5D Mk II, 7D or 550D??????????

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sg123

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Stephen
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Hi all,

I'm getting the feeling that this is going to be a pretty common question!

I have been doing quite a bit of research having traded in my 350D and now want to upgrade.

I was looking at the 5D MkII and the 7D (a tough decision in itself) and then the 550D got announced with many of the features of the 7D.

I certainly don't have money to throw about but I am also keen on investing in the right camera for me.

I am looking to expand my photography and have no particular niche but enjoy portraiture, reportage and landscape. Of course I'd rather not spend heaps of money but at the same time I would like to have a camera that will stretch me enough. Of course there is also the sensor size debate but I guess that will be just one of the trade-offs here.

In short I am keen to get hold of a new camera over the next month and am researched out! (are there likely to be any new releases of the 5D/7D anytime soon?) I'd be really appreciative of anyones views.
 
sg123 said:
I am looking to expand my photography and have no particular niche but enjoy portraiture, reportage and landscape.
Click to expand...

that would point towards the 5D2 as full frame would be of benifit in these situations.

Its a tough call, I had a similar decision, but as I love motorsport and wildlife, the 7D seemed the natural choice!

Good luck with your decision :thumbs:
 
550D is nothing like the other two, ignore that as a consumer model - the other two are much more prosumer - assuming thats what you want.

Crop (7D) or full frame (5D), the choice is yours... if you don't need a decent fast AF system and you aren't talking about shooting things with long telephoto lenses, the 5D will produce a nicer image.

5D. Buy the 5D.
 
What lenses do you have in your collection to go with either the 5DII or 7D? Remember that the 5DII will not accept the EF-S style of mount whereas the 7D will accept both the EF and EF-S.

Both cameras will require the very best lenses to get the most out of the resolution. I would say L-Glass is a must for the 5DII and the best EF-S lenses (17-55 2.8) for the 7D.
DB
 
Also, do you really need the 5D MkII? Maybe a plain ol' 5D mkI would do the job. Having just gone through the same dilemma as you, I couldn't justify the difference between a second hand 5D and a new/second hand 5D mkII. The doubling of price didn't justify the extra features for me.

(I upgraded from a 400D)
 
Impspeed said:
What lenses do you have in your collection to go with either the 5DII or 7D? Remember that the 5DII will not accept the EF-S style of mount whereas the 7D will accept both the EF and ED-S.
DB
Click to expand...

Just to clarify - it does accept the mount, but you get the same field of view as on the crop sensor (i.e. a biiiiig black vignette).
 
starabo said:
Just to clarify - it does accept the mount, but you get the same field of view as on the crop sensor (i.e. a biiiiig black vignette).
Click to expand...

At your own risk attach an EF-S mount lens to your 5D...
:gag::bonk:
 
I was looking at upgrading my 30D to a 50D + couple of L lenses....but managed to convince myself that the 5D2 with 24-105 kit was the better purchase in the long run.

I've not been dissapointed. The IQ, ISO performance, sheer detail and cropping power of the 21mp sensor is really in another league, and the lens is superb, you'll be hard pressed to ever beat as a walkaround.

I think I started rambling there. Get the 5D :)
 
Lenses aside.

If I was upgrading it would be between the 5DII and the 7D

What kind of photography do you have in mind ?

For landscape photography I'd probably go for the 5DII - Full frame, It has a much lower pixel density, RAW tests seem to show better noise handling.

For wildlife or sports the 7D - Crop for 'reach' and 8 fps compared to 3.9 fps

Also 5DII has no built in Flash.

For me - 5DII But that's just my view though.
 
The EF-S lens sticks out the back further than EF.....subsequently it is possible the mirror may strike it.

Wouldn't chance it personally!
 
EF-S mounts sit further back towards the mirror assembly than EF mounts do... If you stick an EF-S lens on an EF bodied camera, you could end up damaging the mirror as you take a shot.

I was recently in a similar situation regarding the choice between the 7D and 5DMKII. I went for the 7D for a few reasons... Newer technology, lenses owned that were designed for the crop sensor (EF-S10-22, 30mm f1.4 etc) and overall quality and ease of use. I know the 5DMKII has better image quality but when the final shot is printed or displayed, there's not a great deal in it.

Si
 
Should add my decision was based on what I shoot. I.e. landscapes, portraits, street. If I was shooting sports or BIF I may have made a different decision.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone - really helpful. I was a bit puzzled when the 550 came out and people were pitching it against the 5D Mk II! I popped in to a camera shop the other day and got hold of the 7D and 5D and they feel like great cameras in comparison to the XXXD range as I know it.

Some really good points there. The 5DII plus the 24-105L looks like a great combo but that is a real wallet shock! As was mentioned perhaps a used 5DMkI is an option....... I haven't looked at this to be honest and i'm sure it's a great camers too...... can anyone tell what I would be missing out on regarding features?

As for lenses I am not tied in to EFS as the only EFS lens that I had (Sigma 18-200 Canon fit) went with the 350D. All I have left is the Canon 50mm 1.8 and a cheap Tamron short range zoom.

Decision time I guess - and you can't sit around worrying what might come out as soon as you commit! I think I've safely removed the 550D option! So now it's between the 7D and 5D - yikes!
 
Format size is a bigger factor than number of pixels. For example, 40D with 10mp vs 7D with 18mp, not a huge difference. 7D vs 5D2, with roughly similar 21mp, big difference - the pixels are more than twice the size. But you need to print large, or want to crop hard, to see it. It's there though, plus a major ISO upside thanks to the bigger pixels again.

For the kind of work you suggest, full frame wins. But when it comes to long lens reach and action, 7D has it.

I bought a 5D2 with 24-70 kit last week for £2350 from Calumet. Kerso will do you one for a bit less than that :)
 
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