Help with advise on 40D upgrade to 7D or 5dMKii

<p>Hello to all i am new to this forum and I am after peoples help or comments. i am sure this question has been asked many times before about the 7D or 5dMKii but my question is more about the improvements I could (if any ) expect to see.<br>

I currently own a Canon 40D and a few “L” grade lenses, shortly will purchase either a 7D or a 5DMKII. I enjoy a wide verity of photographic subjects, landscape, portraits, wildlife and sports it is and always will be very much an enjoyable hobby. I am happy with the images my 40D takes, and I can get some very good results, I do not blow them up any larger than A3. So my question is mainly aimed at anyone who has just upgraded from a 40D.<br>

Am I wasting my money buy upgrading? and will using the same techniques give me better images. After seeing the new camera specs I want one but do I need one ? and is it going to help me get better result.<br>

I am very much interested in anyone who has upgraded from a 40D on their thoughts on real world usage.<br>

Many thanks</p>

 

<p>I was in pretty much the same situation, I really was happy with the 40D and for my purposes I did not need anything more but after trying a 5D1 I realized how much I liked full frame so I upgraded from a 40D to a 5D2 and I think the difference is substantial especially if you are using L lenses. My 24-105 was just ok on the 40D but on the 5D2 its the perfect lens. The ISO performance of the 5d2 is spectacular. I never hesitate to shoot at 3200.</p>

<p>From what I hear the 7D is also a fine camera with a new focusing system that I hear is good ( I have not used this camera ) and if you are more heavily into sports and wildlife this may be more suited for you, I do more in low light, concerts, portraits etc so the 5D2 made sense for me and I never regretted the upgrade. I also find the video to be a great feature that I use quite often. Weather its worth it or not is up to you, I don't think the 5d2 has made me a better photographer but it is a lot of fun. Hope this helps. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Here are the top two responses you'll get on this forum for this type of question:<br>

1. What is it that you feel like you are missing with the 40D / where does it fall short for you?<br>

2. While either camera is an upgrade over the 40D, the results you will get have much more to do with your skill than the equipment, especially given you have L lenses and a prosumer body already.</p>

<p>HI, I had upgraded from my 40d to the 50d and was not happy at all with the 50d.<br>

I sold the 50d and went on the the 7d.<br>

I can say from having both the 40d and the 50d there is a definate difference. I am using all L lenses excpet for the 50mm f4.<br>

The noise levels are way lower than the 50d and around the ame as the 40d but the resolution is better and the camera is very fast. It surprized me how much faster the 2 fps came off. Also, when shooting sports, wildlife, birds the focusing as set to center with expansion and continuous is better than the 40d, more keepers and more sharp photos.It has a 100 percent viewfinder and other technical differences that are better also.<br>

I have a 5d mk 1 for landscapes and stills, portraits, etc.... but their is a difference with the fulll frame on thises shots compared to the same shots with the 7d and a wider lens.<br>

So, I would do this again haveing the experience of the cameras but only because I shoot sports and wildlife, birds, etc... I do not care for a camera having video. I have a video camera for that, BUT the 7d video is good. Better than I thought it would be.</p>

 

<p>A 7D will give you more flexibility, shooting a bit better in some circumstances because of improved AF. However, actual images, even at 16x20, will not be much better than with your 40D. The 5D MKII has great IQ (though probably not much better than a 40D) but the full frame sensor is important to many of us who shoot wide and already have a bunch of EOS lenses. Personally, unless you have a specific need I would keep the 40D for now and see how your needs evolve.</p>

<p>Take serious opinions from people that actually have own all three of those cameras. Forget comments like "though probably not better than..." 40D to 5DmkII, or "no real diff in a 16x20". Nonsense, I have actually gone from a 30D 40D to a 5DmkII and recently a 7D. I could be just as happy with my 7D since I enjoys using it the most. Specially now with the new focus with its integrated grid lines and new focus screen. There is a world of a difference from a 7D to the rest of the inferior crop cameras when you compare 16x20 prints from ISO1600. With a 7D images have a film like texture. The 5Dy does better from 1600 and up. If I were you, I would go 7D plus glass.</p>

<p>In addition to the features of the bodies, one other thing to keep in mind when deciding whether to switch from 1.6x to full-frame is what adjustments will be needed to your lens collection.</p>

 

