The brand of your camera is perhaps more important than you initially think. Unless you are Jared Polin, you are unlikely to change whole camera systems because one brand does something better than the other. This is why there are camps associated with camera brands. In this article, I will discuss the simple reason I use Canon.
The Simple Answer
The reason I use Canon as a photographer is that it is the camera my dad happened to buy when I was a kid, and the camera I happened to pick up. I bought lenses for that film camera, and those lenses eventually migrated to digital Canons, and those digital Canons just ended up being better and better. This is the very simplified and true reason I use Canon as a professional photographer. I was simply born into this system and never experimented with alternatives.
The More Complicated Answer
However, if you are starting photography at an age where it doesn't matter which camera your dad had, allow me to make the case for Canon cameras, as I would still buy Canon if I had to pick a 35mm digital camera in 2023.
Color Science
Canon is the brand you think of when it comes to color science in digital cameras that are not medium-format. They are the kings of image quality, and the cameras are well-known for their color accuracy, dynamic range, and overall sharpness. I noticed this as soon as I tried my first-ever digital Canon camera: the Canon 1D Mark II. The original from the early 2000s stole my heart. It was a camera that, while only shooting 8-megapixel still images, could produce beautiful raw color, which was a pleasure to edit in post-production. Switching over to the Canon 5D Mark II, I was further pleasantly surprised by how well it could handle extreme shooting conditions. I have shot everything from fashion editorials to northern lights to drunk people at events with that beast. Talk about versatile. Moving on to the current king of Canon cameras that I have: the mighty 5Ds. There is nothing quite like it, really. It produces stunning images that leave me speechless.
Lenses
There are a zillion EF lenses in the world. Even after decades of EF being the standard, it is super easy to find pretty much any FD glass, especially on eBay. You could travel to any corner of the world and be sure to find the EF lens you need. It is just so accessible and available. Furthermore, there are lenses for basically any need. Be it a technical tilt-shift lens or an all-around superzoom like the Canon EF 28-300, Canon has them all. Whatever the project, Canon has the photographer covered from various cost points. For example, if you want to shoot the infamous 85mm prime lens, you need not invest in the expensive f/1.2 version. The f/1.8 can do a similar job at a lower price point. Canon is a great brand that offers solutions at several price points, which makes it both pro and beginner-friendly. The quality of the lenses themselves need not be mentioned. If you've read my recent reviews, you will know that they are fantastic performers.
Ease of Use
I love learning new things, but I hate having to learn a camera system. All I need from that black box full of electronics is to take a picture. I don't need the fine adjustment of focusing modes and dual-pixel raw, which are more or less useless. Canon does an incredible job with ease of use. I could literally pick up the 1D Mark II and figure out how to use it. I never once had to open a Canon manual, and I think that is a sign of good gear. Perhaps I am spoiled, but whenever the manual comes out, something is too complicated for the average user. Another point about ease of use that I would like to make is dial placement. The dials are more or less in the same spots regardless of the camera. For example, take the 5D Classic and 5D Mark IV, and the basic functions will still be in the same spot.
Reliability
I sincerely hope that my cameras will last me for years to come. I can count on my equipment to perform on shoots. Fortunately, I no longer even think of the equipment. I just pick up my camera from the tether trolley, and it works. Although the cosmetic wear on my camera has greatly reduced the more I shoot in the studio, it still ends up on the floor, it still takes the occasional tumble and roll. The only significant downside to all Canon cameras that I want to point out is the fact that if a port breaks, you are looking at a motherboard replacement. Instead of a board with all the ports, Canon decided to skimp for whatever reason and make photographers pay upwards of $500 for a new motherboard if a camera is unfortunate enough to fall on its tether port.
Repairs and Network
My studio is in Budapest, which isn't known for its photographers, at least not yet. Fortunately, even here, I can get hold of a replacement camera in a matter of an hour. It is as simple as calling the local service center, which is part of CPS (Canon Professional Services), and getting a unit. In large cities such as Paris or New York, they can even offer overnight replacements for some damage. I could get the shutter and mirror replaced in a couple of business days and be back on my feet in no time.
