7D vs. 5D MarkII

[azul]

To get more precise, a normal lens describes a field of view through the camera that looks natural. Typically it is figured by the diagonal of the format. So a 5D is a 24mmx36mm chip with a diagonal of 43.3mm. So, with that in mind, camera manufactures decided that the normal lens for a 35mm (FF) camera would be 50mm.

A Canon APS C chip is 16.7x25.1mm with a diagonal of 30.1mm. This is why Sigma came out with their 30mm 1.4 and it is geared to be a good normal lens for "cropped" cameras.

More reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_lens

[Basscase]

New page bump reminder...

So my 30th bday is coming up and I'm doing everything in my power to come up with a 5DII.

CL is pretty short on offerings. There are a few (they always range from $1600-$1800 body only, sometimes with a grip). Seattle has a few around $1400 most with pretty high shutter counts though.

Anybody have any ideas on where else to look for good deals? I know about Canon Loyalty program, but that sounds like a hassle to buy (if I can even find) a broken 5D then ship it to Canon.

Keep an eye on Ebay? And why am I seeing kits on Ebay with EF-S lenses? Simply because they are shady sellers?

KEH.com is a great place to buy used gear.

Thanks! I'll keep an eye there too!

[sonicGLI]

I have a 5DII that I've been thinking about throwing up on fredmiranda.com/forum for sale (to go towards buying another 5DIII) which is rarely used anymore since buying the 5DIII (and was a backup to my previous 5DII that I sold to buy my current 5DIII).

I'm not sure I'm ready to sell it, but PM me an offer and we'll see if we can work something out. It's in pristine condition. In fact, you probably saw me using it as a second body a couple months ago

[Basscase]

I have a 5DII that I've been thinking about throwing up on fredmiranda.com/forum for sale (to go towards buying another 5DIII) which is rarely used anymore since buying the 5DIII (and was a backup to my previous 5DII that I sold to buy my current 5DIII).

I'm not sure I'm ready to sell it, but PM me an offer and we'll see if we can work something out. It's in pristine condition. In fact, you probably saw me using it as a second body a couple months ago

PM sent!

[sonicGLI]

Replied

[Bubba 2.0 GLS]

Surprised no one mentioned this video.




Personally I would go with the 5DII. It's a good camera if you can look pass the spotty AF system.

[sonicGLI]

Surprised no one mentioned this video.




Personally I would go with the 5DII. It's a good camera if you can look pass the spotty AF system.

I pretty much agree with that video, except for the AF system (FYI, I've owned one 7D and 3 5DII's and 2 5D's before that). Sure, it's not as good for fast moving objects. But center, or even one of the outer, focus dots works wonders. I shoot products and weddings all year long and I have yet to miss a vital shot because of the 5D's focus system; I've missed vital shots because of me, but not the camera You just have to get used to working with the AF system.

I sold my 7D a few months back, which was a 3rd body. At weddings, it just wasn't up to par in low light compared with the 5D (not even close, actually) and I was always having to back way up (I like to be right close up to the action) when I was using the 7D. To cure that, I'd have to carry even more lenses just to satisfy the lack of short coverage by the 7D (specifically, EF-S lenses). For weddings, I thought the 7D would be perfect with the 70-200L/2.8 attached, but actually shot my foot a few times because I couldn't zoom out enough as people moved closer to me. I find the 70-200 and 5D are a match made in heaven for the room dimensions of most weddings. Not to mention, the f2.8 simply wasn't fast enough for the 7D and higher ISO's were too grainy in comparison to the 5DII's.

If I were shooting sports, sure, I'd probably want the 7D because of faster frame-rate, further [crop] reach and horizontal AF performance (although, I shot all automotive races in my portfolio with the original 5D and/or the 5DII ).

The 5DIII is simply a whole other level WITH an amazing AF system.

[Basscase]

^^^ Great shootout! Pretty much my sentiments EXACTLY!

I use center point focus then recompose. When they complain about the auto focus on the 5D, are they talking about the auto focus points, or the focus in general?

[sonicGLI]

They are usually talking about focus in general. I mean, it is an older system and it was VERY good that they updated it. But, for real-world use, it was rarely an issue as long as you were comfortable using it a certain way. It's a legendary camera for a reason and event photographers have a love affair with the thing.

Apparently, there were also some issues with earlier copies where the 3-point extended horizontal focus system didn't work very well. I believe it was fixed quickly, I've never had the issue on mine.

Basically, think of the AF system (and 5DII in general) as a Ferrari F40. It was the best Ferrari in its time but is technically antiquated. However, it's still one of the best/fastest Ferrari's even by today's standards and is considered a legend.

