Canon 5DII or 7D

[SteveK]

Hi All,

Just after some advice, I currently have a Cannon 450D(XSi) my first DSLR, which I have had for about 16 months. While it takes good photo I feel that it just lacks that edge. So to hopefully fix that I'm looking at replacing it with either a 5D or 7D.
I'm leaning towards the 5D this week. The decision was so easy before the 7D was released.


The Lens that I have are...
Canon 100mm f2.8Macro.... gets a lot of use
Canon EFS- 18-55,EFS 55-250... came with the camera
Sigma 150-500, Tamron 11-18mm, Canon 50mm f1.8.

I also intend get a Canon 24-105mm f4.0 L IS and a Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS.

Any thoughts will be truely appreciated.

Steve.

PS this is a great site, have been reading a lot and I had no hesitation in signing on

[Shadowman]

Steve,

Do you have any photos we can view and explain what is lacking for you as a photographer.

[DrJeans]

SteveK, hello!

1 year, I photographed the animal on the Canon 50D. Chose the 50D because of the speed of 6 frames per second. To capture the animals - this is important. A month ago, changed the 50D to 5D MarkII and I am very happy! Photo quality has improved very noticeably.

7D to 50D different video and focusing system, the rest is the same camera. As video camera 7D very popular here in Russia. Video operators happy gift from Canon. Film shoot better than an expensive video camera Panasonic.

If you're not a photographer of animals and you do not need a cheap version of Canon 1D Mark III, then the 7D you do not need. 7D you do not like it.

Here is a photo Canon 5D MII + 300 mm f / 4 L:



Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 1/60 s, f/6.3, 300 mm, ISO: 800, 0 eV, 2010.01.05

[AceMcCool]

Hi Steve,

I have been shooting an Xti since 2007 and just switched to the 5D Mark II. The most significant feature that convinced me to choose the 5DII over the 7D is the full frame sensor on the 5DII.

I am noticing with the 5DII's full frame sensor I get a larger angle of view in my landscape shots. Also, I noticed that I have more pronounced background blur on my portrait shots.

Overall, I think that Canon produced a truly remarkable product in the features that the 5DII has to offer.

[rogerb]

Hi Steve:

I think that it really depends how you intend to use the camera as to which is the better choice.

The 5D MK2 is very good at landscape, wedding, portraits, etc and is very good under low-light (high iso) conditions. It has an excellent sensor and has been getting excellent ratings.

The 7D is intended for sports/action photography and has an excellent autofocus system, superior to that of the 5D MK2.

The 5D, being a full-frame sensor, will treat the lenses as they're labeled, whereas the 7D with cropped sensor will always give you longer reach than the lens is labeled for. This can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on you point of view.

If you are looking for the best image quality, don't need the shooting rate and fast focus, and don't mind spending the extra money, then I think the 5D MK2 is THE choice, hands down. I've had mine for over a year now and I love it.

Check out the independent raw test results by DXO Mark:
http://www.dxomark.com

Hope this helps,
Roger

[SteveK]

Hi All,
Thanks for the replies and your thoughts.

Shadowman, I wasn't asking how to improve my skills as a photographer, I will be doing that later , as there are MANY shots that I know I could have done better if only I'd.........
At the moment I'm trying to remove ME from the equation and look at the best gear for price.

DrJeans, Great Photo, love the feather detail. I'm heading it the 5D direction I believe that it will give me the best reproduction of what I am seeing especially at the higher IOS's, this is one of the problems that I'm having and it bothers me.

AceMcCool, Yes the Full Frame is one of draw card for the 5D

rogerb, After visiting "http://www.dxomark.com"and doing all of the comparisions between the 3 cameras, unless I am misinterpreting the data, the 7D is NO Better than the 450D other than a bunch of bells and whistles?????? That I will probably never use. I'm perplexed ....... But I want to get the best camera to reproduce what I see so I guess that it will be the 5D

Once again thanks to all. You have confirmed what I have been thinking. Pity that there weren't any 7D positives' but then it would have only clouded the thought process.