Closing Thoughts
So, while the real reason I use Canon is quite simple and childish, I am glad that my father made the right choice in the '90s and bought a Canon. It would be hard to imagine shooting with a different brand since the offerings and reliability scores are not as good as Canon.
Which camera brand do you use? Do these points apply to them as well? We would love to hear your opinion in the comments below!
I started with Canon but unlike the author experimented with Micro Four Thirds when I realised the EOS 7D MK2 and lenses was too heavy to take on holiday.
The entry level Olympus EM10 mk3 was a revelation with 2 kit lenses for less than £700 brand new.
I've since moved over to MFT entirely and there's nothing I miss from Canon.
I don't think one camera system compared to another gives much if any real advantages to the end user.
If you're happy with your system why not stick with it, if you try another system and it suits your purposes moving to it isn't difficult. Using more than one system is quite common.
I in fact shoot a canon (the R5), but if you still consider "the current king of Canon cameras" to be "the mighty 5Ds" to be state of the art, you are quickly becoming out of touch, and so was Canon. The world is now mirrorless and the Canon top dog is the R3 (will the R1 ever appear). Canon is in the mirrorless game now, but being late to the game cost them considerably. Some of the other points you make still translate but some don't. Color science really only matters if you are shooting jpg. If you shoot raw a quick global preset application can make the color look like anything you want (Adobe Lightroom Classic provides 58 different profiles for free, other processing programs are similar) pick the one you like on import. Lenses are an issue, with an adaptor you have access to all the EF glass, but Canon has been slow releasing new RF glass, which is excellent but you have to pay top dollar. The EF glass still works OK, but it doesn't perform as well as the native RF glass, nor compete with comparable modern mirrorless glass from Sony and Nikon (I'm talking about autofocus speed, weight, and coatings). Third party glass is very restricted. I agree with your ease of use points, but much of that is personal to the user. Reliability and repair network are certainly positives, but I know many people who have complained recently about changes to Canon's professional services plans. Canon has lost considerable market share because of these issues, because they mean a lot to many photographers.
Personally I use Nikon for the same reasons (my father bought me one when I was 12 years old) and so 40 odd years later, still with Nikon. Thing is I think Nikon service levels are right up there with Canons, the NPS service for instance is excellent. I think there is very little to choose between the big 2, not so sure around where Sony stand today with their support etc, but I suspect it is very competitive too.
For those who shoot full time professionally (i shoot around 250 shoots a year) I don't think you can beat canon professional services. For 100.00 a year I get repairs back within 3 days typically. The last repair i needed was caused by me and they didn't charge me which was a nice surprise.
Wow! That's a brilliant service.
my parents gave me a camera as a graduation gift from university in 1971, leaving it up to me to select the brand & model. I spent a couple months researching and trying models from canon, nikon, minolta, pentax, and mamiya-sekor; ended up choosing what proved to be the perfect camera for me, in terms of feel and features, the canon ftb. I used ftb, f1, and the fd lenses very happily for the next 35 years. then, when the darkroom went with the house to my ex in our divorce, I switched to the canon 5d and ef lenses. I honestly had no better reason than I felt comfortable with the brand after all those years with the older system, and the newer equipment was consistently well reviewed. I've been using the ef system ever since, and it's fine, but not nearly as satisfying to use as the feel and design of the old fd film cameras; I have no desire to return to film, though. I also use the compact sony rx10 or rx100 when traveling with little luggage room.
if I were starting over now, I think I'd go with Olympus: excellent image quality, solid build quality, lightweight, compact, and fairly reasonably priced.
I like how u boast about how amazing color science canon has and then post a b&w photo as your primary image sample. Youre one of those people who thinks paying more for camera gears will make you a better photographer.
If you're the real Rick Owens, I love your clothes.
