Just a few hours left to decide. 5D II or 7D?

Orville

Orville

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I am flying out to New York early this evening. My heart was all set on a shiny new 7D, but it seems most of the best New York Photography stores are out of stock.

I have just had a quick look at Dixons Tax Free (at the Airport) website hoping they stocked 7D's but unfortunately not. What they do however have are 5D MkII kits with the 24-105mm lens for £2260. So now I am unsure.

Most of the shots I take are of the family and kids so I have no real need for the 8fps the 7D offers. The extra video modes on the 7D will be nice, but I see Canon will soon offer most of these for the 5D II via firmware update. The improved AF is the one thing that makes me think I may regret not getting a 7D.

Both of the above options will be paired with my 70-200 F/4 IS and 100-400mm zooms, so I am not already tied into ef-s/crop lenses.

Do I go for a UK 5D MkII with 24-105mm F/4L for £2260, or do I go for a US sourced 7D with a 17-55mm F/2,8 for around £1900? Is FF and slightly better High-ISO performance worth the extra £400?
 
Orville said:
I am flying out to New York early this evening. My heart was all set on a shiny new 7D, but it seems most of the best New York Photography stores are out of stock.

I have just had a quick look at Dixons Tax Free (at the Airport) website hoping they stocked 7D's but unfortunately not. What they do however have are 5D MkII kits with the 24-105mm lens for £2260. So now I am unsure.

Most of the shots I take are of the family and kids so I have no real need for the 8fps the 7D offers. The extra video modes on the 7D will be nice, but I see Canon will soon offer most of these for the 5D II via firmware update. The improved AF is the one thing that makes me think I may regret not getting a 7D.

Both of the above options will be paired with my 70-200 F/4 IS and 100-400mm zooms, so I am not already tied into ef-s/crop lenses.

Do I go for a UK 5D MkII with 24-105mm F/4L for £2260, or do I go for a US sourced 7D with a 17-55mm F/2,8 for around £1900? Is FF and slightly better High-ISO performance worth the extra £400?
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Have a brilliant time over in New York.I was there this time last year and loved it.

I would go for the 5D MARKII with the 24-105mm f/4L.Alternatively you could just get the body only.I'm going to Australia to shoot my friends wedding next Febuary and will be hoping to trade in my 40D with battery grip against a 5D MARKII when i'm down under.I've been told that the 5D MARKII is brilliant when used at high iso's....;)
 
Following my own research - I'm going for the 5dII rather than the 7. Whatever you decide have a great trip!
 
I've had both and sold my 5DMk2 as for me the 7D does all that I want at this moment in time.

ISO quality is higher in the 5DMk2, but not by that much, 1.5-2 stops at best. How much do you use 3200 ISO or higher as 1600 is fine on the 7D and 3200 is okay too at a push with a little noise reduction applied.

The resolution is mega on the 5DMk2, but what is the largest size you print, if the largest you print is A3 or smaller then again the 7D will do just fine.

AOV: How much do you use wide angle and how much do you use longer lenses. The widest you can go with a rectilinear lens on a 7D is 10mm which has a similar AOV to a 16mm on FF, but with a 5DMk2 you can go to as wide as 12mm which would equate to a 7mm lens on te 7D, the downside is that your 100-400L at its long end will have a similar AOV on the 5DMk2 as a 250mm lens on the 7D, your 70-200L will have a similar AOV as a 44-105mm lens on the 7D. Not many people like the loss of apparant length.

AF speed. Well now we come to the crux of the equation, there is little or no comparison between the two. The &d is just better by far, end of story.

Drive speed: Well 8fps may not be required all the time, but it's nice to have. The buffer size is on the 7D is not great though if you shoot both RAW & JPG.

Other nice features the 7D has over the 5DMk2: built in flash, wireless flash control, 4 way (twin axis) level control, did I mention Af speed?, better weatherproofing.

