Which Body should I go for?

[neuroanatomist]

I would like to hear from those of you who have experience with both, or shoot the 7D under the same demands.

I have both. I got the 7D first, and really liked it. Since getting the 5DII, I have used that body for nearly 90% of my shots. The 7D is used almost exclusively with the 100-400mm for birds/wildlife (not listed among your interests), although I keep the very nice 17-55mm just in case I need a general purpose zoom (i.e. for a trip to shoot birds/wildlife where I don't want to carry two bodies).


Aside from birds/wildlife, the rest of my shooting comprises family shots, portraits, architecture, landscapes, and macro - and the 5DII is, hands-down, the body of choice there.

My future lenses will be both wider and longer, and I want to keep my line-up fast, at least 2.8 (except for 15-85mm (for landscapes) and 8-16mm sigma).

Can I ask, why do you want to keep your lineup fast? Is it for the shallower DoF of f/2.8, or the faster shutter speed, or both?


The reason I ask is that while I think the 17-55mm is the best general purpose lens for APS-C, it is out-spec'd by the 5DII's kit lens, the 24-105mm f/4L IS. The FF-equivalent of the 17-55mm is a 27-88mm f/4.5 (aperture in terms of DoF for equivalent subject framing). So, with the 5DII + 24-105mm, you get a lens that is wider, longer, faster, and still has IS. In terms of exposure, you lose a stop...but thanks to the FF sensor, you actually gain 1.33 stops of better noise performance, so you can bump the ISO a stop to compensate for the lost aperture, and still be ahead on noise.

Noise is the biggest issue.

If noise is the biggest issue, get the 5DII. It handles noise much better than any crop body - I find ISO 3200 quite acceptable with the 5DII, whereas I prefer to keep my 7D to ISO 800 or lower.

Two things that count against the 5DII are cost and non-EFS compatibility.

Cost is always an issue. Still, for the types of photography that you do, I think the 5DII is the better choice. Yes, you'd have to sell the 17-55mm - but depending on when you bought it, you likely will not lose much, if anything.


The other part of the cost puzzle is lenses, and EF lenses cost more than their EF-S cousins, if you want good quality. That's especially true for the UWA zooms - quite nice for landscapes - where the 10-22mm is an excellent lens, and the 16-35mm L II is twice the cost (the 17-40mm is similar in cost, but the IQ is lower than the other two).


But, you have 17mm at the wide end now, and have mentioned the 15-85mm for landscapes - and on the wide end, 15mm on APS-C is 24mm on FF, so with the 24-105mm, you might not need anything wider.

[erno james]

5dII would be my suggestion (and i own the 7d only). if quick action shots are not in your future, go with the full frame camera. enjoy!

[William]

Thanks for your feedback guys! Yesterday I took the time to reply to all of you because each of you have submitted some very valuable information and pieces of the puzzle. There are also some further questions I

[andnowimbroke]

What if you dropped back to a used 50D? Still get a massive update in the body from a 30D standpoint. Good magnesium housing, better noise, AFMA, and still cheap enough to afford another lens.

[Fast Glass]

Partly because the 50D is not that much cheaper. I have played a little bit and taken some noise comparisons and the new 18mp sensor is quite an upgrade and worth the few hundred extra dolars. Since speed is not really a priority the 60D is a very nice camera if you want 1.6.


John.