5D v 5D mkII

CarlukeDave

CarlukeDave

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I have been saving for a 5d mkII, but am a bit torn at the moment. Due to financial constraints it will take a good few months till I can afford it, but I could get a 2nd hand 5d just now for over £1000 less. I suppose the main question is, how much better is the mkII, is it well worth waiting the extra few months for?

I suspect it is, and I probably will wait, but just looking for others opinions on my dilemma!!

Cheers

Dave
 
I've never used the Mk.II but do have a Mk.I. The only things I find annoying are the screen which can't be seen in daylight and the servo mode AF, which is the same on the Mk.II anyway.

Another way of looking at it might be to ask how much a Mk.I will depreciate in six months.
 
In basic DSLR terms (ie, no video and bits and pieces), your first £800 or so is going to buy you a very nice, capable full frame body. The next £1000-1200 is going to buy you a bunch of pixels that you may or may not need.

Bob
 
I went for a classic and have no regrets. The MKII is a very nice camera, but an awful lot of money tied up in a body. I've had a 10d/20d/30d and now a 5d, all second hand and like new. But if you only buy new, it's a good choice if you can afford it.

Graham
 
The 5d is tried and tested, it's been around for years, used by pros and is a workhorse (a guy I know has taken his around the world and it's still going strong). It depends what you are looking for in a camera. If you already have some nice EF/L lenses and want HD video and lots of MP, then go for the mkii. If you are going to need to upgrade your lenses and just need a full frame body, go with the original. I plan on upgrading to a 5d in the near future.
 
I'm. MkI user and I've never even seen a mkII in the flesh but I'd hope lots of that price difference is giving you some great high ISO performance.

That's the one place I'd really like to see a significant update. If lower light work is not part of your plan and you don't need the pixels (not really sire who does) then the original is still a very good bit of kit and especially at it's current value.
 
The only things I find annoying are the screen which can't be seen in daylight
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Isnt it the same as a 30d? Having seen the MK2 esp. the screen i wouldnt want a MK1. In my opinion if you dont fancy the 50D wait til you can afford the MK2 or next generation ??d
 
I have a 5D and enjoy using it, horses for courses.
Video on a MKII?
21m pix? are you going to sell billboard posters?
Jim
 
I've got a MKII and it's amazing, I haven't really tried the MKI to be fair but I suspect the 5DmkII is better.
 
I have 5D and a 5DMkII (and a 40D)

The MkII is a fantastic bit of kit with better ISO handling and much more pixels. Aside from the video bits and bobs (which are pretty pointless) I only need the ISO for low light and more pixels for when I need to do a major crop. I got the MkII because I needed a second body and loved the MkI.

If money is no object go for the MkII. If its a bit tight go for the MkI - you'll still love it, and in terms of more pixels on the MkII you'll never miss what you never had if you go for the MkI. Build quality is the same and not an issue with either body (2 years on the back of a motorbike with some decent crashes along the way for the MkI and 4 months outside in the Amazon down various tributaries in a canoe for the MkII).

As for the screen on the MkI - it isn't the best but I use a Strobist type snoot if I need to take a good look at what's on the screen when I'm outside. I wouldn't pay £££ more just for a better screen!
 
Just bought a MkII for the wife. From what I've seen so far it's ******* amazing.

If you're on a budget then I'm sure the MkI will be a sensible buy.
 
Great summary from Bob in post #3 :)

The major point about the 5D is that it's full frame, and it uses full frame lenses with all their attendant optical pros and cons. Obviously the 5D2 imporves on that, but I would say the physical size of the sensor was more important than sheer number of pixels (within reason).

Having said that, I couldn't live with the smaller LCD now. Chimping is now an integral part of digital image making for me.
 
Mmmm, quite a lot of my work is in low light situations! Weddings and live music, so if the mkII is significantly better in these conditions, I'll definitely hold out for it!

Many thanks for all the replies, very helpful!

Dave
 
Canon Bob said:
In basic DSLR terms (ie, no video and bits and pieces), your first £800 or so is going to buy you a very nice, capable full frame body. The next £1000-1200 is going to buy you a bunch of pixels that you may or may not need.

Bob
Click to expand...
Good point Bob, plane and simple.(y)
 
CarlukeDave said:
Mmmm, quite a lot of my work is in low light situations! Weddings and live music, so if the mkII is significantly better in these conditions, I'll definitely hold out for it!
Click to expand...

Without getting too techie.....
5DMkII will exhibit about 5% less noise than the Classic 5D....quite a triumph given the huge increase in pixel density.

Another area where the 5DMkII excels is it's ability to pick out detail in the darkest areas, a long way ahead of the Classic and only marginally behind Nik's D3.

Not quite in your line of sight but the 1DMkIII's sensor still leads the field (by quite a margin) in the "signal to noise" ratio stakes but it would appear that this has been achieved at the expense of dynamic range.

Bob
 
The video feature on the 5DII is actually quite interesting if you are shooting weddings. If you read the opinions of a lot of the industry's leading exponents such as David Beckstead and Jerry Ghionis you will find that they see the future of wedding photography including these kind of video segments of the important parts of the ceremony.

Perhaps not quite the dismissive feature some think it is. :)
 
I actually like the video feature.. last weekend i shot some of the Bride and Grooms practicing for their first dance, they had a planned routine to do.. it'll look great on their DVD..

The low light iso handleing is very good.. it also SEEMS more than 5% better than the MkI to me..:shrug: but im not a big techie..

One thing i was wondering was, the SRAW quality setting.. is that just as good- better than- worse than the full 21mp? or even compared to the MkI? i remeber hearing from somewhere that its better for low light!! but as iv said im not too techy.. so that question would be aimed at Bob :naughty:

THe screen is SOOOO much better than the old.. it also makes me want to delete all the images taken on the 1d3!! (Its got the old screen!)

One thing that really dissapoints is the AF.. the outer points are slow.. not too accurate and it hunts a fair bit.. when you compare it to the equivalent Nikon, The D700, its shockingly poor.. :crying:

If i could have afforde the big chop in, i would have gone to Nikon JUST for that alone!!!
 
Can one of the mods change my name please??? Thread Killer is a name that springs to mind...:crying:
 
For the price of a new 5DII you can buy a used 5D and maybe 70-200 f/2.8L to replace your 70-300. Don't forget, a fullframe like 5D (I or II) is quite a demanding camera (esp the 21 mp on 5DII), you really need good lens to go with it if you want the quality it can offer. If you buy 5DII, it might not stop there. You may need to upgrade some of your lens. If you shoot in RAW you may need to upgrade your hdd to store those huge RAW files. You may even want to upgrade your CPU to process those huge RAW files without dragging your comp too much.

I'm speaking from an economical point of view. Of course, if you have lots of money, you can do whatever you want with it. Just bear in mind that there may be other things you need to upgrade if you get a 5DII :)

[I've come from 40D as well and I'm absolutely loving my 5D. It is a GREAT (and WORTHY) camera no matter what other people (e.g. 5DII owners ;)) say :)]
 
btw, if you are getting a 5DII....you might need a new PC to go with the processing ! As i found out lol, it takes AGES to expert or play with the slider in LR otherwise on my P4.
 
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