Making a mistake?

[eigtball]

Hi,

 

I posted a while ago that I was thinking about the 5D, but had reservations

about getting one. I recently went out and took some shots with a rented

24-105L on my Elan 7E, and while the shots were very nice I kept reading and

reading about the differences between the 5D and the 40D.

 

Other than the obvious full frame vs 1.6 crop, age is a concern. Now I am a big

proponent of not buying old tech (computer geek), so its frustrating knowing

that a 5D replacement might be coming out at the end of the summer. I don't

want to miss the summer, and I want to use as much of it to shoot.

 

Will I be regretting the 5D purchase? Should I get the 40D and use it with the

17-55 2.8 IS and go with that setup? I already have the 28-105 3.5-4.5 USM II

and a 50 1.8. I want to make the jump to pro in the near future (3 years or

less) and would a 5D last as a body for ~3 years, or should I get the 40D and

take photo's NOW.

 

Sorry this has been posted time after time, I just figured this was a bit more

specific. I have seen the photo's and the 40D's look beautiful but so do any

photo taken with skill (and decent glass).

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[g dan mitchell]

The way things have been going with DSLRs, the odds that you would want to continue

using a body beyond 3 years are pretty slender. Not saying it can't happen, but most

serious photographers are probably going to update within that time frame.

 

As to the 40D v 5D question, it really depends a lot on what and how you shoot. Either

camera could be better than the other for certain subjects/uses. Not knowing more about

your intended use, it really isn't possible (and perhaps not responsible) to recommend one

over the other.

 

Dan

[bob_osullivan]

If it's going to be 3 years before you make that jump to pro then I'd say you'll be replacing either the 5D or the 40D by then anyhow. Especially if you're into new technology.

 

I think you can take features too far sometimes. And not all these features will be used by any one photographer. Since you are starting out and learning, I would recomend you focus less on bells and whistles and more on qaulity.

 

If you are going to invest, do it in good lenses. Bodies last a few years, Good lenses can last a few decades. That technology just doesn't change as fast as the bodies.

 

You could probably get away with a 30D for now and use it as a backup when you ultimately get a 5Dmk III or whatever they'll be calling it in 3 years.

 

I'm thinking 40D or 30D and 17-55 2.8 IS NOW AND USE IT.

 

I doubt you'd have trouble selling that lens in 3 years if you go FF at that time. Or keep that setup as a backup. Pro's need backups.

[jonny_mac]

I wouldn't buy a 3 year old camera myself as Canon really needs to update it. I guess ask yourself if you would feel OK about it if Canon updated it next month, and you had bought one already? If so, then get the camera. If not, then don't. With Nikon's recent offerings with such terrific high ISO performance, I thing Canon must have a surprise up the sleeve to compete. If Canon doesn't, then its market share is going to erode more...

[eigtball]

I shoot a range from Street photography to nature/landscapes. I have been getting by with 28mm on the wide for a while now. No wild life other than the occasional shot here or there. I am mostly no longer than 200mm.

[eigtball]

Bob, I see what you are saying. What I meant was in 3 years, I hope to be purchasing my first 1 series body. Lenses I am going to be steadily getting as I have the money for them.

 

My problem is really taking the plunge and getting a 5D now and in the fall (if thats when) having the 5D upgrade hitting. My wife says get the 5D as it will have the best IQ overall and that even people today are using 10D's still. The 5D will take the picture the best for the money. Now thats debatable, but in comparisons (DPReview) the 5D does shine.

 

40D is pretty close though, and I have read (as much as I could take) the vs. posts, but buyers remorse is a beast.

[mendel_leisk]

"Will I be regretting the 5D purchase?"

 

I doubt you will have any regrets: I would go for it.

[Former P.N Member]

If the 5D does everything you want and has all the features you want then get it. If Canon announces something new tomorrow it won't change what you bought today.

 

There are times when I use my 10D even though I also own a 1D MkII. The 10D still does everything it did when I bought it even though there have been at least 3 successor bodies since then.

