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Why only one system


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16 replies to this topic

#1
Patrick9

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I am sure there are others here that use more than one camera brand. I do as a lot of you know.. I have been told "more than once"I should pick one or the other and stick to just one system. My question is why. I like things in both my Nikon and my Pentax systems. My conclusion is I am keeping both and will continue to use them both. I figure it gives me more opportunity to learn, as well as enjoy different experiences. 



#2
Ron

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I say, each to his or her own. I still have all my Minolta gear and Julie still has her Spotmatics... tho she's stayed with Pentax while I've been forced to move on. Unfortunately, I have most of my Minoltas packed away although I do have plans to drag a few of my favorite lenses out and try them on my Nikons.

 

I see no reason why you can't enjoy all the gear you have.

 

--Ron



#3
Merco_61

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I can see no good reason to pick one system and stick to that. I use Nikon as my main system, but my M42 Takumars are too good to just collect and the Rolleiflex 6008 gives another dimension to studio work. 



#4
TBonz

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I loved my Pentax system - 3 MX bodies with motors, 3 flashes and probably 10-12 lenses.  There are times I wish I still had some of that gear maybe one of the bodies with a few of the lenses.  I've had Nikon now longer than I had Pentax.  The biggest reason I switched vs. had both was really money.  I got a good chunk of change for all that Pentax gear and came out on the high end after picking up a Nikon F4s, a flash and a couple of lenses.  Mostly I was shooting family stuff at the time and not really doing the freelance work I had been doing.  The single Nikon saw some use, but not too much and I'm sure someone ended up with a nicely and lightly used F4s when I eventually moved to digital.  I worked in camera shops for several years as a part time job to support my photography habit so I had a good amount of experience with all the major manufacturers and all had their supporters.  Some folks back then preferred the Canons or Nikons and some liked the Olympus, Minolta or Pentax and others preferred other manufacturers.  I guess in a way I'm still multi-system in that I now have the Nikon 1 series as well which is technically a different system.  We also have an old Canon P&S that just keeps on ticking.  At this point, I don't anticipate adding any manufacturer's gear other than Nikon but that is far from set in stone.  No different than my changing to Mac and using my office Windows system for different tasks.  No plan to change, but 5 years ago I had no plans to ever get a Mac.  So, I'll always keep my options open and may end up getting some (older or new) gear from a different company if I think it will help me capture the images I want to capture.



#5
Jerry_

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I think that the idea of an "only one system" comes from the fact to have a single set of lenses, all fitting your (different) camerabodies.
This will allow you to buy better quality lenses, rather than having to buy two different set of lenses. Also it allows you to interchange your lenses across different camerabodies.
A second argument might be that the button layout, special features and the way to mount or focus, is more similar in the products of one brand than if using cameras and lenses from different brands.

That being said, I think you should basically always look to have the best or most suited equipment you can afford for the type of use you want to give it.

Using different systems is not very uncommon. It might be f.i. For "historic" reasons (I started with Minolta, before going digital, and thereby thought it was a "natural" way to move on with Sony - I still have the cameras and lenses for both, and my wife is still using Sony for her macros (when the initial Sony camerabody started aging, we even replaced it with a newer one, as the price for a body was similar to the price of a new Mikro Nikkor 105, while allowing her to keep one makro setup without having to swap lenses).

So, yes, there are reasons to stay with only one system, but I don't think that this should be a strict approach (unless you get professional to the extend to have access to the professional programs that the different brands have).

#6
Patrick9

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 If I were professional I could understand that having 1 system could have a lot more benefits.  Like totally knowing the systems strengths and weaknesses. Only 1 system to feed money to  Becoming extremely practiced with your gear, etc Like I prefer back button focus each camera has it on a different button.

I only have a couple of pieces of gear that cost me more than a couple hundred dollars . I wait and look for deals on the gear I want there also isn't much more I want .  A couple of bodies and 4 lenses. I am just waiting for the right piece at the right price.

 I actually got into Nikon on a fluke. I got an FM2 with the 24/2.8 and 105/2.5 for $50 then an FE for $5.. Deals I couldn't turn down. Since I enjoy Digital as well as film I went looking for a Digital body  Found my D70 for $40. I am looking for a D200/300 and 1 more lens for my Nikon kit. I also found that I like some of  the things about Nikon. Just not enough to fully switch. 

Shoot I even have a Canon 35mm p&S camera I almost forgot about that one So I guess I have three brands in the house :( :wacko:  :lol:

 This turned into an interesting thread



#7
TBonz

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Jerry brings up a good point about Nikon Professional Services or similar options from other organizations.  Not that those would prevent you from having other organization's gear, but it would certainly make you lean towards a single setup, at least for your business.  It also does help having a single set of gear that you can easily move between when you need to react quickly to a situation.  

