Canon owns close to 50% of the DSLR market. For so many newcomers to the DSLR world (or cameras in general) the first name that pops in their head is Canon. Not only that but it seems that just about every retailer is biased toward them. Canon’s section is often placed the most close to the entrance of retailers, there’s usually more models of Canon on display than others, and I even had an instance where I called a photography store and asked if they have any Pentax DSLRs new or used and he told me “No, we only recommend Canon.” I really should’ve asked him what his reason for that was but I was just a little too ticked off right then. So what in the world has lead to Canon having an almost brainwashing effect on people? The only things about Canon that put them ahead of any other brand would be their availability since they’re everywhere and everyone recommends them and their autofocus. 2 things and one of them is basically part of the problem and you’d have to try really hard to see the difference in autofocus of a Canon vs a Nikon. In fact there are a chest full of reasons to pick other brands over Canon.
First there’s the price. With the exception of maybe the lowest model Rebel all Canon bodies are more expensive than the equivalent Nikon. Then there’s image quality, If you look at high ISO noise between Canon models and the equivalent models with other brands Canon almost always loses and sometimes by a horrific margin. On top of that according to DXO Labs before the 1Dx came out, there wasn’t a single Canon product (full frame or not) that matched the Pentax K-5’s image sensor. Then there’s ergonomics.. Canon doesn’t really have it. Meanwhile other brands like Pentax, Sony, and even Sigma have obviously spent some R&D money on making a comfortable camera grip. Let’s talk about innovation, unlike Nikon who started video in DSLRs or Pentax who uses Shake Reduction in the body of the camera rather than the lens so that all lenses have this capability, or Sony who use a translucent mirror to increase shutter speed, Canon doesn't seem to have any unique innovations. People on a non Pentax forum might say "what about the Canon 40mm pancake lens? Only Canon's genius could create such a thing." It's sad but true that not too many people know what Pentax is and Canon is getting praised for a stolen design that's actually no where near as flat and since they weren't able to give it image stabilization and its not built in the body, it's really lacking there as well. The last really innovative thing they did was the idea of EOS.
The absolute worst part and biggest reason for Canon not deserving its popularity and name recognition is that THEY CUT CORNERS! They're ripping people off left and right. Their "aps-c" sensor is actually smaller then everyone else's, they tried to get you to buy an aps-h sensor which is much smaller than a full frame for the same price as other brand's full frames, and the 60D was boasting a fancy type of plastic while the D7000, K-5, and a77 all have magnesium alloy. Just take a look at their just announced 6D. Nikon's D600 has 24mp on a full frame sensor with 39 autofocus points, 9 of which are cross type while with the 6D Canon decided to shrink the sensor so it really isn't a full frame. It hosts 20mp and only has 9 autofocus points with 1 cross type. All this at the same price as the Nikon.
In the end Canons will still take good pictures but why do they get all the credit they have when they're making everyone pay more money for smaller sensors with worse image quality, and cheaper design and quality? They're simply not deserving of how highly they're regarded... And that's my 2 cents.
Last edited by shaolen; 09-21-2012 at 11:04 PM.
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