Photo Credit: Michael Reichmann New Year's Brunch – Barcelona, January, 2008 Nikon D3 with 17-35mm @ ISO 280

Preamble

There are two major brands of 35mm camera in the pro and prosumer camera market – Canon and Nikon. Yes, Pentax, Sony, Olympus and a couple of others have their niches, but Nikon and Canon between them share the majority of the marketplace. Both companies have loaner and rapid repair programs for pros, and rental houses around the world typically carry bodies and lenses of both brands, while rental facilities for the other brands are almost nonexistent.

Economics being what it is, few photographers own both systems at the same time. A couple of bodies and a selection of pro-grade some web forums and camera clubs in defense of one brand over another.

But for most pros and serious amateurs these cameras are simply tools of the trade or pleasurable hobby / art / craft purchases. We become attached to them, enjoy their strengths, and curse their weaknesses.

But, and it's a big but, few of us have the chance to work with and really get to simultaneously know both major brands. This means that we end up making our purchase decision based on advice from friends, or web or magazine reviews. We may even visit a camera store and play with one or both for 15 minutes while standing at the sales counter. A few pros actually go to the trouble and expensive of renting and trying out both systems, but "few" is the operative word .

That's the preamble. In an extensive essay on my Web site I look at the new Nikon D3 and D300 though the eyes (mine) of someone who has been shooting with Canon cameras for the past 8 years. Prior to 1999 I used Nikons, shoot film, and used them to make a living in photography for some 30 years. I also used (and still do) Hasselblads and Leicas, and as a magazine reviewer have probably tested and shot with almost every major camera system available since the mid-1960's. But for several decades prior to the advent of digital, Nikons were my 35mm tool of choice.

In about 1998 I switched to Canon. The reasons were because Canon had fast USM autofocus, a line of Tilt / Shift and long Image Stabilized lenses that Nikon did not, and I found that these were all to my needs and liking. I also felt that I wanted a change, maybe even just for the sake of it, to learn and become familiar with something new and different. This type of change can often be creatively stimulating.

As the new decade progressed and digital became dominant I never regretted my move to Canon. Though Nikon was first with an affordable pro DSLR, the D1, Canon quickly responded with the D30, 1D and their successors. Canon was then the first with a full-frame DSLR (1Ds), and this plus the company's extremely clean and low noise proprietary CMOS sensors meant that there was little pull on me to return to the Nikon brand.

But then in mid-2007 Nikon announced the D300 and D3, and just prior to the end of the year started to ship both. Even a cursory look at the features of these two cameras showed that Nikon was back in the game. This caught my attention, and for the first time in nearly a decade I decided to see what Nikon was offering. I also decided that the only way to do justice to the brand was to actually go out and put together a complete system and to start using it in the field.

No – this doesn't mean that I am switching from Canon to Nikon. But it does recognize that with more than 1 million readers a month from around the world I have a lot of people visiting the site who are interested in both camera platforms. It makes sense therefore for me to become conversant with both systems and to cover them equally from now on.

So – during November and December 2007 I purchased an almost complete Nikon system. It consists of Nikon D3 and D300 bodies, and a selection of lenses, including the 28mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, 105mm f/2.8 Micro VR, 17-35mm f/2.8, 24-120mm VR and 80-400mm VR.

At a couple of recent seminars (Nov / Dec, 07) at my gallery, during the process of my acquiring a Nikon system, several attendees asked why I chose the lenses that I did. By starting with a clean slate I could have bought just about any combination of lenses, so why did I choose these?

Part of the rational is how I anticipate using the system. Because of the exceptional high ISO capabilities of the D3 I will be using it extensively for low light work – places where I previously would have been unable to shoot. This means using fast lenses as well, and so I selected three fast primes, all f/1.4; the 28mm, 50mm and 85mm.

Three zooms, two of them new this year, cover the range from 14mm to 200mm. The 105mm Micro is for those times that I need close shooting capability. The 24-120 VR is slow and not that exceptional a lens, but it's competent enough, and an ideal walk-out-of-the-house-with-it-when-you-don't-know-what-the-day-will-bring lens. The 80-400VR is a decent lens covering the mid-to-long telephoto range, suffering only from not being a fast focusing AF-S design.

