Upgrade time!

Bep82

Bep82

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Bethia
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Hi!

The time has finally arrived where I am able to upgrade from my trusted canon 450d!! Believe it or not with that camera I have been building up my photography business and all is going well. I am a lifestyle/portrait photographer. Location shoots, home etc. for children, families, newborns....you get the idea!

So - help needed. I have a budget of £1,000.00. I currently have a canon 450d and I love my Canon 50mm 1.8 lens!

I am a little confused as to what to upgrade too - I am looking at secondhand bodies. But which one? Canon 5d Mk II, Canon 70d etc. Your thoughts would be gratefully appreciated. Obviously I would like the best for my budget and needs.

Bethia :)
 
The 5D2 is the obvious choice from the 70d and the 5D, for your purpose the 70D has no benefits over the 60D other than twice the price.

I would be looking at trying to find a second hand 70-200 and also getting a tamron 17-50 2.8.

As good as the 50mm 1.8 is the tamron is better and more versatile.
 
Hi and thanks for your replies! A friend of my parents is coincidently upgrading his camera and has offered me first refusal to purchase his Canon 5d mark I for £200!! Would have be mad turn this offer down. I know it's in mint condition and also comes with a battery grip. If I went with this I could
buy a good lens within my budget?! Thoughts greatly appreciated

Bethia
 
I think personally I would use the 450D over the 5DMkI. The 450D is a really good camera. What do you think the 5D will give you that the 450D doesn't?
 
I am still learning about upgrades, I just know that I want to upgrade my 450 which I have learnt with and built up my business with, but want a better body?!
 
Are you suggesting its not worth upgrading to this? Sorry, just getting my head around it.
CharlotteM said:
I think personally I would use the 450D over the 5DMkI. The 450D is a really good camera. What do you think the 5D will give you that the 450D doesn't?
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For that price give the 5D a go and if you don't like it sell it on

Given the type of work you undertake I think it would be excellent, but owning one myself makes me a bit biased

You could get a rather nice portrait type lens with the remainder of the money and I have no doubt you would see the difference over your current camera.
 
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Bep82 said:
Are you suggesting its not worth upgrading to this? Sorry, just getting my head around it.
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Frankly, I think Charlotte is plain wrong. The 5D files are beautiful and rich and you'll have full frame dof too. In all other aspects its much the same.
 
The 5D classic produces some excellent images and in the end that's what counts and at that money it's a no brainer, go for it, also the 50mm works well with it, so for now just get the 5D and see how you find the change in focal length
 
The23rdman said:
Frankly, I think Charlotte is plain wrong. The 5D files are beautiful and rich and you'll have full frame dof too. In all other aspects its much the same.
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I've used both and I preferred the 450D personally. The 5D was my workhorse camera professionally for a decent amount of time, and the files are nice, but the 450D won out on other levels for me. The small size was a huge bonus for me personally and the crop factor means you get the best out of cheaper lenses because you use the central sweet spot of the glass rather than the softer outer. As a smaller woman though, I prefer the crop sensor range that Canon do for being 'out and about'. Without knowing that the OP shoots it's impossible to say if one is better than the others.

Image quality is not the be all and end all of a camera. I now have both a 5DMkII and a Canon 100D that I use at different times for different things. It's about tools for the job, and 'best' camera doesn't stop at 'image quality'. I think I'd prefer to invest £1000 in a new lens than a camera that is now five year old technology. Yes you will see an image quality upgrade, but it may not be an upgrade in terms of usability for the individual. And I think that you'd get more 'upgrade' for your money potentially by investing in a new lens or two, or even by waiting for Canons next release and buying the 5DMkII on sale.
 
£200 is a very good price, AFAIK they normally go for between £300-400 or so. If you don't crop much and don't go above ISO 3200 you could ask yourself what a 5DII or III would offer over the original for you. If you are used to the 50mm FoV on your 450D maybe you could go for the 5D + Sigma 85mm f1.4. That's a stonkingly good lens and although I've sold mine now as I mostly use a CSC I think it's the best AF lens I've ever owned or used.
 
woof woof said:
£200 is a very good price, AFAIK they normally go for between £300-400 or so.
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I recently sold mine in almost perfect condition for £450 cash, so it is indeed a good price. However mine had less than 10k shutter uses so may have been exceptional.
 
CharlotteM said:
I've used both and I preferred the 450D personally.
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Really - so I've had both too - although not in a professional capacity.

I partially agree about image quality - but only because if you don;t get on with the camera then the chances of a keeper are down, but I would have thought for portrait (presuming studio) where you have control image would be the only thing that matters (not mistaking IQ with quality of image), especially in the eyes of the client.
 
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The asking price for the 5D is very good, go for it. However, it doesn't have a flash, so unless you have an external flash, which if you're running a portrait business you'll have anyway. If you don't like the grip, take if off and sell it.
 
JohnN said:
Really - so I've had both too - although not in a professional capacity.

I partially agree about image quality - but only because if you don;t get on with the camera then the chances of a keeper are down, but I would have thought for portrait (presuming studio) where you have control image would be the only thing that matters (not mistaking IQ with quality of image), especially in the eyes of the client.
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I think you would struggle to see the difference between the two cameras in a well processed 10x8 print shot at somewhere around f8 with the same lens in a 'standard' family portrait studio. Sure if you're looking at blowing up huge exhibition fine art prints then you will, or if you're shooting at high ISO's or if you're shooting extremely shallow depth of field... but if the OP is a family portrait studio type shooter I'm struggling to see the need to upgrade. Unless of course she sells lots of very large prints.

