7D or 5D

[RAF62]

I have decided to upgrade from my 20D and have been thinking of buying
a 5D Mkii however with the arrival of the 7D I am pushed into having a
serious re-think.
I realize that the 7D is very new and may not have been fully evaluated but can anyone advise wether I should stick with the 5D option, with its greater ISO range and full frame format, or go for the 7D with all its new and advanced features ?

[Martin]

Re: 7D or 5D

All depends what you want to take pictures of.

They are both very different things

Martin

[NickJ]

Re: 7D or 5D

Martin, could you elaborate?

[Pete]

Re: 7D or 5D

As Martin said two totally different camera's. Which one really depends on your main photography interest to a certain extent....

From the 2 I would suggest usage as below (just my opinion)

Portrait, Studio, Weddings & Landscape - 5D (Full Frame)

Wildlife, Nature, Sports etc - 7D (1.6x crop sensor)

Anything and everything - 7D

[Martin]

Re: 7D or 5D

Peter's summary is pretty much there really and illustrates why I asked. I would also just add lighting - low, normal, whatever normal is, studio flash as a key part of my consideration too.

Martin

[EOS_Jim]

Re: 7D or 5D

I shoot wedding s and portraits. I want a 7D :)

Yes the 5D II is nice - have used one but I'm not conviced of the FF over crop yet (although pixel peepers will argue one over the other)

THey both take amazing pics.

[Martin]

Re: 7D or 5D

If weddings and portraits were my genre, then it would be a no brainer

5Dmk2 all the way - why? - for weddings you will benefit from the 'width', plus the DOF effects on FF are noticeably better and give you more 'control'

Oh yes - and the low noise performance of the 5Dmk2 for available light.

Was talking to a pro last night taking indoor people event shots at a function I was at - that was his reasoning too

Martin

[Pete]

Re: 7D or 5D

I shoot wedding s and portraits. I want a 7D :)

Yes the 5D II is nice - have used one but I'm not conviced of the FF over crop yet (although pixel peepers will argue one over the other)

THey both take amazing pics.

Jim, is this more a case of caught up in the hype

Weddings and Portrait has to be full frame surely ?????

[Aston]

Re: 7D or 5D

Weddings and Portrait has to be full frame surely ?????

Why? There is nothing special about the 24 x 36mm format. It only came about because it was convenient to use 35mm cine film in early 'miniature' cameras.

When I used to shoot weddings, roll films cameras with a 6 x 6cm format were considered essential. Nobody who wanted to be taken seriously used 35mm.

Now we seem to have the same situation where photographers who use cameras with APS-C cameras are not taken seriously. It will pass.

Simon

[Pete]

Re: 7D or 5D

Why? There is nothing special about the 24 x 36mm format. It only came about because it was convenient to use 35mm cine film in early 'miniature' cameras.

When I used to shoot weddings, roll films cameras with a 6 x 6cm format were considered essential. Nobody who wanted to be taken seriously used 35mm.

Now we seem to have the same situation where photographers who use cameras with APS-C cameras are not taken seriously. It will pass.

Simon

No one said not taken seriously except you.......

[carregwen]

Re: 7D or 5D

Why? There is nothing special about the 24 x 36mm format. It only came about because it was convenient to use 35mm cine film in early 'miniature' cameras.

Edison, when he was developing movie cameras in the 1890s couldn't be bothered to develop his own film stock. So he used stock from Eastman (later Kodak) which came in rolls 70mm wide. He cut it down the middle (maybe he was mean?) and used 35mm for movie film. When SLRs became popular in the 1920s they simply copied the 35mm movie format size.

So yes, there is nothing special about the size, but from a quality point of view, it is normally the case that the larger the format the better the quality. Although technological developments recently and in the future may change this.

The format size does make a difference when comparing camera of the same MP rating. A full-frame 12MP camera (Nikon D700) is probably going to produce better IQ than a 12MP crop-factor (Canon 450D) because the pixels in the full-frame will be larger and more efficient (because of their larger size) than in the crop factor.

[Martin]

Re: 7D or 5D

A full-frame 12MP camera (Nikon D700) is probably going to produce better IQ than a 12MP crop-factor (Canon 450D) because the pixels in the full-frame will be larger and more efficient (because of their larger size) than in the crop factor.

too true Rob

Otherwise I would be trading in my mere 10MP 1Dmk111 for the new Sony Ericsson Satio phone, as it has 12MP :-)

Martin

[Aston]

Re: 7D or 5D

The format size does make a difference when comparing camera of the same MP rating. A full-frame 12MP camera (Nikon D700) is probably going to produce better IQ than a 12MP crop-factor (Canon 450D) because the pixels in the full-frame will be larger and more efficient (because of their larger size) than in the crop factor.

Perhaps, but there are other factors which affect the image quality other than number of pixels and pixel size - the micro lens overlay and the processor algorithms are just two which spring to mind. I think there is a danger of becoming too obsessed with numbers at the expense of judging the end result. I've seen great images from both the EOS 5D and EOS 7D - and it is usually the content and composition which impress me.

Simon

[carregwen]

Re: 7D or 5D

Perhaps, but there are other factors which affect the image quality other than number of pixels and pixel size - the micro lens overlay and the processor algorithms are just two which spring to mind. I think there is a danger of becoming too obsessed with numbers at the expense of judging the end result. I've seen great images from both the EOS 5D and EOS 7D - and it is usually the content and composition which impress me.

Simon

So why are Nokin sticking to 12MP?

[EOS_Jim]

Re: 7D or 5D

Rob
I don't disagree that the larger photosites in a FF sensor are better for low noise - but you gain maybe just a stop of light in that case? To be honest I can shoot what I need to at ISO3200 on my 40D and i don't worry about noise. So 6400 on the 7D would be fine! I like other feaures of the 7D better. Better AF, new exposure system, flash commander, speed to name just a few.

I've used the 5DII at high ISO and yes nice - but who of my clients would notice this in their 10x10 album image? Not one client has ever said to me I don't like the noise in that image!

Regards lenses, I use what is appropriate and don't feel limited by any (other than sometimes I want longer)!

I have a 10-22 APS-C lens - do you have anything wider than 16mm on your FF camera? Very few do.

For a standard wedding, i can pretty mch shoot everything. I like the extra "reach" of the APS-C format.

Ideal scenario is both the 7D and a 5D MkII but I don't see that happening ;)

I just take pictures. If I need wider either I use the appropriate wider lens or I take a couple of steps back.

Don't get me wrong I can see benefts to FF but none that make me want to jump yet.

Jim