<p>Personally, I spent time and a fair bit of money (since I insist on high-quality lenses) adjusting the lens collection that I'd built up on a film camera to suit my 20D. If I were to go full-frame now, I'd have to spend more time and money undoing that; I'd end up selling my widest lens (whose range wouldn't be useful to me on a full-frame body even if it <em>weren't</em> an EF-S lens) and would have to buy something to augment the long end of my collection since my longest lens would effectively become 40% shorter. The money I'd get from selling the wide lens would likely not even pay for half of the new long lens, let alone the extra price of a 5D II instead of a 7D. So I'd have to be very certain that the 5D II would be vastly better than the 7D in order to go that route. And, while for some uses it probably is, for mine it isn't. So I'm upgrading to a 7D in part due to my lens collection (as well as a number of body features for which the 7D is a better fit for my wants and needs).</p>

<p>I went 40D to 5D to 5D2 and it is a <strong>huge</strong> improvement in IQ and I see differences in prints over 12 x 18 (I print a lot), 7D I dont know, but if your after best possible IQ, 5DMkII.<br>

Ross</p>

<p>I own a 40D and took a few thousands shots with it. It's not the best body in the world but it gave me a lot of keepers, survive my 3 weeks journey during vietnameese monsoon and gave me a lot of fun in general.<br>

But as I'm triyng to develop an architectural photography business, a cropped sensor killed the interest of wide angle lenses and tilt-shift lenses... The only "affordable" fullframe body from canon is the 5D mark II. I even thought about a switch for a D700 but as I was so happy with my 135f2 and my 70-200f4 i gave up that option.<br>

I tried the 5D markII for a day (the best way to know if a camera suits your needs or not, rent it and do your tests) and finally bought it. Ok, tracking is less good then 40D, that a fact. But the AF is precise and quite fast (definitely not worse than the 40D) + with my 430EXII attached (with flash disabled) focus locks even in complete darkness easy. So, except for fast moving subjects the 5D mark II seems to be a great body. (and i dont speak abour image quality here, big step forward from 40D)<br>

If wide lenses, ts-e lenses, big viewfinder is not a must for you; go for the 7D. I tried it in a shop for a few minutes, it seems fun to use.But for my particular use I'm quite happy with the MarkII.</p>

<p>by the way, god the Raw files are starting to be huge! 30Mo... You really need a fast computer to process them.</p>

<p>best of luck in your choices</p>

<p>Samuel</p>

<p>Thanks for all your responses, some very helpful comments, i think the 7D sounds the best bet as i have one EF-S lens and looking at my shoots most are wildlife so the speed and focus tracking should be a help. still got a few weeks before going shopping so ill keep reading everyone comments.</p>

<p>What everyone opinion on the 7D's Speedlite Transmitter? dose it work well as i do a lot of flash work ?</p>

<p>Stephen, it works 100% of the time! I've used it outdoors(580ex+430ex), sunny day about twenty feet away, and not one missed shot. What is great about it is that you have many options, full ettl, ratios, groups, you can fire the on camera flash or have it not fire. So many choices. But it works great for a strobist setup.</p>

<p>Thanks Angel, i like the sound of ETTL thats one thing i miss with my set up, i am just using cheap ebay triggers, while they work great everything has to be in manual</p>

<p><em>A 7D will give you more flexibility, shooting a bit better in some circumstances because of improved AF. However, actual images, even at 16x20, will not be much better than with your 40D.</em></p>

<p>This is not accurate. At low to mid ISO the 7D is only a hair short of the 5D2 in image quality. It is better than the 40D and 5D and this will be noticeable in larger prints. The 7D is the only crop camera I've owned which had full frame like IQ.</p>

<p>Where the 5D2 really pulls ahead is at high ISO. Nothing can beat it at, say, ISO 3200. (Except maybe the new 1D mkIV?). But if you don't need to often shoot at high ISO and print those high ISO shots at 16x20 or larger, then the 7D is probably your best choice.</p>

<p>BTW, the wireless flash control is great.</p>

<p>If you're happy with the 40D, why upgrade. Spend the money on a nice photo trip or something. Gear Aquisition Syndrome is dangerous. </p>

<p>Keep your 40D and buy the 5D2.</p>

<p>I second Keep your 40D and Buy a 5D2 you get mix of crop and FF and the 40D is really fine camera and unless you need the frame rate of the 7D your Choice must be 5D. I have 5D1 and 30D and am happy with both. Must admitt the 30D is mainly only used for my macro work but I just like my 24-70 on FF and my 70-200 on full format. I have a 17-40 it great on FF but if I had a 10-22 I would not need it. I would really recommend a FF body you have the advantage with two bodies on not need to change lenses so often.</p>