So for me it wasa no brainer, but then that's me (no brain!), it may be worth waiting a short while and picking up a 1DMkIII as there will be a few S/H ones on the market now and I suspect even the price of the new ones may drop a bit now that the 1DMkIV has been announced, tis may give you the best of both worlds but without video.

Good luck in what you decide to do!
 
A picture can say all

IMG_2526.jpg


Exif IFD0

* Camera Make = Canon
* Camera Model = Canon EOS 7D
* X-Resolution = 720/1 ===> 720
* Y-Resolution = 720/1 ===> 720
* X/Y-Resolution Unit = inch (2)
* Last Modified Date/Time = 2009:10:13 19:56:45

Exif Sub IFD

* Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 1/200 second ===> 0.005 second
* Lens F-Number / F-Stop = 8/1 ===> ƒ/8
* Exposure Program = aperture priority (3)
* ISO Speed Ratings = 2000
* Exif Version = 0221
* Original Date/Time = 2009:10:12 14:56:46
* Digitization Date/Time = 2009:10:12 14:56:46
* Shutter Speed Value (APEX) = 7643856/1000000
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/200 second
* Aperture Value (APEX) = 6/1
Aperture = ƒ/8
 
Thanks for the comments. I will be using Heathrow T3 and have already checked Dixons has teh SD kit in stock @ £2260. I guess I will have a little play in-store and decide then.
 
friend of mine is in a similar position soon
such a hard life deciding such things...my heart bleeds :P
good luck! and enjoy New York!
 
I've had neither and possibly never will, however if your heart was set on a 7D and you are now looking at a 5DII because the 7D is out of stock, I would say that is not the reason to get a 5DII!

Sure you'd be happy with both, but if you know the 7D is the one that suits your needs most, hold off and get it on your return.
 
Adorama seem to have the 7D is stock :thinking:
 
akr said:
I've had neither and possibly never will, however if your heart was set on a 7D and you are now looking at a 5DII because the 7D is out of stock, I would say that is not the reason to get a 5DII!
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+1,000.

It's like wanting a sports car but buying a people carrier, just because it is on sale and the sports car isn't.
 
Either way I hope you've got some charged batteries, as you'd have read the manual front to back several times over by the time you get to the US ;)
 
pearce_jj said:
family shots not worthy of such a beast in your opinion?
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Families are worth more than anything, I was just wondering why "such beasts" were required .:shrug:

I treasure shots from my old Kodak Disc camera as much as from my 50D :thumbs:
 
EdBray said:
Other nice features the 7D has over the 5DMk2: built in flash, wireless flash control, 4 way (twin axis) level control, did I mention Af speed?, better weatherproofing.
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Not from what I've been told. I've been told (by Canon and not a dealer) that the 5DII has weatherproofing to the standard of the EOS-1n. That is the same metric as quoted for the 7D
 
mrgubby said:
Families are worth more than anything, I was just wondering why "such beasts" were required .:shrug:
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Why not I would say. Camera shouldn't get in the way of what the user is trying to achieve I would suggest - user might want FF DoF for portraits and/or an AF system able to nail a running child at f2.8. Well I do anyway :D

Obvioulsy beauty is absolutely in the eye of the beholder - I'm personally very happy with my own efforts like this and this, 5D and 70-200 is hardly a cheap combo but worth every penny for me :love:
 
pearce_jj said:
Why not I would say. Camera shouldn't get in the way of what the user is trying to achieve I would suggest - user might want FF DoF for portraits and/or an AF system able to nail a running child at f2.8. Well I do anyway :D

Obvioulsy beauty is absolutely in the eye of the beholder - I'm personally very happy with my own efforts like this and this, 5D and 70-200 is hardly a cheap combo but worth every penny for me :love:
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Love that 2nd image, enjoy your trip to New York, are you going on business or for holiday? either way don't let them get in the way of your photography!!
 
