Should I buy a Canon 5D or a Nikon D7000?

<p>Which would you buy today if you were not invested in either system. I have a chance at either coming up and I am leaning towards full frame, but it is an older camera, so I'm not sure. Portraits is my main aim with the camera I end up buying.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>For my $, probably the Nikon. A 5D today will likely have some mileage on it vs. a brand new, under warranty D7000. Have you handled these cameras? the ergonomics on one vs. the other may 'speak' to you.</p>

<p>Both cameras are very capable. Lens selection could be a differentiator--what lenses would you pair with each?</p>

<p>The D7000 is a bit more feature-rich including built-in flash, video, high-res rear LCD, live view. If you're planning on using TTL flash, Nikon's CLS is perhaps a little better-regarded.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The 5D is still a good camera, even now, but what are you going to stick in the front of it? The lens is really as important as the camera and IMHO Canon's glassware is lagging behind these days on a price-for-price basis.</p>

<p>The other thing to weigh up is that full-frame gives you more control over depth-of-field, which may or may not be important to you. Personally I think it's extremely important to be able to easily control the amount of blurring of the background, especially for portraits, but confirmed DX users will doubtless argue otherwise.</p>

<p>I was going to get a Sigma 50 1.4 or the Canon 50 1.4 (possible the 85 1.8). I'd put the the Sigma on the D7k as well. I have handled the D7000 and the 5D Mark II, but not the Mark I.</p>

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<p>I was going to get a Sigma 50 1.4 or the Canon 50 1.4 (possible the 85 1.8).</p>

 

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<p>That make's it a little easier... the Canon 50mm f/1.4 isn't a great lens (the Sigma is a winner though). That said, the 50mm on a cropped sensor camera is more of a portrait lens than it would be on a full frame camera.The 85mm would be the better choice on a full frame camera as the 50mm would be a bit short.</p>

<p>That said, asking this on a Nikon forum will give you a Nikon bias. Ask on the Canon forum and you will get a Canon bias. In every imaginable regard except one, the Nikon D7000 is a better camera: build, ergonomics (by way of controls on the camera body instead of menu driven), better sensor (DxO labs), /much/ better AF system (though for portraits alone I am not sure that is a make or break deal), better metering and list really goes on and on. However, the one regard in which the 5D will have an edge: bokeh. A full frame camera will throw the background more out-of-focus than a DX sensor camera. This is generally desirable in portrait photography. Choose wisely.</p>

<p>I shot Canon for 8-years, switched to Nikon in 2008 and can't fathom going back. I much prefer Nikon.</p>

<p>The display on the 5D (MKI) is horrible - colors are terrible. It is good only for checking composition and highlights. Take a look at it before you consider one. While the camera may be an older model, the picture quality is still superb.</p>

<p>If the size of the viewfinder is relevant and you prefer a large one, go with the Canon. Otherwise the D7000 is possibly a better choice. I used the 5D for two years and the Mark II for one. I found its AF system (if you use only the center point) fast [enough for sports] and extremely accurate.</p>

<p>I don't like the way the Canons handle in my hands, so I'd stick with a Nikon... but that's me.</p>

<p>The 5D is also pretty old technology at this point.</p>

<p>The classic FF focal length for portraits are 85 to 105 for head and shoulder, and 135 or more for head shoots. You have clearly more prime lens options when going FF.<br>

50 mm on D7000 is a little short and 85mm on the long side. A fairly good option with D7000 is to go with the 24-70 2,8 or as a cheaper alternative Tamron 28-75 2,8. A battery grip make the set more balanced, especially with the Nikkor lens.</p>

<p>@John Why did you switch?</p>

<p>@Bengt What about the Sigma 30 1.4 on cropped?</p>

<p>disclaimer: you may not get too many pro-Canon opinions on this forum.</p>

<p>the 5D was a good camera in its day, but 3fps would be way too slow for what i shoot. if i wasn't invested at all in nikon, i'd look at the 5d mkII, but you'd be getting a worse AF system than the d7000, plus the price tag wouldn't leave as much left over for lenses.</p>

