Cheap 5D or keep 40D ?

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daveb99

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I've been offered a 5D body with only a few thousand shutter actuations for only £300 by someone I know who just wants to shift it, as it isn't being used. His Dad has owned it from new, so it sounds like a good deal.

It's a very good price but it will involve me buying an everyday "walkaround" lens to put on it, as I currently have a 17-85 IS (EFS) on my 40D, which won't fit of course.

The big question is, should I go for it, and if I do, will I need to spend upwards of £500 on a decent walkaround lens such as the 24-105 L IS to get the best out of it? I could go for a 28-135 IS but I just think I'll be disappointed with the image quality, as I've heard that the 5D needs the best lenses to get the best out of it (like most cameras - but the full frame sensor will expose more lens flaws etc).

I've currently got a 50mm 1.8 and 70-300 IS as well, which will of course fit it - but will the 70-300 IS be good enough to do justice to the full frame sensor?

I shoot mostly general purpose, holidays, children (often indoors, with and without my 430EX flash) as we have 2 young kids, and motorsport (so I'd lose some reach on my zoom as well unfortunately - and I can't afford a 100-400 L !).

Although I really like my 40D (though I don't use the 6fps) and my 17-85 IS is a very sharp copy (as is my 70-300 IS), should I just go for it at that price?

I'd really appreciate people's advice / views on this! What would be the advantages / disadvantages?

Thanks in advance...
 
£300 is a complete bargain. If you don't want it, I will!
 
id consider changing systems for that sort of money, i think youll prob find folk will say do it based on the price. seems like a very good offer (*** ive no idea of condition whether its MkI etc)


EDIT: not a sweary honest! shortened version of 'though'
 
Let me buy it...

Seriously though, how will a 5D improve your photography? Would you be buying it simply because it is so cheap or have you found the limits of the 40D.

As sidkms mentioned, it may be worth buying it and selling it on for a bit of a profit and then investing that in upgraded glass.

I don't think the 5D without L glass will be any worse or any better than the 40D with, for example, the 28-135. The Sigma lenses and Tamron equivalent to the 24-70 f/2.8 and 17-50 f/2.8 aren't to be sniffed at either.

From the point of view of how cheap it is you could easily sell your 40D and kit lens and buy the 5D and Sigma 25-70 f/2.8 for only a small investment.

DB
 
Sounds like I'd be daft not to. Guess I'll buy it, try it out etc. Slightly concerned about the AF performance with moving subjects, compared to my 40D, but we'll see. My kids never sit still !
 
Just come back here after you buy it, or you may be loosing the bargain of your life. :D
 
As it seems an extreemly good price, I'd buy it, try it out and see how you get on with it - if you don't like it, I'm sure you won't have a problem selling it. If you do like it, you can either use the 40D as a 2nd body or sell the 40D on. :thumbs:
 
Absolute bargain at that price!

Definately need good glass to get the best IQ out of the 5D. For the togging you're doing, the 24-105 seems like a good option.

Keep eyes peeled on here as the 24-105 comes as a kit lens on the new 5Ds and possibly the 1 series. People sometimes sell them on, brand new, for a profit, still making it a bargain for the buyer...
 
The 50mm f1.8 is fine on it - even better you could upgrade to the 1.4 version :thumbs: The 85mm f1.8 lens is probably the lens on the 5D indoors IMO - use mine all the time.

Re FF 'showing the flaws' - there's two sides to this as the images are enlarged less than from a crop sensor. On the other hand edge sharpness will be given more of a work-out. It will show light drop-off at the corners much more (vignetting) at large appertures, however for portrait type shots this is often a desirable quality.

HTH
 
andyred said:
As it seems an extreemly good price, I'd buy it, try it out and see how you get on with it - if you don't like it, I'm sure you won't have a problem selling it. If you do like it, you can either use the 40D as a 2nd body or sell the 40D on. :thumbs:
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I agree

its a must buy
 
daveb99 said:
should I just go for it at that price?

I'd really appreciate people's advice / views on this! What would be the advantages / disadvantages?

Thanks in advance...
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Threads like this astound me, you must know what it's worth, even if you don't want it just buy it then sell it and buy something you do want, I really can't believe you have to ask if buying a mint 5D for £300 is a good idea:bonk:
 
Buy it and if you don't like it sell it on for a profit...
 
unbeatable price! I remember I sold my new 40D last summer hoping to pick a used 5D when the prices start falling :). they never did! used 5d still costs the same amount as at least 2 years ago.
 
at that price it really is silly not to do it. You can buy it, get a cheap couple of non EF-s lenses and see how you get on with FF (im sure you will love it) if not even undercutting everyone else and say selling cheap at £600-700 you will have made considerable profit!

I wish I knew people like that lol
 
Thanks for everyone's comments. I'm picking it up tomorrow - can't wait!

Can anyone suggest a good quality walkaround lens I could get while I save up for a 24-105 L IS?

Was thinking of the 24-70 range or 28-105 or something. Maybe half the price of the 24-105, so approx £300. I usually got for Canon lenses but realise I need to consider Sigma etc for my needs here as well. I'm guessing the flaws of the Canon 28-135 IS will be badly exposed by the 5D ?
 
