[tgruehl]

Looking to upgrade to full frame.



Requirements:

- fast auto-focus

- low light, no flash

- controlled bokeh strongly desired

- indoor event / outdoor street (not much time to compose, no tripod)

- preferred focal ranges 50mm (35mm, 85mm)

- occasionally ultra-wide cityscapes, though not critical



Considerations

- Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G, Nikkor 17-40mm N VR

- Canon 5D Mark II, 50mm f/1.2 L, 16-35 f/2.8 L



Pro Nikon

Nikon appears better in low light

Nikon finally updating their lens collection

Nikon settings more easily adjusted (maybe just what I'm used to)



Pro Canon

Canon appears to have greater lens selection

Canon handling/feel in hand preferred over Nikon (smaller body, better grip)



Can't tell any difference in auto-focus speed.



Help is appreciated!

[Brightcolours]

[quote name='vollframe' timestamp='1300574099' post='6953']

Looking to upgrade to full frame.



Requirements:

- fast auto-focus

- low light, no flash

- controlled bokeh strongly desired

- indoor event / outdoor street (not much time to compose, no tripod)

- preferred focal ranges 50mm (35mm, 85mm)

- occasionally ultra-wide cityscapes, though not critical



Considerations

- Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G, Nikkor 17-40mm N VR

- Canon 5D Mark II, 50mm f/1.2 L, 16-35 f/2.8 L



Pro Nikon

Nikon appears better in low light

Nikon finally updating their lens collection

Nikon settings more easily adjusted (maybe just what I'm used to)



Pro Canon

Canon appears to have greater lens selection

Canon handling/feel in hand preferred over Nikon (smaller body, better grip)



Can't tell any difference in auto-focus speed.



Help is appreciated!

[/quote]

Autofocus speed of both is very fast, it mostly depends on the lens how fast the combination focusses. If I remember correctly, the Nikon 50mm AF-S is actually quite a slow focussing lens. Its bokeh is not very pretty.

The Canon 50mm f1.4 has nicer bokeh, but it is not the most study lens.. one can actually damage the motor too easily.



The 50mm f1.2 L USM from Canon is a nice lens, but you have to learn how to use it due to a focus shift when closing down a bit.



The Sigma 50mm f1.4 is a good lens, when you get a good copy.

The Nikon 50mm f1.8 is a surprisingly good lens, and a steal for its price.



Nikon does not have a 17-40 N VR. Nikon's AF-S 16-35mm f4 VR is maybe the lens you mean, what I do not like about it is the quite heavy barrel distortion (I am not a fan of "coorecting" distortion in post processing as you lose either filed of view or sharpness). The Canon 17-40mm f4 USM is quite comparable in resolution, and has less barrel distortion. It lacks image stabilization. It is less heavy than the Nikon.

The Canon 16-35mm L USM II is a good lens for its type, about the weight if the f4 lens from Nikon. Its Nikon equivalent had quite a few fans (the Nikon AF 17-35mm f2.8).

Tokina now has a new contender in this field, and image samples I have seen are very impressive (it even has nice bokeh for such a lens)... the Tokina 16-28mm f2.8. Downside is that it has a protruding front element, not allowing the use of filters if desired.



The D700 has a higher possible frame rate and more AF points, making it a bit more suited for sports photography. The 5D mk II has higher resolution, so it is preferable if bigger print sizes are important. The 5D mk II also has a better implemented live view and a better movie mode (if that at all is important to you). The 5D mk II has a bit more noise at higher ISO on pixel level, but on image/print level they are quite comparable (due to its smaller pixels).



Both camera bodies are good, it is up to you to decide which features actually matter and which don't.

[PuxaVida]

[quote name='vollframe' timestamp='1300574099' post='6953']

Looking to upgrade to full frame.



Requirements:

- fast auto-focus

- low light, no flash

- controlled bokeh strongly desired

- indoor event / outdoor street (not much time to compose, no tripod)

- preferred focal ranges 50mm (35mm, 85mm)

- occasionally ultra-wide cityscapes, though not critical

...



[/quote]





Let's go one by one...



Requirements:

- how fast AF do you need? Both are classy bodies. And also consider that the AF quality and speed does not only depend on the body you choose. Some lenses have on board AF motors.



- do not buy the D700 it has an on-board-flash <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />... D700 has better low noise performance in low light (according to the test shots). But "how much better" do you need is always the question.



- that bokeh issue of yours is not understood at all... what do you mean by "controlled bokeh" ?



- They both can take photographs without composing <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />... Do you mean the brightness of the VF or shutter lag? I assume this can be merged with your first topic above.



- both can be used with these FLs (sorry for being a smart a**, but that's the truth <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />). Since you don't have time to compose and you will take images in low light, boosting up the ISO and using a f/1.2 lens is the way you should go. But remember, AF in low light is something else...



- it's hard to find a high quality UWA with affordable price, so you're lucky on this one...





PS: Nikon does not have a "17-40mm N VR" in it's lens collection.



Serkan

[Steinar1]

I have just gone through the same process and ended up buying the D700, but;



-both Canon and Nikon make great cameras in that class

-They both have great lenses for those cameras

-They will both continue to develop great accessories, so



try both of them out, buy the one you feel most comfortable with! Get someone to explain the menu systems of both - they both are straight forward, but you may like one better;



Whatever you buy, you cannot go wrong! Good luck <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[14u2c]

depends

if you want pictures that are focus then its the D700



if not then canon



http://www.danielvalentephotography.com/...ikon-d700/

[Brightcolours]

[quote name='henry42' timestamp='1300645642' post='6976']

depends

if you want pictures that are focus then its the D700



if not then canon



http://www.danielvalentephotography.com/...ikon-d700/

[/quote]

That of course is nonsense, don't claim 5D mk II's can not focus. They in fact focus fine.

[Guest]

5D MArk II is well known for the worse AF in the market, especially in low-light.

[mst]

[quote name='henry42' timestamp='1300645642' post='6976']

depends

if you want pictures that are focus then its the D700



if not then canon



http://www.danielvalentephotography.com/...ikon-d700/

[/quote]



Henry, if you want to continue to be part of this community, stop posting such nonsense. We certainly don't need another die hard fanboy here ...



-- Markus

[mst]

[quote name='oneguy' timestamp='1300648077' post='6979']

5D MArk II is well known for the worse AF in the market, especially in low-light.

[/quote]



That sounds a bit harsh. I would see the D700's AF above that of the 5D Mark II, but that of course doesn't mean the 5D doesn't nail focus at all.



The AF system in the 5D is a slightly upgraded version of the AF found in the two-digit crop-cameras and was initially introduced with the 20D. Its main issue (IMO) is not lack of precision, but the lack of AF points where they would be most useful (at the intersections of the rule of thirds grid ... or at least close to those spots).



The AF of the D700 is the one used in the pro grade cameras (D3 series), but with less CPU power. Its main advantage over the 5D AF is wider frame coverage.



-- Markus

[14u2c]

[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1300645857' post='6977']

That of course is nonsense, don't claim 5D mk II's can not focus. They in fact focus fine.

[/quote]



duh.. the claim in the link is made by Daniel



the forums are full of dissatisfied canon owners



bc you claim to visit the fred miranda forums, check it for yourself, i bet you already have but you are in denial, in the nikon forums are many posts of both pros and amateurs making the switch cause of canon's focus issues, but yet in the canon forum in the thread "why do you shoot canon" not one person switched to canon cause of better AF on canon, they only shoot canon cause of the use to be cheaper prices, buy cheap and get cheap