I get asked this question a lot.  In fact, Dena Schulman of Westport CT just discovered Jules Cafe and wrote me an email with this very question.  I decided to write a post about it so that you can all benefit from my answer!

We all know there are more than just those two manufacturers, but I think when you are playing the Professional game, those really are the only two to consider.  The amount of lenses alone that are made for both brands is enough to make it worth your while to choose one or the other.

I’m super biased because I shoot the Canon 5D… But honestly, I feel like the Canon body/lens combo is lighter, (yes, I used to shoot Nikon – back in my film days) so Canon therefore better for me as a woman shooter (read: I get very tired holding heavy equipment all day).  However, I think finding the right camera is like driving a car – any brand can get you from point A to point B.  There are factors such as price that you must consider, but the main thing I tell photographers to do is also choose by how the camera FEELS to them.

Honestly!  You need to LIKE the way it feels in your hand so that it just becomes an extension of your arm eventually.  If you really are just starting out and trying to figure out what to buy, I would recommend going into a camera shop and just playing with a few bodies for a while to see what “works” for you and the way you think.  Canon and Nikon’s dials tend to function in the opposite direction, so I think some people feel more comfortable with Canon and some feel better with Nikon!

I know a lot of folks say they prefer one’s color over another.  I shoot Canon and my associate, Shannon, shoots Nikon and since we both shoot RAW I rarely see issues with color.  This is not to say it doesn’t happen sometimes, but really, we are both going for such different things when we are shooting together that color is rarely an issue.  Plus so many people seem to like to tweak their color nowadays, its more about having the right presets!