Steve

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Steve,

My advice would be to get those lenses and defer on buying a new body for now. I am not a Canon man, but I believe niether will preclude going FF later, if you need to.

If you're into wildlife, you may well regret losing the crop factor 'extra reach' on the lens spec. with a 5D2, so if the 7D is just a souped up 450D, why change? See if the better lens quality fixes the problem!

After the photographer, the lenses will usually have the next most significant effect on IQ.

BTW, I don't think Shadowman meant his sentence to be taken quite the way you took it, I think it was a request for a sample photo, and a separate request for what it is about the 450D you find lacking; e.g. ergonomics, frame rate, etc. - i.e. as a photographer

Ooh, nearly forgot - Welcome to the CiC forums

Cheers,

[Colin Southern]

Hi Steve,

The fundamental difference between the 7D and 5D2 is FF -v- crop-factor sensor formats. Many regard crop-factor cameras to be a "poor mans FF", but the reality is that it's going to depend on what your shooting benefits the most from; Full frame is a blessing if you're shooting wide & need tighter DoF, but on the flip side it's a curse if you're shooting macro and/or long telephoto.

I agree with Dave in that you're probably better off getting the lenses first; at the end of the day the camera is just a box that lets in the light - you'll get far better results from a good lens on a mediocre camera than from a mediocre lens on a good camera. Additionally, correct sharpening is also VITAL in getting good results.

Hope this helps

[arith]

I don't understand the dof thingy; the dial on the lens made for FF and cropped camera is the same. However you will need a good lens for FF.

Personally I would go for a 5D because it is FF and 24mm looks like 24mm, if I want video I would buy a video camera so 5D although 7D is very good and probably even better for some kinds of photography. cheers

[PeterL]

If it were my money and I could afford both (with a decent lens) then I would have the 5dMKII without hesitation. It will need very good glass though.

[rogerb]

rogerb, After visiting "http://www.dxomark.com"and doing all of the comparisions between the 3 cameras, unless I am misinterpreting the data, the 7D is NO Better than the 450D other than a bunch of bells and whistles?????? That I will probably never use. I'm perplexed ....... But I want to get the best camera to reproduce what I see so I guess that it will be the 5D

Once again thanks to all. You have confirmed what I have been thinking. Pity that there weren't any 7D positives' but then it would have only clouded the thought process.
Steve

Well, I tried to convey a 7D positive: It has been designed for sports/action photography and it is very good at that..... much better than a 5D MK2. The reason I pointed you to DXO Mark was to illustrate the difference in the quality of the sensors. However DXO don't go into the rest of the attributes of each camera.

Without knowing how you plan on using the camera, it's hard for anyone to give you advice on which one to chose since the two cameras are intended for totally different purposes. From your subsequent post it appears that fast shooting speed and excellent auto-focusing system are not that important to you ("bells and whistles..."). That being the case then Dave's and Colin's advice of getting good glass first is right on. Then you can look at the 5D MK2 if it is still that appealing. Keep in mind that the 7D and the 5D are intended for totally different types of users so it's an apples and oranges comparison.

Roger

[Colin Southern]

Personally I would go for a 5D because it is FF and 24mm looks like 24mm

On the other hand ...

If we're both on Safari with a 400mm lens and you have a 5D2 and I have a 7D then guess who will have to physically get a LOT closer to the dangerous bear / lion / tiger / elephant etc to get the same shot!

I'm going to get better moon shots too

[rogerb]

On the other hand ...

If we're both on Safari with a 400mm lens and you have a 5D2 and I have a 7D then guess who will have to physically get a LOT closer to the dangerous bear / lion / tiger / elephant etc to get the same shot!

I'm going to get better moon shots too

What if he's happy with a 8.2MP shot (by cropping) of the same scene at the same distance with much lower noise?

[Colin Southern]

What if he's happy with a 8.2MP shot (by cropping) of the same scene at the same distance with much lower noise?

I'd be left wondering why he had so much noise in the first place

[arith]

Would be more camera shake but that would be with both camera's.