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Canon vs. Nikon: What’s the difference? (Updated for 2012)

Canon versus Nikon

I know what you're thinking, and I think you're wrong.  That may be a confrontational way to start this post, but this Nikon vs. Canon DSLR debate is fueled by such passion in 2012 that I have to explain what we're discussing here.

Both Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras provide fantastic image quality and similar features.  Because there are so many similarities between the brands, many people think that it makes no difference which brand you choose.  While I agree that either brand will give great results, I believe there are important differences between the brands that may inform your decision.

I must mention that there are–obviously–other brands to choose from.  Sony and Pentax also make great cameras that are on-par or even exceeding many Canon and Nikon models.  The only reason I haven't included more about them in this article is because more than 90% of the people who use this site shoot Canon or Nikon.  I have other articles where I discuss Sony and other brands.

Advantages of Nikon DSLR Cameras

  • Low-Light Performance.  Over the past two years, few people would disagree that Nikon has generally served up superior low-light cameras than the comparable Canons.
  • Number of autofocus points.  This one is controversial, but I think most people would agree with me.  Head-to-head, most Nikons have more autofocus points than their Canon equivalents.  When you get your camera, you'll realize how important this is because sometimes the low number of autofocus points on Canon cameras means there isn't an autofocus point for where you want to focus in the frame, forcing the photographer to focus and then recompose.
  • Flash Control.  Nikon has had better built-in options for controlling off-camera flash for years.  Canon has recently caught up, or almost caught up, with its new built-in flash triggers in the 7d, 60d, and T3i.
  • Larger APS-C sensors. Nikon uses slightly larger sensors in their crop sensor DSLR cameras.  You can read about the difference between crop and full frame cameras here.
  • Availability of minor features.  Over the years, Canon has been notorious for refusing to add in easy-to-fix features to their cameras.  For example, Nikon has been better about including geotagging via GPS in the camera, and expanded auto-exposure-bracketing sequences.  In this way, Nikon is more responsive to adding the “little features” into DSLRs–even if the two brands are mostly equal in all other respects.

Advantages of Canon DSLR Cameras

  • Video.  No question on this one.  Canon has creamed Nikon in terms of video performance.  Nikon is starting to catch on with 1080p video and a basic autofocus system in its most recent releases, but still lags far behind Canon in this aspect.  Canon DSLRs offer more frame rates, some Canons offer better codecs, etc.
  • Price.  Nikon cameras and lenses are often slightly more expensive than Canon.  Obviously, there are exceptions, but if you check the range of DSLRs and popular lenses, Nikons generally cost approximately 8% than the comparable Canon gear according to my calculations.
  • Megapixel Count.  Most photographers don't care about this, but it is handy to be able to crop in tight with more megapixels.  Canons have outperformed Nikons in terms of pixel count for a few years now.
  • Availability.  When Canon announces a new camera, you can generally expect to get it in your hands within a short period of time.  When Nikon announces a new camera or lens (especially higher-end gear), it frequently takes 4 to 6 months before it is available…. sometimes longer!
  • Focus motors.  All modern Canon lenses have built-in focus motors.  While most Nikon lenses (and certainly all the pro lenses) have focus motors, the beginner DSLRs made by Nikon cannot use all of the Nikon lenses.

Differences That “Might” Matter


Canon is a much larger company than Nikon.  It creates printers, cameras, video equipment, binoculars, calculators, and more.  Nikon is a much smaller company which focuses almost exclusively on cameras (though they also make sports optics and film scanners).  This factor may or may give an advantage to one company or the other, but I'll let you draw your own conclusions here.  Canon may have an edge for the resources of a huge mega-company, or Nikon may have the edge for being focused on one main product.

The “cool” factor.  Come on, we all know that the huge cream-colored lenses on the sidelines of sports events always catch our eyes.  Admit it.  The Canon L lenses look cooler than the dull black Nikons 🙂  Canon actually claims that the white lenses aren't a fashion thing, but actually an engineering decision to lower heat, among other things.  (If you're a law nerd, you'll recognize this as extremely stupid, because it militates against them getting a trademark for cream-colored lenses if it the trademark is functional).

So what DSLR camera is best for beginning photographers?

Both the Canon Rebel DSLRs and the entry-level Nikon DSLR cameras are very good.  I know that it can be agonizing to choose between them.  Generally, I recommend this Canon camera for beginning photographers who are interested in DSLR video or portraits.   If you're more into wildlife, landscape, candids, or flash photography, then I'd give a slight edge to this Nikon camera.  By the way, I'm continually updating these camera recommendations as both companies release new products.  I changed these camera recommendations most recently on September 15, 2011.

