7D or 5d Mk 1

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I have the chance to buy either a 7D or a 5D Mk1 and I don't know which one to get. I already have a couple of lenses that only work on crop sensor cameras but also have three primes and a short zoom that work on full frame. I do mainly portrait work, either headshots or family/lifestyle stuff these days (when I am not travelling and photographing) so....

opinions/advice greatly appreciated

cheers
 
I think if you are doing mainly portrait / landscape work the 5D would be ideal but of course the EFS lenses you have will be no good on that body. If you shoot sport / aircraft I think the 7D would be better, having owned both in my time I preferred the 5D personally
 
Get a 7D. Are potraits / landscapes really significantly better with a 5D than a 7D? I doubt it!
 
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For comparison, what do you currently have?
 
I have Just Sold my 7D and replaced it with a 5D Mark II.

My reason was that I mainly shoot People & Landscapes, So I needed Full Frame.
For improved DOF & Image Quality in low light with Higher ISO.

The 7D has more modern features like HD Video, 19 Point AF, Level Indicator, Built in Wireless Flash Control. The 7D is a Crop Sensor so it also gets a lot closer to the subject than full Frame on same lens. THe Auto Focus is superb.

If I had the Choice of 7D or 5D MK1. I would choose the 7D.
 
I have a 40D at the moment. I have a 12-24 Tokina and a 17-50 Tamron that wouldn't work on a FF, all my primes and my 24-70 will be fine.

From the opinions so far it seems to be personal taste. Hmmm...
 
OK, from a 40D I don't think you will see any real improvement in the sort of photography you do if you were to move to a 7D.

Don't get me wrong, the 7D is an excellent camera, I really like mine. But I purchased for specific reasons. When it comes to the image quality it is good - but ISO peformance is still behind the 5D mk1

Personally considering what you shoot I would maybe sell the 17-50mm & 12-24mm and try to save for a used 5D II
 
if we are talking 5D MKI then i would go for the 7D with your lenses you can get up and running straight away, you will see a difference in your shots as i did moving from a 50D
 
Because the 5D is ok at 1600 but poor when extended to iso 3200, but it does have a certain quality to the image.

Personally I'd say the 7D is one stop better than the 5D at high ISO's, with all the advantages of the larger screen, better AF assist points etc. The 5D mk2 though is much better for portraits, product shoots etc.
 
The undefinable IQ of the 5d wins it for me, in fact I prefer the mk1 to the mk2.
FF is one of those things that if you dont have you will always be wondering "what if". Get a 5d if you dont like it flog it, you wont lose much (or maybe anything), but my guess is once bitten you'll stay with it.
I have a 50D (well, the wife does), a 1D mk 2 and a 5D - I carry the 5d at all times.

Matt
 
I have both a 40D and a 5D. I would happily replace the 40D with a 7D, but would I replace the 5D with a 7D?... Not on your nelly! For portraits and landscapes etc the 5D is beautiful, yes the screen isn't the best, and is older technology, but the IQ is just wonderful, and at the end of the day it's the images that matter not the technology. As someone else said, one you've gone full frame it's hard to go back to crop (1D MkIV excepted).
 
okay, I think that it will be the 5D. I did use a 5D mkII during the summer and liked it a lot but I cannot afford to buy one at the moment.

I will still use my crop sensor lenses on the 40D and use the 85mm prime or my 70-200m on the 5D for my portrait work. I like having two cameras with me when I shoot and I had been using my very old 20d as my back up until recently.
 
As 5D mark 3 is coming....my advice is to wait until summer

If you cant wait...just go for a 7D

the 7D mark 2 will definitely come later

But if you want me to choose....haha....I cant give you an answer
*** they have different pupose!!! I think I will want them both
 
The killer for me is that no Canon full frame camera has a built in flash. I know I'm in a minority here but I never had a SLR without a flash and I see no reason why I should have a DSLR without a flash. If the 5D or 5DII had a flash I'd have bought one ages ago. I don't shoot action and I see little to motivate me to buy a newer APS-C body as from what I've seen there's little if any real difference in image quality at the sizes I view and print.
 
This one is really simple to answer: get a 5D !!

I have a 7d and a 5d mark 1

The 5d is just amazing and theres no way Id choose 7d over a 5d

Im actually currently selling my 7d to get a 5d mark ii as I just cant get enough of the full frame images

My advice ?

Go pick up and play with a 5d mark 1 if you can - look through the viewfinder and tell me then what you want

I had the same dilemma on what to get and yet it took just thirty seconds of me playing with a 5d to decide

I would NEVER choose to give up my 5d now - cant say the same for my 7d

I shoot everything from boxing to glamour and the 5d can do it all
 
woof woof said:
The killer for me is that no Canon full frame camera has a built in flash. I know I'm in a minority here but I never had a SLR without a flash and I see no reason why I should have a DSLR without a flash. If the 5D or 5DII had a flash I'd have bought one ages ago. I don't shoot action and I see little to motivate me to buy a newer APS-C body as from what I've seen there's little if any real difference in image quality at the sizes I view and print.


I'm a nikon user but no POP up flash doesn't bother me at all on the D3, I don't even like using POP up flash as a commander for OCF on my bodies that do have one. None of my film SLRs had a built in flash, just what you get used to I suppose.
 
I was in a similar position a few months back (although I only had EF lenses) in the end I went for full frame image quality over spec sheet numbers. The only case I would go for the 7D is if I needed the faster AF.

With regards to lenses your 17-50 would be eaten up by the 24-70 so you may be able to sell both wide lenses to fund a 17-40 which is very wide on FF. 85mm on FF is great for portraits too.
 
well, I procrastinated for too long over which to buy so missed out on the cheap 5D so now hunting on fleabay for another as I think FF is the way to go. I will still keep my 40D and use my 12-24 on that most of the time.
 
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