Upgrade from 500D

[Nespresco]

I am looking to upgrade my camera from my 500D on the back of current prices of both the 5dmkII and the 7D. There are countless topics on the internet about 5dII vs 7D so I want to try and avoid turning this into one. On my 500D I found the auto focus in AI servo mode a little slow whilst tracking a wildlife chase. How much of that is down to the camera I don't know. I also found that once the evening drew in and I needed to push the ISO up to 800 (I don't have the luxury of fast lenses) images became quite grainy and my best efforts to de-noise them in PP resulted in a big loss in sharpness.

I am off to Kenya again this summer so will be taking some more pictures on safari, people often say (and I agree) that you want as much reach as possible, how much difference would there be, in IQ and resolution terms, between an image from a 7D and then from a 5dII cropped to the same FOV?

I also enjoy shooting cricket up at my club where the 8FPS would help significantly so I am strongly leaning towards the 7D here. I don't do portraits as such but I have a number of friends and family with upcoming weddings and pictures make a wonderful gift. How well can a 7D do portraits in the evening under low light and during the day?

The 7D to my knowledge uses the same sensor as my 500D therefore am I going to see an improvement in IQ? and better low-light performace? Or am I better off just saving up a bit more and going for a 5DII?

Regarding the 5DmkII, Its AF system gets some pretty bad press, is this because of its performance relative to its pricing and target market or is it genuinely bad, I am aware that the AF system in the 7D is excellent. What are its limitations? Could it, for example, track a cheetah chasing a tommy?

My brain tells be to go with the 7D but I have 2 reservations, Its a lot of money to spend without getting a sensor upgrade and if the low light performance isn't better it's a lot to pay just for 8FPS and a better AF system. Secondly I see a lot of lovely landscape and portraits from a 7D which convince me that it is wonderful at both, then I see a similar image from a 5dmkII and it looks that much sharper, noticeably more detail, warmer colours (which I like).

I am not doing/going to be doing professional work any time soon, but I do enjoy what I do do. Also If I went for the 7D I could get a semi decent prime (or even 2 if bought second hand) in for the same price as a 5dmkII.

Please advise!

Any opinions on this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-EOS...as_DigitalCameras_JN&hash=item3f15c9fe71#shId

 

[mark1616]

My initial thoughts are glass, you will need better glass for the situations you describe no matter what camera and this will also help with AF speed. Obviously the right glass and better body will help even more.

The sensors between the 500 and 7D are not the same, the 550D/600D and 7D are I believe from the same family, probably a little difference in processors.

What lens do you have for cricket shooting currently?

 

[Nespresco]

Should have added I am using a 100-400mm, faster glass at that range is really out of the question unless i went for the sigma 120-300mm F2.8 paired with a 1.4 extender but that is still more than double what I have to spend. I had thought about getting a 50mm F1.4 which should be good for portraits on the crop sensor.

Also you are right about the sensors they are different but I think I read that the difference between 500D and 550D in IQ wasn't significant.

 

[pete.rush]

The sensor might be the same, but the performance over the 500D is better, although the 5D wins the low light battle. The autofocus systems are different, the 7D has far more focus points (19 v 9), however in terms of action photography with the 5D, it depends how you use the camera. Machine gun spray and pray, then yes, the speed of the autofocus system doesn't match the 7D, composed shots, then not problems as long as you get the right settings. As for ISO, well, the 5D wins hands down, but in terms of cropping images, the 7D wins again, plus 1.6x crop v full frame, so ideal for wildlife. Landscapes and portraits, then the full frame wins because of the size of the pixels and sensor. The 7D has some problems with image sharpness, but adjusting the in camera settings for sharpness improves this, although the 5D has the edge in certain situations.

On a plus side, Africa suffers less from light pollution, so even the slower lenses like the sigma 50-500mm or your canon 100-400mm will perform very well. I found that in South Africa, even with my 300mm f2.8 1.4x and 2x TC stacked on a 20D, I was lusting after a 500mm f4, however, in Kenya, you're more likely to get off the beaten track so to speak and could get closer to the action than I did in SA, but as mark said, at the end of the day, the lens wins through.

Just a few shots from my recent visit to the Kruger National Park in South Africa with my 20D

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[pete.rush]

Just another point, I was limited on the kit I could take, basically used my 20D plus grip, 1.4x and 2x TC 70-200mm f2.8 and 300mm f2.8 lenses, cards and batteries, plus a P&S and the weight came close to the max I was allowed to take on the internal flight, although they didn't check, my main carrier was BA, which had a lot better limits than most, Virgin was rubbish, so just a point to note, depending on how you are carrying your gear and which airline you go with?

 

[Nespresco]

We fly out with either virgin or BA, but drive from Nairobi to the mara so weight isn't an issue. Fortunately my dad lives there so no need to fly internally. We flew with virgin last year and the limit was something silly like 3 bags @30Kg each weight wont be an issue. Nice to see you managed to get a picture of an African wild dog! I think its about the only thing I haven't seen.

Still unclear on the cropping if you cropped a 5dmkII to the same FOV what would the difference be in IQ and resolution? Is the AF in a 5dmkII fast enough to track a cheetah in AI servo mode ?

 

[mrwaverley]

I had a 500d, but the frame rate and focus speed was slow so I got a 50d (pre 7d days) and even that is much faster in every respect than the 500d and the focus system is better. (I take a lot of surfing/windsurfing pics, hence needed higher frame rate) I then bought a 5dii and did a test taking a picture of an aircraft carrier on the horizon with both the 50d and 5dii and cropping the 5d image down to the size of the 50d image. When both images were put side by side the 50d image had much more detail (both taken with a 400mm f5.6L). So the 7d will be a little bit better than the 50d as well. If you took another picture with the 5dii and walked back and took one with the 50d so it filled the same frame out of the camera then the 5dii would be better. I hope that makes sense! Also the 5dii focus system is not bad infact its as good as anything except the really good ones though I think it should have been better on that camera, even my old eos 3 film camera had a 45 point eye control focus system! Sounds like you'll have to get the 7d for the wildlife/sport and the 5dii for the rest! Or just get a 5diii. I still use my 50d for sport/wildlife pics, maybe one day it will turn into a 7d but I use the 5dii for everything else. If a 5dii was tracking a cheetah in AI servo mode I suspect a lot of frames would be out of focus.

 

[Nespresco]

Hi David,

Thanks for that, very helpful. I think I have got you but from what I understand If I take a picture on a 7D at 400mm (640mm effectively) and then take the exact same shot on a 5dmkII at 400mm and then cropped it so the FOV was the same there would be less detail than the image taken by the 7D? How would the 5dmkII AF compare to my current 500D?

 

[mrwaverley]

Yes that is correct, I misread your previous post hence this edit, the 5dii AF is better than the 500d but not a huge amount. It is faster and a bit more accurate but it sounds like the 7d is a leap forward though I,ve not tried one yet. That said I have not had a problem taking some nice shots of windsurfers coming towards me at about 25mph using AI Servo with mostly the 50d but sometimes the 5dii.
They are two very different tools, If you are doing mostly distant wildlife/sport I would go for the 7d. If doing more portraits/weddings/landscapes I would go with a 5d model.
For myself I like the full frame more due to the extra background blur that you get with a larger sensor and the fact that the lens focal lengths are designed for 35mm film (full frame) which I still use sometimes. But I still choose the 50d with 400mm for wildlife and distant surfing shots.
Hope this helps.
PS the 50 1.4 or the 85 1.8 are both excellent portrait lenses on a 500d/7d.