granted, i don't understand japanese corporate mentality. i know it's different than what i know about north american and european corporate culture ...
but, seriously, canon japan was so inconceivably stupid today ... it made even me question anything they do. that whole mark 3 bullshit coulda killed them. only because shooters are invested in glass did a good number stick with canon.
yes, guys, totally-totally-totally remove one of the best pieces of viral marketing you could ever think of having produced.
i think that's the issue though: they didn't think of it.
so typical of corporate idiots.
i guess by writing this i'll probably never have a cool relationship with canon japan. whatever.
had this conversation with a friend the other day ... about photography ... about the fact you can never ever be as good as the camera you have ... about gear-allegiance.
I'll digress. i shot nikon for years and years and years. i'll bet there are people younger than how long i shot nikon. the f5 was superb. the f4 was superb. hell ... the f3's and fm2's and fm3a's i shot were all superb. i always looked at canon as kinda funny looking and perhaps even cheap looking. the nikons were solid sexy beasts.
then digital happened. had the d1. then the d1x. for what it did at the time it did it ... it was amazing. had a shutterbox go. had it replaced. had a few bodies go at the same time. heard that one of the wires was moving to canon and that i should do that as well. got a 1d and used it as the ambient body. i liked what it did and although i thought flash sucked with canon. the mark 2 came out and although flash still wasn't great, i went canon all the way. ciao-ciao nikon. nikon's digital sucked ass until only recently really.
seems as though the nikon japan people are a bit smarter than their canon counterparts. now, at least.
the whole mark three bullshit with autofocus really hurt canon. my friends told me endless stories about missing shots or getting the shots but the the mark 3's didn't focus correctly. pissed a lot of people off. in fact, i know a lot of people who now shoot nikon yet only a month or so ago there were canons on their shoulders. dunno if the "traditional wires" will switch but i know others who may or may not have "had a better take" at the olympics ... were shooting the new nikons.
interesting that canon has the successor to a camera system PLAGUED with issues ... and they pull one of the dumbest selfish moves ... ever.
they have the chance to fire back to nikon's newest ... and ...
they do that.
since the advent of digital i have far less camera loyalty than i had in the past. it was sad selling the f4's and getting the f5's. even though the d1's were groundbreaking i didn't feel bad selling them nor any other digital gear after that.
don't get me wrong my 1dsm3's are amazing cameras. i don't shoot sports ... and except for the rare spaniel running at me ... my subjects are less than fast-moving. in fact, i don't even usually shoot canon glass so autofocus isn't as important to me as it is to MOST of my friends -- a good number, of which, are shooting nikon now. i love love love the 5dm2 not only because of what it can do with motion but because it's a phenomenal camera ... it's the 3-series bmw of the camera world.
they only really fail with on-camera flash. nikon's new stuff looks pretty nice.
thing is ... i'm happy with the equipment i'm using irrespective of the manufacturer. would i switch? i mean ... sure ... i'd go back. i liked nikon glass well enough.
it's funny because ... there are two brands of which i'd never switch ... leica and apple. if you're not just "in it for the status" leica can do more for your serious photography than canon or nikon ever could. apple just works. pc-people can say whatever they'd like; apple kicks ass. i know more than a few network security people who "never want to see a fuckin' windows box" at home. ;) they know who they are.
it's funny watching canon and nikon playing the iso game right now. i know i know i know ... 6400's amazing with the new nikons. i haven't used the new mark 4 but i'm told it's one of the better features of the camera. i know 3200 and definitely 1600 are pretty damn good with the 5dm2's and 1dsm3's. i use them regularly.
i was "meh" about the mark 4. won't be buying one. i'd use one, though, just to see what's up. the only camera i've been excited about in the last year is the m9. yeah, i know ... rangefinders have weaknesses. so the fuck what. i guess it's easier for some to just forget about what they loved shooting to what they felt was more pragmatic to shoot. even when the m9 wasn't around i still shot my third body which was a leica mp or whatever i felt like picking off the shelf. the timeliness of the images may have made them a bit irrelevant at the end of the day but ... they're still images i loved making and could have only made with a rangefinder.
if you hate rangefinders, i don't care. you can leave your pithy-ass anonymous comment. don't give a rat's ass.
i guess what i'm trying to say is that it's so refreshing to see a camera company take a chance and really do it right ... with the m9.
the other "noise" is just kinda funny.
and sadly stupid that they would have their heads so far up their asses because of corporate cowardice and selfishness.
even though they fired their counterstrike to the d3s, i think i can hear that tennis umpire say "advantage nikon." dumb move dumb asses.
because leica became so relevant again with their little wondercamera ... it continues to replace my canon ambient body more and more and more ...
i know my shoulder's happy about it.
okay ... sorry ... was just pissed tonight.
hope you're all well!
cheers from a still-warm los angeles.
-c
well spoken as always...
just after reading your post, i read this somewhere else:
A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said ‘I love your pictures - they’re wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.’ He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: ‘That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.’
hope you're not pissed anymore...
Posted by: kim liong van dam | 22 October 2009 at 09:45 AM
Yeah, what in the hell is up with Canon?! I agree-corporate BS, no doubt.
I made the decision to sell my Canon kit earlier this year and go all Leica and I've never looked back... however, if I ever find myself with a need to have a DSLR again, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Canon 5D Mark ll...I do miss it once in a while-usually when I want to go for a true macro shot or do some fast moving shots of the pups.