 

I think the piece I unintentionally left out in my previous reply was why that change many years ago had a change in brands.  I certainly could have sold off some of my Pentax gear, bought newer, updated Pentax gear and made "less" of a change.  Well, first, I was very impressed with the F4s when I started looking into making a change.  It had all of the features I wanted along with many I didn't really care about and it was very well made.  I am not one to use Program mode, but that's really the way my wife prefers to do photography so having that option was something my MX bodies didn't have.  

 

Another reason I made the change in general was availability.  Back then we had many quality camera shops in the area that supported all levels of photographers.  Only one of those really carried a reasonable line of Pentax gear and they were my least favorite store.  It was hard to find Pentax gear to buy other than mail order.  The majority of the photographers I knew had Nikon gear and Nikon was the easiest to find if I wanted to borrow, rent or purchase gear quickly.  So, it was a pretty complex decision back then but I'm glad I made the change even though I miss some of the simplicity of my Pentax gear...



#8
Ron

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A few thoughts... and a bit of thread drift for which I apologize in advance.

 

I know a number of photogs who change systems (completely change systems) more often than some people change their diapers. Each time they do, they lose a mint... not to mention having to learn and relearn a new system. I'm more of a keeper.

 

When I decided to go with Nikon, I kept using my Minoltas as backups because.... well, I was still shooting film and digital consisted pretty much of a few very expensive, very high end cameras made by Kodak and Nikon. I, like many others, never envisioned digital so completely destroying the film market so quickly. My Minoltas were, and still are, quite serviceable.

 

Local camera stores... may they rest in peace. No, they're not totally gone but they're mostly on life support. Thank the big online stores (and those of us who patronize them) for this.

 

Brand snobbery. Many of the remaining camera stores practice it... or at least contribute to it. Our local pro dealer carries only three major DSLR lines. Nikon, Canon and Sony. They also carry a full line of GoPro cameras and accessories. However, if you're a Pentax shooter, you're out of luck. We've lamented this fact to the owners... or their reps on many occasions but the answer is always the same. There's no money in carrying lesser brands. In light of my statement above you can't really blame them.

 

--Ron



#9
TBonz

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Same problem I experienced many years ago with Pentax Ron!  Everyone I know who had them loved them but it isn't much different than lots of other products when you think about it...You don't find many shops carrying more than a few brands of TVs, PCs, shoes, etc.  You may find other brands at other shops, but many carry the same things...And I try to be a keeper as well.  I do try to stay with what I like and the brands that have given me good service...

 

And, I agree about the camera shops...the two I was excited to visit here were both very nice places with nice folks and had lots of nice gear.  One had a good amount of studio supplies - lighting, backdrops, stands, etc. and the other had quite a bit of darkroom supplies from enlargers to chemicals and paper and about everything in between.  Both of them had good selections of "supplies" like bags, batteries, brackets and tripods / monopods.  Both also had very large selections of used gear - both film and digital, bodies, lenses, flashes, and about anything you can think of that you might want.  Neither had a decent selection of NEW bodies, lenses or flashes.  Yes, both had some, but while they had some nice used gear (including a 500 f4 and an 800 f5.6) that I would have been happy to have, their selection of new gear was pretty much limited to those items you can find in just about any of the chain stores but with a limited offering in terms of both brands and models.  The online stores have a much wider selection than either of course and they are often less expensive.  I'd rather support a local shop and I'd rather have the opportunity to hold gear in my hands when making decisions, but it is becoming impossible.  Neither of the shops had anything I was thinking about purchasing other than one of them had a new 105 Micro at a higher cost than B&H and a much higher price than the used one I ended up purchasing.  I even tried to pick up some cards at both of them as I knew I was going to be purchasing either a D4 or D4s and needed some more cards, but they didn't have what I needed...

 

Oh well - I guess I should get off the soap box...I patronize the box and online stores as well for many reasons including convenience...But I do know I will be back at those camera stores...they are still serving a purpose and I will keep trying to support them if I can.  



#10
Ron

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The local store I currently use does carry much of the stuff I use and whenever possible I do buy from them. I've bought most of my studio equipment from them simply because I can go in and try out a dodad before plucking down my money. Something you can't do with an online store... and as we all know, something that looks cool in a picture may not work so great in person.

 

The thing about buying local versus buying online is the tax. It's not too bad when you're only spending a few bucks but when you're buying a camera or a high end lens it is considerable.

 

I'm not sure I totally agree about most stores only carrying a subset of products. Of course no store can carry every model from every manufacturer but just check out a store like Best Buy. Their selection is amazing especially when you consider the range of products they sell. In just the photo department they have nearly as good a selection of cameras and lenses as some dedicated camera stores. Where they fall down is in their selection of accessories and things like tripods and camera bags. And, of course if you're looking to buy used, you're out of luck. But then the dedicated camera store I use doesn't sell used equipment either.

