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Thinking about upgrading to 5D mkII

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Thinking about upgrading to 5D mkII

  • branoc
    Participant

    Hi,

    I’ve been shooting with my Canon 40D for the last 18 months and recently I’ve been thinking about upgrading to the 5D mk II.
    I’m trying to justify the upgrade to myself and at this point I’m finding it hard.
    It’s a lot of money to invest and I’m thinking unless I’m selling prints there is not much point spending the money.

    I suppose my questions is, at what point is it worth splashing out this amount of money on gear?
    Does it depend on the size you want to print?
    At what point would you really notice the difference?

    branoc

    Martin
    Participant

    I’m not a cannon user but I know the 40D is a great camera and is able to take great shots…

    A digital camera body is out of date in 3 years. A good pro grade lens lasts 10 to 15 years

    I don’t know what lenses you have but lenses is where I would put my money if you have not done so already (thats what I have done)

    Why do you want to upgrade ask your self, what problems is your 40D giving you that the 5d will fix? if you can give yourself lots of answers to these questions go ahead and upgrade otherwise stick with the 40D, a great camera… unless of course your loaded, then just go out and get the thing….

    M

    branoc
    Participant

    Thanks Martin,

    Well I wouldn’t say I was loaded but I’ve saved up for the camera and the lens I want. Now that I have the money sitting there I’m thinking, as you said, invest in some good glass instead.
    I’m thinking lenses that will go with the 40D, 5d or 1d. So no EF-S lenses then.

    branoc

    5faythe
    Participant

    Hi branoc,

    What are the reasons that you might consider changing to the 5D MK2?

    Is there some about the 40D that is stopping you producing the
    images you would like to produce?
    Will the 5DMK2 solve these issues?

    Are you looking at the 5D Mk 2 and it’s specs and thinking, “I’d like to have that?
    Nothing wrong with that BTW. I do it all the time.

    What size print are you likely to require?
    Quite large prints are possible from a properly exposed high quality
    file from the 40D and there’s more to making large quality prints than the camera.
    For example, the quality of the lens has a big bearing on the quality of prints.

    I don’t know what lenses you have but quality lenses would be required to make best
    use of the image making qualities of the 5D MK2 and EF-S lenses (if you have any)
    are off the menu.

    More expert members than me will likely be able to say how big a print can be achived with
    the 40D and don’t forget the perceived quality of a big print is affected by the distance from
    which it is viewed.

    The 40D has been acknowledged as a very good camera and I wouldn’t
    mind having one.

    Theres probably 2 reasons why I might want to upgrade my camera.

    1. My needs exceed the capabilities of my current camera.
    or
    2. I’ve seen the upgrade and I want it.

    After that financial considerations usually decide whether I do or not.

    You probably know the answer to your question already. :)

    Best of luck whatever you decide.

    John.

    branoc
    Participant

    I’ve just been checking out some sample images taken taken with the 5D mk II, with the 85mm f1.2 L mk II, and it’s reminding me why I want this again.
    I do a fair bit of natural, low light shooting and this combination is seriously good.
    The image quality along with the bokeh is stunning.

    branoc.

    aoluain
    Participant

    A good piece of glass goes a long way to creating Image Quality and good bokeh is
    created by a good lens and not the camera.

    Have you thought of upgrading to the 5D MK I? fabulous camera that can be had now
    for around €1000.

    You would be moving up to a full frame camera and you would probably be in a better
    position to keep your 40D also.

    You would be gaining as above a bigger sensor and 3 extra Mega Pixels and you would
    save a bucket of cash that can be put into maybe a new Carl Zeiss lens or whatever too !!!!

    As martin said Bodies are a consumable and we are being drip fed technology, good glass holds
    its value for many years after todays bodies are sold in 5 years time for fractions of the initial cost.

    For example :: THIS lens here is from an obsolete camera system the Contax N, This 85mm F1.4
    is still fetching Min €1000.00 and cannot be fitted to any other camera system apart from Canon which
    costs another €400.00 to convert.

    In two years time that 5D II will be so much cheaper !

    am I being too pushy ? :lol: :lol:

    Alan

    branoc
    Participant

    Hi Alan,

    I would have replied earlier only I’ve been stuck on your websites. I love the lo-fi stuff and your panaramas are great!

    aoluain wrote:

    am I being too pushy ? :lol: :lol:

    Alan

    Not at all, well not unless you’re trying to sell me something? ;-)

    How does the 5d perform when shooting at high iso?

    nfl-fan
    Participant

    I wouldn’t bother if I were you… but I don’t fully know your requirements either.

    I owned a 400D, then a 40D, then a 5D MKII… I use the 400D more than the other two put together… and I use a 3MP Canon D30 quite a bit now as well.

    5D MKII is grand if you want to produce huge prints or the like as the images it produces are massive (and they can drive your PC nutty)… but other than that I just don’t know why I bought it other than lust.

    I don’t use it very much at high ISO… I guess it’s OK based on what I’ve seen… but I don’t think it’s ground breaking either.

    Don’t get me wrong… it’s a fine camera n’ all that… but I often wonder why I bought it.

