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Past a certain price point, kit from any brand delivers photos and photographic performance that one would have a hard time finding technically wrong or inferio

Past a certain price point, kit from any brand delivers photos and photographic performance that one would have a hard time finding technically wrong or inferior to that of another brand. So by all accounts, we should see a lot of variety in the cameras and lenses that are used professionally. However, take a look at articles like this[0] to see just how prevalent Canon gear is at professional events. Apparently, they even have relations with a lot of press outfits to have them exclusively shoot with their equipment. [0]: https://www.shutterbug.com/content/battle-canon-vs-nikon-super-bowl-canon-runs-score https://www.shutterbug.com/content/battle-canon-vs-nikon-sup...

brendoelfrendo 6y ago
A lot of my friends from school were photo students, and Canon was far and away the platform that they were taught on, as well. Some did shoot on Nikon cameras as a matter of personal preference, but almost all of the school's gear was Canon (until you got to specialized stuff like Hasselblad medium-format cameras).
- geerlingguy 6y ago
  Almost all photojournalists I knew used Canon (70%) or Nikon (30%) exclusively up until 5 or so years ago. And when you're talking about camera systems, the camera itself (which is where Sony currently has the lead in mirrorless) is not the biggest factor in choosing a brand. Canon and Nikon both have tons of specialist lenses that are still not available (or only have one flavor specializing in one space, at one very high price point) on newer mirrorless platforms. And if you've invested $50k-100k in lenses (e.g. for a photography department) are you going to turn on a dime and dump that gear for new fancy Sony equipment that costs more than your old glass? Likely not. And many PJs still need some of the qualities that you can really only get in top-end Canon or Nikon DSLRs (as someone else said, ability to drive nails with the camera, and huge grip). As a concrete example, imagine if you were tasked with taking footage or stills of one of the protests at night. Would you rather bring a rock-hard large-gripped body that could even be used for protection? Or a smaller body with a screen that would break from a minor scuffle and cheaper plastic, less waterproof construction?
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    Are the lenses not compatible between cameras?
    - renewiltord 6y ago
      They are not. An explanation here https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/57625/can-i-use-canon-lenses-on-a-nikon-dslr https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/57625/can-i-use-ca... Short version: optical physics, proprietary link for autofocus, capability differences
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        This could be like mortar tubes - the country with the biggest tube can more-or-less fire anyone’s mortar rounds but you can't fire theirs.
        csharptwdec19 6y ago
        Funny you mention that... Really aside from Nikon, most AF protocols are fairly well understood and can be adapted to other lenses. (in the case of Nikon, sometimes they go out of their way to break others using their systems/protocols without a license...) But you can use larger mounts on a smaller mount (with care!) May not need a bigger tube, but perhaps a longer or shorter one.
        sudosysgen 6y ago
        This is somewhat the case. The camera with the shortest flange distance can use lenses from any other camera given your ability to reverse engineer the protocol.
    - sudosysgen 6y ago
      They are, but not perfectly. You can buy smart adapters that let you use Canon, Nikon or Minolta lenses on Sony, though the first two are not perfect for all lenses. As long as the flange distance of the sensor from which you're adapting is significantly more than that of your camera and you manage to decode the autofocus communications protocol, you can adapt them.
easygenes 6y ago
For professionals, a lot of that selection also comes down to serviceability. When Sony started gunning for more of the professional market with the A9 they had to up their service game and it’s still considered lacking.
- ben7799 6y ago
  Bingo.. having used Canon service quite a few times they are just fantastic at that part. The brand wars are mostly an amateur thing.. once you decide on a brand if you're really serious and especially if you're running a business you don't jump brands over little differences in sensor performance because it's too much financial churn and you lose your muscle memory switching to a camera with a different control layout. But it really sucks if your gear goes down and it's hard to get it serviced. Canon's service is fast, excellent, and much more affordable than replacement.
  - csharptwdec19 6y ago
    > you lose your muscle memory switching to a camera with a different control layout. This is a -huge- thing for some folks. Have a colleague who does some light pro photography (i.e. weddings, concerts, etc.) I wouldn't call him a Canon zealot or anything, although his first comment at my Sony was 'Well, it's not a Nikon so I can still be your friend.' We were showing each other shots and he was amazed at what I was able to produce with an e-mount. So he decided to give it a little spin. All the feedback was around 2 points: - It took good shots, but. - Everything was so unfamiliar to him that he missed shots due to not being able to find anything. Some time later I ran into him again; he had tried Sony cameras a few more times but just couldn't get comfortable enough with the layout. (The Sony layout -is- kinda bad, even if it's what you've learned on.)
    - NovemberWhiskey 6y ago
      It's not subtle stuff either. For instance, zoom rings on Canon and Nikon lenses go opposite directions; exposure compensation dials go opposite directions etc.
    - 6y ago

brendoelfrendo 6y ago

A lot of my friends from school were photo students, and Canon was far and away the platform that they were taught on, as well. Some did shoot on Nikon cameras as a matter of personal preference, but almost all of the school's gear was Canon (until you got to specialized stuff like Hasselblad medium-format cameras).

