Help deciding between 7D and 5DII

[nancydav]

Hi,
This is my first post! I want to upgrade from Canon 50D to either 7D or 5DII. I also want to buy the 24-105 L lens. I know I will lose the reach of my lenses with the full frame, but won't the pictures be better? I have the 17-55 L IS lens that I know won't fit the 5D, but will 24 be wide enough on a full frame? I kind of want the 5DII before they're gone....can't afford the 5DIII, but not sure what to do. Help, please.

[Geoff F]

Firstly. Will the photos be better with a more expensive camera? Simple answer, No. Virtually no difference between a 50D and a 5D because the body is just a box for holding the lens.

OK, for specific purposes like needing extra pixels for really large prints or faster burst rates (if you need them) etc there may be slight differences. But an expensive camera won't instantly turn you into a better photographer.

This issue has recently been discussed here Should I be worried...

I would say that your first question should be. When currently shooting with your 50D, do you mostly want to get closer or further away from the subject to get the best framing?

When updating my 40D (because it broke) I looked at the same issue and the answer was easy. I mostly photograph wildlife or other fairly long shots; so the 7D was my obvious choice. For somebody who mostly took fairly close up portraits, or wide landscapes, the best option would be a 5D.

I use the 24-105 and it is a decent lens; although for me, the 70-200 L IS is a better lens. But 24 mm on a crop camera is more than sufficient. That isn't the answer for everyone.

Depending on your budget, getting better lenses for your current 50D may be a better solution in the short term. Remember the lens is the most important item. You can always upgrade the camera later and still use those lenses. Providing you purchase wisely.

So, what we really need to know is more about what you currently photograph, and what your aspirations will be with a new camera.

[Snarkbyte]

Hi, Nancy, and welcome to CiC.
We really need more information about the kind of photography you're interested in, before we can offer any meaningful advice. (Sports/action? wildlife? portraits? landscape? what about video?) Both the 7D and 5DII are good bodies, but full frame is not necessarily "better". The 24mm focal length on the 5DII is actually slightly wider than the 17mm focal length on the 50D or 7D ( 17mm x 1.6 crop factor = 27.2mm ). Also, the 7D focuses faster and more reliably than the 5DII.

[Manfred M]

but won't the pictures be better

NO...

Just because you have a more expensive camera, doesn't mean you will get better pictures. I have both a crop frame and a fuull-frame camera and I am willing to bet you won't be able to tell which camera I for a specific image used unless you look at the metadata. The same comment goes for lenses, I can show you images I used a cheap kit lens on and an expensive pro lens, and again, I suggest you will be hard-pressed to identify which lens I used.

The photographer makes the picture, not the camera or lens.

A more expensive camera and lens do offer some advantages, especially if you are hitting the limits of your existing gear, and to me that is the only reason for upgrading. I was missing shots because of technical limitations of the equipment.

For instance I can see a difference in quality between my two cameras when I do a very large print; but if I post to the web or view on my computer screen, no I can't tell the difference.

A fast pro lens will give me a much shallower depth of field than an amateur lens, if I shoot wide open or nearly wide open. This is the main reason I spent the money on these. They also have much smoother zoom so capturing somthing that is moving and having to recompose continuously is far better on a high end lens - one my pro lenses I can adjust the focal length with just one finger, while I need my hand on less expensive lenses.

The bottom line is that a better camera / lens will not necessarily give you better pictures, regardless of what Canon's marketing literature trys to tell you. It can give you better pictures, but that really depends on your skill level, the shooting conditions and your output.

Here is my test: Each of the following images was shot with one of the following camera / lens combinations. Can you figure out which one was used?

1. Point & Shoot;
2. Crossover / Superzoom camera;
3. Crop frame camera with amateur lens;
4. Crop frame camera with pro lens; and
5. Full frame camera with pro lens.



(A)


(B)


(C)


(D)

(E)



Answers:

(A) Crop frame with pro lens - 12MP;
(B) Crop frame with amateur lens - 12-MP;
(C) Full-frame with pro lens - 36MP;
(D) Point & Shoot - 4MP; and
(E) Crossover / Superzoom - 5MP.

[Melkus]

Both have there good points and bad points. Snapsort gives the 5D MarkII the win with a score of 80 vs 69 for the 7D as we can see from this report.
http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon_EO...s-Canon_EOS_7D
But as Al said more info on what your going to do would help us.

[nancydav]

Hi,
This is my first post! I want to upgrade from Canon 50D to either 7D or 5DII. I also want to buy the 24-105 L lens. I know I will lose the reach of my lenses with the full frame, but won't the pictures be better? I have the 17-55 L IS lens that I know won't fit the 5D, but will 24 be wide enough on a full frame? I kind of want the 5DII before they're gone....can't afford the 5DIII, but not sure what to do. Help, please.

Thanks...I have a 100mm 2.8 for macro and the 70-300 L IS. I mostly shoot landscapes, travel photography of my vacations, wildlife ( when I can) and at the zoo, my dog. Don't really do portraits at all. I want to get better at my craft.

[Melkus]

Thanks...I have a 100mm 2.8 for macro and the 70-300 L IS. I mostly shoot landscapes, travel photography of my vacations, wildlife ( when I can) and at the zoo, my dog. Don't really do portraits at all. I want to get better at my craft.