    In hindsight I might have bought a few nice lenses… or I might have blown the money on something else… who knows. I don’t have huge regrets… it was something that had to be done for me to realise that camera envy is over-rated… and now I am at peace with it.

    J

    nfl-fan
    Participant

    PS.

    The 85mm f1.2 L mk II is supposed to be an exceptional lens… and with an aperture of F1.2 it’s going to give you massive bokeh… that has little to do with the camera body.

    BTW… have you seen the price of the 85mm f1.2 L mk II?

    It would be nice to have… but at Turkish Lira I could live without it… as a bit of an allrounder it would be too much money for a lens that might be a bit rigid in terms of its application.

    5faythe
    Participant

    Hi branoc,

    You have got some good obsevations there from the lads.

    Just for the record I have the Canon EOS 20D since it came out
    in 2004.
    Been superceeded in turn by the 30D,40D and now the 50D.
    Still doing exactly the things I bought it to do.
    It might be out of date but it’s not obsolete.

    I’d like a bigger LCD but not enough to shell out.

    I think your 40D is one fine camera but it’s not me that has to be convinced.

    Cheers,

    John.

    branoc
    Participant

    Thanks for the replys lads..

    I understand that the bokeh is a product of the lens. I suppose I should have put a bit more thought in to that post.

    The point I was trying to make was that the 5d mk II with the 85mm working in low light, even with very high iso performs exceptionally well.
    Great colour, contrast and very little noise, and this is the reason I had considered the camera/lens combination originally.

    I bought the 50mm 1.4 for my 40d A while ago and I find that this is the lens I use most.

    branoc.

    nfl-fan
    Participant

    It sounds like you already have your own mind made up… and to bundle the 85 1.2 along with the body would suggest that there’s not much of a recession in your part of the country :wink:

    I really don’t know what you expect to get from this thread… or ultimately what answers you’re looking for?

    I suppose my questions is, at what point is it worth splashing out this amount of money on gear?

    Probably if you’re a pro, you have special client demands, you need to print extremely large, the effects of digital noise is going to be an issue.

    If you’re just a muck around amatuer then there is no point other than technology lust.

    J

    branoc
    Participant

    nfl-fan wrote:

    It sounds like you already have your own mind made up… and to bundle the 85 1.2 along with the body would suggest that there’s not much of a recession in your part of the country :wink:

    Recession? Huh? A what now..? Shss! Your not aloud say that word. I’m still in denial.. Anyway, I think it’s offically a depression now.

    nfl-fan wrote:

    I really don’t know what you expect to get from this thread… or ultimately what answers you’re looking for?

    I suppose my questions is, at what point is it worth splashing out this amount of money on gear?

    Probably if you’re a pro, you have special client demands, you need to print extremely large, the effects of digital noise is going to be an issue.

    If you’re just a muck around amatuer then there is no point other than technology lust.

    J

    And there’s the answer. I’m probably not going to get a whole lot out of this unless I’m selling large prints. I’d probably be better just investing in some good lenses then and have some change left over.

    aoluain
    Participant

    branoc wrote:

    Hi Alan,

    I would have replied earlier only I’ve been stuck on your websites. I love the lo-fi stuff and your panaramas are great!

    aoluain wrote:

    am I being too pushy ? :lol: :lol:

    Alan

    Not at all, well not unless you’re trying to sell me something? ;-)

    How does the 5d perform when shooting at high iso?

    Thanks for the Compliment!

    Hav’nt a clue about the hifg ISO on the 5D, never really shoot with it TBH.
    It is mostly Landscape stuff 50 and 100.

    mr enjoi
    Participant

    i got a 5d mk2 and the 85mm 1.2L II lens. and its an extremely strong combination. the quality of the 85mm 1.2 is amazing, there’s literally nothing better in that range. so sharp at 1.2 and if you stop it down to f/4 or f/8, its not even funny how much detail you can see. if you want/need a 85mm, get the 1.2L version. you won’t regret it, don’t think anyone ever has.

    the 5d mk2 is pretty damn good as well, its a solid camera. its slower the the 40d though. and if you shoot RAW, you better have a fast computer with lots of hard disk space. 20-30MB per shot.

    bad thing about this combination of the 5dmk2 and 85mm1.2L is the god damn weight. i have a battery grip too, which doesn’t help. 5dmk2 weighs in at 895g(body only) and the 85mm 1.2 weighs 1025g. its around 2kg all together. very heavy. and another thing, it might be great shooting at 1.2 cause you get the best bokeh ever, but the focus plane is like 1-2cm.
    you need to have it on auto focus anything beyond f/2.8. i say that because your viewfinder on any canon doesn’t let in more light then f/2.8. so say if you’re at f/1.2 and you think its in focus, it can still be off. you have to be very careful shooting at f/1.2.

    anyways, all in all, if you want or need the best then there’s no better combination. 85mm 1.2L will be great on any camera body, but if you want it to shine, stick it on the 5d mk2. and putting a 85mm 1.2L on a cropped sensor, you get less bokeh!

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