Here then is a thumbnail on each lens, and my further rational...

PRIMES

Nikon AF 28mm f/1.4D Aspherical – This is an almost legendary lens, one of the sharpest and fastest wide angles ever made, by anyone. Using a precision-ground aspheric glass element this superbly made 28mm is almost as sharp wide open as stopped down. The lens was discontinued in 2006 after a very small production run; probably less than 7000 pieces. It was expensive when new, and is even more expensive now on the second hand market, when one can be found, which isn't often. I got lucky in finding a mint sample online.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D – A 50mm f/1.4 used to be considered the primary tool of any serious photographer. But since the 1970's and zoom lenses, many photographers fail to appreciate how terrific a 50mm f/1.4 can be. Super fast, light weight, relatively inexpensive and small. How can one not have one? (This lens is long over-due for a replacement by a Silent Wave version).

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D – Another of Nikon's legendary lenses because of both its image and build quality, this mid-range optic is ideal for portraits in low light as well as documentary style shooting. With the D3 at ISO 6400 to 25000 new low-light opportunities open up.

Nikon AF-S VR Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED – The rest of the world calls this type of lens a macro. Nikon calls it a micro. Go figure. One of the highest performing prime lenses in Nikon's line-up. If you need a lens that can go to 1:1, with a decent maximum aperture and bitingly sharp resolution and contrast, then this is your baby. VR diminishes in capability in the macro range, but still is worth having.

ZOOMS

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED – Nikon’s latest and greatest ultra-wide zoom. Just released in late 2007, it hasn't had much coverage in the media yet, but my first impressions are that this lens may well set new standards for wide angle work, and challenge some other company's primes at 14mm.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF – Nikon is known to have very high performing wide angle zooms (unlike some other companies) and this lens is among the best of the bunch. Not inexpensive by any means, but high performing.

Nikon AF-S VR Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 IF-ED – This is not a great lens in terms of optical performance, and its slow. But it is probably the most versatile of all the lenses that I have. When I can only have one lens handy, and I don't know what I'm going to encounter, this is the lens that gets mounted on the camera.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED – This lens just started to become available in Q4 2007, and already is being regarded as one of Nikon's best mid-range zooms yet. Pricy, but likely to be worth the investment as its MTF charts show it to be the equal of a number of Nikon's primes.

Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED – This focal length is the bread and butter of many pro photographers, and with its stabilization capability and reputation for excellent image quality across its range this lens turns out to be a must-have.

Nikon AF VR Zoom Nikkor 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED – The performance of this well regarded lens is very good. But, it's an older AF-D lens and therefore autofocus is slow and noisy. The comparable Canon lens, which I love to hate because of its push-pull design, is the 100 400mm IS. The Nikon is a regular turn-style zoom and therefore much more to my liking. (This lens is also long over-due for a replacement by a Silent Wave version).

NEXT

There are just a couple more lenses that I'll eventually purchase to round out the system, especially the expensive but brilliant 200-400mm f/4 VR, which I'll likely get prior to a couple of wildlife shoots that I have coming up later this year.

This feature is excerpted from, The Luminous Landscape, the web's most comprehensive site devoted to the art of landscape, nature and documentary photography using digital as well as traditional image processing techniques.


Michael Reichmann, the editor and driving force behind The Luminous Landscape, has been both a professional photographer as well as avid amateur for more than 35 years. Born in England, he was raised and educated in Quebec. Over many years he has written numerous articles for magazines and professional journals. He has also been an invited speaker to many international conferences on the subjects of video, software development, telecom and photography. His photography has been displayed in several gallery exhibitions over the years and numerous publications.

Since 1997 Reichmann has devoted his full-time energies to landscape photography, photographic journalism, print collecting and teaching — among other pursuits. Reichmann has created The Luminous Landscape, as a forum for the display and discussion of landscape photography, digital imaging techniques, and related topics.

Readers will find instructive feature articles, product reviews, travel and technical discussions, inspiring portfolios, and a Discussion Forum. This site currently has more than 3,500 pages containing articles, tutorials, product reviews and photographs.