I know, I know, in the big scheme of things this is kind of like debating which hammer is best. Well… if you build houses there is such a thing as a favorite hammer, one that stands out from the crowd.

I've got both the Nikon D800 and Canon 5D bodies and an array of professional lenses for both of them. These are both of their flagship professional bodies, meaning they're intended for pro use for discerning users who don't have the time to mess around with nonsense.

Us pros use this stuff as tools to pay the mortgage and the kid's college tuition, so it can't fail us and has to be high performance gear out in the field. We're not doing this for a hobby or for fun, so we're on the extreme end of making keenly judicious decisions about high performance camera gear.

At any rate, I've had the Canon 5D MKII since it was new, and it's been in a climate controlled plastic box for nearly five years (there are newer versions of both the Canon and Nikon bodies). It's all in mint, like new condition, including the pro "L" lenses. Why? Easy as pie, man. The Nikon D810 series blows the Canon gear back to last year. In this guy's opinion, there is no contest, the Nikon gear beats the Canon at every turn. So guess which system is getting sold? Yes, the Canon gear.

Bye bye Canon. You're good, but not as good as Nikon. I know that there are lots of Canon enthusiasts out there, and I don't really want to debate with you, I'd much rather sell you this mint condition gear. Hey, if you like rugged Canon gear, buy this stuff. I'll Fedex it to you overnight.

Here's what's for sale:

Canon 5D MKII body, mint condition. Only used for a couple projects.

Canon 17-40 f/4 Pro L lens with Canon filter. Mint condition, looks new

Canon 28-135 f/3.5 Image Stabilization lens, Canon filter, mint condition.

Canon 70-200 f/4 Pro L lens, B+W filter. Looks completely new, only used a couple times.

Two Canon batteries for the 5D and charger.

Email me at larry@larrymcneil.com for a price and shipping information.

High end pro bodies: We pros need a full sized sensor for high quality photographs. I have an easy performance test for pro DSLR bodies. They need to be as fast and reliable as pro film SLR bodies. It's as simple as that. If I end up fussing with a DSLR camera body instead of shooting, that's an obvious negative point in my book. While in the heat of shooting, my mind is at one with the camera and creativity is at the forefront of everything, and I'm not thinking about which camera function would be cool to play with. No kidding, this is how I work and the bottom line is that I don't want to be distracted by a camera.

Pro lenses: A general rule of thumb is to try and get the best quality glass you can afford. This is why I have a preference for Nikkor lenses. Nikkor lenses are more ruggedly built than everyone else in conjunction with making extraordinarily high performance glass, which is a one-two punch that is nearly impossible to beat.

New innovations such as the vibration reduction built into some lenses work very well and they've proven themselves to be reliable. The theory of prime lenses (non-zoom) being the best designs still holds true, especially when you need high performance with something like a 20mm lens with minimal distortions. I'll confess that the Nikkor 24-120 f/4 ED zoom lens is one of my all-time favorite lenses though. Nikkor used pro glass for some of the key lens elements and it's fast and precise. If I could only use one lens, this would be the one because it's so versatile and can deliver impeccably sharp photographs. The autofocus is fast and intuitive to use and you have a wide swath of choices as to how to use it. You know me, I go for speed and precision with no fussing around.

Anyway, this ongoing tussle between Nikon and Canon isn't likely to let up anytime soon. In my opinion, they make each other better because one is always trying to outdo the other. In the end, I'm not really all that sure that one hammer is better than the other, especially if they both do a good job of banging in those nails. In the meantime, want to buy a Canon?

Copyright Larry McNeil, 2015 All Rights Reserved