Peter, glad that you clarified your comparisons on high ISO settings. I'll look at the samples again with that in mind but as you agree, it's the prints that count, nor necessarily what we see on the internet.
I did want to add a comment based on my experience last weekend shooting at a hockey tournament. I shot thousands of 1600 ISO with another guy for 3 days. I had 40D, 70-200 2.8. He had D300 with 70-200 2.8. Pretty similar stuff. I was able to shoot at /320 to /400 sec. He was 250/320 for the identical shots. (difference depended upon centre or ends of ice). 40D was 1/4 stop overexposed compared to the 300D - or the Nikon was 1/4 stop under, however you want to see it. So, why is the new 5DM2 underexposing?? dunno.
Part way through, I wanted to switch just to see what the difference was. I spent many years shooting Nikon but have been soley Canon for 7 years and always felt that the Canon zoom was backwards for me.
Anyway, I loved the smoothness of the Nikon zoom, Canon has more of a feeling that you're turning gears. So slight, but Nikon is silky smooth by comparison. I had forgotten the feel of my old 50mm Nikon that you could focus with a feather. The downside is that the Nikon had a noticeable clunk when it came into focus many times (not always) rather than the Canon that had was silky smooth on the focus. Everything was on auto focus. Apart from the backwards zoom, I preferred the Canon lens by a slight edge. I found the clunk very disconcerting on the Nikon. I suppose you could get used to it but it did bother me. It wasn't just the noise, the image in the viewfinder had a very slight jarring action at that moment - weird. I also hated the viewfinder that turned red when it was in focus but I assume that can be turned off. I like the small red dots on the Canon that confirm correct focus.
I liked a few features that Nikon had camera wise, but I was much more confident with the focus on the Canon - by a wide margin! After 10 minutes, we both wanted to switch back to our own equipment, no doubt about that. He wasn't comfortable with my Canon just as much as I didn't like the Nikon. Pretty understandable.
So, is Canon's 9 pt. focus inferior?? Going into the weekend, I thought yes. Now I think it's not inferior or superior, just different. I will add that the other photographer did notice that he had focus problems and switched to manual focus for a few minutes. That didn't last long.
Are the shots better from one camera or another? Well, that's still not possible to determine. A higher percentage of my shots were in focus. Is that due to the camera or operator? I can't say for sure. I completely agree with Peter that it's the operator's skill with the equipment that is the deciding factor. Sorry Noel, centre focus just doesn't work for hockey. I tried it for a few minutes and gave up real fast. Centre focus is my preferred way of shooting, that I will agree with, just not some things like hockey.
As I was shooting I remembered Drew's focus test with runners coming toward the camera. Hockey is great that you've got action in all directions, including coming toward you. As I was freezing my buns off, I kept thinking how I've got $1,300. chunk of glass and I'm shooting through a puck marked sheet of tempered glass!! You don't get the great shots by shooting from the penalty box at centre ice, you gotta shoot through the glass. Hmm, has anyone tested the resolving power of L lens through hockey glass??
Am I switching anytime soon? I doubt it. I always keep in mind that I'm asking a $1,000 camera to perform as close to a $5,000 camera as possible. Yes, I should buy a real 'pro' sports camera and I know I would get better shots, but thanks, I prefer to keep that green stuff in my pocket. Actually, I've got to buy another body or two for summer sports in another month and I'm hoping the new Rebel T1i will be available in time. I personally don't care what the camera says on it, it's what VALUE I get from it that counts. When it's ego vs. money, money wins in my books.
Quality? For what we were selling, 8x10 up to 18x24, I would be completely happy with images from either camera.
That's my report - for what it's worth.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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