50D or 5D- please give me your advice

<p>i have the same problem as 'lee f'.<br /> i don't know whether i should buy a new 50D for the current price (lens included, about ~$1600 at like best buy or future shop) OR a refurbished and used 5D camera from a friend for $1500, body only! please help!<br /> i've read others comments and advice and most are favoring the 5D, because of it's high reputation, full frame and overall great camera. however i plan on shooting more street, macro, architectural, and even portrait subjects. not so much landscape or anything like that.<br /> any advice in my situation? thanks!</p>

<p>Get the 5D. Its a nice match with your XSI, and as previously mentioned, better than the 50D in low light. You'll also be able to use any lens Canon makes.</p>

<p>I own both the 50D and 5D. I agree that the 5D would probably be a better bet.<br>

I disagree with the assertion that the 50D hasn't been a success. It is a great camera. If you crop the heck out of a shot you will get crappy pictures. If you shoot it like you would a 35mm you will get fantastic images. How often do people shoot a 35mm expecting to get a 8X10 out of 1/4 of the negative?<br>

Either camera will produce wonderful images. Just remember, the photographer is quite a bit more important than the camera.<br>

AND good glass is important. More so than a "good" body.</p>

<p>Once you have both, you will realize that having both is a real advantage. A crop frame camera and a full frame camera are so different that you will find situations where you will prefer one over the other. I predict that the 5D will become your main camera and you will use the Rebel only occasionally, as a backup. The 5D allows you to shoot with a longer lens, and get closer to your subject. Both of these factors result in dramatically better background blur for portraits.<br>

The main weakness of the 5D is sports, with the clunky shutter and slow autofocus. You won't notice either of those factors at your main (portrait) venues.<br>

Regarding the lens issue, you are a little weak on the wide side, and with only one flash you might consider boosting your lighting inventory. I would consider getting a second flash, maybe a 580II. In my opinion, better light trumps better glass....</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<blockquote>

<p ><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=2336892">Stephen Asprey</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"><img title="Subscriber" src="http://static.photo.net/v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub3.gif" alt="" title="Subscriber" /> <img title="Frequent poster" src="http://static.photo.net/v3graphics/member-status-icons/2rolls.gif" alt="" title="Frequent poster" /> </a> , Nov 05, 2009; 04:46 a.m.<br>

The 50D has not been a success. The 5D is FF...EF-S lenses won't work. get a used 40D and some nice glass.</p>

<p> </p>

</blockquote>

<blockquote>

<p>The sales of 50d VS 40d is probably more affected by the recession ,more than anything else.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The recession does not appear to have affected the sales of the Canon EOS 5D Mk.II, why has it had an effect on sales of the Canon EOS 50D (percentage wise I might asdd, as the cheaper product will normally have higher volume sales), especially as in the UK, Canon have been offering several "Cash Back" offers on the EOS 50D? Could it be that it is just not selling well? The same encouragement is not on offer for the Canon EOS 5D Ml.II. That camera is much sought after, that's why there is no current "Cash Back" offers on that body. It is the classic "Supply and Demand" situation. Think about it. Cramming all those Megapixels on a X1.6 CMOS means smaller Photosites squeezed closer together which equals the potential for much higher Digital Noise or very agressive algorithms for Noise Reduction for the in-camera processing. You can treat Digital Noise generated at high ISO's with products such as Noise Ninja or Neat Image very effectively, but at the expense of detail. Try it for yourself if you do not believe me (there are currently "No Free Lunches" in this life). It is also interesting that Canon have reduced the Pixel Count on their recently launched G11 VS the previous G10. Why do you think that might be if more pixels equals better IQ? Surely they should have crammed 18 Megapixels into the G11 and given us all the opportunity for even higher IQ in a smaller camera body. The Laws of Physics still hold true, even today. Stephen</p>

<p>Stephen wrote:<br>

"Cramming all those Megapixels on a X1.6 CMOS means smaller Photosites squeezed closer together which equals the potential for much higher Digital Noise or very agressive algorithms for Noise Reduction for the in-camera processing."<br>

So, if "all those Megapixels" is the primary factor in determining the amount of noise at higher ISOs, is it reasonable to assume that the 30D (at 8.3MP) will produce less noise at 1600ISO than the 50D? Or would you say the DigicIV sensor should still produce cleaner images at high ISOs than the DigicII sensor in the 30D? I ask this because I have a 30D (and a 50D for a month back in the spring) and I saw little difference between the two at 1600ISO.</p>

<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=4082810">"Stephen Watson</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"><img title="Subscriber" src="http://static.photo.net/v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub2.gif" alt="" title="Subscriber" /> </a> , Nov 06, 2009; 07:53 a.m.<br /> The recession does not appear to have affected the sales of the Canon EOS 5D Mk.II, why has it had an effect on sales of the Canon EOS 50D (percentage wise I might asdd, as the cheaper product will normally have higher volume sales), especially as in the UK, Canon have been offering several "Cash Back" offers on the EOS 50D?"</p>

<p>Why would'nt recession affect it? Or the sales of any expensive electronics for that matter, I was talking about the sales of 40d and 50d. The 40d was sold before the recession happened, when people were more willing to spend their money, unlike the 50d which was sold during the recession. Therefore, Whatever affected the sales of the 50d vs the 40d (not 5d, if you care to read more carefully) is more likely the recession, And not the performance of the 50d. That's what I'm talking about.</p>

<p>5d belongs to a higher price bracket, and it's volume of sales is alot less than that of 50d.</p>

<p>And please do us a favor, Would you please separate each paragraph, It's kinda hard to read your post.</p>

<p>Jeff. I can't comment on the EOS 30D as I have not owned one, but I have owned an EOS 10D, EOS 20D and an EOS 40D. A respected review on the 5D came to the following conclusions:</p>

