full frame vs APS-c with canon 70-200 usm

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Hi guys

I'm in the market to buy either a 40 or 50d with the 70-200 f2.8 USM lens (non IS)

I have tried the combo on a 50d and loved it, but I was also considering a 5D that a friend has, but wondered how the lens would compare on that body. I know there is no 'crop factor' on a full frame sensor, so how would that affect my view through the 70-300?

If anything, I would like to go slightly wider than 70mm on the 50d but just like this lens so much it's OK to work around that, or carry a wider lens. On a full frame, would it appear wider at 70mm, or affectively longer? The only frames of reference I have are based on APS-C cameras, so what would it be the equivalent of?

I saw a page with a calculator on it one time but can't seem to see it!

And in general, would you recommend that lens on the 5D over the 50D? And the lens will fit both, if I'm not mistaken, right??

Cheers
ped
 
I use a 50D and a 5D combo - although I have only had the 5D a couple weeks.

On the 5D your lens will appear to have less reach as on the 50D the crop factor extends the reach of the lens by a factor of 1.6. So yes at 70mm on the 5D you will get a true 70mm view (a moderate telephoto).

Now onto lenses - All Canon EF mount lenses will work on both cameras. EF-S lenses will not as they are designed specifically for crop sensors. Unlike crops, full frame cameras will use all of the available lens which does increase the requirement for good lenses - to prevent a fall off in sharpness at the edges.

As for 50D vs 5D - both these cameras are different beasts (not quite chalk and cheese). I use my 50D for fast subjects requiring a bit extra reach, wheras the role of the 5D is for more creative stuff - as such they compliment each other very well. In comparison to the 50D some of the 5D's features are a little dated - smaller lower res screen, slower card writing, slower image preview and so on - however the great images it produces more than compensate.
 
The Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 gives the approximate equivilent of a 70-200mm full frame range on a crop body. I have one and find the range much more useful then 70-200. It always suprises me that Canon dont produce fast crop only lenses equivilent to the 'classic' full frame focal lengths.
 
Thanks guys. I think the 5D sounds more my style... and the 70-200 will be more useful without the crop factor. One thing I am reading is that the 50D focuses faster. Is that true? I have recently been using a 500D with a 17-55 f2.8 IS USM which was definitely quick enough, would the 5D with the 70-200 USM be comparable?

Cheers
ped
 
The 70-200mm lens is a 70-200mm lens, that doesn't change. With a FF sensor like the 5D, no change, however on a cropped sensor camera, because the sensor is small, you lose part of the image, because the angles at which the light hits the sensor has changed. What effectively happens is the lens frames like a lens equivalent to a 112-320mm.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htm

One might initially think that throwing away image information is never ideal, however it does have its advantages. Nearly all lenses are sharpest at their centers, while quality degrades progressively toward to the edges. This means that a cropped sensor effectively discards the lowest quality portions of the image, which is quite useful when using low quality lenses (as these typically have the worst edge quality).

Additionally, the optical performance of wide angle lenses is rarely as good as longer focal lengths. Since a cropped sensor is forced to use a wider angle lens to produce the same angle of view as a larger sensor, this can degrade quality. Smaller sensors also enlarge the center region of the lens more, so its resolution limit is likely to be more apparent for lower quality lenses.
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pete.rush said:
The 70-200mm lens is a 70-200mm lens, that doesn't change. With a FF sensor like the 5D, no change, however on a cropped sensor camera, because the sensor is small, you lose part of the image, because the angles at which the light hits the sensor has changed. What effectively happens is the lens frames like a lens equivalent to a 112-320mm.
Click to expand...

Yeah that was the page I was remembering - many thanks
 
ped said:
Thanks guys. I think the 5D sounds more my style... and the 70-200 will be more useful without the crop factor. One thing I am reading is that the 50D focuses faster. Is that true? I have recently been using a 500D with a 17-55 f2.8 IS USM which was definitely quick enough, would the 5D with the 70-200 USM be comparable?

Cheers
ped
Click to expand...

It depends what you want to photograph. I shoot action photograph, so the crop factor comes in handy to give me that extra frame. So my 300mm prime is effectively the same as a 390mm lens with out paying the extra money. (I have a 1D with a 1.3x crop). Where as if I want to shoot landscapes and take a image at say 24mm, I would have to find a 18mm lens to achieve a similar shot to the 24mm on a FF camera.

As I said it really depends on what you what to take photo's of
 
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