The End of a 40-Year Love Affair: Saying Goodbye to Nikon

PJ Media ^ | 06/10/2021 | Stephen Green

[SeekAndFind]

Don’t fret, my brother and sister Nikon shooters — our favorite brand isn’t going anywhere.

Not yet, anyway.

But the writing is on the wall, and this 40-year Nikon shooter just put all his gear on eBay to finance the move to former nemesis, Canon.

This was a sad decision to make, but ultimately an easy one.

Let’s look at the former first.

Dad was the kind of man who thought what every 12-year-old boy (or at least his 12-year-old boy) needed for Christmas was a Nikon.

That was 1981. Just a few months shy of 40 years ago.

I was nearly floored when I took the wrap off of Nikon FE, one of their first (and in my sentimental mind, best) consumer-grade cameras. The next box was Nikon’s famously sharp E-Series 50mm f/1.8 lens, and the box after that was a daylight filter and a single roll of Kodachrome 400 color film.

36 exposures, of course. Dad showed me how to load it just right so that I could get 37 or sometimes even 38 shots out of a single roll.

I had no idea what was coming next, but the gold boxes quickly became familiar. On my birthday a few months later, a Vivitar flash. The next Christmas, an E-Series zoom lens. The Christmas after that, a 28mm wide-angle.

When Dad died just two months later, I inherited his impressive collection of Nikon gear — including a pro-level F2 that’s almost as old as I am, and Nikon’s sweet Nikon 80-200mm f/4.5.

No, I’m not selling Dad’s old gear. That holds a special place.

I got to be pretty good, too. Photo editor of the high school paper and the yearbook, occasional portrait photographer, and of course I’ve served full-time as the Official Green Family Photographer since 2005. I shot my way through endless vacations, school projects,

[Mr Rogers]

“True, only a few more serious photographers now require a DSLR exclusively.”

I’ve thought about getting a DSLR. There are a FEW times I’d like to have one. Like most people, I don’t NEED one. But I kind of miss the days I carried a Nikon FM all over the place.

[catnipman]

paywalled ... useless post ...

[Tymesup]

Simon extols a technological product at the same time he disparages the crap he learned in high school. Song always pissed me off.

[shotgun]

It always reminded me of kid in HS (1973) who was into photography. We were all friends and 1 day his brother took us into his older brother’s room (the photographer) and we saw his stash of photos of all the girls he had been taken in very stages of undress.

Remember the old saying about masturbating and going blind? The kid that was the photographer went totally blind by the time his was 20. Kind of ironic.

[Paleo Pete]

Never had a nikon till recently, have a "bridge" camera Igot a few months ago. Also called super Zoom.

For 35mm and digital, I've always used Pentax, that's what I got started on. Somebody gave me a 35mm Pentax K1000, been at it ever since, around 35 years now.

Pentax is the only one that didnt change their lens mounts when they went digital, so I'm still using the same Pentax 50mm lens I used over 30 years ago on a 35mm camera, and several older kmouont and M42 scrw mount lenses too. Couple of inexpensive adapters and I can use m42 and T mount lenses.

Currently using the K30 DSLR, love it. Only have one weather resistant lens, but I can put that one ona nd use it in the rain. Have a couple of 50mm lenses, 2 or 3 at 135mm both Kmount and M42, a 200mm and 300mm M42, and a 50mm T mount that I just got recently. Have a couple others but don't use them much, and use various combinations of lenses and extension tubes to get macro shots.

Might come out pretty big, for some reason the size tags haven't been working right but here is a sample.

Taken with Pentax Kx DSLR before I got the K30, and a Vivitar 200mm M42 lens.



Current camera, K30, grabbed this one of a Red Bellied woodpecker.

[eyedigress]

You should look up SwampSnipers posts. (RIP SS)

He had some really good shots.

[oldtech]

I remember that brand. I was in Japan in 58-59 & a Petri was quite a popular brand at the base exchange. Stuff there was quite inexpensive at the time...if you had any money to spend.

[oldtech]

My first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 4800 & I still have it....still looks like new.

[Paleo Pete]

I think I did see some. Wasn’t he the one who did a photography post about once a month a while back? I posted a few shots now and then but don’t have much online any more.

[KC Burke]

Since Sony, Nikon and Canon came out with their Mirrorless full frame cameras, many have felt that Nikon lost its edge. Its adapter for its SLR lens only worked for. a few lens and was way behind Canon in introducing an effective system.

Sony who was way behind the curve in SLR systems, leap-frogs with a good set of new lens for its mirrorless system. Nikon’s great color rendition systems loose their edge because operationally their cameras fall short of the new mirrorless Canons.

Any number of camera reviewers have said that Nikon has completely lost their edge and Canon is the way to go. I am into Nikon (D750) in the SLR world but if I upgrade I am going to the Fuji medium format and skipping over mirrorless systems entirely. I’m in my 70s and not going to waste time and money at a full reconfigure.

[KC Burke]

Good comparison review from a few years back:

https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons/nikon-vs-canon-vs-sony-full-frame.htm

[minnesota_bound]

[minnesota_bound]

I told my cousin who owns Nikon cameras that I decided I was going to get a Canon EOS R6. He told me I was going over to the Dark side.
I sent him the photo you see above of Darth Vader : )

Canon EOS R6 - I like the rear LCD swivel feature.
https://www.amazon.com/Canon-Full-Frame-Mirrorless-Camera-RF24-105mm/dp/B08BW8H44J/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=canon%2Br6%2Bwith%2B24-105%2Blens&qid=1613109135&s=electronics&sr=1-2&th=1

The Canon and other DSLR’s can record the stars in 20 to 30 seconds and you can see the color of the Orion nebula in the rear LCD as the camera is so sensitive.
Samples:
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/learn/education/topics/article/2018/july/into-the-night-photographing-the-milky-way-and-night-sky

[mad_as_he$$]

Nikon will be fine.

https://www.nikonprecision.com/products-and-technology/mems-steppers-and-metrology/