Keep My 50D or Trade for A 5D MkI

Hi all,


I'm new to the forums but I've been been a loyal reader of thedigitalpicture.com for about a year now. Here's my dilemma...


I upgraded from a Rebel XT to a 50D about six months ago and overall I've been pretty happy with the results. The increase in resolution and IQ is good but I'm honestly not as impressed as I thought I would be. The 50D has lots of bells and whistles but I really don't use too many of them. Sooo, my question is should I trade my 50D in for a 5D? There is a local guy that is willing to trade a 5D with about 20-25k clicks for my 50D with about 6k clicks plus a few $ on top of that. Here's some more about me which may help you with your response...


Here's my current gear:

• Canon 17-40L
• Canon 50mm 1.8
• Canon 85mm 1.8
• Canon 70-200mm f4L IS

I mostly shoot still life, portraits, and city life. I've also done a few weddings and I'd love to do more.


I'm leaning towards the 5D for several reasons.

1. From the results that I've seen, the IQ is noticeably better than the 50D...gotta love that FF
   
2. ISO performance above 800 seems to be better on the 5D...this is VERY important to me
3. Using the same lens, you'll get much better bokeh with the 5D...again, important to me

My hesitations about trading the 50D for the 5D:

1. 5D has more usage around 20-25K clicks. This was used by a "pro" wedding photographer so I'm expecting it to be in decent shape. I understand these are rated for 100k clicks but the camera is probably about 4 years old at this point. Should I be worried?
   
2. It's older technology. The 50D has some nice features that I may use at some point (e.g. 6.5fps) but they aren't THAT important to me right now. I feel a little more "future proof" with the 50D if that makes any sense.
   

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Don't get me wrong, the original 5D was a fantastic camera when it comes to image quality. However, I think you need to save up some cash and get the 5D Mark II (refurbished, maybe) if high ISO performance and resolution are that important to you.

Thanks Sean.


Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing for the past few days. I've been watching the used market for these guys and I've started to see a slight drop in price...it may be due to the 1D MkIV and the 7D.


I may just keep my 50D and work on getting the glass I want. My only concern is buying specific focal lengths based on my 50D then jumping over to a FF body. I'll be used to working at certain lengths and all that will be thrown off when I move to FF. Life is just full of tough decisions.

Or look at a new 7D? Price is almost equall. I wouldn't go from a 50D to a 5D mark1 I think.


Also in my eyes "PRO" users tend to be very rough with their equipment compared to people who can't afford to break it [:P] The gear of PRO users always looked worse than my own gear. They trow it in their car and stuff like that.


But then again I'm really carefull with my stuff [:P]

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Originally Posted by pikers

I may just keep my 50D and work on getting the glass I want. My only concern is buying specific focal lengths based on my 50D then jumping over to a FF body. I'll be used to working at certain lengths and all that will be thrown off when I move to FF. Life is just full of tough decisions.

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You're 17-40 will be a real extreme wideangle on FF compared to your 50D....

Thanks Sheiky.


To your first post, if and when I upgrade...I'm definetly going to go FF. I think the benefits of a FF sensor (better DOF, better high ISO performance) are exactly what I'm looking for. The new tech that the 7D offers is INSANE, but I'm going for IQ instead of goodies for my next body.


Regarding the 17-40...


I had the Sigma 10-20 for my 50D and it was really too wide for what I like to shoot. I don't think I EVER took a shot at 10mm...the thing could almost see BEHIND me.

Don't rule out the usefulness of a shot taken at 10mm on a 1.6x (or 17mm on a FF) body... ;-)


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/...743c427e70.jpg

Wow, great shot Sean! You're a brave man for putting your camera out there like that...I'm not sure I would have the stomach for that [:)]


The 17-40 takes care of pretty much everything I need from a "wide" angle lens.

Pikers I know just what you mean, I just sold my 50D and I'm going to buy a 5D mark II just for the same reasons [:P]


I meant to say: when you use the 17-40 for general purpose wide angled lens at the moment. You're going to get shocked when going FF. When you put it on a FF camera at 40mm the field of view is equally as 25mm on your 50D! (I'm not sure if I say this technically 100% correct, but I guess you get my point)


You might get to switch lenses a lot, which isn't really helping at weddings and stuff like that.





I know I like such a wide angle lens, but I also know that I haven't got enough uses for it. For me it isn't beneficiary to buy such a wide-angle. I couldn't justify the price, since I will probably not use it very often. Although there are some shots like Sean's in which I really like it a lot!





I'm not sure about the performances of the old 5D though. That's why I mentioned the 7D. It might do even good at higher iso's, but I don't know that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

The 50D has some nice features that I may use at some point (e.g. 6.5fps) but they aren't THAT important to me right now. I feel a little more "future proof" with the 50D if that makes any sense.

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It does. But another way to look at it is this: in five years, the 5D will be an old full frame camera, and the 50D will be an old APS-C. :)


Each camera has advantages over the other. It sounds like you're saying the full frame advantages of the 5D are important to you, while the features of the 50D are less so. In that case, a switch to the 5D seems to make sense. And while I obviously can't comment on your concern about the condition of the particular 5D you're considering, 20-25K clicks isn't really that much.

