A new canon body but which one would suit me best?

Messages
670
Name
Tristian
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi Guys and girls,

I’m after some advice.. I currently have a Canon 50D and take photos for pleasure not for business. I take a wide variety of photos kids/family portraits, landscape, wildlife, macro and sport. The sport is proving to hardest as its indoors at low light levels and I’m finding the high iso noise and AF could be better. Also to be able to do video might also be nice. So I’m thinking of a body change but to what? I don’t have loads of money and will be selling 50D to help fund the change. I like the size of the 50D and its build.

Current thoughts are and are in my budget range.
Canon 7D Mk1 2nd hand
Canon 70D
Canon 5D Mk2 2nd hand

Or would I be better to have save for the next 6-9 months for one of these?
Canon 6D
Canon 7D Mk2

I also have a range of equipment see below:
Canon L EF 70-200 F4 IS
Canon EFS 17-55 F2.8 IS
Canon EF 100 F2.8 macro
Sigma EF 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Sigma EF 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM
Canon 580EX Speedlite II

Later on I’m thinking I might change the 70-200 F4 to the F2.8 IS version and maybe adding a lens with more range such as a 100-400.

SO what do you all think would suit me best?
 
Well out of the list that you have given and the use you want to put it to then IMHO there are 3 options.

7D MkI Pretty cheap new now but i would expect when the current stocks run out that it will be discontinued. Good camera let down by its higher ISO handling. At the current price good value.

70D Similar in some respects to the 7D MkI with better noise control at higher ISO. AF system the same.

7D MkII New kid on the block. AF system straight out of the 5D3/1DX with some slight differences. Initial reviews are giving better high ISO handling then other crop sensors in Canons line up and good image quality with small increases in dynamic range depending on which crop sensor its being compared to. High levels of customisation to get the camera how you want it to handle. Best 1.6 crop sensor Canon have made.

If it was me with the price of the 7D MkII already starting to come down I would take it as my first choice followed by the 70D then followed by the 7D MkI.

Cheers

Gaz
 
Thanks guys..

I was thinking the 7D would give me improved AF but the High ISO noise does not look better than the 50D I have, but 2nd hand prices are cheap. So I was unsure if it was even worth thinking about with a new 70D being only £200 more.

The 70D seams to offer a reasonable improvement all around on my 50D and at around £600 new (import) looks to be a good option. The main downsides I can see are viewfinder is not 100%, no magnesium body or weather sealing, SD card not CF, no rear joystick.

Is the 7D MKii really worth the extra £750 over the 70D? Yes the af has more points but is the high iso noise any better than the 70D? or can it focus better in lower light levels?

I take it the 5Dmkii or 6D are much better at high iso but are not the best tool for sport due to slower FPS and reduced AF points.
 
Last edited:
7D 2 is probably the best camera in the canon line up for sports shooters at the moment - but its very new and only a limited number in the wild so far. Am very tempted to get one myself. 5D3/6D are better in low light, but slower FPS and also lower pixel density of the full frame sensor vs x1.6 crop means you may need longer lenses for a full frame camera.

After using a 50D and 7D together for a couple of years, I would say the high ISO capabilities of the 7D to be about 1 stop superior to the 50D.

If you don't mind secondhand, I would expect a glut of used cameras on the market now the 7D2 is launched. Could be opportunities for a good deal. Canon UK selling 7D1's for £ 699.
 
Last edited:
If you want a 7Dii, rather than buying something else now and saving up for a few months, you could get one on 12 months interest free credit from Park Cameras. That's what I did with my 5D3.

That way rather than saving the money in a bank account, you're paying the same amount as your installments but you get the camera now and don't have a lesser body that you want to sell in 6 months that will have depreciated a little further.

Just an idea, seeing as the 7Dii is really looking like the #1 choice at the moment.
 
mmm choices...

How much better is the 70D at higher iso than the 50D? I see the 7DMkii and 70D look quite similar at high iso with the 7DMkii just a little ahead on some sample I have seen.

The 70D and 7Dmkii both look great the extra £750 for the 7Dmkii is looking a little hard to justify, anyone who has used both want to try and convince me for either body?
 
sry only have the 70D and 7d mk1, and it is hands down better than the 7D mk1 for colour,contrast,iso
70D cracking little camera for the money
 
7D 2 is probably the best camera in the canon line up for sports shooters at the moment - .

how wrong is that... the 1dx is the best for canon sports and would wipe the floor wiht the 7d2:) .. yes out of the OP range but so is the 7d2
 
mmm choices...

I see the 7DMkii and 70D look quite similar at high iso with the 7DMkii just a little ahead on some sample I have seen.

The 70D and 7Dmkii both look great the extra £750 for the 7Dmkii is looking a little hard to justify, anyone who has used both want to try and convince me for either body?

....I had the 70D for 11 months (most of my Flickr shots are taken on it) and pre-ordered the 7D Mark II and much as I loved the 70D the differences are very significant if you shoot wildlife or action or in low light. Buying the 7D2 interest free over 12 months is a great way to afford it!

