5DMk I or 50D .....

SteveTolcher

SteveTolcher

Suspended / Banned
Messages
584
Name
Steve
Edit My Images
No
So after shooting with a 450D for a number of years I am in the market to upgrade. Specifically for portrait and wedding use. I am going to keep my 450d as a backup.

After looking at eBay / classified etc I reckon I could get a 50D or a 5D Mk I in my budget

I don't want to get a 50D only to upgrade again in a few months time, so think going straight to a 5D Mk1 would suit me best. Then again, the 50D is slightly cheaper so could use the rest of my budget to buy some new glass too :shrug:

Any comments or help would be appreciated, please
 
I went from a 1000d to a 50d and I dont regret it one bit.

It all depends on what lenses you currently have , the 5d is full frame so only Ef lenses will fit.

I got my 50d a few months ago , I intend to go full frame in year or two so in the mean time I'm adding ef lenses that will follow me over.
 
I had the misfortune to own a 50D personally hated it - I'd go for the 5d infarct i did the 5D MKII which is just stunning.
 
IanParker said:
I would say go for a 5d as long as you have suitable lens(es)
Click to expand...

Cheers for the quick reply, Ian. That's what I love about this forum!

All my lenses are EF mounts at the moment (apart from the kit lens on my 450D), so they should be fine on the 5d.

I have heard that the 5D is one of the better choices for Wedding / Portrait work. :thumbs:
 
I looked at buying a 5D (mk1 or 2), I bought a 50D instead (long story), the 50D is a good camera, a very good camera but the 5D is better if you want IQ over everything else. The 5D has shortcomings but the IQ is everything.
Buy the 5D if you dont like it then sell it you will lose very little (if anything).

Matt
 
MatBin said:
I looked at buying a 5D (mk1 or 2), I bought a 50D instead (long story), the 50D is a good camera, a very good camera but the 5D is better if you want IQ over everything else. The 5D has shortcomings but the IQ is everything.
Click to expand...

That is kind of what I'm thinking - especially where Wedding and Portrait work is concerned.

I rarely shoot in bursts, so the fps isn't really an issue. As mentioned above, I only have EF lenses too.

How is the 5D at low light?

I suppose I am concerned about investing in technology that is quite a good few years behind.

MPB also have a 1D II N that I fancy too :suspect:
 
I upgraded from a 40D to a 5D, and was blown away with the IQ difference. The 40D (and the 50D) has it's strengths, such as high fps, but if your doing portrait and wedding then you will appreciate the IQ the FF gives you.

In really low light, on low contrast subjects the 5D can struggle, but not really more than the 40D did to be honest.

5D over a 50D for weddings and portrait.

For sport and action, a 50D over a 5D.
 
Last edited:
Yeah, i'd personally go for the 5d. The image quality is amazing .
 
Stegsie said:
That is kind of what I'm thinking - especially where Wedding and Portrait work is concerned.

I rarely shoot in bursts, so the fps isn't really an issue. As mentioned above, I only have EF lenses too.

How is the 5D at low light?

I suppose I am concerned about investing in technology that is quite a good few years behind.

MPB also have a 1D II N that I fancy too :suspect:
Click to expand...
Funny thing is I put a 300 2.8 on my 5D the other night and I reckon it focused quicker than the same lens on my 1d (mk2) which is not what most people reckon. As far as 1D vs 5D is concerned for me its too close to call.
The 1D is fantastic, not quite as good IQ as the 5D (in most cases) but the 1D is a superb brick outhouse of a camera and the one I'd choose if conditions were less than great.
Old technology, the IQ/AF of the 5D/1D were brilliant, they remain brilliant, only minor handling etc has been improved, the actual image quality remains as good as ever and some say the AF onthe mk2 is better than the mk4 (out of the box), so I wouldnt worry about old technology.

Matt
 
Love my 50d, it's a superb piece of kit and the best sports body I've used for a long time, great fps, good high iso and great iq.

However, the 5d will certainly have the edge on iq so if you have decent lenses already and don't need the speed, which it doest sound like you do, the 5d would be the body to go for.
 
