5d+consumer lense or 400d and a pro lense

[paul_lovichi]

hi

 

i need to replace my canon 10d. i have 3 consumer lenses sigma 50mm, canon

90-300 and canon 28-105 3.5-4.5 usm. i am undecided between buying the canon 5d

or buying the 400d and the spending the excess money on a decent lense for

portaits. which option would give me the better quality of image? my main work

will be in portaits and some wedding work.

 

thank you

 

paul

[carl_weller]

Go with the 400D and the glass.

 

The 5D is great, but you need to have the setup to make the most of it.

 

When you have some good lenses, then look at a better body.

 

good luck,

[mark u]

The Sigma 50mm is actually a pretty good lens. I'm not too sure what you think you'd get as a portrait lens with the 400D, but a 50mm f/1.2 is very pricey (and not even available yet), and you'd really need to add something wider than 28mm for group portraits - say a 17-40 f/4 L. An 85mm f/1.8 isn't all that expensive, and would make a very good portrait lens on a 5D. That's the route I would go in your shoes, planning to add other glass as you can afford it. Keep your 10D as a backup body - wedding photographers should never rely on a single body.

[orensztajn]

The 5D. You will not have crop factor and bokeh will be much nicer.

[glenn_cummings1]

By all means...go for the better glass! Bodies will always change and you will eventually want to upgrade to a newer release. Good quality glass will last you years if not a lifetime.

[paul_lovichi]

the cheaper camnera sounds like the way to go. is it worth spending the extra ?300 on the 30d over the 400d, or are canon about to upgrade the 30d? what is considered the best portrait lense in the ?400 bracket....won't an 85mm be long on the 400d (120mm)?

 

cheers for all the help. much appreciated

 

paul

[yakim_peled1]

I'm with Carl.

 

Happy shooting,

Yakim.

[drew_para]

I would ask yourself one question, how bad do I want a camera with a full frame sensor? ...If the answer is badly, then go with the 5D. Otherwise an XT, XTi, or 30D would treat your wallet much better.

[._._z]

Get the 400D now. If you think you might want a full-frame camera in the next 3-5 years, and you want to build a lens system, proceed to buy lenses that will fit FF cameras.

 

But if you don't see a real need for FF, just get the best non-FF lenses you can afford and I think you'll be happy.

[lucafoto]

If you ever plan on going to full frame, invest in the EF glass. Don't spend your money on an

EF-S lens that will not be compatible with a full frame Canon. EF lenses will work on any

Canon dSLR.

Bodies change, glass lasts.

[digitmstr]

Keep the 10D... What's wrong with it that you NEED to change it?

 

If you are going to do weddings you'll need a backup body!

[kin_lau]

5D + EF 35/2 + EF 50/1.4 + EF 85/1.8 = very good quality. All 3 primes are good, fast, sharp and relatively cheap.

 

400D or 30D + EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS + EF 50/1.4 (or just keep your Sigma 50) = very good quality. Room also for a 70-200/2.8 or 4.0 w/ IS.

 

This is based on the portraits & wedding requirement.

 

Any good quality EF-S glass can easily be resold if you chose to go FF later. If you're a working pro, the lenses will get a lot of use, and will not last forever. Modern AF lenses have a finite life due to all the moving parts, don't consider them to be an "investment".

[mirek_elsner1]

I think buying lenses first is better investment, because quality lenses will stay longer with you and if you decide to sell them, they keep their value better. I also think that 400d can take full advantage of high quality lens (not only sharpness, but also speed, stabilization etc.), while 5d would be degraded by your 90-300 and 28-105 lenses.

 

Unless you need full frame sensor or some of the other features of 5d, I'd go with 400d and a good lens like 24-105 (or whatever suits your needs).

[phyrpowr]

Glass

[jdarko]

5D with consumer glass is not a good idea. FF will really show all the flaws of lens. It would be like driving with a Ferrari with a Fiat engine... I'd go with the glass.

[guido_ersettigh__milan_]

keep your camera until 40d comes out or, even better, 3d comes out and 5d will cost much less - this last would be preferable as it's a full frame one -. You can spend some money now to upgrade your lenses: 85mm f 1.8 and 24-70 L.

[jason_bostic]

Go with the more expensive glass! I too many times have neglected opting for the more

expensive glass. It bit be for the last time earlier this year.

 

Sure the 5D is great with that full frame sensor, but putting lower end lenses on it is going to

give you just that, lower end pictures.

[pavel_olavich]

Years from now, long after you've eBayed your 5D for $500, you'll still be enjoying your L glass, mounted on your 8D body, with 45 megapixels, 14 stops of DR, and 24 bits/channel color.

 

Always better to start with the glass, then decide which body....put it this way: The Canon XTi produces the same excellent image quality as does the Canon 1DS Mark II 999 times out of 1,000, for prints up to 13 x 19 with little difference.

[mark_james]

... about selective focus and depth of field. The pixel pitch of he 400D

will challenge whatever lenses you end up with much more so than the 5D. (For instance,

your 10D and the 5D have aout the same pixel pitch, so the 28-105 will have about the

same sharpness on the 5D as it has on the 10D. Of course, it will be worse in the

corrneres because of full frame.) This will be especially true at shallow depth of field,

where very few lenses do well. For equivalent DOF the 400D will require a larger aperture

and thus will be softer because it will be further away from the sweet spot and because it

has a higher pixel pitch. What this means is (as many others said), if you commit to a

system for the long term, buy the abolute best glass you can afford at the time (even if it

only means one great portrait lens now), and build a system carefully piece by piece.

Tomorrow's cameras will push your system even harder.

 

On the other hand, a great photographer will make the most of whatever equipment is

available by playing to the strengths and minimizing the weaknesses. That said, I'd get

the 5D and a fast 85 mm portrait lens and use the 28-105 for everything else until I could

afford to add somthing better. I rather like FF.