What's your personal choice?

I'm personally a Nikon photographer, having recently jumped ship from the land of Canon.  I switched for the low-light performance of Nikons, but I'm sure Canon will catch up very soon and then I'll look longingly to the other side of the fence.  It was a fit for me at the time, but I think Canons are just as good or better in other respects.

The purpose of the post was to inform you of some of the differences, not to persuade you one way or the other.  Do you disagree with me on my analysis?  Send in a comment below and tell me how wrong I am.  I don't mind 🙂  Also, make sure to LIKE ImprovePhotography on Facebook so you can get our daily photography tips.

149 thoughts on “Canon vs. Nikon: What’s the difference? (Updated for 2012)”

  1. When I started out back in the film days, I was shooting with Canons. I had several bodies and lenses. Then autofocus came out. I was in the market for a nice upgrade to my lenses and wanted an 80-200 2.8 (or 70-200). I looked at lot and it was so hard to find anything at a good price for my Canons. Then I found a nice used Nikon lens at a camera shop…it was a push-pull auto focus 2.8. I put some money down on it and actually bought it before I even had a Nikon body! What sold me was the fact that Canon changed their lens mount when auto focus came out and Nikon didn’t. I still have that lens and even with the advent of the digital age I can use it! canon lost me way back then. Otherwise I’d still be shooting them.

  2. Having spent nearly 12 months before buying my first DSLR a couple of years ago reading reviews, checking comparisons on numerous websites, annoying the hell out of my friends/family/anyone who’d listen,and revising my budget upwards many times, I eventually chose the camera that felt right in my hands, that felt comfortable, that made sense to me. As it happens, it was Nikon – I’d spent probably an hour in the shop holding, exploring and shooting with 3 different models from 3 manufacturers. In the end, the other 2 made less sense to me, whereas I felt I instinctively knew where everything was on the Nikon, I knew exactly where to find this or that button/setting/menu. And this has helped to sharpen my skills, not having to stop for 5 minutes trying to find something on the “wrong” camera. My 2 cents anyway 🙂

  3. I’m a Canon guy since I was a teenager so my input will be partial.
    I borrowed several Nikon SLRs from friends as I was curious and knew Nikons are as good as Canons. At that time (15-20 year ago) I tried a F-301 a F-401 and a F-801. Great solid feeling but I recall parameters on those bodies were so complicated and info in the viewfinder not clear enough. This is surely due to my long habit of shooting with Canon.
    Recently though, I made a new try with a DSLR from the yellow brand (D90 if I’m not mistaken). Again good feeling about the body itself but when I tried to exti from the all-auto-green menu, it quickly became a headache. I do not say that Nikons are not good, how could I? They’re as good as Canons but when I get a grip of any Canon, any EOS, old or new, digital or not, I exactly know in an eyeblink how to change settings. The wheel in the back is one of their greatest find ever! In manual mode I can set speed with one wheel and aperture with the other and it is a kid’s game.
    My old EF lens still perfectly work on my DSLRs, of course some are becoming outdated yet they are strong and the “L” world is a reference worldwide! Maybe I do not know Nikon lenses as well but it seems more complicated with their different systems and less coherent. Also it’s to me more difficult to identify the pro lenses within Nikon (Canon “L” equivalents).
    For sure if I were to change my bodies and lenses for another brand, I’d still opt for Nikon, rather than Sony, Pentax, etc.
    Both Canon and Nikon are way above the lot.

  4. Oh, good, the two cameras I’m agonizing between for my 1st are the recommended cameras. (Canon T3i & Nikon D5100) Super helpful. 🙂

    I’m nearly ready to close my eyes and eenie-meenie-miney-mo to pick one. It’ll probably all come down to which package has the best offer at the store when I go to buy my camera.

  5. Take a look at the SONY A57 its faster, its got a much higher iso capability, the lens are as expensive and neither are the cameras. When they are compared head to head with the Nikon and Canon in terms of features they come out ahead in almost all categories.. Although they are a bit heavier..

  6. I work at Best Buy in the Digital Imaging section, as I did go to photography school at Brooks Institute of Photography in Ventura, California. From what I’ve learned at school 8 years ago and what I’ve picked up and learned at work, I still see CANON as the superior camera. Yes, Nikon has SOME advantages (basically, only the 29 points fo focus, which I personally think is overkill), but I think Canon has the best low light performance! Both brands make equally good flashes so I could care less about that, but CANON is more cost friendly AND MUCH easier to use!!!! Obviously it’s video quality is perfection since the movie industry has been using Canon’s for filming for years now (i.e. The Avengers was filmed with 2 different Canon cameras — see Canon’s facebook page for that info).

