I'm frustrated with people who don't ...

I've found that men like to joust about hobbies. It's usually good natured but they will run you through if you don't play the game correctly. To the fisherman that attacked your system you should have asked if the Orvis bamboo flyrod was any better than an old K-Mart graphite. To the motorhead you should have said that a camshaft is a camshaft or all tires rotate, etc. Golf? Ping vs. McGreggor. Guitars? Gibson/Fender/Martin, etc. vs. Alvalrez or such. Photography? Nikon vs. Pentax. When in a group of men around a campfire whoever is most glib wins. Still, I share your frustration that some people just don't get it.

Zippyy,

Well, well. A little touchy today aren't we? After Newbee's post, which was intended as humor, I sent him an email saying that I had actually written the same comparison but switched to Pentax just to be on the safe side. I told him how many times I'd witnessed such a comment leading to an argument about the merits of Canon vs. Nikon.

You and I must be about the same age. For the record both brands have fine optics and are very durable but IMHO Nikon established itself as a world class product long before Canon. I do find you to be the exception rather than the rule for having owned many models of both brands as you suggest. About the only common control between these makers is the shutter button. If one is familiar with the operations of one brand then using the other requires more thinking than I like. Having known a ton of photo enthusiasts over the years I've found that the differences between these manufacturers are profound enough that everyone I know chose a rut and stayed in it.

My sense of what you are really saying is that you committed to Canon early on (back in that day they were much cheaper) and are overly sensitive to criticism about your gear of choice. Roll back the clock to when you got into this particular hobby and nary a single professional photographer used anything but Nikon.

Viggen,

You are most certainly correct about Leica optics and also its shutter speed accuracy. They produce a very fine camera. Back when I chose my photographic rut a Leica was clearly out of my price range.

While I may be wrong, when we are speaking of these three brands of cameras I feel strongly that today the biggest difference is in the film we choose. I've gravitated more to the digital side over the last ten years. I find it satisfying that I no longer have to spend any money to take tons of photos. I simply recharge my batteries and format my memory cards and away I go. This might be the photo equivalent of the MP3 but the savings allow me to buy more music software.

Whatever camera you use, may all your shots remain in focus and the exposure spot on!