Digital BW, The Print

"Off the top of my head the 12-24mm (18-36) which I used for two years on my
D100 before Canon got around to coming up with a ³match² for it.
A 10-22."

Keep in mind that Canon didn't 'need' a wide angle like this, because it had
a full frame sensor already in the marketplace. The 10-22mm just filled in
the gap in the marketplace for those who could not or would not purchase a
1Ds.

"Nikons flash was well ahead of Canons until the past year and a half when
they may have finally caught up.
Before that ask any Pro you could never trust your Canon flash"

Very true. I would still make the argument that the Nikon flash system is
still superior.

"And this was well after Canon came out with their brainwashing campaign
with the white lenses for the fashion runway and other high profile
photojournist photographers giving the impression that everyone had switched
to Canon."

Canon has white / tan exteriors to help on reducing the amount of heat
inside of the lens housings. Apparently the flourite inside is adversly
affected by heat buildup, and the light-toned nature of the exterior paint
helps reflect the heat away.

"When the F4 came out the EOS which also came out had faster AutoFocus.
When the F5 came out it was faster than Canons offerings.
We are now on the F6."

You are forgetting that the 1-series Canon cameras have 45 autofocus points.
Accuracy is just as important as how fast the camera can focus.

"The Rebel was a toy compared to Nikons D70 which solidly won the sweeps
last year."

True, but the newest Rebel offering isn't as crippled as the first one. This
was more of a marketing routine than what Canon or Nikon 'can' produce for x
dollars. Just more about offering more than the other guy. Canon came to
market first with their Rebel, so they blinked first and had to guess what
the D70 would have.

"³Full Frame² digital (24x36) is blown way out of proportion in it¹s
usefulness. And people forget you can shoot full frame digital with Nikon."

Oh really? Which model, because Nikon doesn't have a full frame digital
camera. The Kodak accepts Nikon mount lens designs, but it isn't a Nikon
camera. It is a solution for people who have Nikon lenses, but it isn't a
Nikon camera. Full frame, in my opinion, is quite useful and not blown out
of proportion. The problem lies in the current lenses that are on the
market. Ask anybody who used to use a 24mm tilt/shift lens on 35mm film what
he thinks about doing the same with a 1.3 or 1.6 crop camera. Or a portrait
photographer that uses the 85mm f/1.2 or 135mm f/2 lenses. My point is that
at this current time there are no alternative lenses to use, other than a
few zooms, that can be used for these types of purposes. So full frame
really can be important for those who make a living actually taking
photographs.

Sorry for the rebuttal, but making passionate and one-sided 'drink the
cool-ade' debates should be pointed out as such. I am a former Nikon
shooter, and I just don't care what equipment I shoot with. I just want
equipment that fits my own individual needs. I choose the right tools for
the right job.