Upgrading from EOS 40D to EOS 5D Mark IV - Lens recommendations

[oldskeetshooter]

I have, recently, retired and decided to get back into serious amateur photography. Grandchildren and such. As of now, I have a few Canon cameras. 2 F1s, an A1 and an AE1 P.  A few years back, I decided to try digital photography. I purchased a great, at the time, 40D. The only complaints were MY inability to focus correctly. Old eyes are not for serious photography. Seems the auto focus system, of the time, was not very accurate. From what I have seen, written, the 5D MK IV will meet my needs. 3 times the megapixels and full 36mm X 22 mm sensor. 

I have decided to go with a new 5D Mark IV. Why the 5D? Well, I am older and do not want to learn too many new tricks. The 5D controls seem very similar to the 40D and even the A1. I would like to know which lenses that folks would recommend. My EF, EF-s lenses are first generation. I do not know it the later production lenses are that much better. I see that package deals are available with the  EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II lens. Is this package deal recommended or would getting a 5D body use my older EF, EF-S lenses?

As I mentioned earlier, aging eyes are playing a factor in my final results. Does anyone recommend a focus screen that will meet my needs. That 40D focus screen always seemed a little dull and dark.

Also, I have a number of FD lenses that I really care for but have not used in years. Is there a GOOD FD to EF adapter available?

I know this post may seem vague, to an extent. There may be some dumb questions asked. I have not purchased any cameras or lenses for 17 years.

Thanks in advance,

Bill

[deebatman316]

It's not worth adapting FD lenses. EF-S lenses are incompatible with Full Frame DSLRs and EOS AF SLRs. I would highly recommend moving to mirrorless now. Canon has been discontinuing DSLR production and EF lenses. Have you looked into the EOS R5 or R6 Mark II. First Gen EF lenses date back to 1987. Then First Gen EF-S date back to 2003. So what are the full names of your lenses. 3rd Party lens compatability IS NOT guaranteed by Canon. That's on the 3rd Party manufacturer.

[normadel]

Ditto on EF-S lenses not workng on the 5D, a full-frame camera body.

Instead of going for the very expensive new 5D Mk. IV, how about a brand new 90D, or a Rebel T8? You'd get lots of years out of either one, and compatibility with your EF-S lenses and your EF lenses. It IS possible to resist the lure of switching to mirrorless. And Ef & EF-S lenses will be plentiful on the used market for a long time.

How about a newer-than-the-40D used camera. Some top-notch used dealers are UsedPhotoPro.com, MPB.com (both are my favorites), KEH.com.  They provide good rating systems, descriptions of their wares, and six-month warranties. An 80D, 90D, 7D/7D Mk. II, full frame 6D/6D Mark II would all give you great tools.  And the controls on these newer models are really not very different than a 40D.

[stevet1]

oldskeetshooter,

I'm glad you're getting back into photography. It's a terrific hobby.

I wouldn't recommend going down the FD to EF adapter path. There is a company called Fotodiox that makes those adapters I did that myself and it's an awful lot of frustration. The adapter will let you take a picture, but there is no electronic communication between the lens and the camera, so you can't autofocus, and because the aperture sits in the lens, you have to set the aperture manually.

I think you would be better off boxing up the 40D and any FD lenses you have and trading them in for a newer camera. The trade-in will help lowering the purchase price of a newer model.

Autofocus has improved tremendously in the last 17 years, and if you're not comfortable with manually focusing because of your eyesight, you can trust the camera's autofocusing to do the job reliably.

I'm in the same boat. 😀

With newer camera's you also have Live View, which let's you focus and take pictures while looking at the screen on the back instead of looking through your viewfinder.

Before people can give you better recommendations on a camera, you need to tell the forum how much money you want to spend. It would be just be a matter of frustration to give you recommendations for a $4,500 camera, if you only have $1,000 to spend.

On a side note, when I wanted to upgrade, I got a Canon T8i, and I like it very much.

Steve Thomas

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum:

I am a living fossil as well, and my start in photography harkens back to the same early bodies you mention - I had, and still retain, the A-1 and Nikon F3, although I have long-since stopped shooting film.

As my colleagues have mentioned, budget is a critical issue - we need to have a number that we can work within to offer suggestions that maximize, but not exceed it.
I am going to suggest you consider the questions posed in an article I wrote to help folks in your position.  It's not technical per se, but more defining what you will shoot and, very significantly, what you will produce. 
Questions to consider and answer when buying camera gear 

 As my colleagues have already alluded to, using legacy mount lenses is not going to be really practical and will make your photography that much harder by cancelling out autofocus and metering functions you are paying for the camera body.  Similarly, for a full-frame camera, it is not going to work to try to use EF-S lenses, which are specific to the crop-sensor bodies like your 40D.  So, you need to have a lens or lenses that fit full-frame.

I will also ask you to put aside your trepidation of mirrorless cameras, which are the current technology and fast replacing DSLRs. Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras (MILCs) of the R camera platform are the future and Canon are offering fewer and fewer DSLR bodies and lenses over time. 