[sonicGLI]

Also, like the dude in the video said, "in the end, I want my 50mm lens to be a 50mm lens when I'm shooting with a 50mm lens."

[Bubba 2.0 GLS]

To me the 5DIII is what the 5DII should have been, but that's another topic altogether. Though I regret selling my 5DIII, I am happy to be back with Nikon.

The focus and recompose technique is perfect for the 5DII. What people dislike about the focusing system is the outer points and low light focusing. They seem to be hit or miss at times and it can hunt for focus in dark situations. It's a knock on the camera but the 5DII is still great when you nail that shot.

I wouldn't stress it though. Get the 5DII and enjoy it, it may be old but still can work wonders.

Just know this once you go Full Frame its hard to go back to a DX DSLR.

[sonicGLI]

To me the 5DIII is what the 5DII should have been, but that's another topic altogether. Though I regret selling my 5DIII, I am happy to be back with Nikon.

Must not have been highly invested in glass! Even if I wanted to jump to the dark side, I'd be knee-deep in losses just getting rid of all my lenses, Canon adapters, etc.

The focus and recompose technique is perfect for the 5DII.

Yeah, that's what I use 99% of the time.

What people dislike about the focusing system is the outer points and low light focusing. They seem to be hit or miss at times and it can hunt for focus in dark situations.

I've heard this off and on, but I have no trouble with either. I'm consistently nailing low light shots in churches, shade, low light, etc. I've never had the outer focus point issue.

I wouldn't stress it though. Get the 5DII and enjoy it, it may be old but still can work wonders.

"Can work wonders"? I think you mean, "WILL work wonders." Hilarious that we call these things "old" lol. The 5DII is just as amazing as it was on launch day, I will never out-grow its capabilities. It will be a sad day when I get rid of my last 5DII

Just know this once you go Full Frame its hard to go back to a DX DSLR.

Definitely agree with that! When you utilize the full height/width of your lenses, it's an eye-opener for those who've never shot full frame.

[Basscase]

It will be a sad day when I get rid of my last 5DII

Which will HOPEFULLY be soon!

And quitcherbitchin...you'll be getting rid of it for ANOTHER MKIII.

[sonicGLI]

Bastard

[Bubba 2.0 GLS]

Must not have been highly invested in glass! Even if I wanted to jump to the dark side, I'd be knee-deep in losses just getting rid of all my lenses, Canon adapters, etc.

I swapped from a D700 to a 5DIII then about a month of not using it due to zero work and being in the hospital I went back to a Nikon D700 for just in case jobs. I had a better understanding of the Nikon controls then the Canon controls. If I was using it a lot I would still have the 5DIII.

I had some glass, but nothing crazy only a 85/1.8, 135/2, 50/1.4, 35/2 in Canon mount. So it wasn't a hit when I swapped back over to Nikon. Minus the little things like the PW Flex and Mini units.

I've heard this off and on, but I have no trouble with either. I'm consistently nailing low light shots in churches, shade, low light, etc. I've never had the outer focus point issue.

I encountered that issue using my schools 5DII for a while. If I shot 10 photos using the outer points maybe half would be keepers I ended up using the focus recompose technique a majority of the time. Could have been old firmware though, never kept up with it.

"Can work wonders"? I think you mean, "WILL work wonders." Hilarious that we call these things "old" lol. The 5DII is just as amazing as it was on launch day, I will never out-grow its capabilities. It will be a sad day when I get rid of my last 5DII

I say "Can" because it really is up to the photographer, the camera is a tool.

In terms of technology our cameras (5DII and D700) are old and replaced by something "greater". I still love my D700 and its "old" by today standard, but still produces great image quality at high ISO.

[sonicGLI]

I swapped from a D700 to a 5DIII then about a month of not using it due to zero work and being in the hospital I went back to a Nikon D700 for just in case jobs. I had a better understanding of the Nikon controls then the Canon controls. If I was using it a lot I would still have the 5DIII.

Out of curiosity, what made you switch to Canon?

I encountered that issue using my schools 5DII for a while. If I shot 10 photos using the outer points maybe half would be keepers I ended up using the focus recompose technique a majority of the time. Could have been old firmware though, never kept up with it.

Yeah, mine's no the latest firmware. The 5DII is kind of an anomaly in the Canon lineup. We're used to waiting a year or more for even a hint of a firmware upgrade from them. But the cinema users completely changed the game and Canon had to keep creating new firmware to fix issues and add features, so they really did fix a lot of problems from release to the latest firmware.

In terms of technology our cameras (5DII and D700) are old and replaced by something "greater". I still love my D700 and its "old" by today standard, but still produces great image quality at high ISO.

