Full frame and crop sensor??

amumonamission

amumonamission

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I'm thinking of upgrading to a 5d. I'm not completely sure of all the benefits of Full frame though.

I know that full frame bodies perform better in low light because of the iso performance, which is good for me because when I shoot newborns I do like to use natural light.

But can someone give me more on the clear benefits I would see please. I would be upgrading from a 550d.

Thanks
 
Generally, the larger the sensor, the higher the image quality, and better the low noise performance. If low noise and image quality are important, it may be a worthwhile upgrade, but ask yourself whether you really need it. Are your images too low quality now? Do you print really large? Are your images noisy? If not.... it would be better to invest in better, faster lenses as that will also allow you to lower noise by allowing you to shoot at lower ISO.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Generally, the larger the sensor, the higher the image quality, and better the low noise performance. If low noise and image quality are important, it may be a worthwhile upgrade, but ask yourself whether you really need it. Are your images too low quality now? Do you print really large? Are your images noisy? If not.... it would be better to invest in better, faster lenses as that will also allow you to lower noise by allowing you to shoot at lower ISO.
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No I don't have a problem with my image quality, to be honest my 550d performs really well upto about 3200 iso before losing too much on quality but I don't take it further than 1600 maximum due to personal preference and to be safe.
 
Another point to consider is lenses - you need FF lenses, any EF-S lenses will need to be replaced with EF equivalents. Also not sure of the 5D ergonomics compared with the 550D - I've not used either but the 5D is older and may feel slower to drive and the back screen is smaller and much lower resolution
 
arad85 said:
Another point to consider is lenses - you need FF lenses, any EF-S lenses will need to be replaced with EF equivalents. Also not sure of the 5D ergonomics compared with the 550D - I've not used either but the 5D is older and may feel slower to drive and the back screen is smaller and much lower resolution
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So could turn out much more expensive than just upgrading the camera then? Out of interest, are full frame lenses then compatible with crop sensor bodies? Or does it work both ways, hope that makes sense!
 
amumonamission said:
So could turn out much more expensive than just upgrading the camera then? Out of interest, are full frame lenses then compatible with crop sensor bodies? Or does it work both ways, hope that makes sense!
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Yes, could indeed turn out more expensive! I recently made the move to full frame and had to plan well in advance to ensure my lens lineup was suitable.

FF lenses can be used on a crop body without issue.
 
Correct.... You would need something like a 24-105 or 24-70 to replace the 17-50. Don't forget that FF gives a wider field of view, so a 24mm on FF will give the same field of view as a 15mm on crop (the factor is 1.6). Note, the focal lengths of lenses don't change, just the field of view does which leads to the term effective focal length (15mm on crop is the same effective focal length as 24mm on FF).
 
I have both the 5D2 and 7D and the combination of APS-C and full frame works great for me. The 5D2 is a superb landscape/city camera for when I want all out quality and my lenses to stay wide, and the 7D is perfect for my aviation shooting where the crop factor and speed can often work for you.

It sounds like APS-C will work just fine for what you need and you're not having any quality issues, that being the case you might not really gain much by making the shift to full frame. :)
 
A 5DII & the 24-105 would be an ideal upgrade set up for the Canon shooter (depending on your preferred subject matter of course). Work out the prices and go for it.
 
Sort of in the same boat, got a 7D and 5D, but the majority of my nicest lenses such as the 17-55mm and 10-22mm are EF-S

Borrowing my daughters 17-40mm at the moment for the 5D, but think it will cost me too much to build up a similar EF collection so going to sell it sooner rather than later and stay with the crop sensor

For studio work I think the FF would be better, skin tones are reckoned to be better and will admit the overall effect is more pleasing too. Hard to pin down, but perhaps less digital would be my best attempt at describing it, certainly different whatever
 
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Yeah it's really hard to know which way to go here. I also would like to have a decent back up to fall back on should something go wrong, I have a 400d but it really is lacking compared to the 550d, so just wondering now after reading what you all have said whether a 7d may be the way to go then make my 550d my back up??? decisions decisions! :thinking: Also I need to consider that canon made the 550d compatible with SD cards not CF cards, so would need to get more cards as the cf cards I have are quite slow.
 