That would be a really tough decision for me as well. I have a 5D mkI and love it. It would depend on how beat up the 5D you are looking at is. Like you, I would not use many of the bells and wistles on the 50D either. If the 5D in question looks like they took care of it I would probably go for the trade but if you could wait and save for a 5D mkII and keep the 50D for a back up do that. If you are going to do weddings you will need a backup body.

Ugh, this is really tough one...I wish I was rich.





I'll probably at least meet up with the guy that has the 5D and check it out a bit. If it's in good shape I may just pull the trigger. The 5D has held its value very well so if I regret my decistion I'm sure I could get another 50D.

I think that's a good idea. Try it with your own lenses and see if you like it how they react on fullframe.


Just another question: why does he want a 50D?





Good luck!

Sean, terrific shot...


I'm curious how you rigged your camera to take that shot...


Leaving it on the hood would be stupid. I don't take you as stupid [:)]


Camera looks a little elevated anyway. Did you have a strobe in the pasenger seat?


great work, regardless.

Obviously ducttape!!! [:P][;)]

I was curious about that as well. Apparently he has a 40D and a few EF-S lenses...I guess he thinks the 50D is an upgrade. He also said he was interested in the live view feature...probably marco work. I just tried live view for the first time last night. Seems like a cool idea but I don't think I would ever use it. It would probably be helpful in a stuido environment.

I've only used live view once (and the 10x magnification), and I loved it! But, I was making a still life photo, which I never do, and was using a tripod, which I never do. If I ever start to use a tripod (which I probably won't) I'm pretty sure I'd use live view every time.


Lewis

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Colin

Sean, terrific shot...


I'm curious how you rigged your camera to take that shot...


Leaving it on the hood would be stupid. I don't take you as stupid [img]/emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]


Camera looks a little elevated anyway. Did you have a strobe in the pasenger seat?


great work, regardless.
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Click on the pic (I describe the setup in the caption of the flickr page)....and just so you know, you seriously underestimate my stupidity!

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Originally Posted by pikers

I'm new to the forums but I've been been a loyal reader of thedigitalpicture.com for about a year now.

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Welcome!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

should I trade my 50D in for a 5D?

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Yes! You're going to love it.


However, a few comments:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

The 50D has lots of bells and whistles but I really don't use too many of them.

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Why is that? If it's because you have been too busy shooting photos to really take the time to learn and utilize the features, I would encourage you to do so before you switch. For example, microadjustment makes my images twice as sharp. If you use autofocus, then it makes a world of difference if any lenses are slightly out of tolerance. Live view is another valuable feature: it makes it possible to have 100% perfect critical focus every time (for slow-paced shooting).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

Here's my current gear:

• Canon 17-40L
• Canon 50mm 1.8
• Canon 85mm 1.8
• Canon 70-200mm f4L IS

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Excellent lenses! Did you know that every time you use the 17-40 on a crop camera, an angel loses it's wings? That lens wants to be on full frame. The first time you try it you're going to gain a whole new appreciation for it - it's really like night and day. Same with the f/1.8 primes -- they really sing on full frame!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

From the results that I've seen, the IQ is noticeably better than the 50D...gotta love that FF

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When used at the same angle of view and depth of field, the 5D will usually give you better contrast and resolution, so this is a good reason.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

ISO performance above 800 seems to be better on the 5D...this is VERY important to me

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The 5D is better, but not much better. The 7D is better than the 5D at ISO 1600 and above, especially because it has no pattern noise ("banding", or "line noise") at high ISO. But you don't need all the bells and whistles of the 7D. Hopefully they will put the sensor in a cheaper body soon (like a 60D or 550D).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

Using the same lens, you'll get much better bokeh with the 5D...again, important to me

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Minor clarification: The 5D and 50D will have the exact same "quality" of background blur (bokeh), but the 5D will have greater quantity of background blur (not bokeh).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

It's older technology.

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Don't worry about that -- if you don't need the features then it doesn't matter.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pikers

5D has more usage around 20-25K clicks. This was used by a "pro" wedding photographer so I'm expecting it to be in decent shape. I understand these are rated for 100k clicks but the camera is probably about 4 years old at this point. Should I be worried?

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Yes, IMHO. It's not that big of a deal if the shutter or mirror assembly goes out, but at $250 it's still a nice chunk. There's other stuff to worry about too, like the lens mount being out of collimation (e.g. one side of a lens appearing slightly soft, when that same lens is perfectly sharp on other cameras). Also, I'm sure you'll see a ton of dirt in the viewfinder - the 5D sucks it in really good.


Many of the wedding photographers I know are very hard on their equipment. Setting lenses down in the dir with no rear lens cap - banging them around - etc. It's just a cheap tool to do a job after all, no reason to baby it. Amateur photographers are a lot more careful with their equipment - it cost a lot more relative to what it brings in. Unless they are timelapse photographers. We put hundreds of thousands of actuations on our cameras in a year -- avoid people like me unless you want to pay for a new mirror assembly right after you buy the camera. [:D].


