Thinking About Upgrading Body

[Carnicus]

Hi,

I am currently using a Canon EOS 50D which I have used for about a year now, and it has served me well. I am thinking about the next step in my photography hobby (and possible freelancing in the future).

With upgrading lens considerations aside, what I am looking out for in the next body upgrade:
- Video (I'm interested in doing video on DSLR, so this is a must-have for me)
- Weather-sealing (Sure helps with the pesky and sporadic rain conditions in Singapore)

This practically narrows my choices down to the 7D and 5D mark II (I am not sure about the weather-sealing on either bodies, so please enlighten me); 1D mark IV is out of the question coz it's too expensive and I don't need it. So which one to upgrade to?

7D or 5D mark II? Please post your suggestions.

P.S. Another thing to note is that this will not be a near-future purchase because I recently just bombed myself with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM.

[Zman]

Hey Carnicus! Welcome to the forums (:

Good to see you've gotten the awesome new lens! Hope it serves you well.

Maybe you could tell us what you shoot, and how (other than the obvious lack of video & weathersealing) does the 50D not work well for you?

My first question would be what's your budget? We can recommend you all we want, but this will be the most important factor.

Secondly, which do you think you'll be doing more often? Video or photography? Do understand that the moment you hit deal with video production, there're a lot of hidden costs tied to your 5D2/7D/550D purchase. The cost of accessories like tripods, pan heads, a slider, microphones and audio recorders, mobile stabilisation units etc can cost as much or even more than your single 5D2.

[Carnicus]

Hi there,

I have been a school photographer for the past year or so and i've covered a myriad of events and shoots from performance to class photos to sports. I'm not too sure what i'll be doing after I phase out, but i guess a little bit of everything. 50D does work fine, but I want that extra boost in high ISO performance because i realise how much low light photography I do, and of course, weather sealing and the video is lacking.

Budget, I guess we can say both are within my budget. Currently also thinking about buying 5DII, then sell the 50D and EF-S lenses, then getting the 1DIII 2nd hand. It should be doable, but I am unsure how much better/worse 7D would be compared to the 5DII, and i think i should consider the case where I don't sell the 50D and the lenses too.

I do understand the hidden costs for video accessories and etc., but i guess it is a natural progression over the next few years. I'm just exploring video, and the bulk of my work would still be photos, i guess.

Thanks for the tip.

[Zman]

If you're primarily an event photographer i'm sure autofocus is important to you. I wouldn't take the 5D2 to a field sports event anytime soon, for example.

The 7D af is decent enough for sports really, but you gotta really read the manual to configure the AF to your needs. Same goes to the 1D4 which I had experience with. Can't just go blazing into an event expecting everything to work your way. I'm sure it shouldn't be a problem for you anyway.

The 50D's ISO capabilities are pretty alright to me personally. Are you by any chance bumping the exposure up in post production often? I assume you shoot raw yeah. Perhaps you can try getting Lightroom 3 which was just released if you're a lightroom kinda guy. The noise reduction is impressive. The 5D2 should have a one stop advantage, with the 7D being similar or slightly specklier to me.

5D2 + 1D3 would make a crazy good setup. If your budget is restrained though, you can always just purchase the 5D2 alone and keep the 50D. Perhaps even turn that into a 1DmarkIIn if you're willing to jump back to old tried-and-tested models. They're being sold for cheap nowadays. Nothing like a good 1D camera, really.

The other thing you could do of course is to buy yourself a 1D3 and 550D if you're into more into shooting action.

I wouldn't trust the 5D2 under torrential rain, but for singapore drizzles i'm sure it's fine. The 1D's will handle rain a whole lot better though, and you kinda pay the price for that. Do note that the 1D's are also a lot heavier than the 5D2 / 7D cameras.

For video the easy way, the first thing you'd probably wanna do is get yourself a Rode VideoMic (Cathay Photo just got dealership of them) for better directional audio-pickup, and a decent video pan head and tripod. The mic's going for just under 200, and the Manfrotto 701HDV head is about 200+. Tripod is totally up to you. If you have one for photo use, you can try using it.

Hope that helped!

[Carnicus]

Hmm. I guess for sports, the 50D would hold up fine, and I'd get the 5DII.

The 50D's iso capabilities are quite fine, I agree. I've been living with it for quite awhile already. Haha. However, when i was buying my 70-200 the other day, I was thoroughly impressed with the performance of the 5DII at 1600 ISO. I think it's quite a vast difference in terms of grain and stuff. But i know the 7D's ISO capabilities still cannot hold up to the 5DII, partially because it is a cropped sensor. And so I am undecided still.

Perhaps it would be better for me to go 5DII first, keep the 50D until i can sell it and get 1DIIn or III.

Also, can someone enlighten me about video functionalities of 5DII vs 7D? I know that 5DII has got firmware updates, but i'm unsure if it would be as good as 7D.

And by saying you wouldn't trust 5DII under torrential rain, you're saying that you would for 7D?

Thanks for the tips on video equipment btw - will take note of that in the future.

[Zman]

Lucasfilm is interested in the 5D2 and 7D and asked Phillip Bloom to show them the capabilities of them. The finale of the latest season of House was shot entirely on a 5D2 with canon lenses. Fighting Spiders 2 is gonna be shot on 7D, and 24 car chases are now shot on 5D2/7D/1D4. I say they're all good.

5D2 and 7D share similar weathersealing properties. Not very good, but not bad either. I still wouldn't trust them as much as 1 series cameras.

Perhaps you can buy used, seeing how the 5D2 is quite 'old' already. Old and capable, yes. Old and might be updated soon? Unlikely, but it could happen.

[kerpalz]

bro!~ if budget is not quite a issue to you.
keep your 50D and buy a 5Dm2

by using this combo. u save on lenses too

[bolgash]

How about getting the new 60D??

[smosh]

a 5D2 would definitely complete ur set. and start saving for lenses!! =D

[Anson]

I would recommend to go for 5DM2

[smosh]

5D2 supporters everywhere!

[Anson]

5D2 supporters everywhere!

Maybe some 7D users would come in with their view too...

[Zman]

The best IQ camera out there is the slow (for the year that we are in) 5D2 which still blows every canon camera out there in terms of image quality. Yes the 1D4 comes close with its super good 1.3X sensor but nothing will beat FF when you need the bokeh and are shooting portraits with good lenses etc.

[charles29]

5D2 better