Nikon Beats Canon 7-5 in November Photo Mag Contests

Nikon ended Canon’s three-month streak to score a 7-5 win in November’s monthly reader photo contests in the two largest U.S. photography magazines.

Six of the winning photos in Shutterbug’s “Picture This!” competition were made with Nikon cameras compared with two for Canon. Canon did better in Popular Photography and Imaging’s “Your Best Shot” contest, accounting for three photos to Nikon’s one.

That makes the score 7-5 in favor of Nikon this month, with three photos shot with other brands.

Canon still leads year-to-date totals 88-80, but the good showing for Nikon tightens Canon’s lead to eight compared with a 10-photo lead a month ago. Canon had won the past three months in a row and has won five out of the past 11 months. Nikon has now won five months also, while one month – March – was a 5-5 tie. All other brands combined total 42 for the year. On an annual basis, the number of winning photos shot with either Nikon or Canon continues to outnumber winning photos shot with all other brands combined 4:1.

Popular Photography and Imaging and Shutterbug run photo contests for readers each month. The majority of winning photos are shot with either Nikon or Canon cameras, and www.NikonvsCanon.com tracks the winners for the amusement of readers engaged in the perennial argument among photographers of which brand is better.

The analysis by http://www.nikonvscanon.com/ is not intended to indicate that either magazine favors either camera brand. In fact, the winning brand fluctuates frequently from month to month in both magazines.

Copyright 2006

Canon Announces Rebate Program

Canon is offering rebates of up to $300 on its mid-level digital SLR cameras, two dozen lenses and four electronic flash units.

The "Cash In With Canon" mail-in-rebate program began October 15 and runs through January 13.

Canon is offering rebates from $10 to $300, including $300 on the 12.8 megapixel EOS 5D digital SLR with a full frame CMOS sensor, and the EOS 30D digital SLR. Select EF lenses such as the new EF 24 -105mm f/4L IS USM and Speedlite flashes like the 580EX also qualify for the rebate. Photographers will also have the chance to double savings when purchasing different eligible Canon items to help further expand and build their EOS systems. When buying an EOS 5D Digital SLR and a select Canon EF lens, consumers can get up to $700 back. Consumers can also save up to $230 when buying the EOS 30D kit that includes the EF-S 17-85 IS USM lens.

The EOS-1Ds Mark II and EOS-1D Mark II N don't qualify for rebates, but rebates are doubled on other qualifying products bought at the same time as either of the two top-end cameras. The entry-level Digital Rebel XTi is not included at all.

"The Cash in With Canon rebate program gives users of all levels the chance to build or expand an EOS system of fine photographic gear that will give users professional level results for years to come," said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the Consumer Imaging Group at Canon U.S.A. Inc.

Details are available at www.web-rebates.com/canon.

--Canon Press Release

Canon Offers Second Annual Football Photography Contest

It’s football season, and that means it’s time for Canon’s second annual “Why Do You Love Football?” photo contest.

Co-sponsored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the nationwide amateurs-only contest features two entry categories: Action and Feature. The Action category focuses on any image that captures football action during game play, while the Feature category comprises any football imagery outside of game action on the field. Canon says it’s looking for anything from a playful catch in the backyard to organized youth and school games.

Judges will include Sports Illustrated photographer Peter Read Miller, Associated Press photographer Mark Duncan, U.S. Presswire photographer Craig Melvin, Cleveland Browns team photographer John Reid III, freelancer Tony Tomsic and former NFL quarterback Archie Manning. After the judges determine a group of 14 finalists, the voting will be turned over to football fans, who will crown a first-place winner in each of the two categories and a grand prize winner in early January.

"This is the second straight year that Canon and the Pro Football Hall of Fame have conducted an amateur youth football photo contest," Canon U.S.A. Inc. Senior Vice President and Consumer Imaging Group General Manager Yukiaki Hashimoto said. "We are pleased to once again recognize the best youth football photos taken by amateur photographers across the United States."

Each first place winner will receive a Digital Rebel XTi camera, while the grand prize winner will be awarded a trip for four to attend Super Bowl XLI in Florida and will have his or her photo displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Additionally, the winner will receive a trip for four to the 2007 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Celebration in August 2007.

Photographers can submit up to 10 images by the November 27 entry deadline. Details and rules are at www.usa.canon.com/nfl. The web site also features a great Day in the Life video showing how Miller shoots a game, and another video offers tips on how to shoot football.