You should have tried to knock him down in price down a bit, the cheek of it asking £300, i take it that the 5D comes with a 24-105 L IS lens given what he is asking :D
 
daveb99 said:
Thanks for everyone's comments. I'm picking it up tomorrow - can't wait!

Can anyone suggest a good quality walkaround lens I could get while I save up for a 24-105 L IS?

Was thinking of the 24-70 range or 28-105 or something. Maybe half the price of the 24-105, so approx £300. I usually got for Canon lenses but realise I need to consider Sigma etc for my needs here as well. I'm guessing the flaws of the Canon 28-135 IS will be badly exposed by the 5D ?
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Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 for £200-£250 secondhand would be my recommendation
 
for a walkabout a 50mm f2.8 :P cheap fast and sharp, unless you want a zoom.... in which case all I can say is the tamron 28-75 can be sharp but also gets very flarey (not a word I know)
 
Right, thanks for everyone's help - I've now got the 5D, and all I can say is WOW ! I'm very impressed so far, particularly with the noise handling at ISO800 upwards - amazingly detailed and smooth.

I like the idea of going for a Canon 28-135 IS whilst I save up for the 24-105 IS L - any other opinions on the 28-135 as a partner for the 5D?

Surely it will be at least as good as the 17-85 IS on my Canon 40D? I'm expecting distortion at the wide end, especially wide open, but hopefully it will do the job for now.
 
do you know anyone that has one you could try out before spending the cash on a new one , or see if you can rent one for a few days to be sure

I doubt it'll be as good as the 17-85mm as it's in a similar price bracket but with a much bigger range which isn't usually a good sign.

You have to remember the 17-85mm on a crop body will only be using the centre of the lens, the 28-105mm on a 5D will be using a much wider area so it more likely to show up any flaws
 
wack61 said:
I doubt it'll be as good as the 17-85mm as it's in a similar price bracket but with a much bigger range which isn't usually a good sign.

You have to remember the 17-85mm on a crop body will only be using the centre of the lens, the 28-105mm on a 5D will be using a much wider area so it more likely to show up any flaws
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Surely the range is about the same? 85/17 = 5x zoom, 135/28 = 4.82x

Also the 17-85 gives you a 35mm equivalent of 27-136mm on the 40D.

I agree on the bit about using the center of the lens though, the 5D may well show up the flaws of the 28-135mm quite badly.
 
if you sold your 40d and 17-85 surely that would give enough money to fund the 24-105 with a little bit on top??
 
I think you should try the 28-135 IS first before getting it.
I have it only only the 400d, and I suspect I am always using it at the extremes, but I think that the full-frame of the 5d may make it seem a little lame.
 
fletch5 said:
if you sold your 40d and 17-85 surely that would give enough money to fund the 24-105 with a little bit on top??
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Yes - but still approx £200 out of pocket as I've had to pay £300 for the 5D body (shock, horror) :D
 
not bad for the relative upgrade in glass and body;)
 
Dave, I have the 28-135 IS, I live in lincoln and was planing a ride out on the bike over the weekend, and would be quite willing to make the rideout near yourself, and let you have a play with the 28-135 on the 5D........ no alterior motives......not much.......cause i've been looking at 5d bodies on ebay and would like to have a little play with 1, with my current lens on.....let me know if your up for this and we'll arrange a day and time.

P.S. I also have a 70-300IS and just picked up a 35-105 'One touch'
 
Fortress said:
Dave, I have the 28-135 IS, I live in lincoln and was planing a ride out on the bike over the weekend, and would be quite willing to make the rideout near yourself, and let you have a play with the 28-135 on the 5D........ no alterior motives......not much.......cause i've been looking at 5d bodies on ebay and would like to have a little play with 1, with my current lens on.....let me know if your up for this and we'll arrange a day and time.

P.S. I also have a 70-300IS and just picked up a 35-105 'One touch'
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Many thanks for the offer - much appreciated - I decided to get a used 28-135 IS in the end, to allow me to assess the 5D performance against the 17-85 IS with my 40D. It arrived yesterday - after some initial tests I'm very positive about the results.

Clearly the 24-105 would be better - but it would also cost me £500 more, and I doubt many people could really tell much difference unless you're making huge prints.

I'm very impressed with the 28-135 IS - excellent build quality etc. My lens is only 4 months old, unused, complete with Canon hood & Canon filter (all boxed) it cost me just £220.

I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for a cheaper walkaround lens for a full frame body such as the 5D.

I'd also recommend a 5D body to anyone looking for that something extra - like many say, it is almost intangible but there's something special about the images it produces. Tones, colours, high ISO performance are all amazing and the detail is wonderful. It would certainly make a nice upgrade from the 400D.
 
wow, just caught up on this thread and seems like you got lucky on a real bargain there!

If you ever decide to switch to Nikon I have a mint D90 with some very nice lenses I could trade and am in the Leicester area!
 
CyBeRkId2002 said:
wow, just caught up on this thread and seems like you got lucky on a real bargain there!

If you ever decide to switch to Nikon I have a mint D90 with some very nice lenses I could trade and am in the Leicester area!
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Thanks for the offer - it seems there are plenty of people who want to get their mits on my 5D, but it ain't going anywhere!
 
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