MILCs work essentially the same in terms of interface as your 40D, so you should not have a massive learning curve to get started - but there are multiple benefits with MILCs specific to your expressed needs that the 5DIV will not offer you.  These include lighter and smaller bodies, sensors that perform better in low light situations, fantastic autofocus, that will actually lock onto and track faces to get them sharp  (huge benefit with active kids), and, in some bodies, In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) that works with the the Optical Image Stabilization of the RF lenses to make stable hand-holding much easier.   Given your challenges with vision, it is the face and eye tracking that really would be a benefit to you to catch sharp images of those magic moments.  Also, when looking through the viewfinder or rear LCD, you will see how dark or bright your image will be without having to press the stop-down preview button by the lens as you would have had to do with DSLRs - so you can expect to know what your photos will look like with more confidence.

The Canon 5DIV generates a 30MP image and you likely not need that for creating images for social media, digital display and quite large prints.  Going to a more modest MP value, such as a 24MP sensor, will give you improved dynamic range and tolerance to low light without any penalty.   All of these are features that will offer you benefits specific to your expressed needs and intentions.

The bottom line:
So, with the questions I linked to above, along with the comments following them, I am going to suggest considering the Canon R6MkII camera, which has all of the features I mention.   It will give you an excellent body, fabulous Full-Frame 24MP sensor, face and eye tracking for humans, animals and even people on bikes and cars if you so choose along with an auto feature that figures it out for you.   It has all the same modes and interface elements of the 5DIV so you are getting benefits without any drawbacks.  You can start off in P mode and let the camera do its thing while you get used to it and then progress to Av, Tv or M modes later.

As to lenses... Well, again we come back to budget, but the R6MkII is going at bargain prices right now, especially if you get a Canon refurbish (good as new, but may have had the box opened or a mistaken purchase, comes with a warranty). See: Shop Canon Refurbished EOS R6 Mark II Body | Canon U.S.A., Inc.. 

This camera offers dual SD cards for added security as it can record to both at the same time for backup. SD cards are pretty standard and more convenient than the CF cards you used on the 40D, and as long as you get brand name (Lexar, SanDisk, Prograde) full-size (not Micro SD) cards you will find them very reliable.

As to lenses for that.  You would be looking at the RF (not RF-S) lenses and likely a moderately wide to some telephoto unit.  In that respect the RF 24-105 L f/4 is a brilliant lens and a major improvement over the EF versions - much faster and more accurate to focus and better image quality.  It has Optical Image stabilization in the lens that will work in addition to the body's IBIS to make it a much steadier platform for low light and hand-held photography.  By moving to the RF lens mount, you are assured of future proofing to get optics that will be available to extend your optics in the future: for example telephoto lenses for when the kids are doing sports and again tracking will be brilliant for that.

I would suggest considering that combination as your starting point and see how you go.  If you are not sure, see if you can borrow or rent a body and lens for a few days - better to get the feel of the gear. 

There are quite a few sources of information out there to assist in getting to know your camera, and I personally recommend the following videos before you rent or borrow:

I recommend clicking on ...More option to access the table of contents

[oldskeetshooter]

The responses are much appreciated and have given me lots of things to think about. I was up, most of the night, researching the information gleaned from the responses.  

Understand my life experience and background will help explain my few choices. I was a Toyota mechanic from 1977 until my retirement last year. I have learned, many times, the latest is, not necessarily, the greatest. New, unproven, platforms were never for me. Bells and whistles are not high on the priority list for my vehicle choices.   Proven, platforms with proven bells and whistles are the way to go. I will give you an example. Last year my wife was due for a newer, larger, vehicle. Hauling, multiple, grandkids around in a Toyota Venza was not cutting it. I was considering a Toyota 4-Runner. However, the 4-Runner was not available with a V8 engine. My experience, with turbo 6-cylinder engines and heavy vehicles was telling me "No don't do it". I opted for the Lexus GX-460. Both vehicle platforms are 10 years old, but proven. The proven, GX platform, (Same as the 4-Runner) with proven, bells and whistles with a proven V8 engine was the way to go. Was the Lexus more expensive. Yes, it was. Was it a "Better" vehicle? In my, professional experienced, opinion, Yes. Is change necessary? I can't answer that. I can attest to changes being forced on folks and that must be accepted. Old dogs can learn new tricks. That is the type of person that I am. 

For those reasons, I have decided to go mirrorless. I have decided to go with and R5 or R6. Why? The platforms, being 4 years old is, for all practical purposes, are proven platforms. I am leaning toward the R5.  I prefer the R5 body construction. Although I am accustomed to the R6 type mode wheel, I do like the R5 top display with easily adjustable shooting modes. I prefer the larger resolution sensor. The increase in megapixels should make for better results after cutting and cropping during editing. Is the R5 more expensive? Yes. Does it require more expensive memory cards for best operation? Yes. The R5 does seem to meet my wants and needs more than the R6. 

Have I missed anything? Please feel free to beat me up on this. I am still open for choices.

Thanks Bill