    My associates and I sell more Canons than Nikons any day of the week due to what customers come in and feel comfortable with. Nikon confuses so many people with it’s overkill of buttons that you can barely figure out what they do.

    In photography school, my professors gave us all the rundown on Nikon vs. Canon, and in the end, these professional photographers who worked for National Geographic, national newspapers, and other magazines or sports teams preferred the Canon. Nikon is still a great camera, but there’s nothing the Canon company! Great company, well run. And the proof is in their cameras.

    PS I’m also sick of people coming is asking for the Ashton Kutcher camera. Makes me sick that’s the only reason they want it.

    1. I have a Canon 40d and still producing great images. You just need to proper exposure and good to decent lens. I tried nikon before and its controls are way complicated than canon.

  7. I come from an age where the SLR or the TLR where king and mostly Yashica or Ziess! and having spent my youth assisting my father with his photography business from the age of 10. His favourite always ended up back to the Zenith, he said if I drop it it’ll still work! So when this new fangled digital stuff came out me being the “youngster” got to play! My father bought an Olympus OM10, his first and last head nod to the digital upstart that was taking over the world!(he hated it) I duly dumped my SLR and its lenses and went digital! First a point and squirt Acer 6mp then an Olympus 10mp. But after a particularly wonderful cruise holiday taking in the south american countries I realised my mistake! The pictures I missed because of the limitations of the camera! (I never was or wanted to be a professional) But I know enough to see what I was missing! So the search started. I too ended comparing Nikon and Canon, Canon took the lead (just) but the limitations of Nikons video pushed me into the Canon family completely. I, as most people, started fairly low down the product range and increasingly moved up as I remembered things. I had settled on the 600D mainly because of the tilt n turn LCD, crucial for being able to see above the heads of other tourists! Then the 60D started to creep into my spec list, but could I justify the cost, no not really I will not be going professional I have nothing to prove being the very wrong side of 50, but something was not convincing me about the 600D. Then, bless them Canon bought out the 650D problem solved! this ticks all my boxes, but I can still hand it over to my wife on full auto and she can take a picture of an actual crocodile not the piece of driftwood she thought was one! I have yet to take “proper” pictures as at the moment I am trying to learn everything it does (a little daunting)for this old godgers brain at times. But at the end of it all it’s down to personal choice and what you need of a camera, myself having two grown daughters also think the 650D will take great pictures of any grandkids that come my way! As for my fathers view? He would have said, “yes all well and good but if you drop it?”
    note to self, does my insurance cover it?

  8. About a year ago I was wanting to buy myself a new digital camera. I had a point and soot Canon Power Shot S5is but I wanted a DSLR, I missed being able to take the sort of shots that can only really be captured with an SLR lens. I tend research things to death when I buy them because I don’t want to regret my decision.
    Outside of the cheap little cameras I got/used as as a small child all my cameras (film & digital) have been Canons, so you’d think that the decision would have been easy for me but it wasn’t.
    About 2 months prior to me buying my DSLR I was on a Greek cruise and the person I was paired with had a Nikon DSLR. The ability to manually change focus and lenses as well as the style of the camera body itself made me wonder whether I should leave the Canon family and go to the “other side” .
    When I came back my mind was made up to buy a DSLR so I could take shots at and around Christmas. I agonized going back and forth to the camera store trying out all of the models up to a certain price point. I decided that both companies entry level cameras were too basic for me so I decided to go one step up.
    In the end I went with the Canon because it just felt familiar like an old friend.
    I have friends who love their Nikon cameras but for me I love my Canon 60D.
    Who knows, maybe in a year or two when I am ready to trade up I will join the Nikon family? but until then I will happily continue to tote my Canon along as I travel the world.

  9. I had to make this impossible decision about a year ago when deciding what camera brand to invest in. I ended up going with Canon because my grandfather had old Canon A-1’s that I had been using. I’m happy with my Canon, but I must admit I do sometimes dream about what it would be like to be a Nikon shooter 😛

    1. Both produce great I.Q. its just a matter of preference. I have both canon and nikon and if you were to ask me, its hard to say one is better than the other.

  10. u r creating wrong information by saying that nikon is only a camera company,correct yourselves nikon is into cameras,stepper machines,binoculres,microscopes,spectacle lenses,and also Nikkor
    .

