Contemplating upgrade 60d to 5D mk iii

ChrisHeathcote

ChrisHeathcote

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As the title says I am thinking about upgrading to FF specifically the 5D mk iii and thought I'd ask the advice of the many on here who have gone through similar. The reason for this is that I am starting to do more and more landscape and portrait work, a lot of which is low light, along with this I am looking at doing a course in portrait and wedding photography to improve my skills. This is why I am thinking of FF for the better iso and overall IQ. I also enjoy wildlife photography. Putting the 2 together along with other features like the dual card slots, so that I can record JPEG on one and RAW on the other, is what has lead me to the 5d mk iii. My main concern is the loss of focal length for wildlife because of the crop, however I'm not sure if the superior focus system will outweigh this. Ideally I would like to keep both but funds wont stretch that far. What is everyone elses experience.
 
I bought the 5D 3 for Landscapes and ended up buying a 7D for the Wildlife as you really miss that crop sensor when it comes to Wildlife.
So unless you already have some expensive tele lenses be prepared to possibly buy a cheap crop camera any time soon
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
Thanks Tony, I currently used either a 70-200 F2.8 or a 150-500. What was you using?
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I had the 70-200 f2.8l non IS which seriously lacks reach on a ff, i then went to a 100-400 but could not get on with it, so have just bought the 70-300 F4-5.6 L off the forums which will arrive tomorrow and a 400mm f5.6l prime from panamoz which i hope will do the trick.
I have never used the Bigma so cant comment on its use on FF.
 
I went from a 7D to a 5D3.

I noticed the fact my lenses gave me less apparent reach initially, but now I just don't notice at all. You get better at working with what you have - plus improved image quality I get far outweighs the reach drawback.
 
for the best of both worlds, I would look at having two bodies also, esp if you want to have a backup
for the cost of a 5dIII you can get a 7D and a 1Ds II
good focusing, great FF image quality.
 
This i also something that had crossed my mind, however the ISO limit on the 1DS mk ii only beign 1600 was putting me off, I recently helped out at a friends wedding and was shooting at 1600+ on some occasions. However ideally I would like to have a 2nd body.
 
The crop sensor cameras capture what is, essentially, the centre portion of the full frame image, so that with FF you can crop to the same size as the crop sensor without any loss of IQ.
 
dougdarter said:
The crop sensor cameras capture what is, essentially, the centre portion of the full frame image, so that with FF you can crop to the same size as the crop sensor without any loss of IQ.
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However surely a crop will capture more detail because it has more pixels in that area. The same size area on a 5diii would hold about 13/14 mp as opposed to the 18mp on the 60d/7d
 
I went from a 600d to a 5D3 and love it. The first thing I noticed was the image quality, far superior and the colors were so much more vivid. The next big improvement was not only the focus system was way better the low noise at high iso was a tremendous improvement. Any one of these factors is enough for me to justify the upgrade. I too would like a second body for my street photography, a second 5d3 that is.
 
Exact same upgrade I made and I don't regret it one bit, Apart from the cost of buying a FF camera like the 5D III and lenses. Its all the extra weight to carry around. so as a second body when my shoulder needs a break and I'm taking more casual pictures I bought a 100D. It a superb little camera :)
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
As the title says I am thinking about upgrading to FF specifically the 5D mk iii and thought I'd ask the advice of the many on here who have gone through similar. The reason for this is that I am starting to do more and more landscape and portrait work, a lot of which is low light, along with this I am looking at doing a course in portrait and wedding photography to improve my skills. This is why I am thinking of FF for the better iso and overall IQ. I also enjoy wildlife photography. Putting the 2 together along with other features like the dual card slots, so that I can record JPEG on one and RAW on the other, is what has lead me to the 5d mk iii. My main concern is the loss of focal length for wildlife because of the crop, however I'm not sure if the superior focus system will outweigh this. Ideally I would like to keep both but funds wont stretch that far. What is everyone elses experience.
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I'd recommend you save up and wait until you can buy the 5D mmiii outright, whilst keeping your 60D as a backup crop body - if you use the 60D when you've bought the 5d mkiii great, if not after a period of time, then sell it on and put the money towards a new lens...

If / when you do get one, enjoy it :)
 
Why a 5DIII and not a 6D? The 6D is better in low light and for landscapes you wont need all the focus points.
 
I'd toss the 6D in for consideration also. Whilst the 5D3 is a great camera coming from a 1.6 crop for wildlife does take a little getting used to. I was dropping from a 1.3 crop so not such a big step.

The AF on the 5 is very good especially for BIF. When I initially bought it my 1D MkIV hardly got used I was that impressed with the 5 but now I'm using the Mk IV more, not just for a bit of extra reach but for its frame rate in some situations.

You could but a 6D and a 70D or 7D for the price of the 5 and you would have a very nice setup for the best of both worlds.

Having said all that the 5 is a cracking camera that can turn its hand to any form of photography and give good results.

Time to get pondering :)
 
Thanks Gaz, our posts overlapped, I did those maths too :) .
Prob 50% of my wildlife is BIF and although this is prob where I'll miss the reach, the af is and the selector joystick is very tempting.
From reading specs I would prob choose the 70d over the 7d as a 2nd
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
I was thinking the 6d originally for those reasons but the dual slots an better focus for animals birds etc are pulling me to the 5diii
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If dual slots and the AF are important to you Chris then it pretty much makes up your mind for you. I use a 1.4 on my 500 on the 5D3 but I don't know if that option will be available to you with the sigma.

With regards to cropping in to the same size as your 60D unless you're going to be printing huge prints you won't even notice it. The high ISO on the 5D3 is excellent. I have no issues with using high ISO (highest ive printed was 5000 to A3) and they clean up really well in LR with minimal effort.
 
How about a 5D MKII and then you can keep the 60D

Admittedly no dual slots, but ideal for landscapes and portrait work
 
Thanks everyone. I think that's pretty much settled it. I was hoping I might be able to move away from crop bodies and go totally FF, but I think there may be instances I miss the crop.
So I think the answer might be get rid of the 60d and grip for the 5diii for now and then maybe pick up a 70d second hand later in the year. My lenses are pretty much sorted or will be by then. I currently have a 50mm f1.8, 70-200 f2.8 sigma 150-500 and a sick 17-70 OS which is pending an insurance claim (hopefully they will pay in vouchers, if not it will end up in the classifieds) add to this the 17-40L that Santa is bringing me and bobsyouruncle :D
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
I was thinking the 6d originally for those reasons but the dual slots an better focus for animals birds etc are pulling me to the 5diii
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There are many other reasons to go with the 5dIII over the 6d. I looked at low light comparisons and thought the 5d won out. Even if you do not agree there are things that really make it a superior camera. The focus system alone is a deal maker. Not to mention the frames per second the over all build, view finder, ext ext. If you want to save money and weight the 6d is a nice camera. I don't want to make this into a debate but wanted to point out that you really get what you pay for with the 5dIII but if it is worth that money is up to you.
 
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