<ul type="square">

<li>High ISO performance worse than 40D</li>

<li>Reduced dynamic range in the shadow areas compared to EOS 40D</li>

<li>Per-pixel detail not as good as on good 10 or 12 megapixel cameras</li>

</ul>

<p>It sort of fits in with what I am saying, but it does not seem to be understood by those commenting on this stream. Also, I do not have an axe to grind as I have owned and used Canon cameras and lenses since ~1980.<br>

The outstanding Canon bodies that I have owned and used are the Canon AE-1, Canon A1, Canon T90, Canon EOS 40D and the Canon EOS 5D (and by a large margin). We are in a free country so you can buy what ever you like. The Canon EOS 5D has a superb pedigree and is widly acknowledged as being an excellent body for landscape, portrait and wedding photography (the jury is out on the 50D and we will have to wait and see if it proves to be as successful as the EOS 5D for any type of photography).<br>

The Canon EOS 5D has a very low Frame Rate of 3 frames per second and is not the camera body of choice for Wildlife and Sports photography. If that is what anyone is looking for, then a different body in the Canon range will be more suitable or a move to Nikon, who have finely balanced Pixel Count with Frame Rate and High ISO performance. As a Canon man through and through, Nikon have provided really well balanced camera offerings based on IQ and high ISO performance VS pixels for the sake of pixels. I suggest that anyone convinced that the 50D is the best X1.6 Crop Factor camera body on the market at this time, should just go ahead and buy one. All this explanation will just be a waste of time.</p>

<p>Stephen:<br>

I assume when you said "A respected review on the <strong><em>5D</em></strong> came to the following conclusions", you meant to refer to the <strong><em>50D</em></strong> and not the <strong><em>5D</em></strong>, right? Otherwise, your post is totally confusing to me or you found a review no one else has been able to locate.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Apologies! Paragraph one (especially for Mars C) refers to 50D NOT the 5D. Typo I am afraid. Stephen</p>

Gentlemen ,though you're all probably right in assuming the 5D is a tad better in image quality. The 50D has it's own

advantages. The most important factor will be the photographer. The fact that you don't know which to choose tells me that

it probably won't matter.

 

My sincere advice is to try them both and choose for yourself. And to stop reading...

<p>It appears to me that Mr Watson is a Nikon man in diguise. Did you notice how he lold us that Nikon got it right and of course Canon has to many pixels on their latest offerings.Go to the Nikon forum where you belong We do not need your useless comments here.</p>

<p>I am so sorry to learn that I am the proud and happy of a 'failure' since it performs wonderfully for me. Perhaps in my failure I failed to notice that the camera is also a failure?<br>

But then silly me, I also carefully select the appropriate hammer for the task when I need one.<br>

Always select the proper tool for the job. In the case of the 50D vs 5D shooting speed vs FF imagery you get to choose what ya want. I can hardly wait to hear more about what a failure my favorite camera body is.</p>

<p><em>"A friend is selling her 50D (body only) for $900, so I could buy that"</em><br>

You can but a brand new 50D with USA warranty from Adorama for $980.</p>

<p>I was trying to figure out the same thing awile ago and I did decide on the 50d so that I could build more lenses around it, I know other people dont agree but I definfitly dont regret my decision! Hope this helps<br>

-Jodi Elizabeth</p>

<p>This advice is beyond helpful, I can't thank you all enough! I'm definitely going to get the 5D. Any suggestions on where to buy? I'm not finding that many places to buy it when I use Google. <br>

Round two of advice- lenses! I plan on spending roughly $2000 on lenses. What would you suggest for a basic kit? I want to be able to shoot a church without flash and a reception with low lighting. Oh, and I was wrong about the 70-200, it's actually a Canon 55-250/4-5.6 IS. I rarely use it (came with my kit) so I got it wrong. I wish it was the 70-200! I won't be able to use it with my 5D, but can still use it with the xsi. Thanks for your help!</p><div></div>

<p>This advice is beyond helpful, I can't thank you all enough! I'm definitely going to get the 5D. Any suggestions on where to buy? I'm not finding that many places to buy it when I use Google. <br>

Round two of advice- lenses! I plan on spending roughly $2000 on lenses. What would you suggest for a basic kit? I want to be able to shoot a church without flash and a reception with low lighting. Oh, and I was wrong about the 70-200, it's actually a Canon 55-250/4-5.6 IS. I rarely use it (came with my kit) so I got it wrong. I wish it was the 70-200! I won't be able to use it with my 5D, but can still use it with the xsi. Thanks for your help!</p>

<p>sorry, clicked twice, first time putting up a photo on photo.net. Does anyone have the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8? I've heard good things about that and that it's very similar to Canon's 24-70 for much less. That would free up some of my budget. What do you think?</p>

<p>For the Canon EOS 5D Mk.1, use Yellow Pages to locate your nearest Canon appointed dealer. They will have the 5D Mk'1 traded in from time to time against the Mk.2. A small deposit should secure one for you. Can't speak for anywhere else in the world, but 5D Mk.1's sell for around £800 in the UK. You can own two of these bodies for less than the price of a single 5D Mk.2. You can use an EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM lens on one body (fast lens for low light work) and either an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM or the very, very special EF 70-200m f/2,8 L IS USM lens on the other, for candid portraits (this is one of the finest L series lens made by Canon). The IQ with this set up will be awesome and you can shoot Auto Bracketed RAW frames at -1, 0 and +1 EV to take a "Belt and Braces" approach to you work. All the lenses mentioned can be bought secondhand if necessary to save money. The nice thing about Canon equipment is that from my experience, you will have the benefit of very good Service Support to fall back on if any problems develop over time with any of your equipment. Regards Stephen</p>