which camera and lens combo do you like?

[Cozen]

I ordered a 5d mark2, and as I'm waiting for it in the mail, I'm having second thoughts and reconsidering the 7d. I'm looking for a camera/lens combos mainly used for landscapes/portraits/events (birthdays, weddings, small concerts). I will also be using video fairly extensively, so video capabilities do matter here.


Here's the 2 different camera/lens combos I'm debating:





option1- 5dm2, 24-105L, 135L


option2- 7d, 17-55 2.8 IS, 85 1.8





Here's a couple of specific questions I have.


Can you still take stills on the 5dm2 while recording video like the 7d?


Which performs better in low light and IQ considering 5dm2+135L vs 7d+ 85 1.8? How much of a difference is it?


Which body is easier to use for video? (layout etc)





Is there anything else anyone would like to throw out there? Thanks!

[EdN]

If you are mainly shooting landscapes andportraits, the 5D Mk II is what you want. It's got better IQ and is better in low light. The 7D has a better AF system and the 1.6x for the focal length is much better for sports, birds in flight, and wildlife.


I would say that the 5D Mk II is what would work better for you.


Regarding your questions:


You can take stills with the 5D Mk II. There is a slight discontinuity in the video as the frame is taken.


I like the image quality of the 5D Mk II better. In marginal lighting conditions, there is quite a bit more noise in the 7D shots in the shadow areas. I can't tell you how much better the 5D Mk II is because I haven't done much low light shooting lately. I haven't done much videos with either body but in low light conditions, the 5D Mk II should be better with the FF sensor.

[crosbyharbison]

There is a slight discontinuity in the video as the frame is taken.

Just to clarify there is the same discontinuity in the 7D as well.

[Jon Ruyle]

Which performs better in low light and IQ considering 5dm2+135L vs 7d+ 85 1.8? How much of a difference is it?

The biggest difference in IQ comes from cropping. That is, just imagine you start with a picture taken with the 5DII and you crop away 60% it. You'll be left with an image with similar IQ to the 7D (except that the cropped 5DII picture has less resolution, of course). Or similarly, imagine you have a 1.6x extender glued permanatly to your 5DII. In terms of low light performance and IQ, your lenses will now perform as they would on the 7D.


In other words, in terms of IQ and low light performance, the 135L + 5DII will easily outperform the 7D + 85 1.8.


The 7D has several clear advantages over the 5DII (foremost among them, better af and higher pixel density), and is a better choice for some uses. But you're talking about landscapes and portraits, and asking about low light IQ. These are the strengths of the 5DII. It sounds like you bought the right camera.

[wickerprints]

Landscapes: 5D2 (wider field of view with available lenses)


Portraits: 5D2 (smoother bokeh for equivalent framing)


Events: 5D2 (better low-light performance)


Sports/Action: 7D (faster frame rate, superior AF)


Wildlife: 7D (greater pixel density enabling narrower angle of view)

[Cozen]

Thanks for all your input everyone. Seems I did make the right choice afterall. It's a hard decision when you know you'll be stuck with the body you buy for numerous years. I guess what was appealing to me about the 7D was being able to use the 17-55 IS for video and having the built in flash + speedlite controls, as well as 60 fps video and updated video controls. Well, and the lower costs of course.

[Fast Glass]

Wildlife: 7D (greater pixel density enabling narrower angle of view)

At the expsense of magnifying lens defects.A full-frame with a exentender is superior to a 1.6 crop body. You do crop out the corners but it magnifies the rest of the frame more and overall looks softer.


Here is bryan's link to show what I am talking about, http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp= 0&Lens=116&Camera=474&Sample=0&FLI =0&API=0&LensComp=116.


John.

[Jon Ruyle]

Here is bryan's link to show what I am talking about

The difference is even bigger than that. To make a fair comparison (same DOF and photon noise), you should stop down the 5DII to f/5.6.


And I suppose we should zoom to 45mm, too, but maybe that's beside the point.

[Fast Glass]

The difference is even bigger than that. To make a fair comparison (same DOF and photon noise), you should stop down the 5DII to f/5.6.


And I suppose we should zoom to 45mm, too, but maybe that's beside the point.

Here you go, http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=116&Camera=474&Sample=0&am p;FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=116&CameraComp= 453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=2&APIComp=2.


Here is another comparison with the 17-40mm the 28-135mm, http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?FLI=0&API=0&Lens=100&FLICom p=0&APIComp=2&LensComp=116&CameraComp= 453&SampleComp=0&Camera=474


What I was trying to show was the differance if you were to use the same lens at thesame apeture which is typical in birding. But you are also right because when you use a general perpose lens you have to zoom in to maintain the same framing and stop down for DOF.


Full-Frame rocks!


John.

[ShutterbugJohan]

The 7D, if I understand correctly, is better for video than the 5DII. It also has a dedicated video switch, so no menus are required to start shooting video.