Looking for a new Canon EOS camera for shooting wildlife and landscapes

[JRM66]

I have been photographing wildlife with one of the first Canon Digital Rebels (6.3 megapixels) made. It was a gift in 2002 that I loved and off and on I put it down and picked it back up until the past 4 years when now I just want to use it all the time. I have decided to take classes and want a new camera to learn on and to be more serious with. I have traveled in many places and my main subject is wildlife and landscapes but would also like to break into cityscapes and maybe a little sports action. I have a Canon EF 100-400 IS lens, a tamaron af 75-300 with macro lens, and the 18-55 canon lens that came with the camera. I have always just taken photos trying different settings and learning on the fly but now it's time for more serious learning since I now have plenty of time on my hands. Any suggestions on a good Canon that I would benefit from?

[cicopo]

The 7D is the best fit in a Consumel grade body. It gives you the extra reach of a crop body, fast AF needed for sports & BIF & works with all of your lenses. It's also not that difficult to learn the newer menu choices but learning it's AF (really worth understanding) takes a bit ot reading or watching videos dedicated to the subject.

[JRM66]

Thank you CICOPO for your input. You are the 3rd person who thought the 7D would be my best choice. I will be looking at it this weekend.

[HDCamTeam]

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@JRM66 wrote:

I have been photographing wildlife with one of the first Canon Digital Rebels (6.3 megapixels) made. It was a gift in 2002 that I loved and off and on I put it down and picked it back up until the past 4 years when now I just want to use it all the time. I have decided to take classes and want a new camera to learn on and to be more serious with. I have traveled in many places and my main subject is wildlife and landscapes but would also like to break into cityscapes and maybe a little sports action. I have a Canon EF 100-400 IS lens, a tamaron af 75-300 with macro lens, and the 18-55 canon lens that came with the camera. I have always just taken photos trying different settings and learning on the fly but now it's time for more serious learning since I now have plenty of time on my hands. Any suggestions on a good Canon that I would benefit from?

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Hi,

I would also suggest the 5D Mark III, although it's considerably more expensive than 7D.

But you get a full frame sensor capable of better image quality, much better low noise performance, wide field of view with wide angle lenses, a better AF system than 7D and more megapixels count.

Of course your 100-400 won't work as 160-640 like in APS-C cameras. But once you get into full frame cameras, you don't want to get back! Unless specific needs or situations.

5D Mark III has improved video quality (no moire or aliasing artifacts), two cards slots, chromatic aberration correction (extremely useful), while the 7D does not have any of these features.

5D Mark III shoots 6 fps, while 7D shoots 8 fps. Not a huge difference. Also, the 7D can control wirelessly speedlite units since it has a built-in flash, the 5D Mark III does not do it. These are the main two advantages of the 7D over the 5D Mark III (besides the crop field of view which may or may not be helpful, depending on each situation)

Of course there are many other differences. Remember that the lens will be a main factor to get sharp and good quality images. The best camera with a bad lens can't deliver good pictures.

Hope this helps!

Regards.

[7D5D]

Wildlife and landscape photography are kind of conflicting in terms of body requirements.

For wildlife you are going to need excellent AF and decent FPS.  Both the 7D and 5D mk III would qualify.  The 7D has the  "reach" benefit (and of course there is the ongoing debate over cropping from FF and pixel density, etc.).

For landscape you will definitely be better off with a FF body such a 5D mk II or III, or the 6D.  (But I didn't see you list any non EF-S wide lens.)

You do not want a 6D or 5D mk II for wildlife unless you are shooting sleeping zoo animals.  It really comes down to the 7D or the 5D mk III for a single camera.  If the majority of your shooting will be wildlife then probably the 7D, if the majority is landscape, then the 5D mk III.

Depending on your budget and what glass you currently have, maybe you can have the best of both worlds.  Lots of good deals new and used.  7D and 5DII, 7D and 6D, 5DIII and used 7D.  Or sell your Rebel, 75-300 and 18-55, get the 6D kit (24-105) and a used 7D.  This gives you a very nice setup for wildlife and and landscape plus you got focal ranges covered from 24 - 400mm...just a thought.

Good luck

[JRM66]

Very helpful thank you for the info. I am going to look at the 5D and 7D tomorrow. I am thinking of going with 7D so far but tomorrow that may change. With my luck though I'll bye the 7D and next week they will come out with a new 7D that has 22 or so megapixels. Hmm... Thanks again!!!

[ebiggs1]

Don't get caught up in the "pixel wars". 18 is plenty!

[ebiggs1]

JRM66, I am going to be another 7D recommendation person. There is nothing I can say that is bad about the 5D Mk III and if you have the cash by all means go for it. But for wildlife the 7D is very hard to beat.

Don't be so caught up in the way overrated "full frame" nomenclature. All cameras are full frame. The only difference is in the apparent focal length of the lens. Yes the sensor is better in the 5D Mk III and it's price reflects that but still the 7D is pretty darn good, too.

[cicopo]

As with many things in life there are compromises to be made unless the budget is unlimited. Using a 7D vs a 5D3 for anything far off in the distance such as wildlife has a big pixels per duck advantage. You start with an 18 Mpixel frame (on the 7D) but an image from the 5D3 will only contain 40% of it's rated mpixels when cropped to the same field of view.

[pvk]

JRM66, I have both the 5D Mark III and the 7D. They are both excellent camera's. The 5D Mark III is more modern, which shows in less noise and a better autofocus system, although the 7D's autofocus is quite good. With the 7D you should probably not go beyond 800 ISO, while with the 5D III you can safely go up to 3200 ISO, as long as you ensure the right exposure. For fast moving subjects in difficult light this may give you the difference between a keeper and a throw away.

The image quality depends on how close you can get with a given lens. For landscape photography, you can get close enough, in which case the full frame 5D III is better. For birds or wildlife, the issue is often that you can not get close enough to get a detailed close up. The 7D with its 1.6 crop factor allows you significant more reach with the same lens, giving you better quality pictures for subjects that run or fly away if you approach them too much.