Moving from Nikon to Canon

Hi everybody,

I'm new to this forum and hope this is the correct one for my question. I have an Nikon N80 and a couple lenses that I love, but I've been yearning for a digital camera. So I just bought a Canon EOS 10D.

I don't want to give up film, but think it would make sense to sell the Nikon and get a Canon film camera instead...better for lens purchases. I know nothing about Canon fillm bodies. Which model should I buy?

Thanks,
Meredith

Meredith,
It depends on your budget. The EOS3 and EOS 1V are the top of the line film bodies in terms of features and durability. There are several used 1V bodies for sale on Ebay as well as here in the classified forum for amazingly low prices.
Hope that this helps,

Just food for thought, but a lot of people are going completely to digital and selling all of their film cameras. It may be something that you may want to think about doing. I know that I'm in the process of doing that if I could ever learn all this digital darkroom stuff.

I have not shot a roll of film since I got my first digital camera two years ago. I know there are many out there that have done the same. You may consider shooting with your new digital for a while to see how it fits your needs then decided if another film body is needed.

Cheers

You might want to wait a couple of months to see if you actually miss the film camera. Most of us that are now shooting digital, stopped using the film bodies altogether after thinking we would hang onto a film body just like you are thinking. If after a couple of months you really miss the film camera, a good companion to the 10D would be an Élan 7. Or you could just hang onto the Nikon gear for a few months and see if you ever use it.

As the rest of the folks here have commented, don't do anything at the moment. Hang onto your N80 but be prepared to sell it and not look back at the film body. (Kerry and I just purchased a used D100 and it'll be interesting to see how long the wait before we decide to purchase a second digital body and discard our N80's.)

To answer your question about film bodies, what do you use the N80 for? And do you use the spot meter? If you answered yes to the latter question, the cheapest Canon film body you can purchase with a spot meter is the EOS 3. (This is the only reason I bought Nikon gear instead of Canon gear. I wanted the spotmeter, wasn't prepared to buy an EOS 3, and the Elan 7 lacks a spotmeter while the comparably priced N80 does. So I wound up with Nikon.)

Meg

Hi! I switched from Nikon to Canon, and instead of getting a Canon film body I just kept my Nikon film camera and the 80-200 f2.8 lens.

I may sell it if I never end up by using it, but fall foliage in New England is a biggie for me and I plan to tear through some Velvia in October. I also use print film for family occasions when I know people want those glossy 4x6s.

Heather, try a roll of glossy if you have a roll feeder if you have, say a 1280 or 890 or ... and maybe you'll be doing those 4x6 glossies a little differently too. And I long ago gave away a pair of A2E's and haven't looked back.

Rich

Hey Heather, I was just wondering if you are not printing out any of your digital prints, then what are you doing with them?

Thanks for all the good advice. I'm sure I'll end up feeling the same way as most of you do, that I'll never want to go back to film again. So, for now, I'll hang on to the N80 and see if I want to use it again.

What nags at me is what Heather said about wanting Velvia in her 35mm for foliage shots. So many people still feel that way. Could we talk about that a little...how people feel about film vs. digital for those rich fall shots?

Meredith

The Canon DSLR's have a high chroma color space (high saturation) that imitates velvia pretty well plus with digital, you control the color saturation anyway in your post exposure processing so I don't get the Velvia hangers on.

I understand why some people want to hang on or continue to shoot film because of film characteristics. Films like Velvia have personalities that are difficult to match perfectly in Photoshop. If you're looking to get that exact match, you might be better served to shoot with a film camera. It'll be easier that post processing everything with PS.

On the other hand, you can do some amazing things with digital cameras and I'm prone to carry less than then more. Carrying a film camera around for a couple rolls a year just doesn't justify the space or expense in my book.

Try hanging out for a couple months, through the fall season, and see what you need. You might be surprised.

I have an EOS-3 and Elan 7E as a back up both cameras with Power boosters. EOS-3 its just a great, great camera, the meter in on the money and you can pick one up used for about $600. If you get an EOS-3 make sure to get the PBE-2 power booster which make the camera from 4 frames per second to 8.

The Elan 7E its also a great camera with a EYE CONTROL build in which works great, this camera I use if I'm shooting Macro, landscapes, still photography or for family photography, very small easy to use and with full control except is missing a spot meter.

Hope this helps!

E.J. Peiker wrote:... I don't get the Velvia hangers on.

Sorry, I just realized there were questions for me in this thread.

Well, I was a tough convert to digital from film. When I finally did, I loved it, and if I had to choose one or the other, it would be digital.

I will shoot fall colors with both digital and film this year. If I can make my digital shots look like my Velvia ones, then that's one less reason to keep the F5. I just am not quite adept yet at PS so my digital foliage shots have, to date, looked somewhat lacking.

Todd, I do make prints, but not very often. And for a family event with 4x6s to give out to several different family members, I don't really want to print them all myself. I have recently moved and have no clue where I could get digital prints done. Anyway, it's easier not to have to convert 50 some odd family photos from RAW, adjust each to taste, etc.

:roll: Canon!!!...WHY?? :roll:

lol

I made 2 moves at the same time just over a year ago. I moved from Nikon film bodies (N80 and F100) to not only Canon, but Canon digital gear. I am 100% happy that I made the move. Canon at that time had demonstrated to me that they could develop quality digital SLR's faster and better. Do I miss my Nikon gear? Sometimes, but not often. I guess I liked the Nikon way of implementing flash photography better.

Make the move, and you will not be disappointed, not only from a switch to Canon standpoint, but also from film to digital. I haven't shot a 35mm chrome since I made the move, and I have no plans to do so. From a cost standpoint, I used to shoot 100-150 rolls of film on a 2-week safari. I shot Velvia and Provia, and the film costs and processing costs added up quickly. I haven't given up my 4x5" large format yet, and probably never will, but I just think about the best tool for a particular job.

$.02