 

I also would not buy 3 year old computer technology for the simple reason that it may not run current, or tomorrows, software. You can't make that argument for a camera.

 

Dick <-- Also a computer geek

[skipper34]

I am just a little curious since reading this thread. Seems as though most posters are favoring an upgrade in a matter of just a few years. If any of you were once film camera users, were you still as adamant about an upgrade to the latest and greatest film cameras? The reason I ask is because I use a Canon 20d and XT and they seem to work perfectly fine. Just what will a new upgrade do for me that these DSLR's won't?

[eigtball]

Bruce,

 

My upgrade will to be a fully sealed and rugged 1 series body. The 45 point AF etc, blah blah blah. Once I hit that point, upgrades will be on a need basis. I guess I can even use that logic now. LOL.

[Spearhead]

What kind of pro do you want to be? The requirements are quite different, and consequently the equipment can vary. You seem to be starting with the equipment rather than the requirements. If you are going to be shooting the type of stuff you think you will shoot as a pro, assuming you make it there, it would make sense to buy the appropriate camera. I do sports, I don't use full frame, nor does anyone else that shoots alongside me. I also do some online catalog work, and that doesn't require full frame either. So it really depends on what you are planning to do.

[alanzaza]

I bought the 5D last December mainly because I wanted the Larger viewfinder. It is just a joy to compose with it. I have not regretted my decision. The 40D has a lot of new features, but they don't affect image quality that it makes any difference to me. Sometimes the next models are not necessarily any better.

[m_barbu1]

Is the shutter speed and/or buffer at all important to you?

[kbroderick]

If you're planning to go to a 1-series camera in the future, I'd go with the 5D simply

because the crop cameras mesh with crop lenses better (particularly in the wide and

normal zoom ranges); if you get a wide and normal zoom for a 40D (e.g. 10-22 and 17-

55), you'd end up needing to replace them for the 1-series; if you buy the 5D and stick

with full-frame lenses, you'll be looking at a body, not a body and glass, when you go to a

1-series.

 

(my two cents. I'm committed to the crop bodies myself, as I've got the glass to go with a

1.6-crop body and expect to add a 40D to my 20D sometime in the next 6-8 months;

however, that's largely because I'm at almost 90k frames on the 20D and I don't want to

have just one body that's nearing MTBF on the shutter; if the shutter didn't have that many

frames on it, I'd have no problem with continuing to shoot with the 20D; the images I get

aren't any worse just because the 40D performs better.)

[eigtball]

Jeff,

 

Photojournalism, anthropological photography, people & places, street photography. Picture tribal photo's, outdoor environments, mostly natural light. Not really studio work at all really.

[eigtball]

Jeff,

 

Photojournalism, anthropological photography, people & places, street photography. Picture tribal photo's, outdoor environments, mostly natural light. Not really studio work at all really.

[J.W. Wall]

What output -- e.g., what size prints? For what use?

[peter_rowe]

I think that the pendulum has swung and it is now too close to the 5D Mk II to warrant getting the current 5D version. I think if you plan on a 1D FF upgrade in further then you should head along that path now and wait on the full frame 5D MkII. The 1.6x cameras really are a different animal and you will be tempted with EF-S and other equipment - plus even if you go EF all the effective focal lengths will change when you go from 1.6x to FF. You don't want to spend the next 3 years getting used to all your lens only to have everything about them change when you go FF & Pro. Personally, since you are asking, I think you know you are going to be disappointed if you buy the 5D now and then have the 5D MkII come out in the next few months, or even end of summer (which is very likely). In the digital world you need to be on the early edge (not too early!) rather the very end. Look how quickly the 20D etc drops off when even limited upgrades come out (30D/40D). Your 5D in 3 years would be like having a 10D today - it just doesn't cut it. Who knows what the 5D Mk II might bring - 16 MP? On a full frame more pixels like that could matter and we know all the other likely stuff. It is probably a camera that you could use well for 3 years. If you plan pro such as magazine work then you need pro equipment. Have patience, you should simply wait on the 5D Mk II, keep using your Elan until then. You will be very happy you did in just a few short months.

