5d m2?
- This topic has 46 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated Sep 2, 2009 at 7:33 am by
.
-
Posts
-
Eric,
I haven’t shot with the 5D mii (believe me I’d love to) but a guy in my office has one. He doesn’t hesitate to use it at all for professional photos or HD video (another plus) – he works in video production and uses it all the time. Could be a plus for your business as well.
Subjectively, the photos that come out of this thing are fantastic and just seem to pop.
Also, if you haven’t seen it, Vincent Lafouret demonstrates some of the capabilities of it here: http://www.vincentlaforet.com/
Calling Corey K on weighing on with his 50D….
Eric I would say it should depend on your shooting style perferences.
From what you describe I *think* if you go the 50D route and try to save some coin ( always a good thing) you will always itch for the 5D and wonder if you made the right decision. Its not that the 50D is a slouch, it’s not.Its that the 5Dii will suit your style better.
The 50D is geared more towards action/wildlife stuff.
The 5D is geared more towards ladscape/portrait type stuff.Every few weeks I think about buying the 5Dii and just about the time I’ve convinced myself to pull the trigger, I step back because while it will save me coin I also know the 1DMKIV (due this fall) is geared more towards my style preferences. So while I may love the 5Dii for what it does I know I will always second guess myself and think about getting the MKIV another day, because it wont have the same AF, fps, weather sealing etc
Calling Corey K on weighing on with his 50D….
If money is not an issue and ef-s lenses are not an issue … then I would be ALL over the 5D mii. Video would be killer … I may upgrade from the 50D to the next aps-c (?60D?)just to for video!
Kurt, any thoughts on the AF performance of the m2? That is one of my bigger concerns – doing kid photos and the like, as well as anything else that moves, alot of people seem to be saying the better AF sensors, as well as them being spread our more in the frame (actually, i don’t think they are really spread out, its just that the 1.6x frame is smaller), make for quite a bit better focusing. Again.. goes back to m2 is great for things that stand still i guess, and 50d is great for things that move. I sure wish canon would have dropped the 1d type focusing system into 5d, like nikon did with the d700.
I found this image comparing the 2 focus screens:
Article it came from:
http://blog.duncandavidson.com/2008/09/the-5d-mark-ii-af-angst.htmlThanks Kurt, I’m glad to see someone is have good luck with it, sometimes its tough to weed thru the BS with all of the internet hype out there.
H Jay, i stumbled across your site a while back, i don’t remember if it wa linked off of here, or i got to it from flickr or something, but nice work.
Hello Eric, I appreciate your comments. I understand everyone has a preference or brand they like to shoot so I do not intend to turn this thread into a Canon vs. Nikon thread. (I truly apologize if I have already).
I really did my homework when considering the two bodies (5D MKII vs. D700). It came down to a few things. I will try and name just the big ones for me.
1. Reliability. The 1D MK Series has had some serious issues. I will not get into them and I felt this could carry over into the new Canon (Different Topic). I was also concerned that a couple items did not change from the previous 5D model (The AF POints are horrible. Come on Canon….only 9 points??? You had the chance to fix this one.). Also, after reading Michael Reichman’s trip report I thought long and hard about the new 5D and it’s reliability http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/antarctica-2009-worked.shtml
Hands down the D700 beats out the MKII with both of these issues.
2. Fixed Shutter Speed (Shutter Speed Priority). Canon can’t do it. I use this more an more in low light conditions. Nikon Auto ISO on the 700 is much nicer.
3. I really wanted to get more involved with portrait photography, specifically with lighting. I did not have the means to buy a bunch of extra equipment and the 700 on camera flash syncs with my speedlight. With the 5DII I would have to buy a wireless TTL Control. Flash metering on the 5DII and other Canon bodies are very inconsitant and the more I read about it the more people say it just takes time to dial it in vs. the D700 which is near perfect every time.
(http://www.jaymorrphotography.blogspot.com)4. FPS! With my D700 extended battery grip I get 8FPS. The extra FPS with birding, fly fishing, etc. I do a lot of HDR and the faster FPS allows me to hand hold most of my bracketed shots.
5. Comfort, Features, Build (Canon could have done better on the 5DII construction build, improving upon its weather seals) and how well the D700 performs in low light conditions were also big items to consider.
HD Video and the 21mp did not suck me in like it does many others. While I think it would be cool to shoot vid, I have better cameras for this type of thing. And with Nikon putting out their new line up in November they will improve upon the technology by offering use of autofocus and zoom while shooting in Vid Mode.
The decision was easy for me. If I were a landscape photog I would buy a 5DII or if I were already committed or seriously invested in “L” glass. Fortunately it was easy to sell off my Canon lens library and buy the equivelant in Nikon.
My current bag kit consists of the following:
Nikon 17-35mm 2.8:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/186250-USA/Nikon_1960_AF_S_Zoom_Nikkor_17_35mm.html
Nikon 50mm 1.4
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/585343-USA/Nikon_2180_AF_S_Nikkor_50mm_f_1_4G.html
70-200mm 2.8 VR.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/274780-USA/Nikon_2139_70_200mm_f_2_8_VR_G_AFS.htmlSB-900 Speedlight.
I was able to switch my Canon stuff out for all of the above. I still use my 40D as a backup (but I have yet to use it since my baptism and conversion to the D-ZYTE).
