My first guest blog
Something I have been intending to do ever since I started this blog is to have occasional guest writers. I know a lot of photographers and we often trade opinions and views. I particularly enjoy sharing thoughts with photographers whose context and work is very different from my own.
Guest blog: Dylan Vidovich
Dylan Vidovich is very different from me. He is young, he has a far more interesting name and a far better singing voice, and he lives in Chapmanville, a small town (less than 2000 inhabitants) in the Southern part of West Virginia, USA. It is about as different from Camberwell, South London as you can be in the English-speaking world. Not least, Dylan seems to effortlessly dominate his area as THE town photographer. There is no such thing as THE photographer in London – in whatever field – be it wedding photographer, street photographer, event photographer or the rest! I suspect that, even in Chapmanville, it isn’t actually effortless either. Dylan has worked hard to get where he is.
One thing that we have in common is that we both value older cameras and lenses – latest doesn’t always mean best. In fact I “met” Dylan via our mutual interest in the Nikon D700 – one of the few truly “classic cameras” of the digital era. We have had many discussions about this camera and lenses to use with it. And we agree too that the adulation sometimes given to the “classics” can go OTT – and that the supposed eternal battle of Nikon v Canon is also overplayed. Now read on…
Dylan Vidovich: Nikon v Canon
The classic Canon 5D MkIII
A favourite for both of us – the Nikon D5
Lens shown – the same 50mm 1.4 “nifty fifty” that I use
Dylan: After I explain all this to people, the next question I usually get asked is, “So which one do you prefer?”
And my answer to that is always “Whichever one I’m using that day.” In all honesty, it really doesn’t matter much. At the end of the day, both systems are so close that it’s a wash*, and my images look about the same once I’m finished processing them.
Some of Dylan’s cameras
P.S. Read that carefully. Pick ONE. Don’t be like me and buy a bunch of gear. I’m just a little obsessed and like trying different stuff. 
Nikon vs Canon: A few comparisons
Dylan kindly sent me large files of some of his work to look at how his different cameras work out in practice. He is a local newspaper reporter as well as a freelance cameraman, so is often either taking news pictures as well as “senior portraits” of high school students, wedding photography, events photography and the rest. I find the difference between subject matter and local styles quite eye-opening at times! To see more of Dylan’s work, please take a look at (and like!) his Facebook page.
The images shown here were taken in the studio or at locations in Dylan’s home area, using both Nikon and Canon bodies, and both mirrorless and DSLR formats.
Logan by night
Nikon D700 24.0-70.0 mm f2.8 at f11.0 for 20s ISO200
Ed: The Nikon D700 was my first digital SLR. Launched in 2008 it is still a lovely camera to use, and unless you are printing extremely large (like covering the side of a large van!) it gives you all that you could ask for in terms of resolution. Dylan and I both love our ageing 700s!
Logan by night
Canon EOS R 24-105mm f4 at 24mm F7.1 30secs ISO200
The EOS R was Canon’s first full-frame mirrorless camera, launched in 2018. Dylan’s comments on it are interesting: “I’ve owned the original Canon EOS R twice. It was actually the camera that I would say catapulted my business to where it is today. It’s a good camera image quality wise, but it’s a quirky thing to use. It was plagued with a lot of the same problems/complaints that the original Nikon mirrorless Z6/Z7 had, which is kind of funny when you think about it, because all of those were announced within days of each other and Canon and Nikon both made the same mistakes!“
Canon EOS 5dIII EF70-200mm f2.8 @ 95mm f6.3 1/200s ISO100
Nikon D800 70.0-200.0 mm f2.8 @ 102mm f5.6 1/160 ISO100
Nikon D800 70.0-200.0 mm @98mm f5.6 1/160 ISO100
Canon EOS 5dIII EF70-200mm f2.8 @ 95mm f6.3 1/200s ISO100
All shots with 70-200mm lenses. Left to right:
Canon R5 128mm f3.2 1/10 ISO320
Nikon D800 120mm f2.8 1/50 ISO800
Nikon Z7 200mm f2.8 1/60 ISO100
Canon R6 200mm f2.8 1/320 ISO100
Ed: My conclusion, looking at Dylan’s work is that, when it comes to picture quality in fairly undemanding situations (so not shooting high speed sports, or night shots at very high ISO)…
- There isn’t a lot to choose between newer and older cameras
- There isn’t a lot to choose between DSLR (D-series) and mirrorless (Z and R series)
- There isn’t a lot to choose (here’s the big one!) between Nikon and Canon.
And actually, of course there isn’t. Just like any two brands at the top of their game, each is bound to have their fans (think Audi and BMW) but you would expect both to do the job and do it really well. Nikon and Canon both achieve that.
The supposed Nikon v Canon battleground shouldn’t really exist – except for their own marketing people!
Nikon vs Canon: The conversation
I am seriously unaccustomed to Canon cameras and always feel rather lost (especially in the menus) when I try to use one. I find the transition from Nikon to Lumix far easier, as it happens. So I had a few questions for Dylan about the differences that go beyond picture quality. First, I asked Dylan what he felt about Nikon and Canon menus:
Dylan: I like the layout of Canon’s menu system better than Nikon’s scrolling style, but I do like the wording and placement of things on Nikon better, if that makes any sense.
Like, for example, when choosing how you want the camera to write to cards, Nikon gets straight to the point with…
…while Canon takes you through these two screens. As simple as it might seem, I had to actually look up what each of those actually meant on Canon because the first time I owned a dual card slot Canon, I selected “Record separately” because I figured that was the “Write RAW to both” option. Nope. That’s “Record to multiple.” “Record separately” is the RAW on card 1, JPEG on card 2 option. Also, I’ve run out of card space and the camera stopped shooting because of not realizing that “Standard” would NOT automatically switch over. I mean, if there’s two cards in it, that would make sense, right??
Ed: The reason that I am with Nikon is because my cousin Phil decided on Nikon first, and he helped me into this whole game in the first place. The reason for his decision was that he thought that Nikon gear was tougher – harder to break. I asked Dylan what he felt about this.
Nikon vs Canon: Summing up
I have always taken the difference (and supposed warfare) between Nikon and Canon and their users with a large pinch of salt. I love my Nikons, but am under no illusions that they are intrinsically superior to similarly-priced Canons. But it is really good to be able to talk with someone who is very familiar with both systems (and in their DSLR and mirrorless formats) and would say that there really isn’t much in it. There is no real Nikon v Canon debate to be had.
I am actually more fascinated with what could be gained in picture quality with a Leica or Hasselblad or Fuji medium format. Now, has anyone got about ten grand to invest in me? 😉
The Sermon – Lumix FZ1000
My one photo in this blog!
South London Photographer -
Logan County Photographer
Dylan in wigged-mode as lead singer of his band Hair Supply
Perhaps some day I will catch a gig!
If you are in the UK, please contact me to enquire about my wedding photography or portrait photography use my Contact Form, text 07983 787889, or email me at Andrew@AndrewKingPhotography.co.uk I am based in Camberwell, South London, but am happy to travel.
If you are in West Virginia, please contact Dylan using his Facebook page, or email dkvidovich@gmail.com or phone number +1 304-946-7892
Oh – and if you want to hear Dylan with Hair Supply… check him out on YouTube
Photos © copyright Dylan Vidovich, Andrew King or garnered from PXHere
