Another of the questions I am often asked is why I chose Canon equipment over that of other brands. I’ve given that question more thought recently and the answer, I’ve concluded, is advertising. When I was much younger, my first experience with an SLR camera was with my dad’s Asahi Pentax Spotmatic. It was pretty much completely manual, but its ability to use interchangeable lenses for specific purposes always fascinated me. Growing up, and getting to see different parts of the world, my interest in animals and nature grew. We had a subscription to National Geographic Magazine and a whole slew of back issues that we kept in our library. I would constantly go through all the issues looking for stories about wildlife, and dream of being able to travel the world to get similar stories and images. Not every issue was about wildlife, but you could always count on an advertisement from Canon to feature a new species. The advertisements were titled “Wildlife as Canon sees it”. Each magazine had a different advertisement that highlighted one Canon’s long white telephoto lenses that was used to capture a spectacular image of a rare species.
When I started working part-time and made enough money to afford an SLR camera of my own, I knew that Canon was the brand that I wanted. A trip down to the local Service Merchandise also revealed that Canon made one of the most affordable SLRs, the EOS Rebel. Like many would be photographers I had delusions of grandeur when I got my first SLR. I quickly found out that it was not easy to get those spectacular shots; at least not with the EF 28-80mm lens that the camera came with. So I invested in a telephoto zoom lens the EF 75-300mm lens and a Speedlite 200E. They made things a little better, but not by much, as my reach was still limited. Despite the limitations, I enjoyed using the EOS Rebel and decided that it would take wonderful pictures during a trip to Costa Rica. I was excited because I was finally on a trip to an exotic locale with a camera in tow. The camera performed well enough, although my shooting skills were less than spectacular at the time. A week or so later, the EOS Rebel started acting funny and the EF 28-80mm lens wouldn’t work at all. This was my first lesson that travel photography requires good equipment. It seems that moisture had made its way into the camera and lens from the high humidity of the Costa Rican rainforest. The camera could be repaired, but the lens could not. A week and a few hundred dollars later I walked out of the camera store with a new EOS 28-80mm lens and a repaired EOS Rebel. I put the camera away and didn’t touch it again for quite some time.
The digital camera revolution took place and once again I was intrigued by the new digital SLR technology. So what brand do I purchase? Well, Canon of course. Justifying that I can still use my almost new 28-80mm lens and 70-300mm zoom, I would once again become a great wildlife photographer.
So, why Canon? For the advertising. In addition to the ads in National Geographic magazine, Canon also sponsored one of my favorite shows on PBS, Nature. So Canon, to me, was synonymous with great wildlife photography. Speaking of which, one of the shows I’ve been enjoying lately on PBS (WLRN) are repeats of Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. It’s also sponsored by Canon.
