Upgrade from 50D to 7D worthwhile?

[pipflash51]

Hello everybody and I just wanted to get your thoughts on this " Is it worthwhile to change my 50D for a 7D?"
I have a Sigma 10-20 and 24-70 lenses along with a Tokina 100 macro plus Canon 70-300 and 50 prime lenses.

I don't think that I can afford a 5D mkII although the lenses are full frame with the exception being the Sigma wide angle. Now if miracle of miracles I could afford the 5D mkII and sneak it past SWMBO then would the lenses be good enough anyway or would the camera find them out?

So,I see my only real choice is to upgrade to the 7D and it's performance albeit on a cropped sensor again.

So what does everyone else think? Is the 7D that much better than the 50D?

I tend to do landscapes, natural history and portraits but very little street photography. Also thinking I want to do some sports at my local rugby club.

I realise that the 7d does 8 fps but am a little worried about it's higher ISO performance.

One other factor may be that I never print bigger than A4.

Chees from Phil

[colin C]

Re: Upgrade from 50D to 7D worthwhile?

Hello Phil

The most interesting piece of information you gave was: "I never print more than A4". On that basis, there is no significant benefit in changing for the either the 7D, or the 5D MKII. In my opinion, the 5D MKII is the landscape/studio camera and the 7D is the sports/wildlife camera. The 50D/60D is a very useful compromise between the two.

If you are itching to use your "slush fund" before SWMBO finds it, go for a new lens. You seems well covered at the short - middle, but a little weak at the long end. If you are considering sports, a 300mm prime and a 1.4x extender could be useful. If you prefer zooms, look at a 70 - 200mm, 100 - 400mm, or the new 70 - 300mm L IS.

Good luck.

Colin

[George Bear]

Re: Upgrade from 50D to 7D worthwhile?

Phil – I’d go along with Colin.

As for the 7D’s high ISO performance. Don’t worry it’s not bad. And noise is probably better than blur for most of us. Just remember to set ISO in 1 stop increments (100 – 200 – 400 etc) as intermediate settings may yield more noise than you were expecting (It’s something to do with how the Gubbins inside the EOS work). You just need to ensure (IMHO) that the camera doesn’t do any noise reduction … leave that to an imaging application. Well unless you need ready to roll images straight from the camera. You would need to experiment here as to what best suits your needs. This isn’t a RAW vs JPEG or NR vs No-NR thread ;-)

But the 50D is a fine camera so to reiterate Colin’s wise words … get some more glass to cover the ‘300mm’ area. Then if you ultimately really need a 5D then go for that … don’t make the mistake many of us do of buying Model X as a stop gap measure when we really needed Model Y. You’ll end up buying Model Y eventually.

[colin C]

Re: Upgrade from 50D to 7D worthwhile?

don’t make the mistake many of us do of buying Model X as a stop gap measure when we really needed Model Y. You’ll end up buying Model Y eventually.

That's a very good point.

Equipment compromises rarely work. Subconsciously you don't like the gear, because it's not what you really wanted/needed. Performance wise it's not as good as the kit you really wanted and you lose a heap of money during the trade-in/sell process.

Far better to keep what you have for a while longer and save for what you really want.

Colin

[pipflash51]

Re: Upgrade from 50D to 7D worthwhile?

Thanks guys for your feedback.

What do you think about the lenses I have, would they be okay with the 5D MkII or should it be L series lenses? Only the Canon 70-300mm has IS.

Of course if it is the case that my current lenses need to be replaced to get the best from the 5D Mk II then I probably can't afford to do this for a couple of years at least, hence my interest in the 7D.

It would be an awful shame not to be able to get the very best from the 5D or at least more than acceptable images.

????

[MX5]

Re: Upgrade from 50D to 7D worthwhile?

It depends upon what you can justify to pay for lenses. But if the justification allows then go for L glass to get the very best out of the camera. With none Canon lenses you would need to check they will mount a 5D. For example, the Sigma 10-20 will only work on 1.6x crop cameras (like the 7D) but not on the 5D.

You need to sit down and work out a road map for how you purchase kit so not to compromise nor lose too much on PX. It's a problem many of us have (and will) face. My rule of thumb is that the lenses make the biggest difference and you tend to keep them longer. Cameras come and go (well at least here says he blushing).

[@imagesBV]

Re: Upgrade from 50D to 7D worthwhile?

I tested the 70-200 f4L against the 70-300 IS and there was no real difference in image quality in my tests - but I chose the L for the better build.
Thats not to say that all non-L lenses are as good - but many are so good they shouldn't be overlooked.