You're going to love full frame!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lcnewkirk

I've only used live view once (and the 10x magnification), and I loved it! But, I was making a still life photo, which I never do, and was using a tripod, which I never do. If I ever start to use a tripod (which I probably won't) I'm pretty sure I'd use live view every time.
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I use liveview all the time without a tripod -- just hold it up in front of your face like those dorky digicam users! You'll get funny looks from everyone, but I shot a six-digit wedding (ice sculptures, etc.) that way! There's no other way to get absolutely critically precise focus every time. The only problem is the ergonomics, but that can be fixed if you build or buy a shoulder mount.

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Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lcnewkirk

I've only used live view once (and the 10x magnification), and I loved it! But, I was making a still life photo, which I never do, and was using a tripod, which I never do. If I ever start to use a tripod (which I probably won't) I'm pretty sure I'd use live view every time.
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I use liveview all the time without a tripod -- just hold it up in front of your face like those dorky digicam users! You'll get funny looks from everyone, but I shot a six-digit wedding (ice sculptures, etc.) that way! There's no other way to get absolutely critically precise focus every time. The only problem is the ergonomics, but that can be fixed if you build or buy a shoulder mount.

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When I got my camera a year ago, I tried that and it seemed very akward, so I never did it again.I don't think I knew I had tofocus manualyand I definately didn't know about the 10x feature. I tried it again just now, and I guess it's not too akward.

I still think it's weird [:P] No I'm kidding, but I don't really understand how it is handy for fulltime use.


Yes I get it with macro and tripod and hard to reach photo's, but full time? How do you manage to keep the camera still and steady at slower shutter speeds? Your camera is nothing like a digital point and shoot. Especially weight....


Anyhow, I never really use it and I could easily live without it. Everybody's got their own style I guess. Still confused about the steadyness though [:P]

Wow! Thanks for your response Daniel!


I'm DEFINITELY going to try the micro adjustment feature. My second biggest complaint (behind noise) is the lack or sharpness on my images. I've tried the different in-camera sharpness settings which seem to help with sharpening things up a bit but they can cause issues with post processing sharpening. My pics are either too noisy, too soft, etc. It's getting a little frustrating making adjustments to extra features like Auto Lighting Optimizer (ALO) and Highlight Tone Priority. They say great for this scenario but not for that. I actually miss the simplicity of the XT which is another reason why the 5D appeals to me.


Please don't get me wrong...I think the 50D is a solid camera with impressive features and I'm happy with my purchase, but for my stlye of shooting, I think the 5D is a better choice for me. I'm going to re-read the manual and try to work with every feature to get the best out of this camera before I make any moves.

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Originally Posted by Sheiky

How do you manage to keep the camera still and steady at slower shutter speeds?

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With a shoulder mount. If I don't have the shoulder mount and I can't use faster shutter speed (e.g. low light), then I switch to the optical viewfinder. I can't wait until Canon switches to an electronic viewfinder.

Hi all,


Well after a few weeks of deliberation, I decided to go for the 5D. I ended up trading my 50D + $200 for the 5D. So far I'm really loving this thing but it's going to take a while to get used to it. The only feature I really miss from the 50D is the sensor cleaning system...the 5D is a dust magnet!





Thanks for your input!

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Originally Posted by pikers

The only feature I really miss from the 50D is the sensor cleaning system...the 5D is a dust magnet!

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Tell me about it! I had to clean that thing almost every day when I was shooting macro with it.


How do you like your 17-40 now?

Yeah, I'm going to have to work on my OCD about keeping my stuff 100% dust
free...I don't think that's possible with the 5D.<o:p></o:p>


<o:p></o:p>


Funny you mentioned that...<o:p></o:p>


<o:p></o:p>


I've fallen in love with my lenses all over again with the 5D! My most
recent purchase was the 70-200 f/4L IS and while I liked the results, the focal
lengths were just too long for what I typically shoot. Now, with the 5D, this
thing is on my camera almost as much as the 50mm and that thing is usually
GLUED to my camera. The same with my 50mm, it's much more comfortable to work
with.<o:p></o:p>


For now, the 17-40, 50mm, and 70-200 have me covered for almost anything.
I'll probably end up moving to all primes (34, 50, 85, 100 MACRO or 135), but
for now, I'm loving this setup!<o:p></o:p>

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Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

You're going to love full frame!

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Daniel Browning, you're making me covet. I can't wait to go full frame. I miss the view from my film camera. :(


How's the 5DII with dust, out of curiosity?

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Originally Posted by Gina Franco

How's the 5DII with dust, out of curiosity?

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The 5DmkII is great when it comes to dust resistance. The coating on the low pass resist dust very well. The once or twice that I've had dust on the filter a quick squeeze of a Rocket blower took care of it.


With that said, I'm sure I will hear how Rocket blowers are not clean and can make the sensor dirty and can blow dust on the mirror or prism. But it works for me.
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