 

I really have gotten off topic here. LOL Sorry.

 

--Ron

 



#11
Patrick9

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I have a store I have yet to be in . It is only about 30 miles from here. Problem is their hours and my work hours about the same. I need to try to get off and head over . They carry Nikon but not Pentax "Surprise".  



#12
Thumper

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I only have one brand/system.   All of my lenses will work on each of my bodies.  I am an avid hobbyist photographer, so I don't have to depend on my cameras for a living.  I never had a need to have a diverse collection of brands.   What I currently have suits my needs/desires for the most part.   

 

My wife has a Nikon DSLR, but she has a Canon P&S.   No real reason why, it just worked out that way.  I bought the Canon for her a few years ago.  It was the one that she picked out at the store.   Then when I got into the digital SLR's, I got her a Nikon body when I bought my first one.  I have upgraded my body since then (though I still have/use my original body), but we can still swap/share lenses on our Nikon's.  It just made sense for us to use the same brand of DSLR's and lenses for our applications. 

 

And I have always liked Nikons.   My dad had a Canon film SLR way back when the AE-1 Program bodies came out.   I tried it, and it was a fine camera.  Then I used a loaner Pentax K1000 in college.   I purchased a Nikon N4004s in college to get rid of the loaner Pentax (not because it was a Pentax, but because it was a loaner, and I wanted my own camera.  Pentax is a great brand of camera), and I have used Nikon ever since.  I still have my N4004s, and it still works.   I bought a used F5 a few years ago, but it rarely gets used since I started with digital.  



#13
Ron

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For a long time I had Nikon SLR's and Canon point and shoot cameras. I just felt that Canon made better point and shoot cameras. Even when I moved to digital it was through one of their Powershot cameras. The Nikon digital point and shoot offerings at the time just didn't (IMHO) compare. I think Nikon's recent offerings are better but if I were contemplating a P&S or small form factor camera, I'd still give the Canons a look before plucking down my money.

 

I'm going to insert something here that sometimes get's me in trouble. It's not directed towards anyone in this thread or indeed on this website but... I just wish people would get away from this whole fanboi thing. In my opinion, it's stupid and shows a real lack of intelligence on the part of those who espouse it. It's perfectly fine to have personal preferences when it comes to anything... but that's different from the whole fanboi metric. The idea that for your favorite brand to flourish, the other guy's brand has to fail. I don't care if you're talking about computers, cameras, cars... or anything else. It's just dumb.

 

/soapbox

 

--Ron



#14
Merco_61

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I'm going to insert something here that sometimes get's me in trouble. It's not directed towards anyone in this thread or indeed on this website but... I just wish people would get away from this whole fanboi thing. In my opinion, it's stupid and shows a real lack of intelligence on the part of those who espouse it. It's perfectly fine to have personal preferences when it comes to anything... but that's different from the whole fanboi metric. The idea that for your favorite brand to flourish, the other guy's brand has to fail. I don't care if you're talking about computers, cameras, cars... or anything else. It's just dumb.

 

/soapbox

 

--Ron

Well said! This is one of the things I really like about this site, there are very few members with blinkers. Most of us know more about Nikon than other systems, but we can discuss things without the fanboi tone creeping in



#15
dcbear78

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I currently use my D810 pretty much exclusively. I still have my Pentax K3 and K30 for that matter. I have only kept my favourite lenses for that system (18-135mm, FA31mm and FA77mm). But despite living my Pentax gear I haven't really felt a need to use it. If I was going out in some real nasty weather I'd pick the K3 over the D810 as I feel it is better built and has better weather sealing.

I have no desire to mix Canon into the equation. Although I do love some of their lenses. I would be more inclined to put a Canon lens on a Sony body.

But finances dictate I stay with what I already have.

#16
Patrick9

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Canon is OK. My daughter in-law has one I personally don't care for the feel in my hands. Obviously others do .

 

Well said! This is one of the things I really like about this site, there are very few members with blinkers. Most of us know more about Nikon than other systems, but we can discuss things without the fanboi tone creeping in

I hope it stays that way.  Over on PF the Fanboi stuff isn't tolerated either. That is one of the great things about both these sites . I too hope it stays that way on both sites.



#17
TBonz

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I hope so as well...vehicles, computers, cameras, etc. are all tools...Do I like my tools better than other brands?  Yes.  Do I think the other brands are capable of performing equally or better in the right hands?  Yes.  It is no different with gear within a brand.  I can tell you that I am quite happy with the gear choices I've made but I am not going to tell someone that a different body or lens won't work for them...I can give suggestions based on what they want to shoot, but that doesn't mean my suggestions will be the best for them!