5D is the camera of choice for a lot of wedding and portrait photographers but you need to get a fairly new one and not something that has been hammered.
 
If you are only using for weddings the the full frame 5D is the obvious winner. If you are using your camera for other purposes as well then I would consider a 7D as it is quicker but still excellent image quality.

I currently have a 500D and I have been looking at potential upgrades. I will be choosing the 7D over the 5D mark II as I think it is more versatile and as a bonus it is cheaper.
 
Phall82 said:
If you are only using for weddings the the full frame 5D is the obvious winner. If you are using your camera for other purposes as well then I would consider a 7D as it is quicker but still excellent image quality.

I currently have a 500D and I have been looking at potential upgrades. I will be choosing the 7D over the 5D mark II as I think it is more versatile and as a bonus it is cheaper.
Click to expand...

7D is just too expensive atm - cheers for the comments, though.
 
Tysonator said:
for IQ it has to be the 5D, the 50D is a great DSLR, however the 5D rules when it comes to IQ, which for wedding is the most important.
Click to expand...

Indeed - that is what's pushing me in the direction fo the 5D. Just need to find one now! :bonk:
 
I have a 50D and I've decided I'm going to save up for a 5Dmk1 this summer to compliment it. For longer focal lengths/high speed stuff the 50D has better AF, crop, and 6fps. For portraits (which is what I do mostly) the 5D has the IQ and milkier oof - so I'm hoping they'll compliment each other quite nicely.
 
If poss, get a 5D in your hands. Once you've looked through that viewfinder and felt how good the camera feels, you won't care about the IQ - which of course is great anyway. I thought a 50D would be a good option until I held one.
 
for the ISO range the 5DI has compared to the 50D (in the same range) which has better noise control, basically digicII against digic IV.
Its always been a option to replace my 50D with a 5DI but the ISO range and to a lesser extend lack of Micro adjust has kept me from donig so!
 
paulcamcas said:
If poss, get a 5D in your hands. Once you've looked through that viewfinder and felt how good the camera feels, you won't care about the IQ - which of course is great anyway. I thought a 50D would be a good option until I held one.
Click to expand...

5d and 50d are identical in body look, feel, controls and handling!
 
Where on earth did you get that from odd jim, they are totally different starting from the 5D having no built in flash to the control wheels and buttons all being very different. The 50D is very similar to the 40D, 30D etc. The 5D is also larger in all three dimensions.
 
Last edited:
The 5D is a great camera for portraiture and weddings. The ISO is useable up to 1600 and you wll have much better DOF control with faster lenses over the 50D.

I took these images on my 5D at 1600 ISO in not great light.

Portrait at 100 ISO on 5D

ScottChloeMono-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
ED, i saw the pics at 1600 ISO and i am impressed but i might need to push it beyond that in some situations, do you have anything in the extended range, also is it just a jump to 3200 or can it be done in .3 steps?
 
chrisbaker42 said:
Where on earth did you get that from odd jim, they are totally different starting from the 5D having no built in flash to the control wheels and buttons all being very different. The 50D is very similar to the 40D, 30D etc. The 5D is also larger in all three dimensions.
Click to expand...

Whats the flash got to do with it? Ergonomically, I thought they were the same!

I stand corrected.

Edit - looking at the rear of a 5d, they do look very similar.

Edit 2 - now holding one. Ergonomically apart from being a bit bigger, pretty much the same. Main control Dials in the same places, same menus etc... Not much different to hold and use!

I stand by my original post.
 
Last edited:
33L said:
ED, i saw the pics at 1600 ISO and i am impressed but i might need to push it beyond that in some situations, do you have anything in the extended range, also is it just a jump to 3200 or can it be done in .3 steps?
Click to expand...

Can't help with ISO3200 images I'm afraid I sold my 5D when I got my 5DMk2 in Dec 2008 IIRC.

The ISO range is 100-1600 with Low 50 and High 3200.

If you want better than 1600 ISO images and Full Frame then it is the 5Dmk2 or 1DsMk3 with the 5DMk2 the better over 1600 ISO.