 

Good luck!

[eigtball]

Going point J.W, I'd think 8X10 at the largest, I seriously doubt anything bigger. However you never know, but 8+MP is pretty good for anything large.

 

Peter, interesting you say that. its also another option, just not sure I want to wait that long. Mid-April is when I am looking to buy, 1.3 vs 1.6 is a big difference. Fast AF, available light, hand held mostly. I though I'd use the wide end more, but in reality, I am closer to the 50mm to 105mm almost all the time. I could stay with the film until the fall, but it would decrease the amount of shooting I'd like to be doing this summer (we are talking 3 days a week at 4+ hours per day (work 12 hour shifts). So waiting for the fall doesn't match my plans.

 

The 40D gives me the versatility and the speed, the 5D gives some-what better IQ.

[bob_osullivan]

Sean:

 

You are torturing yourself here. I know it's tough. Look at it this way, technology wise the 40D is fresher. IQ maybe the 5D wins by a hair. If you go 40D you may not be tempted to upgrade for the full three years until you go with a 1 series. And yes the 5D will probalby be updated soonner than that. Although I don't know if it will happen in 08. Still there is no direct competition for the 5D.

 

I think the safer bet is to get the 40D now and start shooting. Based on what you say you will shoot and your print sizes there is no compelling reason to go FF.

 

Or, you could end up being one of those photogs with both. I can assure you If I ever go FF, I won't be dumping my 30Ds.

[eigtball]

Thanks Bob, I think you are right I have been torturing my self. I am convinced I can do just as well with the 40D as the 5D for what I am taking for photo's. I also figure if its not working for me I can sell it and get what ever I need to in the future.

 

Thanks to all who have responded.

[mjferron]

I was in the same postion and decided on the 5D. $2750 with the 24-105. That's a $1000 lens. Are you interested in the latest gadgets or in the best image quality for your buck? I can assure you some of the opinons from above are from folks who don't own the 5D. Impressive build, super IQ even at High ISO. They made full frame for a reason.

[link]

Sean,

 

If it makes you feel better, I just bought a 5d this week. I need to use the camera in a

couple weeks and could not wait for the next edition. The image quality from the camera

is quite good, and perhaps there is no other $2000.00 digital SLR that can match it for IQ,

at this point in time. 6 months from now...who knows? Certainly, the 5d is a little behind

the times in certain features, like the LCD screen for one, but image quality for me is the

thing, not speed of use or Auto Focus tracking.

 

So if you get the 5d, I'll be crying along with you when the next version comes out in 6

months. :(

[William Michael]

It appears to me also, (ref: JS), that you not defined the equipment requirements for your professional aspirations.

 

 

It seems also you have not defined the equipment requirements of your present, amateur activities.

 

 

Firstly, you should answer: which calling is more important to you: your amateur shooting now, or your professional aspirations of the future?

 

 

If you are committed to beginning a business, the answer to the first question is a given.

 

 

So then the question becomes: which tool addresses the technical requirements of your professional aspirations?: the 40D or the 5D?

 

 

Simple, then get that one.

 

 

If the answer is the 5D, it will not mean that 5D will do any LESS of a good job when if, and when, the next incarnation arrives.

 

 

And from a business (accounting) perspective any camera bought today will be irrelevant, as a Capital Item of a business, beginning in 3 years time.

 

 

Notwithstanding the facts above: the 40D might be superseded within the next 3 years; a 40D might not last 3 years either; and a professional would not begin his business, with only one body.

 

 

 

WW

[eigtball]

Most PJ's are using the 1DM2N/M3. Documentary, Anthropological are using the same. The industry that i see using the 1Ds3 is the fashion, studio. I wish I could test them out, however renting them here is about the cost of a XTI.

 

I think I will be choosing the 40D over the 5D. The IQ from the 5D is nice, but the IQ from the 40D is good enough for the photo's I am looking at taking. The speed of the 40D is the tie breaker. Backup's yes, I am not looking to sell it when I move pro. It all depends on what happens in those three years. Wonder if I could score a used 1D2N. LOL.