Yeah, just crazy that technology moves so fast when, IMO, very few have mastered the six month old stuff!

[Bubba 2.0 GLS]

I made the switch to Canon because of a few reasons.

First and foremost was the idea of learning videography. Nikon at the time only had the D7000 with 1080p which I did not like. Nikon was going to release the D800 but 36mp was way too much for my needs in all honesty and the replacement camera needed to have at most 24mp with an sraw format.

I loved the 5DII images out of camera. Nikon has more of a neutral tone where as Canon has a warm chip to me. The downfall of the 5DII was the autofocus, when you own a D700 and can scatter the focus points, shoot in dark environments, its great. When I heard the 5DIII was coming out I jumped on the waiting list the moment it was announced. It was everything I wanted in a camera.

The last reason was my cousin was just learning photography and instead of picking up a Nikon he bought a Canon T3i with a kit lens. So I figured I help him out with letting him borrow lenses.

The reason I went back to Nikon was because I never had a chance to dive into the 5DIII and know the controls, limitations of the system. With my father being in the hospital and photography being a source of income learning on the job would be extremely bad. So I had to go back and pick up a D700 again for just in case. Plus the D800 has grown on me as a camera I could use for quite a bit of work, so I may end up picking up one and leaving the D700 as my backup.



So Bass are you getting the 5DII?

[Basscase]

So Bass are you getting the 5DII?

ASAP.

[Basscase]

So Bass are you getting the 5DII?

Yup I did!

Thanks Shane!

I did my first shoot this weekend with it (HS Senior/Family portraits, outdoors). Good God this thing is a dream! I played around with it for a few days before the shoot, got it all set up the way i like it and got used to the interface. With the XSi you have to hold a button down while you turn the dial to change aperture. I love the quick mode on the 5DII. You really don't have to take your eye off the viewfinder...ever.

The lack of noise on it fricken amazing too. Exactly what I was hoping it would be! Even at ISO 2000+, it has less noise than my XSi at 600-800. Obviously at ISO boost 1 or 2 the images are pretty much useless, I can't imagine a use for that setting, but it was fun to try. Haven't really done anything over ISO 2000 though (except for trying out the ISO boost modes).

However, on my 55-200 Sigma I get HORRENDOUS vignetting at most of the focal ranges though. Kind of a bummer, but the images are pretty sharp. It is a cheaper lens, so I'll let it slide.

My 50mm is THE BOMB on it though! I only switched away from it once during the entire portrait shoot. Yeah, I had to get all up their business for close ups, but the results are astounding.

So glad I made the jump!!!! I actually don't feel bad for charging people now.

[sonicGLI]

Was gonna ask how you're liking it, guess you answered that

FYI, a full-frame, huge-censor camera will completely show the weakness of cheap/bad glass because there is no crop factor, you're seeing edges of your lens that you've never seen before. Generally speaking, the further from center, the worse glass gets (ie, vignetting). It definitely shows you which lenses are good glass and which aren't.

[Basscase]

Was gonna ask how you're liking it, guess you answered that

FYI, a full-frame, huge-censor camera will completely show the weakness of cheap/bad glass because there is no crop factor, you're seeing edges of your lens that you've never seen before. Generally speaking, the further from center, the worse glass gets (ie, vignetting). It definitely shows you which lenses are good glass and which aren't.

Yeah, that's what I figured. It'll have to do for now though. It's really the worst at 100mm+. I have a better 75-300 Canon I can use for the longer end of things.

Did I mention I love this camera?

Oh and get this...my birthday morning, my wife comes into the room waking me up saying "Please don't get mad...I was just trying to put the other lens on and I heard a crack." Yup...she tried to put the EF-S lens on. Even after I told her that lens won't work on it. She must have not heard...

She then proceeds to hold out her hands, in one hand the body, the other, a little semi-transparent plastic piece...about the size a full-frame sensor. I sh!t my pants for a second, then realize it's just the focus screen. But we were in Eugene and I didn't know if they have any decent camera shops that would have a new one in stock. And I had a shoot booked the very next day. Thank God they did, and it was only 20 bucks.

What a way to wake up on your birthday!

[sonicGLI]

lol, I would have definitely shat myself

[peoples_car]

I hope she made it up to you

[Basscase]

I hope she made it up to you

If by "made it up" to me you mean "not let me come with her to get the part and leave me with our 4 month old daughter all day as she did some shopping and prepping for the party of 30 or so people we were having with 6 other people who turned or are turning 50 around the same time who were all friends of my in-laws and I didn't know any of them while my own friends and family completely pu55ed out on me leaving me to essentially get drunk entirely alone amongst 30 people that I didn't know and who didn't even know it was my actual birthday."