But for weddings and portraits the 5D still has a role, rarely did Film photographers shoot more than ISO 400 and they managed fine for years, in fact when I was a Pro, I rarely used higher than ISO 160 (Fuji NSP) with my Hasselblads, ISO 400 would only be used for poor light winter weddings.

I think photographers are spoilt today by the range of ISOs (and lenses with IS) available to them and without them even having to change film backs!
 
EdBray said:
Can't help with ISO3200 images I'm afraid I sold my 5D when I got my 5DMk2 in Dec 2008 IIRC.

The ISO range is 100-1600 with Low 50 and High 3200.

If you want better than 1600 ISO images and Full Frame then it is the 5Dmk2 or 1DsMk3 with the 5DMk2 the better over 1600 ISO.

But for weddings and portraits the 5D still has a role, rarely did Film photographers shoot more than ISO 400 and they managed fine for years, in fact when I was a Pro, I rarely used higher than ISO 160 (Fuji NSP) with my Hasselblads, ISO 400 would only be used for poor light winter weddings.

I think photographers are spoilt today by the range of ISOs (and lenses with IS) available to them and without them even having to change film backs!
Click to expand...

i agree we are spoilt in these days, i cant imagine not having the safety net of high ISO, but then again having high iso is great, but high ISO with great noise control is even better.

I dont think i have ever gone over ISO 2000 in a wedding but its nice to know i can if i have too.
 
odd jim how can you say bodywise they are identical but the fact that one has a flash and the other hasn't doesn't matter.

I must admit however that this has very little to do with the original post and for that the 5D is certainly more highly regarded for both portraiture and wedding photography by most professionals. If it is to be used for other types of photography then the 50D does win in some areas but the op did specify weddings and portraits.
 
chrisbaker42 said:
odd jim how can you say bodywise they are identical but the fact that one has a flash and the other hasn't doesn't matter.

I must admit however that this has very little to do with the original post and for that the 5D is certainly more highly regarded for both portraiture and wedding photography by most professionals. If it is to be used for other types of photography then the 50D does win in some areas but the op did specify weddings and portraits.
Click to expand...

I'm talking purely ergonomics. I think you might have missed the post I was responding to when someone said that after handling the 5d the 50d was miles apart. They actually mistook it for the 50d for the 60d which is different, hense my post stating ergonomically, feel and handling wise the two are almost identical, which they are. They feel and operate almost identically. Which is why the flash has nothing to do with my point.

Otherwise yes they are different, but ergonomically they arnt. I was shooting both 50d and a 5d today and apart from the slow frame rate of the 5d handling the two, you couldn't tell the difference!

And yes this is off the topic as you were pointlessly questioning what I was saying, lol!
 
Last edited:
Tysonator said:
There rumours of course about a possible 5D Mk III, so that may effect prices of used 5D MKII's. Also people may sell their 5D MKII's for fund the purchase of a MKIII.
Thsi is an interesting time regarding all 5D's ! !
Click to expand...

More recent reports put mkIII back to end of the year or into 2012 now.
 
odd jim said:
Edit 2 - now holding one. Ergonomically apart from being a bit bigger, pretty much the same. Main control Dials in the same places, same menus etc... Not much different to hold and use!

I stand by my original post.
Click to expand...

Is the viewfinder not different? I thought full frame VFs were normally bigger?
 
Personally, I would go for the 5D over the 50D - it is a slightly larger camera, which works well for me, the viewfinder is bright and clear (and larger than the 50D I believe), the trade off being the lack of built in flash (not enough room for both due to the bigger mirror etc).

The 5D as an IQ all of it's own which is a little difficult to quantify - for portrait work, my MK 1 is still my preferred camera.

The lenses will make a difference. It will not take any EF-S mounts, because they 'stick' into the camera body and could damage the mirror mechanism, so it's just straight EF mounts alone.

As with all things photographic, it comes down to personal preferences most of the time - try to get your hands on one, shoot a test card and see if the output matches what you want.
 
Cheers for all these comments, it's really appreciated.

Will let you know what happens!
 
grum said:
Is the viewfinder not different? I thought full frame VFs were normally bigger?
Click to expand...

Yeah it is, but again it makes little difference tithe way it feels and operates in the hands but yes all FF bodies have bigger vf's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top