Following are the 7D Mark II and 70D pros and cons versus each other but please understand that these are only from the perspective of how I personally use a camera and that's for almost exclusively wildlife. I never use any video so cannot comment on those features at all. Also bear in mind that I have used the 70D for 11 months and the 7D2 for only a few weeks. They each have much in common such as Canon's excellent ergonomics and surprisingly effective built-in flash. They both suffer from the topside buttons being too small, in my opinion.

70D PROS (not in any order of importance):

(-) Relatively compact but still very easy to handle with the heavier telephoto L lenses mounted.

(-) The flip screen, being fully articulated, can be closed so that the LCD display is completely protected.

(-) Easier and faster to navigate and resize the review of images after capture due to touchscreen but also the alternative buttons are better positioned for faster use.

(-) Simpler to use and easier learning curve.

(-) Wi-Fi if that is useful to you (it isn't to me).

7D Mark II CONS
(not in any order of importance):

(-) No articulated flip screen - Useful for low down and high up shots. I don't miss the touchscreen as it just gets greasy.

(-) Much more elaborate Autofocus system to learn but it promises to deliver a higher rate of 'keepers' when mastered.

(-) A steeper learning curve due to offering more control options and much more customisation generally.

(-) Very heavy on battery juice and that's without activating GPS.

(-) No Wi-Fi without an expensive accessory (but I don't need Wi-Fi on a camera).


70D CONS (not in any order of importance):

(-) The rear control dial is smaller and it's inner selections are often awkward to control.

(-) Easier to accidentally engage the overall settings LOCK slider (I was in the middle of a critical shot when I first did it without knowing and thought the camera had completely failed!).

(-) Tiny and also badly positioned, and therefore utterly useless, DoF Preview button. What were you thinking, Canon!!? Possibly my biggest gripe.

(-) Hinged battery cover isn't sprung and so can sometimes obstruct if you are in a hurry.

(-) Not as weatherproof. I got caught out by a very heavy shower and it caused temporary and uncontrollable LCD display racing when viewing images after capture. It lasted a couple of hours and I was ready to contact my supplier.


7D Mark II PROS (not in any order of importance):

(-) A more sophisticated Autofocus system.

(-) Much more customisable throughout and also so that you can change/select more settings while still looking through the viewfinder.

(-) Much more valuable information can be displayed in the viewfinder (which is bigger).

(-) A higher frame-per-second rate of 10 fps, hence potentially securing more choice of best image.

(-) More weatherproof (not fully tested by me yet!) and lots of rugged rubber.

(-) Grippier to hold but it is a larger and slightly heavier body. Rugged rubber again!

(-) Probably smoother ISO performance at higher ISO settings but not significant at lower settings. (Not fully explored yet).

(-) I no longer lose autofocus if I mount a Canon 1.4x Extender on my 400mm F/5.6L. But I rarely do so anyway because I don't like the results so far.

(-) Offers a more enabling camera to grow your potential than the 70D and that is probably the most important consideration of all.


In making this list I may have missed some aspects but these are the ones which immediately come to mind. As said, the 7D Mark II is still a voyage of discovery but I already feel that I made the right decision to buy one. It will take time before I can master it. But you would not regret buying a 70D.

I hope this helps spend your hard earned money! :D
 
Last edited:
Many thanks for reply's especially redrobin, lots to think about. There looks to be lots of love for the 7dMKii and the spec's do look great maybe I need start saving.. fingers crossed the price drops a little too in the coming months.
 
Only you can decide of course but I would narrow it down to either a 70D or a 7D2 plus they are apparently good for video which you mention. Yes, you can more easily afford a used 7D or 5D2 and they will take very good photos but their later successors offer you more potential to grow into - It depends how seriously you take your photography and your presence here suggests you do.

There's lots of comparison vids on YouTube between some of the models you list - That's how I chose my 70D over the others (until the 7D Mark II was launched).

Also, go into a camera shop and have a feel for what appeals to you - Cameras, like cars, are very tactile machines.

[I'm gonna be cheeky and ask you to consider giving me a 'Like' for my post #11 - Obviously I spend too much time on facebook!]
 
Yes I have done just that and narrowed the options to 70D or 7d MKii. A 2nd hand 7D would not give the high iso improvement I'm looking for even know it would be step up in other areas to my 50D. The 70D and 7dMKii were always my main contenders but I listed the others to make sure I was not overlooking something.

So it all boils down to money.. as ever. Maybe I need to trip the WEX to have a hands on play as you suggest. The 7d MKii ticks all the boxes of what I really would like, the only thing missing is flip out screen and wifi which both might have been useful now and again. The 70D ticks 85-90% of my wish list for half the money, can I live with the comprise.... I guess either would be a great replacement but as you say maybe the 7Dmkii will give me more options to learn and grow.

More reading and tube vids to watch.

Thanks all.
 
I really cannot see the point in buying a 70D if youre not going to keep it for a decent amount of time. Better to save a bit longer and get the camera you want. Interest free looks attractive.

Canon have brought the AF from their 2 flagship camers into the MkII and its a very nice camera. Not a massive step forward but a very worthwhile improvement. Its not a 1DX, not even close, but buying one and taking the time to get used to it and learning how to get the best out of it will pay dividends.

Ive changed a 5D3 for the MKII and im happy with it. Its a good second body for my 1DX when I need the reach or I dont want to lug around a 500mm.

MkII is the one to go for.

Cheers
 
Back
Top