Keep My 50D or Trade for A 5D MkI

[pikers]

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!

[Sean Setters]

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.

[pikers]

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.

[Sheiky]

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]

[Sheiky]

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.

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

[pikers]

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.

[Sean Setters]

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

[pikers]

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.

[Sheiky]

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.

[Jon Ruyle]

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.

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.