Upgraded to 5D

[Ramblinman]

Hello,

I recently upgraded to a 5D from a Rebel XSi. Right off the bat, I immediately noticed better image quality and deeper DOF. The learning curve is minimal and after maybe about a half hour I felt completely comfortable with the camera.

Can anyone offer up any tips for the camera or what lenses work well with it?

I currently have a 28-105mm, 10-22mm with the plastic cover removed, 50mm and tamron 75-300mm

[Ramblinman]

Here's a pic I took yesterday down at Fire Island, NY

[arith]

They are quite cheap now; I saw one for £1500 but still too much for me. I think only L type lenses will be suitable because with the full sensor you will be using the outside edges of the lens.

One good zoom should suffice in the short term you lucky person. Back on 35mm which I considered tiny 40 years ago, but now massive.

[Amberglass]

Can anyone offer up any tips for the camera or what lenses work well with it?

I currently have a 28-105mm, 10-22mm with the plastic cover removed, 50mm and tamron 75-300mm

If your 10-22 mm is Canon's EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, it's not going to work on your 5D. The 5D will only accept EF mounts, not the EF-S which is designed for the smaller sensors. The EF-S mounts are higher (in the back) so you can damage your mirror when it flips up, or result in severe vignetting (pin hole effect) from other 3rd party EF-S lenses. Unlike Nikon's D700's and above; the camera sensor will auto adjust down to a Dx lens. Note the the 5D does not have the white square alignment marker for EF-S lenses.

To really reap in the benefits of the larger sensor; invest in really good quality lenses and avoid EF-S mounts all together. Prosumer lenses or any of Canon's midrange lenses will be fine. If you want to venture more in the L's, then I recommend that you look at places like www.keh.com for second hands if you're on a budget.

If you're talking about the original 5D and not the newer 5DM2; know that your shooting experience will be more "film like". What do I mean? The lcd screen on the back of the camera is very "color inaccurate" but that has nothing to do with the actual image file. So focus more on getting your metering and exposures correct, know how to read your histograms, shoot in RAW, and correct/balance in post. Highly recommend that you do a custom wb for those really really important shots.

Read the manual and learn all the control on your camera, and how to quickly access them. The 5D is designed for professionals and advanced amateurs, but a beginner can also start and grow with.

[Ramblinman]

Bought a 17-40mm L lens last week and I immediately noticed the improvement in image quality and color saturation. I also started to use an 18% gray card for custom white balance, and the pictures are really popping now.

I took this picture last week using the custom WB with the old 28-105mm (not L series) telephoto lens and 430EX Speedlite flash.

[Blazing fire]

"deeper DOF"?

The significant difference between different sensor size is that the larger format camera provides a shallower depth of field. For instance, when using a Canon G9, the DOF is very deep. When using a full format sensor (like your 5d), the DOF is very shallow. It is very noticeable even when looking through the viewfinder. At least that's my experience between a G( and D700. I find it rather surprising that you had a deeper DOF with your 5D.

I like the photo of the animals. If I'm not mistaken, that's a Kangaroo right? It would be good if the background was slightly less distracting.

I feel that the landscape shot is underexposed. The sky provides little or no detail in your shot as it appears to be an overcast day. So I feel that it is good to dial in some exposure compensation, by as much as 1 stop. This would reduce noise and bring detail to the foliage.

Congrats on your purchase! Do enjoy your new camera. I hope my critical comments about your image aren't too offensive!

[Ramblinman]

Well, the DOF is a huge improvement over the XSI... maybe I should have said the bokeh is better.

As for the pics, I was still getting used to the camera, so the shots weren't up to par. I bought and read a 5D book and I am more familiar with it now. I dont like shooting in Av or Tv mode, so I shoot in M mode all the time. I just feel like I have less control using Av or Tv although I do realize that there are certain situations where Av or Tv should be used.

And no, thats no kangaroo, but a deer. I live in New York where kangaroos are, well, non-existent. . I appreciate the critiques, I do want to become a better photographer.

I will be posting better pics soon.

[Colin Southern]

Well, the DOF is a huge improvement over the XSI... maybe I should have said the bokeh is better.

"Better Bokeh" comes from a tighter DoF (for a given lens) - so the FF 5D will give you about 1 stop tighter DoF over a 1.6x crop-factor camera with the XSI

I dont like shooting in Av or Tv mode, so I shoot in M mode all the time. I just feel like I have less control using Av or Tv although I do realize that there are certain situations where Av or Tv should be used.

I must admit that I also do a lot of manual exposure, but Tv & Av modes can work well -- often if just depends on the amount of contrast in the scene ... scenes with direct sunlight or bright light sources tend to under-expose, whereas with manual you can let those areas blow and correctly expose the main areas of your composition.

Good job on the flashed pic