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Another person upgrading 5D Mark ll and I need some advice

impatronus
Contributor

Hi! I need a new camera - my 5DII is experiencing technical difficulties and is telling me its time for a change. We have been together since it was first introduced and I have learned so much with it. I am not a professional - but need to shoot professional looking shots for my business and the 5DII definitley helped me do that - in addition to shooting anything and everything I wanted to capture. Today, I shoot a lot of macro -- portrait and landscape as well. Need to shoot products (accessories) in full detail as well as creative shots of the products while in use (fashion/lifestyle), both wide and portrait. I also just love to shoot things I see/like and will continue to do that too. I do not shoot video at the moment  - however, I need to begin immediately. I have some great lenses (macro/portrait/telephoto/wideangle/standard), which I will continue using. There has been so much advancement, including connectivity, which is extremely limited on the 5DII, I am not sure where to look. I want a camera that will continue to make me a better photographer, like my 5DII has to done up until now. I greatly appreciate all of the advice/guidance from the community!!

23 REPLIES 23

diverhank
Authority

I'd consider either a 5D Mark IV or an EOS-R (with adaptor).  Either one will be an awesome upgrade to the 5D Mark II.

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Diverhank's photos on Flickr

Those were the two top on the list - can you share your reasoning as to why the EOS-R? Wondered if it would give me more of a runway into the future?


@impatronus wrote:
Those were the two top on the list - can you share your reasoning as to why the EOS-R? Wondered if it would give me more of a runway into the future?

The 5DIV and the EOS-R share a common sensor.  EOS-R being newer enjoys the benefit of better software processing so you get a little bit more out of the same sensor (minor though).  The EOS-R price is better also.

 

I don't own either one at the moment but had played with both cameras for a few hours each. There's a steep learning curve but I do think that the EOS-R will give you "more of a runway into the future" as you put it. 

 

The EOS-R can focus better in lower light than any Canon camera out there.  It also has the most focus points.  Focus is fast and precise and using EF lenses is not a hindrance. You won't even know the adaptor is there. 

 

Outside of fast sports action shooting, the Electronic Viewfinder is actually a huge advantage over the optical viewfinder.  It is brighter and the image you see there before you take the picture is actually the image that you will get (exposure, white balance, everything).

 

For wedding and church shooters, the EOS-R  totally silent shutter option is a godsend.

 

For portrait shooters, the face and eye autofocus is incredible...it will help you nail the shot, even at f/1.2 every time.  No more focus and recompose or awkwardly and slowly moving that focus point with the joystick. This is perhaps, to me, the single most reason why I prefer the EOS-R

 

For macro and manual lenses crowd, the EOS-R's "focus peaking" feature makes manual focus easy.

 

The fully articulated screen is a feature many discount but how I often wish I had it.  There were times I needed to be really low to the ground (pictures of wild life at eye level or landscapes where I want to accentuate the foreground)...  Those I had to crouch or lie down on muddy ground...not fun as I'm not getting any younger.  One time I actually fell down and hurt myself while trying to get up.   With the articulated screen I can remain standing and looking at it.

 

I don't do video but I think it's just as good if not better than the 5DIV.

 

You probably be able to guess that given the two choices, the EOS-R would be mine but some will disagree.

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Diverhank's photos on Flickr


@diverhank wrote:

I'd consider either a 5D Mark IV or an EOS-R (with adaptor).  Either one will be an awesome upgrade to the 5D Mark II.


I agree with Hank, but I would definitely choose the 5D4 over the R. You may not consider yourself a professional; but you need your camera for business, so you're a semi-professional by my definition. In such a situation, reliability is paramount, and the 5D series has always had that. The R may well prove to be the beginning of a game-changing product line, but early reports suggest that the bugs aren't out of it yet. (How could they be? It's a radically new implementation of the mirrorless concept.) If you already had a 5D3 or a 5D4 and just wanted something more innovative to play around with, the R could well be right for you. As it is, I'd take the conservative path and get the 5D4.

 

EDIT: I hadn't read Hank's reply when I posted mine. He makes an excellent argument in favor of the R, but I'd still favor the 5D4 for the reason stated above. (Full disclosure: I own a 5D3 and a 5D4, but have never used an R.)

 

Incidentally, one argument in favor of the R that Hank didn't mention is that because all focusing is done on the sensor, it never needs aotofocus microadjustment.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

Going to test the two cameras over the next few days. I will let you all know my findings. I wish there was a way to rent the bodies, even overnight, so I could give them a true test run with different lighting, lenses and locations. oh well. I will go to a few different stores and get as much out of the day as I can.


