Ed Woodson Photography wrote:
Just curious who does, what platform and why?

I shoot Pentax.  Mostly due to brand loyalty since 1975

Sony now. Minolta since the maxxum 7000. I just plain old prefer the bodies. The ergonomics and physical users interface suit me much better than any of the nikon or canon or pentax cameras I've used.

David Gaze wrote:
"Who here shoots something besides Canon or Nikon"

Isn't there a law against that?

I was going to say Ruger 10/22, but I guess I won't.

Alpha photographer wrote:
I shoot Sony Alpha...mostly because I had Minnolta before.I know there are alot of Photogs who only shoot Cannon or Nikon, but I have been very happy with my Sony. Has not let me down yet.

+1

David Gaze wrote:
"Who here shoots something besides Canon or Nikon"

Isn't there a law against that?

Some of us are engaged in civil disobedience.

James Ogilvie wrote:
Sony A900.  For the Zeiss glass and stabilized everything.  24mp doesn't hurt either.

Have bodies and glass for Nikon and Canon, but everything that I shoot for Mayhem posting is strictly Sony.  Have not used the Sony commercially, but only because I keep my Nikkor in New York and Florida, where I travel to the most for paid work.
The Sony is "fun" gear.

Ned Yeung wrote:
I shoot Olympus, and have many reasons for choosing it.

First and foremost of course, are the glass and the colors. The Zuiko and Leica glass for the Four-Thirds standard is the sharpest and highest resolving, and the colors produced are the richest and most natural.

Second is telecentric design, meaning little to no vignetting and reduced chromatic aberrations. Clean, edge-to-edge crispness, and even exposure throughout the entire image, making the whole frame usable.

Third is aspect ratio. The 4:3 aspect means that I use most of what I shoot, rather than cropping off a huge chunk of it like on a 3:2 aspect sensor (APS-C or Full Frame).

Fourth is dust reduction. Olympus and Panasonic are the only ones who use the SSWF dust reduction system which is the only one which actually works to a usable degree. You can just ask any camera store employee how many Olympus DSLRs they see come back for sensor cleaning, even though every brand claims to have a dust reduction system.

Fifth is In-Body Image Stabilization. That's right, I don't have to carry or pay for the extra weight on every lens. They're all stabilized for me.

Sixth is the best JPG processing engine, keeping the best image quality, detail, and properly balanced colors. I know many of you proudly state that you shoot "RAW only", but I'm sorry... my clients simply don't have the newest RAW engine to handle -MY- camera. I shoot primarily for commercial clients and not consumer, meaning that I want to shoot and go, sending my out-of-camera images to their graphics department to handle and edit them. I need a polished, cross-compatible format, not a proprietary, unfinished format.

Seventh is weather sealing. All High Grade and Super High Grade Zuiko lenses are fully weather sealed to go with the pro Olympus bodies (the E-1, E-3, and E-5) which are also fully weather sealed. The teleconverters as well are fully weather sealed. Olympus weather sealing is matched only by Pentax, which also has an incredible weather sealing system. These are camera systems you can use in any torrential downpour, and can even drop underwater for a short time, as long as you pull it up from the drink right away (it's weather-proof, not waterproof). You can also shoot on sandy beaches and in blowing desert sands without fear. The rugged metal body is also second to none, making it the most durable all-round system you can get in a DSLR. When you have many thousands of dollars sitting in your hands or in the camera bag on your shoulder, this is a huge comfort to know that big investment can't be easily lost to a flash rainstorm, an accidental drop, or what have you.

Eighth is is the crop factor. The Zuiko 35-100mm f/2.0 lens is a 70-200mm f/2.0 equivalent. Incredibly sharp and fast lens. The Zuiko 90-250mm f/2.8 lens is a 180-500mm equivalent. Damn fast lens for a 500mm equivalent! Our 300mm f/2.8 gives the same view as a 600mm f/2.8 for other formats. Does that affect wide angle though?  No, because we have the widest lenses. Your full frame wide angle lens may be 16mm but ours is 7mm, giving you a 14 equivalent. For APS-C you can get a 10mm lens, but that's also a 16mm equivalent.

Ninth is size. Even the heavy, weather sealed E-3 is still lighter than the average pro Nikon or Canon body, which are nowhere near as durable. The huge advantage in size though is with the consumer level bodies, which provide all the features and image quality of the pro-level cameras, but without the bulk. And although the lower-tier bodies are nowhere near as durable as the pro bodies, they're very solidly built and feel great in your hands. And of course, the lenses are much smaller and lighter, part of the reason why being addressed in the last paragraph.

Tenth is cost. Nobody else offers better value. All Olympus and Zuiko products are of the highest quality, but that isn't reflected in the cost. The Super High Grade lenses all took first place for the Top-Pro lens category by EISA when they were released, and all the lower-tier lenses exhibit similarly high image quality, though you would never know it by looking at the price tag. Olympus always puts the best technology they have into every body they make, whatever level it may be (entry level, prosumer, pro level), unlike other makers who only give you full features "if you pay for it", leaving their smaller bodies crippled and limited. With Olympus, the difference in body builds and cost are all quantifiable qualities like build quality, shutter life, size, and weather sealing.

And those are just the Top 10 reasons that come to mind.    I have more reasons than that.

Hey Ned!  I guess you did not have to work late at Olympus Support Center.  It is cool they got you guys on commission now.

I have owned two Olympus Cameras and loved them both.  The last one being the E-520 but I never did realize why until now.  LOL  I did switch over to a Canon Rebel T2I and love it also.  Rebel use to be a bad word but this little baby rocks.

larsen222 wrote:
I like the Smith & Wesson platform for shooting escorts - it just works better than the Nikon

I have 2 Springfield XD40's and a Glock 23 for that same reason =P