Slow CF cards would be ok on a 5D mkI, hope you work out what you think will suit, both formats have their pros and cons

Thanks for this thread because it helped me decide what to do and just about to post my 5D for sale
 
When comparing full frame vs crop you need to make sure you compare like for like, meaning a new model crop to a new model Fullframe. The reason I mention this is that some of the recent crop DSLRs equal if not surpass the dynamic range and image detail of the older full frame bodies


Simon
 
In my humble, the only 2 cameras better than the 7d for you are the 5d III or 1dx
 
simonkit said:
When comparing full frame vs crop you need to make sure you compare like for like, meaning a new model crop to a new model Fullframe. The reason I mention this is that some of the recent crop DSLRs equal if not surpass the dynamic range and image detail of the older full frame bodies


Simon
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That's not so clear cut. SOOC the new ones will be pre-processed to show lots more DR, but once you hit Lightroom 4, the good old FF usually goes long way beyond recent crop in highlight and shadow recovery (either by sliders or grad filters) without much visible image degradation. 1DsII can easily manage over 1 stop up and down, and around 2 stops with a tiny bit of noise reduction. I think I'd need to get medium format to go significantly higher than that.
 
Thanks everyone. I think at the moment my best bet financially would be to maybe go with a 7d. From research I have come to the decision for these reasons, the first being that I can use all the lenses I currently have, second I like that it can shoot at 8 fps compared with 3.7 on my 550d and I shoot a lot of motocross so when sometimes 20 bikes are all coming to the part of the track I am shooting in quick succession I wont have to wait for the camera to catch up and potentially miss anyone, third reason being, the 7d has 19 different AF points compared to 9 on the 550d often I have thought that it would be usful to have more when i've been doing portrait work so this should help, fourth remote speedlight should be a handy extra.

Where as I realise that a 5d would also be a good upgrade when I compare it with my financial head on, I would be getting a good upgrade by getting a 7d.
 
You will need some bigger faster CF cards for the 7D, soon munches its way through them using raw and continuous
 
tijuana taxi said:
You will need some bigger faster CF cards for the 7D, soon munches its way through them using raw and continuous
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Yeah, Would def need some more. I only have 2 and although they are sandisc, they are only 30mb/ps.

Would you recommend anything in particular? I have always just stuck with sandisc, not sure what speed would be sufficient either :thinking:

Maybe i'll just get the body first and then go from there lol :)
 
I only have 2 and although they are sandisc, they are only 30mb/ps
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I find a 8gb 60mb/s works well, never found a reason to change from Sandisc if bought from reputable suppliers

Fast downloading card reader is handy too, my old one took an age and think the Lexar USB 3.0 is one of the best around (even when used on USB 2.0)
 
tijuana taxi said:
I find a 8gb 60mb/s works well, never found a reason to change from Sandisc if bought from reputable suppliers

Fast downloading card reader is handy too, my old one took an age and think the Lexar USB 3.0 is one of the best around (even when used on USB 2.0)
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Good job you mentioned that actually as my laptop only accepts sd cards so will need to invest in a card reader.

I would probably for my own benefit invest in a couple 32mb ones at that speed then as I when I do motocross I fill a 32mb one in a day sometimes more!

Thanks for your advise :)
 
I got into full frame about 6 months ago with an 8 year old 1Ds mk1 and its a decision I don't regret,yes its a tiny screen small buffer and not much good above 400i so but the quality and tonality of the images is quite superb and this is with non L lenses as well.
 
For me, the biggest lure of FF was that it gave me back my wide angles without needing to use my film bodies! I had made sure that all my lenses (bar a kit 18-70) were FF compatible since I had been running 35mm film alongside the crop digitals so for me, the upgrade didn't involve any extra expense over the body cost - in fact, that lonely Dx lens went with the D200 since the buyer of that needed a starter lens. I know that for some, the draw of the extra apparent reach that a crop body gives is strong but a mate who's heavily into birds has recently upgraded to an FF body and uses its crop mode to great effect (in fact, it has 2 crop modes; 1.2 and 1.5 times) due to his choice of body's massive pixel count (he's gone for a D800 but he's always been a Nikon man like me!)
 