I'm sure you have probably left now but Dixons in T3 had 7D's in stock last week so you may have a choice to make after all
 
I thought I would report back as I am just back from NYC.

In the end I had a play with both the 5D & 7D at BH Photo and decided on the 7D. The decision was mostly based on price and lens crop factor. BH Photo did not have the body-only version so I had to get the kit with the EF-28-135 IS USM for $1899. The UK price charged to my credit card for this kit was £1255.41.

I also picked up an EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 for $990 / £654 all i My 40D, EF-S 17-85mm IS and the new EF 28-135mm IS will soon be posted within the FS forums.

First impressions of the 7D are: Nice build, Nice LCD, Nice Viewfinder, Great AF (especially when tracking moving objects), and good High-ISO performance. On a per-pixel level the High-ISO performance just pips my 40D, but those extra 8MP make the difference. ISO-3200 will be the usable limit for me, wheras the 40D only really allowed ISO-1600. A full stop gain is nothing to sniff about. It is a solid step up from my 40D, but certainly not a huge leap. AF flexibility is the biggest gain, along with the love it or loathe it HD Video functionality.

I was less impressed with the 17-55mm. Sure, it is a great zoom lens as far as IQ is concerned, but the build quality is only a tiny step up from Canon EF 28-135mm kit lens. It is certainly nowhere near to the 24-105mm L lens in terms of feel. For IQ (and I guess this is the most important factor) it easily matches the 24-105mm, and comes extremely close to my 70-200mm F/4 IS for pin sharpness. The 70-200mm is the sharpest zoom I have ever played with and the 17-55mm comes mighty close.

I guess I will get approx ~£200 for the new 28-135mm so the most I will have paid for my 7D plus 17-55mm is about £1750. I'm happy with it, and can confirm the only difference between a US and UK 7D is the power adapter. It is the two-prong type which works fine when plugged into a US-UK convertor that cost me $4 at JFK Airport.
 
I went through a similar dilemma myself last week. I was looking at the 7D as an upgrade to my 40D but after a bit of thought about what I shoot (and doing some sums) I realised that the 5Dmk2 (with 24-105 kit) may be the way to go instead.

The Dixons tax free at Stanstead were doing the 5D kit for £2300 (web-site price is out of date now) and I was please to see that they had the 7D kit in as well. I had a good handle of them both and after much further deliberation I decided on the 5Dmk2. It seemed like a better decision for me personally.

I've already sold my 40D, 17-55 and 10-22 and picked up the 17-40 L to give me some more at the wide end.

Very happy so far, just waiting for the weather to improve so I can get out and take some photos.

Good luck with the 7D, it sounds like the best choice for you.
 
MacPingu said:
. . . . having great fun with my newly acquired 28-135mm lens from Orville. Just wanted to shout you up and say a big thank you for this!

;)
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Nice to hear you are enjoying it. I would have sold it on here but did not have sufficient posts. It's amazing how many people frequent the same batch of forums. It seems we both benefited from my recent trip.
 
I did not reply to the posts questioning why I needed either the 7D or 5D.

I am not a pro, far from it in fact. I am sure there are many people out there who obtain better pictures than I with much lesser equipment. However, I do know my limitations and I believe a decent body will in some way make up for my shortfalls. Better AF will enable me to capture some shots I would otherwise miss. Improved high-iso performance allows me to negate using a flash and getting the lighting wrong so often. 18MP allows more cropping options when I get the framing wrong.

..and photos of my family, my children growing up, holidays, birthdays, funny moments etc are much more important to me than any pictures I could sell for profit. I buy the best I can reasonably afford now because missed opportunities cannot be bought for any cost in the future.

Put Michael Schumacher in a Fiat Panda and myself in a Ferrari and I might just beat him around a track. He may be a better driver than me, but the equipment will make up much of the difference. The days of 35mm film are over, and anyone with minimal knowledge and a half-decent camera can now take respectable photos. That includes me with a new 7D :).
 
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