I can absolutely agree with everything you’ve said here. The only reason I shoot Canon is because the first DSLR I got (as a gift) was a Canon. I really liked it, and saw no reason whatsoever to change brands. Over the years I never once thought “Damn, things would be so much easier if I had a Nikon or a Sony”. Everything worked on a Canon, so why go elsewhere? As I moved into full time professional photography, this held true. The only other brands I’ve ever considered have been mostly for my hobby —street photography — where I’ve often thought that it would be cool to use a Leica rangefinder (I’ve shot a roll of Tri-X through an M5 once, years ago) or a Fuji. But that’s it. For every real world situation, Canon has never failed me.
Here is the thing I dislike.
You look young, it's stupid to say you will always do something.
Would you use cannon in 30 years if it's the worst and most expensive you can buy at that point ?
I really hope not.
Regardless of the subject you should never pick something just because it's what you always have.
It sure can be part of it, but hopefully it's not the only reason.
This author is known for writing titles that he doesn't 100% mean, as a way of getting people to click on the articles he writes. It is a really shameful practice, but he, and some others here on Fstoppers, insist on using absolute words such as "always", "never", "all", etc., even when such usage is not really accurate.
I used to correct the authors of such titles any time I saw improper word usage, but lately I usually just don't even bother clicking on articles with such titles anymore.
I've joined Fstoppers just now to be able to comment on this post. Blah Blah Canon this, Blah Blah Canon that.
Recently I decided to switch to Canon after 35 years with Nikon as at the time Canon had a better array of RF lenses and what seemed like better auto focus.
Having drunk the Kool Aid on the lens and autofocus qualities of Canon (and Sony), one detail I unfortunately didn't pay enough attention to was colour.
In most situations Canon colour is brilliant, just as Nikon and Sony are, but a few nights ago I was walking down the street, R5 in hand when I saw a brilliant array of LED signage I'd not noticed before.
It was difficult lighting - saturated yellow "Leon" (LED neon) in the foreground, a red brick wall lit by maybe 3500k in-store lighting and the store's brand against a red brick wall in red "Leon" at the back. Above the counter hung three 55"-ish monitors displaying the menu, one obviously had different settings, was a different brand or different batch of panel as it's colour to the eye was way off and one tight spot highlighting a plant that was around daylight in colour temp.
I framed the shot, CR3, manual and was shocked to see the results of the scene: yellow LED almost white, red LED a pale imitation of what was before me and the red brick wall a strange hue of orange.
I thought it must just be a system I'm not used to so I stood there and mucked around with it for a while before walking away disappointed.
It was a massive surprise to find that the colours I'd seen on the street seemed unrecoverable in post from a CR3 file.
Befuddled and beginning to wonder if I'd made a dreadful mistake with the switch to Canon and the amount of capital I'd lose if I sold and switched back to Nikon or moved to Sony, I returned to the same scene the following evening armed with the same R5, iPhone 15, trusty old D90 and still very relevant D850.
I regret to say that the EOS R5 underperformed dreadfully. The iPhone rendered the scene with remarkable accuracy. The D90 struggled with the lighting of the room but managed to make the two LED signs look amazingly vibrant and the D850 was as composed as ever. While none of the resulting images looked particularly true to life all three competitors left the EOS R5 in the dust.
I walked away feeling deflated and have since noticed that whenever there is a scene with intense colour contrast the R5 falls flat on its face no matter how it is set up. Kind of like using a yellow filter for contrast when printing from B&W film back in 1986 in my first job at a film lab on Saturday mornings.
Aside from that "Leon" lighting situation I've figured out how to recover colour from this system but why should I have to when the lighting is not perfect? Whilst any camera can be used to take a brilliant photograph, this one just gets in the way too much for me.
Back to Nikon I go but... before I do I'm hiring an A7R V with the same old 70-200 f2.8 just to make sure. I was impressed with its shadow detail in poorly lit situations when I shot it in store but it gets noisy very early in the game and feels harsh in the hand.
Canon - gave it a go but thoroughly unimpressed.