geerlingguy 6y ago
Almost all photojournalists I knew used Canon (70%) or Nikon (30%) exclusively up until 5 or so years ago. And when you're talking about camera systems, the camera itself (which is where Sony currently has the lead in mirrorless) is not the biggest factor in choosing a brand. Canon and Nikon both have tons of specialist lenses that are still not available (or only have one flavor specializing in one space, at one very high price point) on newer mirrorless platforms. And if you've invested $50k-100k in lenses (e.g. for a photography department) are you going to turn on a dime and dump that gear for new fancy Sony equipment that costs more than your old glass? Likely not. And many PJs still need some of the qualities that you can really only get in top-end Canon or Nikon DSLRs (as someone else said, ability to drive nails with the camera, and huge grip). As a concrete example, imagine if you were tasked with taking footage or stills of one of the protests at night. Would you rather bring a rock-hard large-gripped body that could even be used for protection? Or a smaller body with a screen that would break from a minor scuffle and cheaper plastic, less waterproof construction?
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  Are the lenses not compatible between cameras?
  - renewiltord 6y ago
    They are not. An explanation here https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/57625/can-i-use-canon-lenses-on-a-nikon-dslr https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/57625/can-i-use-ca... Short version: optical physics, proprietary link for autofocus, capability differences
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      This could be like mortar tubes - the country with the biggest tube can more-or-less fire anyone’s mortar rounds but you can't fire theirs.
      - csharptwdec19 6y ago
        Funny you mention that... Really aside from Nikon, most AF protocols are fairly well understood and can be adapted to other lenses. (in the case of Nikon, sometimes they go out of their way to break others using their systems/protocols without a license...) But you can use larger mounts on a smaller mount (with care!) May not need a bigger tube, but perhaps a longer or shorter one.
      - sudosysgen 6y ago
        This is somewhat the case. The camera with the shortest flange distance can use lenses from any other camera given your ability to reverse engineer the protocol.
  - sudosysgen 6y ago
    They are, but not perfectly. You can buy smart adapters that let you use Canon, Nikon or Minolta lenses on Sony, though the first two are not perfect for all lenses. As long as the flange distance of the sensor from which you're adapting is significantly more than that of your camera and you manage to decode the autofocus communications protocol, you can adapt them.

easygenes 6y ago

For professionals, a lot of that selection also comes down to serviceability. When Sony started gunning for more of the professional market with the A9 they had to up their service game and it’s still considered lacking.

ben7799 6y ago
Bingo.. having used Canon service quite a few times they are just fantastic at that part. The brand wars are mostly an amateur thing.. once you decide on a brand if you're really serious and especially if you're running a business you don't jump brands over little differences in sensor performance because it's too much financial churn and you lose your muscle memory switching to a camera with a different control layout. But it really sucks if your gear goes down and it's hard to get it serviced. Canon's service is fast, excellent, and much more affordable than replacement.
- csharptwdec19 6y ago
  > you lose your muscle memory switching to a camera with a different control layout. This is a -huge- thing for some folks. Have a colleague who does some light pro photography (i.e. weddings, concerts, etc.) I wouldn't call him a Canon zealot or anything, although his first comment at my Sony was 'Well, it's not a Nikon so I can still be your friend.' We were showing each other shots and he was amazed at what I was able to produce with an e-mount. So he decided to give it a little spin. All the feedback was around 2 points: - It took good shots, but. - Everything was so unfamiliar to him that he missed shots due to not being able to find anything. Some time later I ran into him again; he had tried Sony cameras a few more times but just couldn't get comfortable enough with the layout. (The Sony layout -is- kinda bad, even if it's what you've learned on.)
  - NovemberWhiskey 6y ago
    It's not subtle stuff either. For instance, zoom rings on Canon and Nikon lenses go opposite directions; exposure compensation dials go opposite directions etc.
  - 6y ago