I recently had over 100 shots printed from my 5DMkII and my 100D for a client. Now, the 5DMkII is a vastly superior camera when it comes to image quality, but to be honest, I could barely tell the difference at A4 on 'standard' photographic prints, and I know my client certainly couldn't. I know those two cameras are from a more modern generation, but they're a similar comparison in terms of difference in quality (top and bottom of the prosumer/consumer range).
 
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Bep82 said:
I am still learning about upgrades, I just know that I want to upgrade my 450 which I have learnt with and built up my business with, but want a better body?!
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I totally understand the want to buy more gear. But reading several of your posts here it seems you don't know why you want to upgrade? If it's just for 'OOH SHINEY' then sure, buy whatever looks good. But if you don't feel your current camera is lacking in some way, and your clients aren't asking for something specific, why on earth would you want to throw money away that you could save to fix a future problem?
 
You could be right - I used it quite often open wide, so 1.8 of 2 where the difference shows much more and mine were mostly outdoors shots, although I would image in a studio you'd go for full front to back clarity only blowing out the background which could be as plain or busy as you feel would be right.

Also I'm a bit of a pixel peeper so noise bugged the hell out of me, but again as you say on a small well lit print that wouldn't show.
 
Look, it's 200 quid. Buy it, try it, if you don't get on with it you can sell it and lose nothing.
 
CharlotteM said:
I totally understand the want to buy more gear. But reading several of your posts here it seems you don't know why you want to upgrade? If it's just for 'OOH SHINEY' then sure, buy whatever looks good. But if you don't feel your current camera is lacking in some way, and your clients aren't asking for something specific, why on earth would you want to throw money away that you could save to fix a future problem?
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Nothing to do with being 'shiney' just purely down to the fact I would like to upgrade, to a better body, that suits my needs. My 450 was also send hand and has been used solidly since June last year.www.Facebook.com/Bethiaannephotography
 
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Those are nice shots, you've a good eye :)

I see a fair few outside too
 
More nice glass would be the very first thing I do

CharlotteM said:
I've used both and I preferred the 450D personally. The 5D was my workhorse camera professionally for a decent amount of time, and the files are nice, but the 450D won out on other levels for me. The small size was a huge bonus for me personally and the crop factor means you get the best out of cheaper lenses because you use the central sweet spot of the glass rather than the softer outer. As a smaller woman though, I prefer the crop sensor range that Canon do for being 'out and about'. Without knowing that the OP shoots it's impossible to say if one is better than the others.

Image quality is not the be all and end all of a camera. I now have both a 5DMkII and a Canon 100D that I use at different times for different things. It's about tools for the job, and 'best' camera doesn't stop at 'image quality'. I think I'd prefer to invest £1000 in a new lens than a camera that is now five year old technology. Yes you will see an image quality upgrade, but it may not be an upgrade in terms of usability for the individual. And I think that you'd get more 'upgrade' for your money potentially by investing in a new lens or two, or even by waiting for Canons next release and buying the 5DMkII on sale.
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OK, 450D worked for you, but really IQ is a fair bit lower and the size... Well I can't even hold it, it is that cramped and tiny. And all the fiddly buttons... You may as well get the nikon.

Oh, and the camera market has changed a lot since 2009 5DII. There is 5DIII, a whole different beast, out there.

CharlotteM said:
I think you would struggle to see the difference between the two cameras in a well processed 10x8 print shot at somewhere around f8 with the same lens in a 'standard' family portrait studio. Sure if you're looking at blowing up huge exhibition fine art prints then you will, or if you're shooting at high ISO's or if you're shooting extremely shallow depth of field... but if the OP is a family portrait studio type shooter I'm struggling to see the need to upgrade. Unless of course she sells lots of very large prints..
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Shall we compare A3 and A2 size prints then? 10x8 are tiny teeny prints, and ISO100 @ f/8 will be the least revealing setting ever. But even then the colour accuracy of higher end Canon is far ahead. Cheaper bodies tend to deliver more contrasty and more saturated output which is not all good news. Shall we also look at the viewfinders? 450D peephole makes even composing and framing pretty challenging.
 
I shoot similar things to you and upgraded my 500D to the 5D mkI a while ago - best decision I made. Mine is gripped too and the extra weight and size (even on a 5ft 2in girl) was a bonus rather than a negative. I don't see a huge difference in quality between the photos I took on my 500D to the ones I take on the 5D but I see enough for it to matter if that makes sense.
 
daugirdas said:
More nice glass would be the very first thing I do



OK, 450D worked for you, but really IQ is a fair bit lower and the size... Well I can't even hold it, it is that cramped and tiny. And all the fiddly buttons... You may as well get the nikon.

Oh, and the camera market has changed a lot since 2009 5DII. There is 5DIII, a whole different beast, out there.



Shall we compare A3 and A2 size prints then? 10x8 are tiny teeny prints, and ISO100 @ f/8 will be the least revealing setting ever. But even then the colour accuracy of higher end Canon is far ahead. Cheaper bodies tend to deliver more contrasty and more saturated output which is not all good news. Shall we also look at the viewfinders? 450D peephole makes even composing and framing pretty challenging.
Click to expand...

You do realise those buttons are one of the things that make Nikon cameras vastly superior, don't you? ;)
 
toadstool said:
I shoot similar things to you and upgraded my 500D to the 5D mkI a while ago - best decision I made. Mine is gripped too and the extra weight and size (even on a 5ft 2in girl) was a bonus rather than a negative. I don't see a huge difference in quality between the photos I took on my 500D to the ones I take on the 5D but I see enough for it to matter if that makes sense.
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Thank you for this. I think it will be silly of me not to get it, if only for the offered price! I too am only small (4ft 9!) lol - so extra weight may play a part, but you overcome these things!
 
Buy it, if you don't like it i will personally buy it off you assuming the condition is decent, though I doubt you'll dislike it
 
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