Again just my take and what works for me. I have seen some very impressive results with the 5DII and shot all year long next to a photog sporting this body at the little league games. I appreciated my faster speeds 😉
Once you go black you never go back 😀
“Join the Powah’ TURN TO THE DARKSIDE”PS. Eric, “Full-Frame” is pretty damn nice. Me personally….If it were between the 50 or MKII, hands down the MKII. Keep the thirty as a back up and benefit from going to a full frame camera body.
Jay’s points are well made and there is no doubt the D700 is an amazing machine for all the reasons outlined in his post.
I’m not trying to plug canon, god knows they piss me off sometimes but I will say Nikon has significantly increased the price on much of their high end glass in the past year or so.
Me neither although they’ve never POd me off.
You would have to offer me 5x it’s actual vaue to pry my 1D from me.
Canon had issues with 1 body (most makers including Nikon have) their collosal failure was how they addressed it.Despite that many of my friends shoot with a mkiii and only 1 rarely felt it displayed the issue so many griped about. When the mkiv comes out later thi year, I may look to buy one, or I may look to buy one of my friends mkIIIs when they step up to the four
/shrugFrom what Ive seen/read Nikons AF does not compare well to Canons and that includes the D3. One good freind shoots with
Canon MkIII 800mm f5.6 L and 500 f4 IS L
Nikon D3 with 500 f4 vr..btw he *hated* the 70-200 vr. Way too front heavy
Leica ( for fun)He usually relies on the Canon and brings out the Nikon for a change of pace. That said, when hes shooting weddings its reversed, he relies on the D3 and the Canon becomes his back up.
Even Rob Galbraith who was instrumental in figuring out what was going on, last time I checked he still used it over anything else for his sports shooting and he above all wouldnt let it (the issue) go and nailed Canon to the wall, yet when money was on line..what did he use???
the MKiiiJay not sure what you mean by Canon not being able to use TV???
And atleast for me auto iso is a bad feature, not something Id want in a body as a change in ISO much like a change in aperture can really impact the look of your output. Its a setting Id want to control 100% of the timeI will say this and its one area that I think Canon needs to improve on is that the gap between their prosumer bodies and Pro bodies is larger than nikons.. Meaning if your looking for a body thats a little more than a prosumer, but less than a Pro Body Nikon has really dialed that segment in. Canon oth has flat out said they have little interest in entering that area. If you want Pro features (build, af, etc,etc) you need to go all the way to their 1D bodies..Persoanlly I think its a mistake
We’ll see what they come out with this fall, in the never ending tit for tat they are up to bat. And Kurt I agree 100%, if you think Canons L glass is expensive your in for a shock going to Nikon, especially as you go up in focal length. Nikon also really lacks glass around 400mm, in Canon you have a couple choices, 3 if you count the f2.8
Just look at the options you have in the 70-200. Four fantastic lenses from Canon…Nikon?Don’t get me wrong, I personally beleive people who fall into the great Nikon/Canon debates are mistaken. Both offer fantastic bodies and options, the trick is to find the one that suits *you* and what you want to shoot best.
But at the end of the day for me anyways I went Canon and still much prefer Canon due to the lens lineups and cost.
Glass last and is your investment, bodies come and go
hey John.. even though we weren’t really talking about the pro bodies from canon, you do emphasize one of the major sticking points alot of people seem to have with the 5d series:
I only brought up the 1D as it was mentioned.
A 1D’s af I would stack against the D700, they wont be the same.With regards to the Canons Pro sumers bodies, I agree, as I said I, think the gap between their Pro bodies and Pro sumers are too large. To me Nikons offerings in the D300,D700 are more what Pro sumer bodies should be…But with that comes additional cost and the question also becomes ok what to add?
A Pro AF system?
I wouldnt bet on it. That’s one of the largest things that sets Pro bodies aside. Why would a Pro Sports shooter for example spend 5 to 8 grand when they could get the same fast/reliable AF in a body half the price? If you want Pro grade AF both makers will force you to pay for itWeather sealing?
In Canons case absolutelyMore AF points?
Yeah that could be done as well…but its going to cost.etc, etc
Just for clarity if you put 1D grade AF in the 5D you largely have a 1Ds. Why would Pro wedding, fashion, etc type shooters be inclined to buy the 1Ds at 8g? Many already use the 5Dmkii as back ups or mains.
Either way atleast to me bodies arent the be all and end all. They come and go, whats new and hot today will be old news in 8 months as both Nikon and Canon bring new tech to market.
Glass last forever
/edit add for some perspective
Nikon D300 $1700
Nikon D700 $3100
Nikon D3 $5,600Canon 50D $1,200
Canon 5Dii $ 2,300
Canon 1DmkIII $5,200Both of Nikons “Prosumer” offerings are relatively almost 50% more expensive than Canons “Prosumer” offerings.
So yeah, they should offer a bit more.
But then again that difference pays for some really nice glass and when you consider that bodies come and go…trust me in a year or so the D700 will look old as people rave about the Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony newest body…………………..Like I said I do think Canon needs to up their game a bit with the Prosumer offerings, just bear in mind it means more cost, whch means more depreciation (lost capital) the next time you get an itch to change bodies.
John brings up a great point about depreciation, regardless of which platform you choose you’ll be affected by this unfortunate phenomenon when you upgrade.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.