP and I really don't need 12FPS, I just want it....haha. Then the video work started to come along and the 5D became the obvious choice. Plus with two 5D's I can get two camera angles for video shoots.
And yeah Speedie, I really love the 135L already. I love how super sharp it is, and more importantly, I love how compact and unassuming it is. I can tell this lens is going to be amazing for candid grab shots during wedding receptions and ceremonies, as it's size doesn't scream "HEY LOOK AT ME IM ABOUT TO TAKE YOUR PICTURE HARHAR!" Just a very stealthy way to get a longer focal length, and the f/2 is super awesomesauce. Much lighter than I was expecting too, which is great.
Well that was longwinded......thats what you get for asking
lol!
/wipes drool off face
Thats a lot of nice gear sitting in that pile! I want that 85mm!
Haha yeah, the 85L II is awesome, and this particular copy is extra awesome because its super accurate at 1.2 :drool: