7d or 5d that is my question?

[Waytoomuch]

Can't afford the 5d mk3

Can afford a used 5d mk2 but not sure i am very happy with 9 AF points plus the slower frames per second then the 7d

Why are so many people selling there 7d and buying the 5d mk2 ?

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

I think your comparison is a little off when comparing to real world uses.

What you need to do is take a photo with the 5D and 100mm lens and than the same with the 7D and 100mm lens.

Now you need to leave the 7D photo alone and enlarge the 5D photo so the "subject" is the same size as the 7D's.

The 7D wins every time.

This apparent advantage in crop factor is why "Birder's" use and love the 7D and 1D Mk III and IV's.

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

I think your comparison is a little off when comparing to real world uses.

What you need to do is take a photo with the 5D and 100mm lens and than the same with the 7D and 100mm lens.

Now you need to leave the 7D photo alone and enlarge the 5D photo so the "subject" is the same size as the 7D's.

The 7D wins every time.

This apparent advantage in crop factor is why "Birder's" use and love the 7D and 1D Mk III and IV's.

[Sami]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

I think your comparison is a little off when comparing to real world uses.

What you need to do is take a photo with the 5D and 100mm lens and than the same with the 7D and 100mm lens.

Now you need to leave the 7D photo alone and enlarge the 5D photo so the "subject" is the same size as the 7D's.

The 7D wins every time.

This apparent advantage in crop factor is why "Birder's" use and love the 7D and 1D Mk III and IV's.

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I did just that. Both taken with the same exact lens, same subject, same distance, same settings, etc. 7D is as it came from the camera. 5D is cropped to 1.6x. Both images are then resized to the same size. (Unfortunately downwards, as there were a file size limit for uploading picture here.) If you'll notice I even wrote the resulting pixels sizes during the steps.

However, when you crop the 5D image to 1.6x, the pixel dimensions are much smaller than that of 7D, although both images cover the same area.

Perhaps I should have resized the images according to per centage instead of both to the same size.

[schmegg]

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@Sami wrote:

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

I think your comparison is a little off when comparing to real world uses.

What you need to do is take a photo with the 5D and 100mm lens and than the same with the 7D and 100mm lens.

Now you need to leave the 7D photo alone and enlarge the 5D photo so the "subject" is the same size as the 7D's.

The 7D wins every time.

This apparent advantage in crop factor is why "Birder's" use and love the 7D and 1D Mk III and IV's.

---

I did just that. Both taken with the same exact lens, same subject, same distance, same settings, etc. 7D is as it came from the camera. 5D is cropped to 1.6x. Both images are then resized to the same size. (Unfortunately downwards, as there were a file size limit for uploading picture here.) If you'll notice I even wrote the resulting pixels sizes during the steps.

However, when you crop the 5D image to 1.6x, the pixel dimensions are much smaller than that of 7D, although both images cover the same area.

Perhaps I should have resized the images according to per centage instead of both to the same size.

---

Here is a comparison between a 7D and a 5D3.

Subject was the same distnace from the camera and shot with the same 100/2.8 L Macro lens.

Resulting images have been enlarged (to roughly the same size, using LR zoom slider) to show the real difference in resolution more clearly. 5D3 on the left, 7D on the right.

As you can see, the 7D resolves more detail from the same projected image. This is reach - and the 18MP crops are still the highest resolving DSLR's in the Canon lineup. And this is part of the reason why the 7D is so valued by birders.

(BTW - make sure you view this image at it's full size to see the difference properly. Right-click and select Open Image in New Tab)

[Waytoomuch · Accepted solution]

First off wow and and fantastic analysis and really appreciate your efforts! So this question was posted on the forum quite some time ago and for the life of me I can't figure out how to delete it or why it is still being reposted? I actually did end up
going with the 7d and have since purchased the 70-200 ISL and a 17-40L lens for it. I absolutly love the camera and 70-200 for sports although I wish it had a little better low light capability for indoor basketball ? No biggie as I think my daughters basketball career is waning! as far as the 17-40L ya know I just find that lens akward looking at best! Might have to go with a 35mm prime??? Thanks again for you explanantion and I will again go on the forum and see if I can figure out how to delete that question.

[Sami]

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@schmegg wrote:

Here is a comparison between a 7D and a 5D3.

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That was a really good comparison. Thank you for the effort, schmegg.

[ebiggs1]

I believe the "Birders" and other wildlife photographers are keeping the value of used Mk IV's up since it is likely the last 1.3 crop Canon.

[ebiggs1]

There is no need to delete your question as other folks probably have the same question and would like to see the results and answers. It will benefit people besides yourself.

You are having issues with lighting using the 7D and the 70-200mm f2,8 Mk II lens in a basketball gym? That surprises me as I do the same thing and I don't notice it. Ours maybe better lighted, I guess.

[Waytoomuch]

Well like I say the lighting is questionable but exceptable. I just would not want to print these any larger than st 5x7

[ebiggs1]

Make sure you are not your own worst critic!