<p>i think one can easily make a strong case for the d7000 as a portrait shooter and all-around camera.</p>

<p>as for lenses, i have the sigma 50/1.4, but i don't really like 50 on DX for portraits (too short). i'd consider the tamron 28-75 and sigma 50-150 as "DX portrait zooms," and the 58/1.4 voitglander or tamron 60/2 macro as "DX portrait primes." also, the 35/1.8 and sigma 30/1.4 are good for slightly wider portraits on DX, with the 30 having better out-of-focus background renditions and slightly more sharpness. the 24-70 is also good on DX for portraiture, but for the price you could get the 28-75, the 50-150, <em>and</em> the 35. if you're not shooting events, the 24-70 might be overkill to some degree.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Johnny, I have the Sigma 30/1,4 and like it a lot. Very sharp even at 1,7 and it have a very pleasing bokhé. Its good for portraiture when you want to show the enviroment as well. Obviously, you have a short object distance and some people will not feel comfortable with that.</p>

<p>You're asking a Nikon forum if they prefer Nikon or Cannon. I think that your results may be skewed just a tad</p>

<p>Anywho, I vote the Nikon D7000. It is a fine camera.</p>

<p>Skewed? Well, I own a D3, 5D II, and D90. I own a lot more Nikon gear than Canon, and I'd say, if you're comfortable with manual focus (and that's a big, honking "if")...</p>

<ul>

<li>Canon 5D</li>

<li>Katz Eye split image screen</li>

<li>Nikon 105mm f2.5 Ai-S (about $150 on the used market), with Canon adapter. This will probably be the lens you use the most, depending on how "traditional" you are).</li>

<li>Samyang (aka Vivitar, Polaris, and one or two others) 85mm f1.4, with Canon adapter. A classic "short portrait" good for waist-up shots and couples.</li>

<li>Nikon 50mm f1.2 Ai-S or Voigtlander 40mm f2.0 for environmental shots.</li>

<li>Canon or Nikon 180mm f2.8 for something longer, tight headshots and stuff...</li>

</ul>

<p>You could go partially autofocus with Nikon...</p>

<ul>

<li>Sigma 30mm f1.4 (autofocus) for the environmentals</li>

<li>Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 (manual focus) as a "short portrait"</li>

<li>Nikon 85mm f1.8 (autofocus) or Samyang 85mm f1.4 (manual focus) for a longer portrait lens.</li>

</ul>

<p>If you have to have auto focus on all lenses...</p>

<ul>

<li>Pentax K5</li>

<li>Pentax 77mm f1.8 limited</li>

<li>Pentax 55mm f1.4</li>

<li>Pentax 31mm f1.8 limited or Sigma 30mm f1.4</li>

</ul>

 

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<p>Canon's glassware is lagging behind these days on a price-for-price basis</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That ain't the way I see it.</p>

<p>Regardless, even if I hadn't already switched to Canon from Nikon, I'd do it all over again.<br /> In my case, I have lots of old non-AI Nikon lenses and enjoy using them on my Canon EOS cameras as well as M42 MF lenses, and old C/Y MF lenses, and Exakta MF lenses, and ... You get the idea. Plus the current Canon glass is so good, even without limiting yourself to the L stuff.<br /> I do architectural photography a lot, and Canon just keeps ahead of Nikon in offering lenses for these kinds of things. It was different in 1965, but today is another story.</p>

Another vote for D7000 if you're not absolutely fixed on FF. A great camera, I use it as a 2nd body next to the D700.

<p>Canon 5D Mark 2. Because it is full frame and if you would like to enlarge above 12X18 then you should go full frame.<br /> Secondly if you need telephoto lenses then canon gives more options and they are less expensive then Nikon.Here i am not talking about cheap lenses, like Canon 70-200/F4 comes in 2 versions(IS and NON IS and this is 5 star lens.<br>

<br /> One more thing about large sensor is that gives high dynamic range. but if you are not going to print big and you do not care about FX then "NIKON RULES"!!!!<br /> All landscape photographers use Canon 5D.<br /> **- NIKON still makes best FX , though it is very expensive.</p>