Copyright 2006

Digital Photography Review Favors Nikon D80 Over Canon Digital Rebel XTi

The hottest Nikon-Canon battle at the moment is between the 10.2 megapixel Nikon D80 introduced August 9 and the 10.1 megapixel Canon Digital Rebel XTi unveiled two weeks later – and one of the most respected Internet technical review sites has come down on the side of Nikon.

In its September review of the D80, Digital Photography Review (DPR) called the $999.95 (body only) Nikon a camera that “just feels right” and “worth the price difference” between it and the $799.95 Canon. On DPR’s 1-10 scale of ratings for build, ergonomics, features, image quality, speed and value, it averaged 8.8.

DPR’s review of the XTi published just last weekend gave the Canon a nearly-as-high average rating of 8.4 and praised Canon for revolutionizing the DSLR market when it broke the $1,000 price point with the original 6 megapixel Digital Rebel back in 2003. DPR said the latest version continues in the footsteps of the original and the 8 megapixel 2005 Digital Rebel XT, but laments that Canon played it safe with the successful formula and didn’t try to push the envelope. “Nikon clearly saw it coming and went one better with the D80,” DPR said. The review said the Rebel is “no longer the first or obvious choice” and urged photographers to consider the competition.

If you haven’t been to www.dpreview.com, be sure to check it out. While there have been dozens of articles written about the D80 and Rebel XTi, most are limited to writers’ personal opinions or testing that involves extensive hands-on trials but no objective laboratory tests. DPR offers extensive scientific testing and side-by-side comparisons with other cameras, much in the school of lab tests done for years by Popular Photography and Imaging and, back in the day, by Modern Photography.

You can find the DPR assessments at the following two links:

--Nikon D80 Review
--Canon Digital Rebel XTi Review

Speaking of Popular Photography and Imaging, the magazine has done its own lab tests on the D80 and the review couldn’t be more flattering: “The test numbers are stellar,” Pop said. “If you want to see real performance enhancement, grab Nikon’s new 10.2MP DSLR.” Pop gave the D80 high marks for overall image quality, resolution, color accuracy, noise, highlight/shadow detail, contrast and autofocus speed. With its decades of experience, Popular Photography is still the gold standard for lab testing of photo equipment. Click here to read the review. Popular hasn’t done its full test of the XTi yet, but says in a web-only comparison that the Nikon is sturdier and has a better TTL flash system, along with better autofocusing below EV 0. We can’t wait to see the full XTi test results.

If you haven’t seen them yet, here are the Nikon and Canon press releases announcing the D80 and XTi, complete with full technical details.

--Nikon D80 Press Release
--Canon Digital Rebel XTi Press Release

Copyright 2006

Canon Beats Nikon 8-4 in October Photo Mag Contests

If you’re going to fight over Nikon vs. Canon, you need a way to keep score. You could keep track of camera sales, but those numbers aren’t always easy to come by. You could track the two companies’ financial results but both make other products. So we had to look for a way, and we think we’ve found it.

Each month, the nation’s two largest photography magazines — Popular Photography and Imaging and Shutterbug — run photo contests for readers. The majority of winning photos are shot with either Nikon or Canon cameras, so we’ve decided to begin keeping score. And we think you will find the results very interesting.

So here's our first monthly report.
--
Canon Beats Nikon 8-4 in October Photo Mag Contests

Canon beat Nikon 8-4 in October’s monthly reader photo contests in the two largest U.S. photography magazines.

Three of the winning photos in Popular Photography and Imaging’s “Your Best Shot” feature this month were made with Canon cameras compared with one for Nikon. Five of the photos in Shutterbug’s “Picture This!” feature were made with Canon and three with Nikon.

That makes the score 8-4 in favor of Canon this month, with three photos shot with other brands.

October was the third winning month in a row for Canon, which has won five months out of the past 10 and leads year-to-date totals at 83-73. Nikon has won four months, while one month -- March -- was a 5-5 tie. All other brands combined total 39 for the year. On an annual basis, the number of winning photos shot with either Nikon or Canon continues to outnumber winning photos shot with all other brands combined 4:1.

The monthly analysis by www.nikonvscanon.com is not intended to indicate that one brand is more likely than the other to produce prize-winning photos or that either magazine favors either camera brand. In fact, the winning brand fluctuates frequently from month to month in both magazines.

Be sure to visit again next month for the latest Nikon vs. Canon score.

Copyright 2006