Professional Camera Body

[RiverCity]

I have been using a Canon D60 and have been pleased with it. It has about 18 Megs of pixals. I have found that to be quite suffiencet in what I have done up todate. I do figure more is better

Now I am looking for get a full frame camera. I am trying to decide between Canon and Nikon. Both cmaeras appear to close enough in price. I ma will be using this camera for many family events protraits etc. I do have 2 young children and they will be in sports. I will be getting lences in the f2.8 from about 15 mm all the way up to 200 MM (I know it will be several different lenses.)
Video will be important after all it is a family camera. My Caon does not do AF on video (or at least I do not know how to do). I do understnad the Nikon does this as a stadnard feature.

I am figuring to spend between $2000 to $3500 for the body. I am looking at this as a one time purchase and want to get something that will last a long time and provide good pictures. I am probably looking for the little tings that will make one better then the other.

I understnad Nikon as a better auto ISO then Canon ?

I really do not think that I would go worng with either but do wnat to make the decision.

Thanks for your help

[Mr Darcy]

Hi and welcome.
Don't forget to add a meaningful location to your location. This will allow us to help you better. For example we are having a meet in Bondi (Sydney Australia) this weekend where you would be able to play with many if not all of the cameras on your shortlist.

On to your question.
Yes either brand would be fine as would Pentax and others.

You already have a Canon. and I assume some lenses to go with it. Are you planning to get rid of the lenses as well as the body? If not, then you are limited to Canon. If so, then you can get anything.
Why dd you get a Canon in the first place? Are these reasons still valid? If so than that is your answer. If not, then go into a store and have a play with the bodies on your shortlist. Do the controls make sense? How does it fit in your hands? These are far more important questions than how many megapixels does it have? To my mind Nikon works better than Canon, so I have a Nikon. I know others who can't get their head around Nikon's layout & they have Canon (or Pentax or...) I also find the Nikons are more consistent across bodies so I can pick up a D200 or D800 or D7000 or D3 and be able to use them straight away. If I pick up a Canon I struggle to even turn it on. And once I work it out the Next Canon model seems to have a completely different system.

Megapixels: These are way overrated. Once you get above 12 you have to jump up to about 40 to get a meaningful increase in resolution & then you start to run into other issues like the diffraction limit. Also increasing Megapixels will affect frame rate. With sport you want a rapid frame rate. The 36Mp D800 fires at 5fps as against the 16Mp D4 which can fire at 11 Fps.

Crop Sensor Vs "Full Frame" Don't write off crop as inferior. There are many circumstances where crop is actually BETTER than full frame. And you mention one on your list of planned activities - Sport. With sport photography you are invariably on the sidelines trying to get close to the action. A crop sensor will get you 50% closer than a full frame with any given lens. A 200mm lens on a Crop body will get you just as close as a 300mm on a FullFrame. That is a big saving in Dollars (compare the Nikon 200 f/2 @$6000 against the 300 f/2.8 @$7500) and weight.

If you do decide to stay with Canon, you can always put off the purchase of the body, and just start upgrading your lenses. I had a full full frame lens kit long before I bought into full frame bodies. This would defray the expense somewhat.

[RiverCity]

More about my situation.
I have a kit camera without any high end lenses. I think I am at a point right now that photography has my interest and I could still go either way with a camera brand. I am not planning to get rid of my current camera as it does take really nice pics. Kind of thinking about making it my abused camera for those play hard photo’s
I want to kind of make a decision on a camera body before I invest in any high end lenses. If I buy a high end lens now for the canon I would consider myself stuck with Cannon as I will not repurchase lenses to go with a different brand. I really do not think that there is enough difference between the two.
I have to admit Pixels are not my concern I currently can have up to 18meg and probably shot at 12meg which is still probably too high. But if you have it might as well use it.
I have to admit I am starting to see the advantages of the crop censors increase zoom. (Played more with it actually last night)
Do you think that one camera has a better feature or add on that might sway my vote: Something that a layman probably wouldn’t know or be concerned about. ISO flexibility of the Nikon sounds really nice in the Nikon one of my instructors in a class I took spoke of. Although it does seem like I have that ability with my current cannon also.
I am planning to make a big purchase and want to try and make a good informed decision
Thanks again for all of your help