I just shipped off my M8 to a new home in the San Francisco area and I feel naked or something...I truly had a connection with that camera and hated to see it go, but it had to so I could afford the M9...it's on pre-order and I am trying to be patient...and talk myself out of the new Quad core iMac announced yesterday. Apple and Leica: my two guilty pleasures! ;)
Posted by: Sdennis | 22 October 2009 at 02:24 PM
Hey Chris, just recently discovered this blog, I've been following you on DA for a long time, big fan of your work. Anyways, this comment doesn't have anything to do with your post (sorry) but just today I found out about this: http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/ and thought you might find it interesting. 40,000 negatives were recently found, from Vivian Maier, a street photographer from Chicago. You probably already knew, but in case you didn't, I found very interesting images there.
Keep up the good work!
Beto (from Buenos Aires!)
oh, and GO NIKON (mwahahaha, just kidding... actually not kidding at all, but y'know)
Posted by: Beto Ruiz Alonso | 23 October 2009 at 09:43 AM
Hey man,
I'm loving your posts! I am a very new reader of your blog.
I clicked on something that lead here a few weeks ago and next thing you know I'm checking out your web site.
I should be out shooting...
Thanks for your time.
Cheers
JT
Posted by: Jonathan Taillefer | 26 October 2009 at 12:47 PM
There are very few things I would consider switching to Canon for.. but then again, Zeiss makes fine glass for nikon, no reason to want an 85/1.2 or some crazy shit like that.
I do however like that the 5Dmk2 will probably be $1000 cheaper than the D700x, whenever that drops..
Im hoping to make that my next body, should nikon's traditional "more expensive than canon" be waived for that model.. ;)
Heres hoping they dont opt for a battery change, (another canon peeve) and keep the grip I have compatible.
Posted by: Scott Alexander | 27 October 2009 at 09:44 AM
Great photos of M at DA...stuck with my little camera(it's a stretch to call it that,compared to ya'alls fancy gear)needs must till the House bonus money arrives....think UBER will ever be brought back to life???
Will put some house photos and further dog adventures as time permits.
Best to J,C,M and all!
GrayFoxGreen
Posted by: Ken HH Z | 28 October 2009 at 10:16 PM
It is fucking unbelievable that the only well known shooter providing them with marketing material for their new camera is fucked up by internal disputes by two branches of the same company, after the 1D MKIII fiasco Canon should be focused on showing a prettier face to their costumer, not a cat fight between the USA and Japan branches of their company...
I think that with DSLR´s theres the thing recently that companies seem to be focusing R&D money from the photo side of the camera they are designing and assigning this money to bells and whistles that aren´t really useful, just look at the M9 that´s a "manual mode photography" done right, I mean I would prefer to see more R&D in things like quieter mirror mechanisms, even more prolonged shutter life (sports shooters and people doing assignments in other countries would be thankful for this to happen any time soon) or other stuff that relates directly to the photography part of the camera.
Dunno why but I can´t shake the impression that this camera is like a 1d MKIIN repetition (except this increased the megapixel count).
And for pete´s sake! put some talent to shoot those sample photos in comparision to what Nikon did with the D3 the samples of the 1D MK IV are substandard in any way:
D3 samples
http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/ProductDetail.page?pid=25434
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/eos1dm4/
Posted by: Eduardo Frances | 31 October 2009 at 09:14 PM
Nothing to do with this specific post but I think you will love this :-)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhapeman/4062557320/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhapeman/sets/72157622580527317/
Posted by: Tom (person with camera) | 03 November 2009 at 12:01 AM
I used Leicas for 21 years. Loved them. Still miss the 35mm Summilux ASPH. I shoot with Canons at work (1Ds Mark II and 5D Mark II) and my personal cameras are now Nikon. (I'm ambidextrous.) Nikons just feel good in the hand. Like my old film cameras. They work more like my old Leica Rs and Ms.
Hope Leica continues to improve the M system. I can see myself some day getting an M10 and 21, 24, 35 50 and 75 Summiluxes! Until I win the lottery, though, my choice will be Nikon - as long as they come up with a few fast primes. Otherwise, I may have to go to focusing everything in the same direction. :-D
Posted by: Eric | 08 November 2009 at 08:36 PM
Chris
So, old friend from Uber!....Anyway, been following here, I recently ditched my M8 (kept my M6's, youll have to pry those from my cold dead maggot ridden hands!) and went back to Nikon, the D3s wasnt out yet and I ended up scooping up a D300s and some good glass....the HD video is like crack, I swore I wouldnt "care" about it, but its too fun and opens up so many possibilities its become a small but growing addiction, and after plunking cash down for a good mic, Im now ready to get a rig....I wondered if you'd heard any input on the IndiFocus rigs? They looked good, carbon fiber rods, affordable follow focus, some good accessories etc, just thought Id drop a line and see if youd heard anything, I sadly cant drop cash on a Cinevate system as much as Id like right now! (stowing extra cash for an M9)
Thanks in advance, hope Hell A is great! Im flooded over here on the East Coast!
Best
Bryan
Posted by: Bryan Bowie | 13 November 2009 at 08:31 PM
i liked that read.
i agree. for me it wasn't the 1dsMKII but the 5d and 5dMKII that were the best cameras by canon. mainly because of the smaller size and less price. who needs 45 freaking AF fields ? and all these buttons.. all i need is what a M has to offer anyway ;)
just sold one of my 5ds cause i'm getting a MKII finally.. i don't get the 7d and 1dsMK4 with their crops.. that's the wrong decision imo. all the ISO.. for what ? to make night look like day ? i guess most photographers will ruin their atmospheres by using such high isos and fast shutters at night... it's better to capture this world like the human eye sees it.. in my opinion...
i'm not taking photos for humans not for owls in the end!
Posted by: severin | 07 December 2009 at 05:41 PM
um. i meant i'm taking photos for humans not for owls... i'm sure you got the point.
Posted by: severin | 07 December 2009 at 05:43 PM