the best glass

OK, after spending many many hours on this forum and others I have determined that the biggest factor that should influence my decision to buy a digital rebel vs a nikon d70 is the lenses.
It seems that over the years you may spend many thousands on lenses while periodically updating you camera.
SO, the 64,000 dollar question is who makes the best the glass?

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Originally Posted by Joer189

OK, after spending many many hours on this forum and others I have determined that the biggest factor that should influence my decision to buy a digital rebel vs a nikon d70 is the lenses.
It seems that over the years you may spend many thousands on lenses while periodically updating you camera.
SO, the 64,000 dollar question is who makes the best the glass?

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My own opinion is that both brand "N" and brand "C" produce equally sharp optics, assuming you compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges. For example, both produce a 70-200 f2.8 with vibration reduction/image stabilization, and both are equally sharp. As long as you compare similar products between brands, you will find there is negligible differences in image quality. Brand "C" has a slightly larger arsenal of autofocus lenses, but brand "N" allows more backwards compatability with older lenses, albeit minus the automated functions of the camera body. I still think it will boil down to the camera body itself. Which one feels best in your hands, and which one gives you more of the features you're looking for. Personally, I think the D70 is a better camera than the digiRebel, and I shoot with brand "C". Tough choices. <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZSYYYYYY68US' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_28_113.gif' alt='Confused' border=0></a>

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Originally Posted by Joer189

OK, after spending many many hours on this forum and others I have determined that the biggest factor that should influence my decision to buy a digital rebel vs a nikon d70 is the lenses.
It seems that over the years you may spend many thousands on lenses while periodically updating you camera.
SO, the 64,000 dollar question is who makes the best the glass?

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Both sets of glass are pretty much equal. I should mention that the D70 doesn't compete with the Rebel as the Nikon costs about $350-$400 more. At that price range, I'd look at the Canon 10D or 20D which is in the same price league.

That being said, the Rebel with the saved money put into some "L" glass would be a better buy.

Depends on what you're doing with it. Both brands are excellent, but look at the lenses you want to use with it. Canon has the edge with "IS" lenses; Nikon has only had "VR" lenses for a couple of years and their selection is limited. Nikon has done a lot more with wide angle lenses made for DSLR's. Of course, someday Nikon will have more VR lenses and Canon will come out with more options for wide lenses on DSLR's. FWIW, I don't think either has a great auto flash system - good 'ol "A" mode (like you'd have with a Vivitar 283) is generally better than any digital TTL that's out there now.

Take a look at what you need from a system and make sure both offer it. From there it's just a matter of personal preference. Now get out and shoot! :D

Nikon! Well almost 100%. Nikon USED TO make ALL pro glass, but it looks like now they are mostly prosumer/consumer quality. Just read the review files at this site. Not all that Nikon glass has a good rating. But as one said, back wards thinking w/ being able to use older non AF lenses is a plus. I still have a battery of them. So many so that I keep an F2 + 2 lenses in a camera bag in the car at all times.

I wish Nikon made the killer Canon 24~70 2.8. I hate slow lenses and dont mind spending the $$. My 17~35 does not work (focal length) well w/ my D70 so I just keep the kit lens on it for now.

One other note: I just cant see why (having) the ajustment wheel on TOP of the grip as Canon does, verses Nikon's position of in FRONT! My arthritic fingers just cant bend to use the top position.

Fat Boy

Uhhmm, what about Minolta. Quality glass every bit as good as the other two.

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Originally Posted by Fat Boy

Nikon USED TO make ALL pro glass

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I cannot think of a nice way to say that the your previous statement is the most ignorant thing I have heard in a long time. Pentax lenses for both its 35mm and medium format systems were the professional standard for quite a long time. Their medium format systems are still a staple of the professional arsenal. Yes, their 35mm systems lost market position a while back, but that does not mean that they never had it. Nikon, while always a maker of good cameras and lenses, aquired their top-of-the-heap position fairly recently relative to overall camera history.

Moving on, it really depends on what you need. Nikon and Canon are the kings of image stablization. Nikon produces more super fast, super long telephotos. Neither have the backward compatability of Pentax and therefore the availability of great, cheap lenses. Neither can beat the price/quality ratio of Pentax, but both have many more modern lenses available. Pentax also has some of the world's finest prime lenses (the 31 Limited is, very arguably, the world's best current production prime according to tests in Pop Photo). Another thing to consider is that Nikon has a larger, more developed pro line of camera bodies than any other maker, so if you think you will be moving up, they are a much safer bet, though Canon's not a bad one.

Overall, it is a matter of application. Are you going to be shooting sports? Do you like primes or zooms? Are you interested in cheap high quality, old manual focus lenses or is a larger selection of new lenses more important to you?

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Originally Posted by tijean

Moving on, it really depends on what you need. Nikon and Canon are the kings of image stablization. .

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FWIW, Canon produces IS lens in both the pro and consumer level lines. Nikon sticks with VR for the high end and, I believe, has a much smaller choice.

Also, Minolta (Konica, Minolta-Konica, Konica-Minolta, Minica, Konolta, ???) are putting the stabilization on the sensor which means it works for all lenses albeit, for now, not quite as effectively.

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Originally Posted by Joer189

OK, after spending many many hours on this forum and others I have determined that the biggest factor that should influence my decision to buy a digital rebel vs a nikon d70 is the lenses.
It seems that over the years you may spend many thousands on lenses while periodically updating you camera.
SO, the 64,000 dollar question is who makes the best the glass?

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I've shot Nikon, Canon, Leica, Carl Zeiss, Minolta, Konica, Tamron.. Most of the time I can't tell them apart (with some notable exceptions which I won't go into). I don't think that this is the right way to choose which system to buy.

What we usually say in this case is - take each camera in your hands and try it out. The camera is a tool that you have to use. See which one you feel most at home with. Then you just stick with one system. If one marker gets ahead for a while the other one catches up soon afterwards.

Charles