As they say " The best camera to use is the one you got" Have you really use your 50D and know it in side out, not trying to talking you out of buying another but I always found there something new learn.

[Melkus]

Was thinking here a photo of a shot I did with a point and shoot camera, I might be wrong but I don't think the 7D or 5DII could have done much better

[almanzam]

^ If you define what's "better", you can be wrong.

What if I want to focus a different part of the truck? What if I want to shoot with a different shutter speed? What if I want to shoot with a wider aperture? What if I only want certain parts of the truck to be in focus? What if I want the background blurred? What if...

Well, you get the idea.

In regards to the OP, you would probably benefit from a table that shows all the comparison (I couldn't find one to link from here, but you can search for one).

Here is a page that talks about the 7D Mark II rumors:
http://www.canonrumors.com/category/...on-7d-mark-ii/

In my opinion, full frame is better than frame crop. That's just my opinion.

[Melkus]

^ If you define what's "better", you can be wrong.

What if I want to focus a different part of the truck? What if I want to shoot with a different shutter speed? What if I want to shoot with a wider aperture? What if I only want certain parts of the truck to be in focus? What if I want the background blurred? What if... In regards to the OP, you would probably benefit from a table that shows all the comparison (I couldn't find one to link from here, but you can search for one).

Here is a page that talks about the 7D Mark II rumors:
http://www.canonrumors.com/category/...on-7d-mark-ii/

In my opinion, full frame is better than frame crop. That's just my opinion.

Yep what if. Think you miss what I was trying to conveyed or I just did not explain myself well enough. Was just trying to show what you can do with what you have. Yes my D90 dose alot of things better but than again it cost $800 more than the point and shoot I used for the truck photo. So you want Bokeh,I can do that with my cheap-o camera, may not be the best but close enough

[hoffstriker]

A simple answer for a very complex question. 50D - basically same autofocus as 5D but very much less resolution. 7D - much better autofocus then both but less resolution than 5D. Low light noise - 5D wins over both, but 7D can be used up to 6400 depending upon processing and use (I do every weekend). For portraits - Both 7D and 5D are excellent and worth every penny spent. For street photography - 7D, but only because of better autofocus. For Sports and fast action - 7D all the way.

Both these were taken with my 7D. Two totally different uses with the same camera. It all depends upon the person behind the camera to dictate what you want to do with it.

[Melkus]

It all depends upon the person behind the camera to dictate what you want to do with it. Yep 100%

[William W]

I have the 17-55 L IS lens that I know won't fit the 5D, but will 24 be wide enough on a full frame?

The 24 to 105 used on a 5D, will be WIDER, than the 17 to 55 lens used on the 50D or 7D.

WW

[dubaiphil]

When considering going from a crop sensor body to either a newer crop sensor body or full frame body, don't just consider what you're shooting as subject material now. If you're at a photography crossroads and your subjects may change in the future, you have to consider your potential lens requirements vs. your budget.

Also think of the added feature set that the new body (crop or full frame) will give you. For example, I had some good lenses on DX with my D90 (I was using the 24-70mm as a walkabout and had the Carl Zeiss 35mm as well). My photography was mainly travel and architecture based. Moving to full frame allowed me to shoot at much higher ISOs and let me change my photographic style. Also, the dynamic range of the D700 was far superior and files were cleaner. Low ISO noise on clear blue skies - not any more.

Scroll forward 18 months or so to today, and the current crop sensor bodies are catching up in high ISO capabilities, so this takes my previous personal choice of moving to FX almost out of the question.

If I was into shooting wildlife and airshows, I'd have waited for a D400 - and I'd still be waiting!
If I knew I'd be moving into street photography and environmental portraiture, I may have stuck with DX but there wasn't a fast wide prime available for DX - there's now the 24mm f1.4 of course, which on DX would give me roughly 35mm equivalent on Full Frame, but that's rather pricey.

For me personally there was a very small moment in time when Dubai actually was the cheapest place to buy a D700 in the world. Unfortunately it took a tsunami to create that situation, but stock was drying up and the D800 looked even further away that at any point in the previous 18 months for me, so I went for it.

Je ne regret rien!

[nancydav]

Thanks. I think I'm leaning towards the full frame, then I will have both.

[rpcrowe]

I love the auto focus capability of my 7D.

Equipped with either my 70-200mm f/4L IS lens...


Or my 300mm f/4L IS lens; the 7D is a grat action camera...


However, this doesn't mean that the 7D can't hold its own as a portrait camera both for humans...




And for dogs...


If I were you, I would stick with the 50D and purchase a 7D. Keep your 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and get a 70-200mm f/4L IS lens. I shoot with that lens combination on my 7D and 40D and absolutely love the capability of that setup. I haven't number crunched but, the cost of that combination may not be too far out from what you are contemplating...

As a Nikon Rep once stated "If you cannot get outstanding results from a modern DSLR camera, it is not that camera at fault!"

[nancydav]

Hi,

Thanks. Your pictures are great. I have a standard poodle, is yours a golden doodle? I don't take sports or action shots really, so I think I am still leaning towards full frame. Decisions, decisions!!!

[almanzam]

The name on the can says it all. "NATURAL LIGHT." Well done, sir.