Coming in new to the whole SLR world, I am yet to find a conclusive answer to a question that's been bothering me: why are Canon and Nikon the big two? My wife has gone down the Sony route because she has some good old Konica-Minolta lenses from a film SLR but I was wondering whether that's a bad thing.
Is their dominance because Canon and Nikon have the best image technology today? Because they have the biggest range of cameras, lenses and other accessories? Because they have a bigger install base? Or they were just in the right place and the right time with technology advances?
Answer
The biggest single factor I would suggest is the autofocus systems that both manufacturers introduced in the 1980s. This brought professionals to the brands, which demanded more lenses for versatility and thus, today we have very wide reaching lines of autofocus lenses that no other company can currently match.
Once a professional jumps on the ship of one of these brands, it can be quite difficult to switch. The lenses are for the most part not ones that you are going to use on a different brand body. The cost to switch becomes such that you need a compelling argument to switch to another brand.
New photographers often get hooked on the brand by a point and shoot, compact camera, or the less expensive entry level DSLR bodies. Upgrading to the professional or enthusiast lines is more comfortable if we have already been using that brand in some capacity.
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