Would you trade a 60d for a 7D or 5d mark ii?

[AutumnApple]

Assuming they're all in moderate-used condition (maybe 20-40k clicks each), no significant wears, and you have lenses that will work on all these cameras.

Would you consider to trade your Canon 60D for Canon 7D or add $100 more and have the full-frame 5d mark ii and why?

[gossamer88]

FF all the way. But if you're heavily invested in EF-S lenses, then the 7D.

[AutumnApple]

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@gossamer88 wrote:

FF all the way. But if you're heavily invested in EF-S lenses, then the 7D.

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Right now I only have 1 ef-s lens that i barely used anymore, 24-70mmL lens and 50mm stm. 

Is there any significant difference between 5d ii and 7d? 

i did try 7d and personally i like it better than my 60d. 

[TCampbell]

This depends on your needs.  

A 7D has a better focusing system than either the 60D or 5D II and it can also burst frames of shots much faster.  It's better for "action" photography.

The 5D II has a larger sensor (full frame) which can result in narrower depth of field (attractive for things such as portraits because -- with the right lens -- you can quite pleasantly blur the background more than you can with an APS-C camera).  Also you'll notice the 5D II has less noise at higher ISO values as compared to the 60D or 7D.  This difference is noticeable.

The 60D and 7D both have the same Canon 18MP sensor and will be quite similar with respect to ISO performance and noise.   You will probably not be able to notice any difference.

I sold my 5D II after upgrading to a 5D III (and then a 5D IV), but I still have my 60Da (astrophotography edition of the 60D).  If you're not doing "action" photography, then I'd go for a 5D II.

Last I checked, a gently used 5D II body is worth around $800 ... give or take a bit depeding on condition (in immaculate condition it could possibly be worth as much as $900).  If it's showing it's age, then it might be worth closer to $700.

[AutumnApple]

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@TCampbell wrote:

This depends on your needs.  

A 7D has a better focusing system than either the 60D or 5D II and it can also burst frames of shots much faster.  It's better for "action" photography.

The 5D II has a larger sensor (full frame) which can result in narrower depth of field (attractive for things such as portraits because -- with the right lens -- you can quite pleasantly blur the background more than you can with an APS-C camera).  Also you'll notice the 5D II has less noise at higher ISO values as compared to the 60D or 7D.  This difference is noticeable.

The 60D and 7D both have the same Canon 18MP sensor and will be quite similar with respect to ISO performance and noise.   You will probably not be able to notice any difference.

I sold my 5D II after upgrading to a 5D III (and then a 5D IV), but I still have my 60Da (astrophotography edition of the 60D).  If you're not doing "action" photography, then I'd go for a 5D II.

Last I checked, a gently used 5D II body is worth around $800 ... give or take a bit depeding on condition (in immaculate condition it could possibly be worth as much as $900).  If it's showing it's age, then it might be worth closer to $700.

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Thank you. I mainly take photo of my kid and general daily life activity, so it's not much for action even though kids do move fast. I finally got to try the potential trading  5d II earlier this evening, it sure produced less noise but also i got more shots out of focus with fast moving kid than other two. I love the photos taken with 5D II when I got the focus right. 

I notice Canon 5D II auto ISO stays at 400 on Manual mode. In some situations when I need to change setting fast to catch something, i often leave ISO on auto, so i just need to adjust one of the others to get it right.

 if I go for 5D II, is there any way to go around that ISO 400? Or Is there any way to set short cut button to quickly change it without loosing the view of settings on lcd?

[Waddizzle]

If you have not reset the camera back to factory defaults, then I suggest that you do so.  This is a setting in the menu system.  To fully reset the camera, there are two other “reset” functions in the menus.  For example, you can reprogram button functions, and this is a separate reset operation.

As far as ISO seemingly being capped at ISO 400, the camera probably has a setting that limits the upper range of ISO that the camera is able to use when in ISO AUTO mode.  Explore the menus to find the settings that determine the range of ISO that you can manually select, and the range that the camera can automatically select.

Be aware that the camera may have a setting known as “safety shift”, automatically adjust some settings, overriding your manual settings, if the camera thinks you will get a poor exposure.  Pay attention to flashing icons in the viewfinder.

[ebiggs1]

"FF all the way."

This is bad advice.  It is an inner web generated thing that FF is always better than croppers.  You need to buy what works for you. So, IMHO, I would go 7D in a heartbeat.  It is a fantastic camera.  Its main attribute is its outstanding build.  So for me that eliminates the 60D right off.  Now the 7D vs the 5D2 ?  That is a tougher decision as the builds are similar. Still the 7D is slightly better.   I shot the 7D and 5D2 side by side for years.  To me, the 7D offers slightly better specs, too.  It borrows some of the AF features form the 1D Mk III full on pro camera for instance.  There was an issue with vertical banding with some settings on the 5D2.  

In the end it is the lens you choose that will impact your final pictures more than the camera you choose.  You say you have mostly or all ef-s lenses, the 7D is the choice.  Put the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon on that 7D and get ready to be blow away.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"FF all the way."

This is bad advice.  It is an inner web generated thing that FF is always better than croppers.  You need to buy what works for you. So, IMHO, I would go 7D in a heartbeat.  It is a fantastic camera.  Its main attribute is its outstanding build.  So for me that eliminates the 60D right off.  Now the 7D vs the 5D2 ?  That is a tougher decision as the builds are similar. Still the 7D is slightly better.   I shot the 7D and 5D2 side by side for years.  To me, the 7D offers slightly better specs, too.  It borrows some of the AF features form the 1D Mk III full on pro camera for instance.  There was an issue with vertical banding with some settings on the 5D2.  

In the end it is the lens you choose that will impact your final pictures more than the camera you choose.  You say you have mostly or all ef-s lenses, the 7D is the choice.  Put the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon on that 7D and get ready to be blow away.

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I agree with Ernie. I've never used a 5D2, but I've owned two 7D's, and it's a fine camera. A 5D3 is a better camera, but that's not one of the options you're considering. I'd definitely go with the 7D.

And avoid the 60D. Canon unaccountably left autofocus microadjustment off of that model. AFMA can be a very useful feature with any but Canon's best and most expensive lenses.

[AutumnApple]

Thank you all for your advices. After testing, I agree that 7D suits me better. My main subject in almost every photos, the toddler,she is fast, I get more keeper photos with 7D. Plus I feel like robbing my friend  for trading my 60d for her 5D II with just $100 extra cash  even though she doesn't care. If I have extra cash laying around in near future, I might buy it off her just to explore the full-frame world, but right now, I don't really need it yet. 

[RobertTheFat]

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@AutumnApple wrote:

Thank you all for your advices. After testing, I agree that 7D suits me better. My main subject in almost every photos, the toddler,she is fast, I get more keeper photos with 7D. Plus I feel like robbing my friend  for trading my 60d for her 5D II with just $100 extra cash  even though she doesn't care. If I have extra cash laying around in near future, I might buy it off her just to explore the full-frame world, but right now, I don't really need it yet. 

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Going full-frame can be an expensive undertaking, and you should have at least one substantive reason for it - not just exploring the FF world. In my case, I was doing event photography with 17-55 and 70-200 mm lenses, each mounted on a 7D. The 70-200 was a little too long for the distances involved and left a 15mm coverage gap, so I bought a 5D Mark III for the 70-200 to rectify the gap. There are other advantages to the 5D3 (low-light performance, for one); but by themselves, they probably wouldn't have been enough to induce me to go FF.