Just to throw a spanner in the works, I've seen a few recommendations for crops and the 60D seemed to come out on top against the 7D with low noise being its biggest advantage.

Have I got it wrong?
 
digital said:
Just to throw a spanner in the works, I've seen a few recommendations for crops and the 60D seemed to come out on top against the 7D with low noise being its biggest advantage.

Have I got it wrong?
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Noise wise, virtually nothing in it.
 
RichardtheSane said:
Noise wise, virtually nothing in it.
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That's interesting.

I've got a 5DIII and a 60D but Management has taken a shine to the 60D so I was thinking of letting her have the 60D and getting either another 60D or a 7D for myself. With the comments I had seen about the 7D's relatively high noise I was coming down on the side of another 60D. Perhaps I need to reconsider...
 
digital said:
That's interesting.

I've got a 5DIII and a 60D but Management has taken a shine to the 60D so I was thinking of letting her have the 60D and getting either another 60D or a 7D for myself. With the comments I had seen about the 7D's relatively high noise I was coming down on the side of another 60D. Perhaps I need to reconsider...
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I suppose it depends on what you want it for really. The points I made above about the comparison were all personal preference. Although a 60d would have been a good upgrade for me from the 550d, I feel that for what I would use it for a 7d would be a better upgrade yet still financially within reach.
 
amumonamission said:
I suppose it depends on what you want it for really. The points I made above about the comparison were all personal preference. Although a 60d would have been a good upgrade for me from the 550d, I feel that for what I would use it for a 7d would be a better upgrade yet still financially within reach.
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I meant to add to that:

If those points aren't important then a 60d would save you money, you already have a 5dIII so how much would you use a second body? You have managed ok so far with a 60d...
 
amumonamission said:
I suppose it depends on what you want it for really. The points I made above about the comparison were all personal preference. Although a 60d would have been a good upgrade for me from the 550d, I feel that for what I would use it for a 7d would be a better upgrade yet still financially within reach.
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It is difficult.

I find the articulated screen on the 60D really useful for getting shots over (or under!) obstructions and seem to find myself in fairly dimly lit locations when we're travelling.

However, a lot of our travels involve watching wildlife (Antarctica, India, Spitsbergen) and so quick AF in addition to low light performance is a distinct advantage.

The 5DIII covers the quick AF, low light and noise issues but I often have a need to stretch my Sigma 50-500 just that little bit more that a crop camera offers.

Decisions, decisions... and I hope that I haven't made yours any harder!
 
digital said:
It is difficult.

I find the articulated screen on the 60D really useful for getting shots over (or under!) obstructions and seem to find myself in fairly dimly lit locations when we're travelling.

However, a lot of our travels involve watching wildlife (Antarctica, India, Spitsbergen) and so quick AF in addition to low light performance is a distinct advantage.

The 5DIII covers the quick AF, low light and noise issues but I often have a need to stretch my Sigma 50-500 just that little bit more that a crop camera offers.

Decisions, decisions... and I hope that I haven't made yours any harder!
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Nope! lol

Still going to stick with crop sensor at the moment! Going the check funds and hunt for a 7d. Might upgrade to a 5d next now I know more about full frame :)
 
amumonamission said:
I meant to add to that:

If those points aren't important then a 60d would save you money, you already have a 5dIII so how much would you use a second body?
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A lot. Especially when travelling when swapping lenses means that I possibly lose the shot or risk the potential of a whole lot of dust inside the camera.

In Antarctica, for example, and before I got the second body (the 5DIII), I found that I was continually swapping lenses both on the ship and when we were ashore. The potential for disasters and missed opportunities wasn't all that enjoyable.

amumonamission said:
You have managed ok so far with a 60d...
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I had managed fine with the 5DIII and 60D until my wife decided she might as well join in rather than watch me and decided that the 60D would do just fine!

Now I'm looking for another second body I need to make sure I get the right one and the option of the 7D is making the decision difficult.
 
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