diglloyd Comparison of the Nikon D2X With the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II

In 2000, I predicted to the late Galen Rowell (www.mountainlight.com) that the advent of a 16-megapixel digital SLR would be the end of 35mm film for most purposes.  While Galen was skeptical, I maintained a firm conviction that this would come to pass within a few years (and sadly, Galen, a outstanding human being, is not here to see it).

So much new photographic technology in recent years has left even the most jaded photographer impressed.  Not only has number of megapixels ballooned, but the low levels of image "noise", improved color accuracy, greater storage capacity and camera speed have all made major strides forward.   The announcement last autumn of the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, and the subsequent announcement of the Nikon D2X, made me sit back and carefully study the pros and cons of these two new digital SLRs.  This article reports what I have discovered about the Nikon D2X over the last six weeks and about the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II over the last five months.

For a long time I had relied on my trusty 4X5 view camera for serious photography, along with my compact Nikon F100 35mm film camera, but I bought a Nikon D1 when Nikon went digital in 1998 and have had the desire to go completely digital every since.  I had been considering trying a Canon camera so as to compare it with my Nikon, so in November 2004 I purchased the 16.7-megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II digital SLR (hereafter referred to as 1DsMII), a huge increase in resolution over my 6-megapixel Nikon D70 and an irresistible attraction, since I had longed for such a high-resolution camera for some time.

In March 2005, I followed up by purchasing the 12.2-megapixel Nikon D2X  (having retained my extensive Nikon lens collection).  Deciding which system to keep was no easy decision--and I'll reveal what that decision was by the end of this article, as well as what I've decided about my 4X5 view camera.

• An overview of the general considerations in choosing one of these two cameras, including sensor and pixel size, lens selection, etc.

• Subjective image quality, with many sample photos, many of them stitched, with actual pixels crops.

• Lens evaluations—you won't want to miss this section, which required many laborious hours to assemble.  These are short, but concise evaluations of each of these lenses, not complete lens reviews, but they are still very helpful.
  Canon 24/f1.4L, 35mm/f1.4L, 35/f2.8 PC Nikkor, 50mm/f1.4, 50mm/f2.5 macro, 85mm/f1.8, 85/f1.2L, 100/f2.8 macro, 135/f2L, 180/f3.5L macro, 200/f2.8L, 200/f1.8L, 300/f2.8L IS, 400/f4 DO, 16-35/f2.8L, 17-40/f2.8L, 24-70/f2.8L, 70-200/f2.8L IS, 70-200/f4L
  Nikon 10.5mm/f2.8 DX fisheye, 24/f2 AIS, Nikon 28/f1.4, 28/f2 AIS, 28/f3.5 PC Nikkor, 35/f1.4 AIS Nikkor, 35/f2.8 PC Nikkor, 50/f1.4D, 50/f1.8 Nikkor AIS (several variants), 58/f1.2 Noct-Nikkor, PC-Micro-Nikkor 85/f2.8, 85/f1.4D, 105/f2DC, 135/f2DC, 200/f2 VR, 12-24mm/f4 DX, 17-35mm/f2.8 AFS, 17-55mm/f2.8 AFS DX, 28-70/f2.8 AFS, 70-200/f2.8 VR, 200-400/f4 VR, 50-300/f4.5 ED AIS.

• Direct resolution comparison on four distinctly different subjects that clearly shows the potential of both cameras.

• Useability, where I spell out all the numerous distinct issues and concerns I've found--the types of things you find out only after you purchase and use the camera for some time.

• Noise and dynamic range comparison.  The results may surprise you.

• Long exposures (D2X only).

• Depth of field, how it differs between the cameras, and why it matters.

• A discussion of the bokeh of lenses

• D2X compressed vs uncompressed RAW file quality

The review is approximately 86 megabytes in size due to the size and number of the example photos.  They are of sufficient number and quality to be very revealing of how these two cameras perform.   No review I've seen of either of these cameras even comes close to what this review offers for image samples.  The amount of text and commentary is moderate;  this review is weighted towards examples, together with commentary on them.

A note on the Canon vs Nikon debate

Some individuals who have an affinity for one brand or another take offense at any article or discussion in which a shortcoming of “their” brand is pointed out.   Surely it's clear that Canon has greatly improved the 1Ds Mark II since the original 1Ds.  The same is true for the Nikon D2X as compared with the Nikon D1X—yet perfection has certainly not been achieved.

This article points out merits and shortcomings of both cameras.  The author has been criticized in online forums by those who haven't read the review, based on postings by those who have read the review, that the D2X “comes out on top”.  The truth is that both cameras are outstanding and you can't go wrong with either one.

The expressed preference of any photographer for one camera over another should be relevant only if that preference is based on objective considerations which are consistent with your considerations.  Buy this article if you want to make your own decision as to which camera is best for your particular work, based on real-world side-by-side shooting.  The goal of this article is to make that choice easier.

What does it cost?

Still not sure it's worth it? See the free Depth of Field section posted at . This is just one topic of the much larger review.

The review costs $34 USD, payable via paypal (preferred) or personal check.  The review is licensed to a single person only; providing it to someone else in any form is prohibited—thank you for respecting the time and effort that went into preparing it.

If you want to receive the review on CD, shipping and handling is $10 for USA/Canada; this covers burning the CD, and mailing costs.  Contact diglloyd first if you are outside the USA or Canada.

PLEASE READ:  Within 24 hours of receipt of payment, digLloyd will email you a URL and a password to download the review.  You will receive this information even if you choose the CD version.  The password is usually good for two days.  If you run out of time, simply email info@diglloyd.com for a new password.

Please note that I do not yet have an automated system for supplying the URL/password, so please do not expect an immediate response.  I am in California (USA) and usually take care of all outstanding requests by 10pm PST.  Also, I sometimes run into problems responding--my emails are sometimes rejected by overly zealous anti-spam filters. I've also seen "mailbox full" problems, etc.  If you do not hear from me within 24 hours, check this list to see if you're on it (I don't use your full email, so your privacy is maintained).

This article is no longer available for purchase.  Please see D2X vs EOS instead.