@impatronus wrote:

Going to test the two cameras over the next few days. I will let you all know my findings. I wish there was a way to rent the bodies, even overnight, so I could give them a true test run with different lighting, lenses and locations. oh well. I will go to a few different stores and get as much out of the day as I can.


Food for thought.  They guy who has a few hours of hands on experience with both cameras recommended the EOS R.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."


@impatronus wrote:

...I wish there was a way to rent the bodies, even overnight, so I could give them a true test run with different lighting, lenses and locations. oh well. I will go to a few different stores and get as much out of the day as I can.


Both cameras are available to rent from Lensrentals dot com and other sources, for whatever period of time you'd like.

 

I agree with a previous post that a camera for work should be one with proven reliabiltiy (such as 5D Mark IV or 6D Mark II).

 

However, there are some definite advantages to a mirrorless model like the EOS R.

 

1. The electronic viewfinder gives you immediate preview of how your images will look... essentially confirming your settings.

 

2. The EOS R has much lower light capable autofocus than any DSLR and it's "focus points" (over 5600 of them!) cover almost the the entire image area (100% of the vertical, 88% of the horizontal). 

 

3. Some stunning new lenses have been introduced with the R and more are anticipated. But it also can be used with existing EF lenses via an adapter. Canon cleverly designed and offers three of those (I bet other manufacturers will follow their lead): a relatively inexpensive plain adapter, another with a "control ring" to which you can assign various functions and a third that accommodates drop in filters (currently Circ Pol and Variable ND are available). This last allows filters to be used on lenses where it's otherwise difficult... such as the TS-E 17mm f/4L Tilt Shift or the EF 11-24mm f/4L ultrawide.

 

4. Initially the EOS R was offered at close to $1000 less than the 5DIV. But right now with holiday discounts and bundling the 5DIV with battery grip and the EOS R with it's battery grip are almost the same price. 

 

There are some things to thnk about, though. Like all mirrorless, the R's electronic viewfinder is like using Live View on a DSLR full time, so it won't get nearly as many shots per battery charge as a DSLR with an optical viewfinder. The good news is that it uses the same LP-E6N batteries as 5DII and later, as well as many other Canon DSLRs. And there's the BG-E22 battery grip available for the R, which doubles battery capacity. The EOS R is also slower than the DSLRs to start up.... though there's no lag when shooting with it.

 

Read the reviews of each. Rent them.

 

BTW, the 5DII you have now was a ground-breaking camera for video in its day. A lot of them were used by Hollywood making films and television shows. In fact, AFAIK, a number are still being used. As such, I bet there's a substantial repair network if you'd like to keep using yours.

 

The main improvement with the later models, in my opinion, was their much more sophisticated autofocus systems. The 5D II saw little improvement over the original 5D in that respect... both have rather simple AF. 5DIII and later essentially got the 61-point system from the top-of-the-line 1D-series models, and it's been further improved ever since. This makes the later cameras more capable with moving subjects. But if those aren't something you shoot, the AF improvments might not make all that much difference, except that the newer ones are better in low light and "f/8 capable" allowing more lens/teleconverter combos to be use. (The EOS R's AF is even better in both respects.)

 

Bryan Carnathan at The-Digital-Picture dot com has an interesting and fairly comprehensive comparison of the EOS R and 5DIV. A Google search to "compare EOS R 5DIV" will brind back a number of other comparisons you might find helpful.

 

Compare... read the reviews... rent each camera to see for yourself..... and don't be too quick to give up on the old 5DII!

 

***********


Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2) some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & ZENFOLIO 


@impatronus wrote:

Going to test the two cameras over the next few days. I will let you all know my findings. I wish there was a way to rent the bodies, even overnight, so I could give them a true test run with different lighting, lenses and locations. oh well. I will go to a few different stores and get as much out of the day as I can.


Don't forget to bring your SD card so you can record the pictures and play with them later at home.

 

================================================
Diverhank's photos on Flickr


@diverhank wrote:

   Don't forget to bring your SD card so you can record the pictures and play with them later at home.


That reminds me of another possible consideration...

 

You may need new software or an update of what you have now, to work with the EOS R's RAW files. It uses the new Digic 8 porocessor and it's RAW are the new CR3 file format.

 

The EOS 5DIV is several years old and most recent versions of software can work with it's CR2 RAW files.

 

For example, my current Lightroom 6.14 is able to work with 5DIV files... But I'd have to update by subscribing to LR/PS CC to work with the EOS R images.

 

***********


Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2) some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & ZENFOLIO 

 

 

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