Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

[DrJon]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

The last two years some of the retailers got special deals from Canon so they can sell stuff (relatively) cheaply at the show. That doesn't mean all retailers or all products, so no promises. Jacobs, Callumet, Camera World and Park would be good places to start looking. I'll be there on my birthday, so I'm sure I won't be all that tempted... um... hopefully the 8-15 won't show up or I may be in trouble... (I already have a few things I'll be looking for, and my new car is showing up a couple of days earlier, so no financial pressure there then...)
John
P.S. I wasn't there three years ago, which is the only reason I said last two years.

[curacion66]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

I have exactly the same dilemma at the moment, 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII. I have the 24 -105L & the 100-400L. Landscapes & wildlife are my passion & I can't decide. I also enjoy just snapping away on holiday.

I even thought the 60D might be a good bet. I like the thought of having full frame which was always the drive, but reading all of this advice I'm even less sure now!!

John

[briansquibb]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

I would suggest a 17-40f4L for the landscapes (whichever route you go down)

100-400 is not really enough for wildlife on a ff - unless you are talking about deer

Those wildlife togs are using a 500mm on a 1.3 crop - which would be close with the 100-400 on a 7d

The 7d does 8fps and the 5dII only 4.

A 7D + 17-40F4L would be about the same cost as the 5D body

[DrJon]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

I'd disagree a bit as (IMHO!) I don't think the 17-40 is good on full-frame, it isn't sharp in the corners and there's a lot of distortion at the wide end. It's nice on crop though.
Personally I'd take a 14, 24-105 and 70-200 for landscape, but that's just me. (Though as I have the f2.8 70-200 the weight does add up if you're climbing a church tower to take the shots, plus you don't need the 2.8 for landscape, but I'm not buying a 70-200 f4 just to save weight.) The 14 is only for fairly specialised uses, so can be partly ignored.
The extra dynamic range of the 5DmkII would be useful for landscapes though.

[briansquibb]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

I'd disagree a bit as (IMHO!) I don't think the 17-40 is good on full-frame, it isn't sharp in the corners and there's a lot of distortion at the wide end..

You must a bad sample - mine prints without issue at A3. I do use distortion correction both in the camera and in pp. If I cant see it at A3 then it is not important

I was trying to give a reasonably balanced and costed alternatives - which is why I suggested the 17-40 and 7D - I use it on the 50D as a walkabout on occasions

[curacion66]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

Of course now someone has to add that a MkIII or 6D is on its way this year possibly.

[collywobbles]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

Yes, as above. Keep an eye on 5D Mk II price. I would say 5D Mk III is imminent - ( Sept???? )
I've recently bought one; can't wait to use it. - Still convalescing and been told not to lift anything heavier than a bag of sugar!!!! - Camera body is 810 grms.

[DrJon]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

I really don't want to start an argument about the 17-40 on Full-Frame. I just did a quick look and the reviews didn't really like the corners at the wide end or faster than f5.6, so I'm happy with my comment and stand by it as my opinion, but nothing more. It is pretty good in the centre though. If you're happy I'd say "so what" and stay that way if I were you... for potential purchasers just go shoot some photos at a show or a shop then take them home and make your own mind up.

I see Northlight's rumours section doesn't have a page for a Canon 5DmkIV, they must be getting sloppy... how can people decide what to buy...

[briansquibb]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

I really don't want to start an argument about the 17-40 on Full-Frame. I just did a quick look and the reviews didn't really like the corners at the wide end or faster than f5.6, so I'm happy with my comment and stand by it as my opinion, but nothing more. It is pretty good in the centre though. If you're happy I'd say "so what" and stay that way if I were you... for potential purchasers just go shoot some photos at a show or a shop then take them home and make your own mind up.

I dont think I've used the 17-40 at less than f8 mostly f11 .... for landscapes that would seem a bit strange to be on f4

[sandyn111]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

I have just moved from a 40D to a 7D. I read all the comments/ reviews/comparisons about the noise seen on a 7D. I took some sample shots in the shop and came to the conclusion that it wasn't as much a problem as people claimed and when printing, it doesn't really make any difference, so after weeks of research, I went for it. At first I was thrilled at the quality with flash. The body brought out the best from the 24-70 f2.8, superb exposure. Then I took some 'snapshots' walkabout with a friend, in a cafe/no flash and the quality was absolutely abysmal for a supposedly semi pro camera. I looked for some old pictures from the same place taken with the 40D and check images from both. When I compared the images at 100ISO, the 40D was noticeably better, then I checked the file data I realised the 40D had actually been at 400ISO and the 7D at 100ISO.
I then did a more scientific comparison on a bright sunny day using the 7D and the 40D I went through ISOs, camera on a tripod. The images from the 40D were far superior to the 7D. I'm not really interested in very high ISO settings.
I am still at the stage of experimenting with the settings which brings out the best from the 7D, native ISO, a bit of overexposure etc etc, BUT it is absolutely shocking that the camera can't perform THE most fundamental requirement of a camera...to take a quality picture, out of the box.
I took some pictures today for the training department where I work. People were leaving and I only had a minute or so to take the pictures, it was a big room/flash and ended up at the lower end of exposure, with the 40D, I would have just done a bit of correction on the PC and the pictures would have been fine. With the 7D, the images were worse than what you would get with a sub £100 camera. I was ashamed to send them.
I have raised a ticket with Canon and they have advised to reset everything to default and set to auto and if the noise is still there, I assume they will have a look at the camera, but reading on the web, others have been there before.

Having said all that, there are times when the images are stunningly good, but I think that is because the 7D can bring out the very best from the 24-70, the 40D never worked well with the 24-70.
If you are still thinking about the 7D. I would say buy with caution and at times, be prepared to be ashamed of the image quality at times, but thrilled at other times.

[Trevoreast]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

I would say buy with caution and at times, be prepared to be ashamed of the image quality at times, but thrilled at other times.

Hmmm you're putting me off that camera man you seem to have given it a fair test against the 40D
What difference do you notice with the 24-70 on the 7D ?

Trev

[Woolley]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

Hmm, not seeing much noise on this at ISO800 on the first go with the camera. Makes me wonder what others are doing with it.

[DrJon]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

Woolley - is that a 1:1 crop or an 18MP picture shrunk down to 427KP?

Either way I haven't seen anyone using the 18MP sensor (550D/60D/7D) see much noise at ISO 100, so perhaps something odd is going on? Can you put a full-res picture somewhere we can see it (perhaps WeTransfer.com if you can't think of anywhere else)? The 40D has less pixels (10 vs. 18) and so bigger ones, but it's also older so that will reduce the difference a bit as technology marches on. I could see it possibly looking better at ISO1600 but 100 vs. 400 needs investigating.

I dont think I've used the 17-40 at less than f8 mostly f11 .... for landscapes that would seem a bit strange to be on f4

If you don't bother with anything above f8 then you are laughing, but I suspect other prospective purchasers might be interested to do that, although possibly not for landscapes (so if they are only planning to use it for that, dial in F8/f11, depending on their body, and live happily ever after).

[briansquibb]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

If you don't bother with anything above f8 then you are laughing, but I suspect other prospective purchasers might be interested to do that, although possibly not for landscapes (so if they are only planning to use it for that, dial in F8/f11, depending on their body, and live happily ever after).

The original comment was to keep the 17-40 for landscapes .....

[curacion66]

Re: Looking to go from a 30D to a 7D or 5D MkII??

The 5D won for me & as soon as I can get a free day or two I can start to take some pics. Its finally out of the box.