  11. I am a working photographer and I am out and about in the industry on a daily basis. In my my travels I go to studios, meet fashion photographers, journalists, wildlife and landscape professionals, visit colleges, schools and universities. I went through the education system and have a diploma and a degree and I have worked in busy photography shops selling DSLR cameras and accessories. One thing I can tell you is that the majority of the pro’s I meet just do not care whether it is Nikon or Canon. They shoot with whatever is going to get the job that they are working on done, be it Canon, Nikon, Leica, Mamiya, Hasselblad etc etc.
    There is no such thing as one brand being better than the other, they are both better at some jobs and worse at others. The pro’s know this, they have moved beyond the childish arguments that seem to rage over the internet and are only focused on creating fantastic images. A lesson that perhaps we would all do with learning.

  12. I used to have a lot of Canons previously (10D, 20D, 30D, 50D, 5DMk1). The thing in Canon which make me furious is AF performance! Year ago I bought Nikon D700. Since then I don’t know what the AF missfocus means. The build quality of Nikon BOTH pro grade lenses and semipro/higher but stil budget lenses is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than the comparative Canon lenses build. If we use automotive parallel if the Canon is Mercedes Nikon is Rolls Royce then. For sure! Of course I am comparing higher class cameras (two or one digits Canons and D700/D3 Nikons) I don’t have experience with Canon xxx or Nikon xxxx. After long years of shooting (21 at the moment) and trying in this period a lot of cameras I am very certain of my verdict.

  13. My dad got me my first DSLR camera for my birthday. I didn’t know what I wanted between Canon & Nikon. I chose the Canon because it was lighter & “felt right”. Although I have to say that flash red camera from Nikon was cool. So far I am enjoying it but is taking me some time to know my way around a DSLR camera. I mostly do nature & city photos but want to learn all different kinds of photography.

  14. I am a very long time Nikon shooter who went back and forth between Nikon and Canon over the 30 plus years I have been shooting and am now firmly entrenched with Nikon.
    Started with the Nikon F3, F4 then F5 in the nineties, switched to the Canon 20D, 30D, 5D then 1DmkIII in the mid 2000s. When that camera had focusing issues that could not be fixed, I went back to Nikon with the D3, then added the D700. My current arsenal includes the D4, D800e and D600 cameras. I briefly had the Canon 5DmkII because I needed it for it’s video capabilities which were then better than what Nikon was offering.
    Here IMHO is what I like better about Nikon.
    1) The handling and user interface. Hands down, I work faster chimping images and checking focus and deleting images in the Nikon. As a working pro this is essential.
    Canon makes you do several extra steps for the same result which results in extra time.

    2) The focusing system. My keeper rate is very high on the Nikon. I understand the new Canons have improved focus but look at what Canon has done with the upcoming 6D vs the NIkon D600. They handicapped it with the single cross type AF point just like the 5D MKII.

    3) Nikon was caught sleeping when it came to DSLR video. They woke us and have improved things tremendously. The video files from my D800e are unbelievably sharp and detailed compared to my Canon.

    In the end though, both marques are great, the camera is only a tool.
    Lee below says it best.

  15. Buy what you can afford. IMHO, the Nikon memus and features are easier to use and more powerful than the competition. As menitoned previously, by others, the camera is a tool. However, for most photographers, whether pro or amateur, keep in mind, when you ‘invest’ in glass (the lenses), that investment is hard to use on another manufactures camera body.
    So, whatever you purchase, love it, learn to use it, and keep shooting every day.

  16. I’m a beginner of photography, and a Nikon Fans,just bought a D800+70-200mm ED VR II today, and i totally love it! I admit that i love Canon’s white lens. Hope that Nikon will also make some white, gray or whatever color they like for coming up lens. Agree with Val keep shooting everyday to improve and don’t regret once u have bought the lens, LOVE it!!

  17. I’m not sure how you can say that Canon has an advantage in availability over Nikon. Take the current race for the “smallest lowest price full frame camera”. The Nikon D600 was announced and released almost immediately. The Canon 6D was announced and released at least 2+ months later(yet to be released). The Canon 1DX was announced October 2011, didn’t actually get shipped by most companies until July 2012. That is nearly 10 months! The same is true of most lenses Canon releases these days.

  18. Advantages of Canon seem to diminish. As David has mentioned about, availability of Nikon cameras is pretty good and it seems that Canon announced the 6D in a reaction to Nikon’s D600.

    Video features and quality of D600, D800 and D4 is on par with any Canons cameras and Nikon offers uncompressed output as well on.

    Pixel Count / Resolution is larger on Nikon’s D800 then any Canon camera ever produced until now.

    I think Nikon made a good choice to start sensor development and production with Sony and it seems that Nikon sensors are (slightly) ahead of Canon sensors at this moment.

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