Then yes she totally made it up to me!

Worst. 30th birthday. Ever.

At least I bought MYSELF a 5D!

[sonicGLI]

Jesus man! At least you're a cup-is-half-full kinda guy. I'd have gotten drunk, mooned everybody, cursed at the ceiling for 10 minutes without stopping and passed out in the middle of everyone with my bare ass in the air.

[Basscase]

Jesus man! At least you're a cup-is-half-full kinda guy. I'd have gotten drunk, mooned everybody, cursed at the ceiling for 10 minutes without stopping and passed out in the middle of everyone with my bare ass in the air.

Now that would be a 30th to remember!

[peoples_car]

If by "made it up" to me you mean "not let me come with her to get the part and leave me with our 4 month old daughter all day as she did some shopping and prepping for the party of 30 or so people we were having with 6 other people who turned or are turning 50 around the same time who were all friends of my in-laws and I didn't know any of them while my own friends and family completely pu55ed out on me leaving me to essentially get drunk entirely alone amongst 30 people that I didn't know and who didn't even know it was my actual birthday."

That's pretty much the complete opposite of what I meant.

Thread topic related; I ended up watching that 5d v 7d comparison posted above and WOW...I have been shooting a lot of concerts lately (and will continue to do so for a while) and I might ditch Nikon for a 5dII/50f/1.4 combo and call it a day. That noise test was all I needed to see!

[Bubba 2.0 GLS]

Welcome to the Full Frame club .


Now your wife killing your focusing screen on your b-day... I think I would have cried, but then I would have realized "upgrade time" and told her to get you a 5DIII .

peoples_car, I suggest you look at the Nikon D700 or D600 before you make that switch.

[Basscase]

So after shooting with it for about two weeks, I'm finding I have to re-teach myself to frame my subjects. I've always used center focus point, then re-composed. Now there is so much frame to work with I'm not used to having to re-compose so much.

I fvcking love this thing more and more every day.

[sonicGLI]

Glad my gear went to a good home!

[Basscase]

Glad my gear went to a good home!

Indeed! I'm updating the firmware as I type.

[Village Idiot™]

So after shooting with it for about two weeks, I'm finding I have to re-teach myself to frame my subjects. I've always used center focus point, then re-composed. Now there is so much frame to work with I'm not used to having to re-compose so much.

I fvcking love this thing more and more every day.

It's been one of my favorite cameras. I was debating on selling it and switching to Nikon at one point, but the D700 didn't have the video capabilities. It wasn't because of the image quality so much as the fact that I'm on my 3rd shutter assemble

Ended up with the dreaded Err 300 3 times on this thing. If I sold it, It would probably have a shutter count of less than 1000 shots right now even though there's closer to 5k or more on the camera body.

[sonicGLI]

It's been one of my favorite cameras. I was debating on selling it and switching to Nikon at one point, but the D700 didn't have the video capabilities. It wasn't because of the image quality so much as the fact that I'm on my 3rd shutter assemble

Ended up with the dreaded Err 300 3 times on this thing. If I sold it, It would probably have a shutter count of less than 1000 shots right now even though there's closer to 5k or more on the camera body.

I think you mean Err 30. I've heard of people having Err 30. An assistant of mine had a 5DII and had Err30 during a wedding. It would only happen at a certain focal length with a Tamron lens she was using. She stopped using it and only used Canon or higher quality lenses from there on out and never had the error again. On my first 5D (series I) I had an Err20, but a simple remove/replace of the battery cleared it. That is my entire experience with Canon errors and I've owned 2 5DI's and 3 5DII's and am now on my first 5DIII. Knock on wood.

[sonicGLI]

Oh, and I've read that it's wise to update to the latest firmware, apparently each version contains fixes for various errors (unless they're hardware related, obviously)

[Village Idiot™]

Oh, and I've read that it's wise to update to the latest firmware, apparently each version contains fixes for various errors (unless they're hardware related, obviously)

Typo, should have been 30. I've used nothing but Canon glass on my 5D. The first two times it happened the battery thing wouldn't fix it. The third it did and I never saw it again, which scared me because the first two times it was sent to Canon and the entire shutter assembly was replaced. When the Err30 would pop up, the shutter had a really flaccid sound to it and you could tell it wasn't working correctly. I'm on my 3rd assembly (2nd replacement) and haven't had any problems since then. The first one was like 2 months after owning it. The 2nd one was out of warranty and they fixed it under warranty. I would have really gone off on them if they wouldn't have since it was the same issue. The third time I couldn't do anything about because it started working again and I couldn't send in a working camera. I've never had any issue with any of my other Canons.