<p>Canon 5D classic, if you can get a good used one, is still a great camera for portraits. I agree with the opinion above about Canon's vs Sigma's 50 1.4: get the Sigma.</p>

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<p>if you would like to enlarge above 12X18 then you should go full frame</p>

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<p>Why would you say this? I've printed as large as a 20x30 with little to no visible pixelation from a 12.1 Megapixel D300s...I've also printed 20x30 from a 6.1 MP D70s...so why wouldn't you be able to do so from any other 1.5x or 1.6x crop camera?</p>

<p>As far as the OP's question...I'd go with whichever camera I feel I like better. Ergonomics, handling, and controls make a huge difference to me and my reason for sticking with Nikon throughout the years... (Since my Canon AE-1 broke).</p>

<p>RS</p>

<p>First decide on the system you want to be in, then a body.</p>

<p>I'm partial to the Canon system for a number of reasons, but you can accomplish your photographic goals with either system. There are no major advantages either way. Look at their lens libraries, accessories, and general trends in body design.</p>

<p>You can do portraits equally well with either FF or crop. The Sigma 50 f/1.4 is an excellent lens. If you do go into the Canon system, so is the 85 f/1.8 and the 135 f/2L.</p>

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<p>All landscape photographers use Canon 5D.</p>

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<p>Kind of a bold statement, isn't it? And... uh... not actually true...</p>

Just some facts about the 5D used. I have one. Buy a 5D with a serial number beginning with 2 or higher. Apparently Canon corrected the initial LCD greenish cast on the one series numbers on the later serial numbers. The LCD is small and very hard to see in bright light. 5Ds have had a problem with the mirror coming loose. Canon has corrected this with a free modification where they applied vertical retention bands on either side of the mirror. Buy one with this mod done. It may have been done at the factory on later models, I am not sure. I am very satisfied with the color and resolution of the pictures I get from this body. I do portraits with it. It does not have live view. It feels very solid in my hands. Just my opinion but for most work the difference between full frame and later 1.6 crop bodies is a distinction without a difference. The difference does show in larger prints and better high ISO noise charactersistics, I believe. ISO 3200 is the highest the 5D goes. I regularly shoot swimming competition in poor, high contrast light at 3200 with it and get usable pictures.(I know it is not and ideal sports body but it works in this situation). I have studio lights and I control backgrounds with lighting rather than Bokei on most pictures, I do not know how long Canon will support the 5D with software upgrades. I am content to live with this body for a few more years. However I have mostly L lenses and my 17-40 f4L works fine with it making true wide angle pictures. Full frame or crop decisions depend a great deal on what lenses you own. If you have crop lenses you should probably buy a crop body. I have mostly full frame lenses and they work at their true focal length without cropping the image on the 5D. .

<p>Johnny, for portraits, a full frame camera will give more background blur, if all other factors are the same.</p>

<p>The reason? Lens to subject distance will be shorter w/ FF.</p>

<p>Oh, this should be mentioned: if you do decide to get the canon 5D classic, ask the seller if the mirror assembly has been previously repaired by Canon. If it has <strong>not </strong>been repaired, there is a chance that the mirror may fail on you someday. This is a known issue with the 5Dc, and Canon has acknowledged the issue and they offer free repair and shipping.</p>

<p>I bought my 5Dc used, and after 1.5 years of use (about 10K+ actuation later), the mirror fell off during a shoot. Panicked, called Canon, they acknowledged the issue immediately, they emailed me a UPS shipping tag, and the camera came back in 10 days with the entire mirror assembly and focusing screen replaced. Free of charge. They also cleaned the sensor.</p>

<p>I know it sucks, but despite this setback, I still think 5Dc is a great camera. I don't know if this issue only affects 5Dc with certain build date/year. The upside is, you get a new mirror assembly...especially nice if the body has high actuation. It's almost like getting a new engine for your old car for free.</p>

<p>Moral of the story: if the 5Dc's mirror has <strong>not </strong>been previously repaired, have a second body on hand in case...</p>

<p>Even as a canon guy, if i didn't own any items from either system in this case i would buy the new nikon vs. the used/don't know where its been few year old canon.</p>