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.

[Sami]

I took two pictures. Both using EF 100mm L macro. First one is 5D Mark II and Speedlite 270EX, cropped to 1.6x. The second is 7D with internal flash, uncropped. Automatic settings on both.

Resulting files were 3510x2340 pixels (from 5616x3744px) and 5184x3456 pixels, respectively.

Had to resize both to 1500x1000 pixels for posting here, so 7D image is actually a bit larger after cropping the 5D2 image.

5D Mark II, cropped to 1.6x

7D, uncropped

[Waytoomuch]

Send me your email address and I will send you some photo's I have recently taken with the "L" amazingly sharp!

I had the 70-300 is usm but was disappointed in the 4.5 f-stop and to be honest the pic's were not as sharp as I thought they should be. I buy all my photo equip. Used on Craigslist. I shopped this lens for about a month and found a guy willing to come down to $1100.00 yes, a lot of money now tied up in the glass but this lens id by far my favorite. A sediment shared by many! 

[jfo]

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@Waytoomuch wrote:

thanks, So I photograph 70% sports 30% miscellaneous, i keep reading 7d mk2 rumors for January. I a torn because i see a ton of used 5d2 on craigsdlist. the other thing that baffles me currently is the number of 24-105mm f4L lenses I see on CL??? THERE HAS TO BE A REASON WHY SO MANY FOLKS BOUGHT THIS LENS AND TURN RIGHT AROUND AND FLIP THEM?

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@bdj100 wrote:

For sport, the 7D blows the socks off of the 5DMkll (for sports, I even like the 7D over the 5DMklll)  The 24-105mm F4L "Kit" lens is a very, very good lens.  In fact it was the best mid-range zoom until the new 24-70mm USM ll lens was released not too long ago.  It is does not hold a consistent stop through the entire zoom range (only important if you are metering manually)  But that's really my only complaint.

All those 24-105's that you see for sale is because the owners don't know what they have.  That lens is one of Canon's best kept secrets.

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Actually, the 24-105mm does hold a constant aperture over all focal lengths.  It can hold constant f/4.  I have one as my walkaround lens.

Waytoomuch, the reason why you see so many go up for sale is the same reason you'd probably sell it too since you are focused on sports photography.  Since the max aperture is f/4, if you had another stop to open up the aperture (e.g. f/2.8 like in the 70-200mm's or 24-70mm's, or a telephoto prime), that means you could make the shutter speed that much faster to get 'motion-stopping' shots.  With the fast maximum shooting speed of the 7D, sports photographers and others wanting to take advantage of this probably tend to want "faster glass" to go with it, and the 24-105mm isn't it.  

[Lorin]

My Canon 24-70 mm and 70-200mm also have constant f2.8 apertures and they are great for night or indoor sports. They seem to focus faster than my other Canon zoom lenses.  I can shoot basketball games in our high school gym at 1/500 of a second at f2.8 at ISO 6400.  Using Photoshop, the pictures were are with minimally discernible noise.

For general shooting (such as on a trip) I take my 17-85mm and my 70-300mm, both of which have variable maximum apertures from f.4.5 to f5.6,  They are substantially lighter that the two f2.8 lenses and probably a little bit sharper. I want two more Canon lenses in the near future:  the 10-22mm and the 100-400mm.  The latter for daytime sports, the former for general use in tight quarters and for scenic photography. 

For stage photography is use fixed focal length Canon 1.8 lenses:  a 28mm, a 50mm and a 85mm.  No flash is needed.

I use my lenses on a pair of Canon 7Ds, which were my recent upgrades from a pair of Canon Rebels.  I simply could not afford the top of the time Canon cameras but after doing a lot of research I decided that the Canon 7D was the best value out there for the price.  The new focusing system, the higher ISO with built in noise reductions, the faster frames per second, and the ability to select a particular color temperature for the lighting conditions were all were features I wanted in my camera upgrade.

There is a point to this:  The Canon 7D is a fantastic but reasonably priced piece of equipment.  I recommend it without reservation.

Lorin Browning

Landrum Sports

[7D5D]

Both are great cameras.  I have a 7D and 5D Mk III, but never had a 5D Mk II.  Lots of great comments already so to keep it simple:

7D

- High FPS

- Excellent AF system

- Need that extra reach (multiple focal length by 1.6 to get FF equivalent focal length)

- Sports, action

- Pop up flash acts as a master control for the older flash system (580, 430 series)

- takes all EF and EF-S lens

5D Mk II

- FF sensor

- Excellent high ISO

- Ideal for wide angle shooting over crop bodies

- Excellent for portrait, landscape, wedding, events, etc

- takes only EF lens

Why are there a lot of 7Ds for sell?  I suppose for a lot of reasons.  7D Mk II is rumored to be available soon, some shooters switching to FF bodies such as 5Ds and 6Ds, and some probably due to the age of their 7Ds  Bodies are getting up there in shutter counts.    Bodies are not an investment, where lens can be.

[ebiggs1]

They are not comparable. They compliment each other. The ideal is to have both. I know from experience since I have both and love both. They each have their strong points. But the bottom line is the 7D is more advanced than the 5D Mk II.

[Waytoomuch]

Thanks much

[ScottyP]

If you shoot 70% sports, you probably want the 7D.  It has a great autofocus system, and a high frames-per-second shooting speed.  In sports the 7D's crop sensor also gives you a free 1.6x multiplied telephoto "reach".  Getting more reach with lenses is VERY expensive, especially if you are not willing to accept bad image quality from a cheapo telephoto, so that free telephoto effect is priceless.

The 7D2 might be announced sometime in the next few months, but then you won't see one for probably 6 months after the announcement.  And when they first come out, the price will be very high for 6 months or more before discounts appear.  So I wold not think of it as being right around the corner or anything. 

Also, I would not expect miracles from the new 7D.  In terms of low light/high ISO performance; maybe 1/2 a stop gain at most, because I think Canon has kind of maxed out for the moment in crop-sensor advances.  Until they come out with some revolutionary big new tech like a smaller-nanometer fabrication, or a backlit sensor, or a non-bayer array, or some big game-changer, I think that they are up against their limits on new crop sensors.  I am just not sure what gain the 7D2 might have because the original is already so good for sports.  12 fps vs. 10 is no big deal.  It is already weather-sealed magnesium, so not much upside potential in construction quality.  A new Digic processor could be of some benefit,  A jump in megapixels from 18 to 21 or 22 is not that big a deal, and that might actually HURT its low light/high ISO performance. 

In any event, I would definitely not reccomend 5D2 if you shoot sports that heavily.  I assume by "sports" we are talking about something fast and far-away, right?  Not chess or arm-wrestling, right? 

[Sirpopealot]

I own and use both the 7D and 5DMIII. Feel free to ask me anything that may help you in your decision. There are many good comments in this thread on both bodies (and the 5DMII). I just thought I would make myself available if there were any specific items you wanted to address.

[ebiggs1]

Well all bets are off, if the choice is between the 7D and the 5D Mk III. If you can afford the price of admission, go for the 5D Mk III.