Over the past three years, I've owned and worked with just about every camera body made by Canon and just about every lens and accessory for Canon that is available.

I must admit Canon makes some excellent lenses and excellent camera bodies for semi-professionals and professionals alike. That's not hard to quantify, just look at at major shoot and you'll see the Canon brand well represented.

Although I even joined the Canon Professional Services program, I found miself always wanting to go back to Nikon. It's not that easy with a fairly extensive investment in the Canon brand. I even bought a pro-sumer Nikon and a few lenses just to try them out.

I wrote about my experience and found that the Nikon dSLR's were very well designed and intuitive. Form and function were terrific, and quite frankly I felt that Nikon had an edge over Canon in terms of user friendliness of the camera body. I was very impressed with the button layout and wished Canon would do a better job providing access to frequently used functions through a better button layout.

Well, I have now made a complete switch to Nikon and I am quite happy with my decision.

Let me be very clear -- I am not trying to get anyone else to switch to Nikon from any other brand. I am absolutely convinced that Canon and Sony have terrific cameras and lenses. I do not believe any one manufacturer has a signficant edge over any other of their competitors and any choice you make for a brand should be based on your comfort level, what you find as easy to use, and the price/value relationship you place on your gear.

Switching brands is not an easy decision to make. it's also not feasible for many people. In my case, in my main gear I had: Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 24-70 f/2.8, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 Mark II, Canon 580EX flash, Canon 580 EX II flash, Sigma 15-30 EX Aspherical, Kenko 1.4 Pro 300, tons of other stuff (filters, backup Canon bodies, and some other lenses). I ended up selling everything except the Kenko.

My first Nikon body was a Nikon D3S, figuring it was a direct replacement for the Canon 1D Mark IV. Big mistake making assumptions like that. I ended up selling the D3S and have now acquired a Nikon D700.

The first lens that I wanted was a direct replacement for the Sigma 15-30 EX Aspherical. You might find that strange, but after owning a Canon 16-35 Mark I, Canon 16-35 Mark II and the 17-40 -- the Sigma is far ahead superior. Not only is the image quality equivalent to the Canon 16-35 Mark II, but the auto-focus is quiet, and incredibly fast. The best feature of the Sigma 15-30 is extremely low barrel distortion. In many cases, no post processing is required (unlike any of the wide Canon zooms). It is unfortunate that Sigma do not make this lens anymore -- but if you ever get a chance to try one, jump at it. They are worth every penny and currently sell anywhere from $300 up to about $575.

The second lens I wanted was a Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 ... but after reading many reviews and listening to user experiences, I ended up buying a Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 EX and I am thrilled with that decision. It's about two-thirds of the price and less than half the weight. The major reviewers give very high marks to the Sigma 24-70 (higher than Canon's 24-70, and within 1% of Nikon's 24.70).

Next, I purchased a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens. It's a terrific lens with superb image quality. I was very fortunate to find one lightly used with no marks on it, no dust, no fungus and complete with the box as it came when new. However, I ended up also getting a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR II lens -- a truly amazing lens. This VR II will require a separate article, so watch for it (including the story of  how I came to buy it for $500).

I also now have several other walk-around lenses that I will describe in further detail in later articles.

Thanks for dropping by!

I bought my first 35mm camera, a Miranda Sensomat RE, back in 1972. What I really wanted was either a Nikon or Pentax – actually I would have preferred a Pentax.

The industry leaders back then were Nikon and Pentax and I venture that Pentax had a slight edge over Nikon. Alas, my limited financial resources at the time dictated a more modest starter camera.

The Miranda Sensomat RE was a fabulous camera. It came with a 50mm f/1.8 lens that captured stunning detail. Combined with a unique feature at this price level (depth-of-field preview), gave my photos a great quality. There was no real package deals back then. I added a waist-level viewfinder, a hot shoe attachment, and a few inexpensive lenses. Since money was tight, I really looked after this camera well and had it cleaned regularly at a camera shop. I still have this setup, but have not used it in at least 20 years.

My second 35mm camera was purchased in 1983 or 84. This time around, I decided on a Nikon and I purchased a number of items all at the same time to get a better package deal. I figured my Miranda was in active use for about 11 years, and this Nikon would do me even longer. So, I treated myself to a Nikon FG black body, a Nikkor 30-70 zoom walk around lens and collapsible rubber lens hood, a Nikon Speedlight SB-15, and a really nice Nikon MD-14 Motor Drive. Guess I was like a kid in a candy shop, because I also bought a Nikon CF-17 semi-soft case without considering that it wouldn’t accommodate the camera while the motor drive was mounted. I really maintained this camera well. It was primarily used outdoors (flash rarely used) taking pictures of family homesteads and headstones (I’m the genealogist in the family) and never saw rain. Largely because of my job during this time, I only used about 5-10 rolls of film in this camera, but the quality of the pictures was absolutely great.

My third and fourth cameras were Pentax 35mm cameras, but nothing to rave about. I should have given up on Pentax after the first one. Although the Pentax cameras tooks some decent quality pictures, the Pentax 35mm cameras were going downhill in build quality and features — faster than the pace that digital camera popularity was increasing.

My fifth camera, and first DSLR, was a Pentax Ist DS digital camera. It was at the bottom end of the “prosumer” market, but at 6.1 megapixels produced the quality I needed at the time. The digital pictures were intended mainly for internet and monitors and the occasional print. Again, the Pentax build quality and features in the DSLR space was not up to reasonable standards.

Those are the cameras in my SLR lineup. Today, the cameras that I still cherish and own are the Miranda and Nikon. My latest dSLR is a Canon … and I’ll have a separate articles on that.

I also had several point-and-shoot cameras, none of any particular note (other than my last two). Those included a Pentax 35mm point and shoot (this was actually better quality than the Pentax SLR I owned for a while), a Kodak 1.2 megapixel digital, a Pentax Optio M20, and a Canon A650 IS. I have two favorites in point-and-shoot cameras. The Pentax Optio M20 — it’s exceptionally good for taking fast moving action shots (sports, martial arts). At 7.0 megapixels, prints up to 5×7 are excellent. I’d buy a second one in a heart-beat. The overall favorite is my Canon A650 IS. With a 1.7 sensor, and some terrific features, this camera is one I really on for just about everything.

I am getting more interested in photography again and that’s because of my latest DSLR. After reading a news article about Canon’s latest prosumer camera, I dropped by my local Henrys Camera and traded in all my Pentax stuff: camera, lenses, flash, battery grips and all my Tamron zooms and all the filters on this new DSLR. Not only did I shed about 20 lbs. of gear, but I also have reduced the bulk from several camera bags and accessories down to one simple carry sling bag. Alas, when I did the deal on the new DSLR, I felt like a traitor. Barely a few years ago, I wouldn’t have considered anything but Pentax or Nikon for prosumer cameras.

I’ll have more on the Canon and Nikon digital SLR in separate articles.