Upgrade from a 400D....

[mjmatsen]

Hey guys, just curious what you would recommend.
I want to upgrade from my current camera which is a 400D, and was thinking either a 5D MkII or a 7D. I shoot mainly weddings professionally, and the rest of the time I shoot as a hobby. I'm tempted by the High MP and full frame sensor of the 5D, but also, my other job is as video editor and camera man, I am tempted by the 7D's video capabilities. Tell me what you guys think.

Thanks

Matt

[flake]

You are aware that the 5D MkII also shoots HD video?
The original 5D was marketed towards wedding photographers because the full frame chip makes wide angle family group shots easier it's a better choice than the 7D which is better for sports, wildlife, and macro. However the real issue with buying any FF camera is the lenses you intend to use, because FF really will show up any kind of weakness. You don't say what lenses you currently own, but you really will need the 'L' grade ones, and even then some are better than others so do some research first & make sure that the people reviewing are actually testing on FF not crop.

[chris-p]

I can't specifically advise on this (so I'm not sure why I'm answering at all!) but I am really impressed with the 7D. If the FF chip is important then the 5DII is a great camera but, looking at the samples and lab tests of the 7D it's capable of resolving really impressive detail and the control of high sensitivity noise is, frankly, amazing.

Totally re-written the rule book for me and is the only camera on the market that would make me move away from Nikon at the moment (who don't have anything that comes anywhere near close to the 7D).

[mjmatsen]

Originally Posted by flake

You are aware that the 5D MkII also shoots HD video?

Yes I am aware of that, but that lack of control on the 5D and the fact that at 1080 it shoots at 30p, whereas the 7D can shoot at varied framerates.

Pro's for the 5D
FF Crop
21MP
Shoots 1080p footage

Cons
Low fps 3.9 on burst
1080p30 only in HD

Pros for the 7D
High fps
Shoots 1080p footage
Varied framerate for HD video

Cons
Lower MP than 5D mkII
APS Crop sensor

I will also need some 'L' glass which I intend to buy.

If any of you guys own these camera's what kinds of bug bears do you have with them?

[mjmatsen]

Oh, and the 7d has a built in speedlite transmitter.

[flake]

I have the 5D MkII and the main bug bear is the fall off in resolution on some lenses towards the edges, and particularly at the corners. The focal length equivalent is sometimes an issue especially with macro where filling the fame needs more magnification.

On the other hand I would say that the build quality is better than the 7D, but I think they are very different animals.

I'm not sure why the pixel count at these numbers is important to you, the 5D MkII will easily print at A2 native the 7D isn't far behind how often will you printing off at A1 because both cameras will easily upscale to that, in fact 10 MP is usually more than enough even for large prints. The real benefit comes in cropping, but do you do a lot of heavy cropping?

The original 5D had 12MP and I don't recall anyone thinking that it wasn't enough for wedding photography.

I'd like to mention a new kid on the block which you should consider, and that's the 1D MkIV, a 1.3x crop with 16MP. There's a comparison between it and the other two cameras here.

Of course it costs a lot of money, but given the pro quality and the image quality it might be a long time before you need to consider buying a replacement (but I'm sure I remember thinking that before!)

[mjmatsen]

Yeah, as much as I would like the 1D MkIV Its outside my price range. To me I think that due to the better filming abilities, and the 8fps, I think I may learn towards more the 7D. Unless Canon decided to do a firmware update on the 5D.

[flake]

The price has already fallen to £3800 from £4500 and it hasn't even been released yet, by June (roll on with this weather) it should be close to its predecessor at £2800

[anglefire]

The review of the three latest and greatest, IMHO is hardly worth the paper its written on - unless you want to use them purely as video camera's. No stills that I could find.

The only thing that I would agree with is the 1.3 crop being a good compromise between FF and APS-C.

Whilst, I would dearly love to upgrade to the MkIV, unless my MkIII breaks or I get a lottery win, its not going to happen any time soon!

[Forseti]

Originally Posted by mjmatsen

Yes I am aware of that, but that lack of control on the 5D and the fact that at 1080 it shoots at 30p, whereas the 7D can shoot at varied framerates.

Wasn't there a recent firmware update for this camera now allowing for 24p/25P?


If any of you guys own these camera's what kinds of bug bears do you have with them?

Yes the 7D and more than pleased with it - also I prefer crop to full-frame. As to bugs - non so far, but there again I've only had it a few weeks.