<p>

<p dir="ltr">Craig is right. What are you hoping to achieve in this upgrade?</p>

<p dir="ltr"> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Happy shooting,</p>

<p dir="ltr">Yakim.</p>

 

<p dir="ltr"> </p>

</p>

 

<p>I would agree with Carl except that when I got a 5d2 my 40D just collected dust.</p>

<p>Well said, Craig. photo quality is about so much more than the incremental advantages of a 7D over a 40D. It is like bicycles. All other things being equal, a $5000 bike will produce a ride that is really better than you will get on a $2500 bike. But all other things are never equal. The ability of the rider and rider weight, weather, road conditions, tire quality, rider mindset, scenery, etc all affect the quality of the ride. So, if you are racing and every second counts, the $5000 bike may be worth it. But for most people the bike is a minor part of the overall ride experience. This is tru for photos as well. The camera makes a difference but far less than the photographer's ability, scene and opportunities, ability to adjust in PhotoShop, printer, printing skill, lens choice, filters (or lack of), use of a tripod, lighting gear and skill, etc. I do not argue that the 7D and 5D MKII (my main body) have advantages and, all things being equal, produce better IQ than a 40D (my back up). But a 40D is a great body that will produce great photos and the variables other than the body will make far more difference in the final photo than the body does. So you have to ask, is the upgrade worth it? Maybe to many people? Maybe to you? But do not be afraid to decide that you have better ways to spend your dough. A photo trip, a carbon tripod and good head, a new lens, a dedicated macro flash, some Photoshop classes, a new printer... any of these may make more difference in your IQ than a new body.</p>

<p>hi all anyone can tell me about the replacement of light tranmitter canon ST-E2, wot is the cheap solution to make the 430 ex as salve by my cam 40d?</p>

<p>I have a 40D (Love it!) and would dare to offer another route for you for full frame: film.</p>

<p>The EOS 3 is CHEAP - easy to find - and loves the L glass. It loves 'em.</p>

<p>Either way you cannot go wrong -- 7D, 5D2, or a top film body. The 3 also mates well with the 580EX Speedlite.</p>

<p>Hi. I've upgraded from a 40D to 5Dmk2. But I still own a 40D. 40D is very good body. When you use it with "L" lenses you can get very good quality of oyur pictures. I keep it as a backup for 5Dmk2. Anyway when I purschased 5Dmk2 and took few shoots I saw HUGE different in quality of picture. FF sensor gives a spectacular quality. Also you can use higer ISO without disturbing noise. Last night I shoot pictures at ISO 5000 and they look very good. Frame rate of 5Dmk2 is enough even for sport photos. Also AF is good and fast enough. But if you need extremely fast and accurate AF you should think about 1D-series :)</p>

<p>5Dmk2 isn't cheap but it's worth every penny. When I saw first pictures of this body I said: "Why I was waiting so long" :)</p>

<p>Happy shooting - Damian :)</p>

<p>First off, the 40D is a great camera and most would be fine with it.<br>

The next thing I would say is that the 5D mkII and the 7D represent an evolution of features we're used to finding present on our cameras, and I'm not strictly speaking of video.</p>

<p>The 5D seems to offer everything a full frame camera is supposed to offer, with the addition of really good low light performance. One assumption I would make though, if you're not using high quality lenses on it, it will show.</p>

<p>The 7D is a whole new class where it not only improves low light performance, but offers a lot of creature comforts we all wish had been around already, and on top of that, puts it all into a relatively inexpensive package. Keyword there is RELATIVELY. I haven't read as much about the 7D yet, but I haven't heard anything bad about it yet, and if it performs to the specs it has on paper, then it's a fine specimen of photographer usability, that doesn't disappoint in photo quality either. <br>

I used to drool over the 5dmkII, but if I were to upgrade today it would be the 7D (assuming it truly is the performer I would expect it to be) because of the 100% viewfinder (I've missed composition on some shots with my Rebel XT when in a rush to take a shot), the new better autofocus, the wireless flash transmitter, and the low light performance, THE PRICE, and I can't remember now but I think it has a high fps for both video and continuous photo shooting. The weatherproofing is nice, but even the non-weatherproofed cameras perform well for my needs.</p>

<p>Oh, and I forgot the built in level. Not sure what the canon jargon is for it.</p>