peter_cagnacci Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>Hi there.</p> <p>I'm currently saving for an upgrade from my 400D and i've had my eye on the 5D for quite a while, it appears to be the most suitable camera out there for me. Recently however, as everyone is quite aware of, the Mk II has come out and i'm not sure which of them to get. Both display different pros and cons and I was hoping I could milk some of the opinions and knowledge from this vast forum. The Mk II would seem like more of a luxury item compared to the regular 5D, what with twice the pixels, HD video, Live view etc which are some things i can surely go without, but maybe paying that $2000+ extra for it would be more wise considering it's very recent and would be a more worthwhile purchase in a few years times.</p> <p>Thanks in advance</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_bryant1 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>I'm very happy with my 5D mk I. I expect I'll eventually upgrade, but it isn't a real priority right now. I can wait for the prices to drop. If I were buying right now, I'd probably get a good used or refurbished 5D mk I, and spend the extra money on lenses.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
images_in_light_north_west Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>The 5D1 is a great camera, if you need to print 16 x 24 and up thats where the 5D2 will come in. You will enjoy the 5D1 at a much lower price, you can buy good used ones for $1500 or less and get some nice glass to boot for the same price as a 5D2. I currently have both and I want to be able to print large.<br> Ross</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sattler123 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>I think you answered your own question - 5D MK1</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_t5 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>unless you shoot in a lot of dark places that requires extreme high isos, 5d gives you more bang for your buck.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlyons Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>I've been shooting with two 5Ds professionally for a couple of years now. It's a great camera. I've printed as large as 24x36 for clients who have been thrilled with the results. You really don't need 300 pixels per inch at those large sizes!<br> Sure, I'll upgrade eventually to the 5D mkII... but I'm biding my time and waiting until it seems financially sensible.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>If you don't want/need HD video, lens microadjustment, ISO 6400-25600, 30% higher resolution, IR remote capability, 14-bit A/D, a higher resolution LCD and an unlimited buffer size when shooting JPEGs, then the original 5D may be better value.<br> The 5D MkII is a "better" camera. Whether it's worth the extra cost is a personal decision.<br> For smaller prints (say 13" x 19" and smaller) shot at ISO 3200 and lower, I don't think there is any appreciable difference in print quality. It's hard to say exactly when the extra pixels of the 5D MkII would come into play in terms of practical print quality. You'd probably see it at 24x36 if you looked closely, maybe at 20x30. Certainlt the MkII would be better for very large prints designed for close viewing.<br> I'm just finishing up a review for photo.net. I expect it should show up here sometime next week.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g dan mitchell Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>The 5D is capable of reliably producing excellent 16 x 24 and perhaps a bit larger prints of wonderful quality. Do you print that large?</p> <p>I think Bob's summary is accurate.</p> <p>Dan</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madza_zulu Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>So Bob...is it Highly Recommended or Just Highly Recommended ? hehehehe</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock-Photos Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>Yo, Pete, If the MK II will not take food off your table, buy that one. It's a no brainer. You <em>deserve </em> it!</p> <p>When on your deathbed, you won't miss the extra $700.</p> <p>Did they fix the black spot issues?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darcy_cote Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Buying the 5d 2 took food off my table but it is a great way to diet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_cagnacci Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>Yeah the way i'm currently seeing it is around $3900 for a MK II body or about $1500 for a 5D body a lot extra for a new flash, lens or two etc so I think i'll end up going for the 5D, and f in the future i'm wanting an upgrade perhaps then i'll go to the Mk II should my wallet approve. If i suddenly however come into some extreme extra funds, Mk II here I come. There's a small stigma out there i think that once a new version of something comes out, the previous one no longer works as good etc but i've certainly relised that it's not true, especially after pouring over photography books 25+ years ago.</p> <p>Thanks for all the advise everyone, very helpful!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_bryant1 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>I concur... I think good camera+great lenses will get better pictures than best camera+ok lenses.</p> <p>Plus, lenses have a long life. When you do upgrade you can carry them forward.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mendel_leisk Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 <p>Peter, B&H's current prices are:</p> <p>5D: $1,999.95</p> <p>5DII: $2,699.95</p> <p>That's a fair bit higher/lower than the numbers you mention above. Still, I'm a little suprised at how close the prices are. Here's a comparison page:</p> <p><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=0&shs=canon+5d&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=jsp%2FRootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=0&shs=canon+5d&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=jsp%2FRootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t</a></p> <p>I have the 5D and am very happy with it. The <em>core</em> feature for me is full frame, and there the 5DII has no advantage, but it it has a whole lot more pixels, and when you throw in self-clean (FWIW), Live View, Movie mode, larger LCD, and so on... Well, I'm suprised the prices are so close.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borek_lupomesky Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>I faced similar question and I bought 5DmkII. I think new 5D is not cheap enough for me not to pay the premium (the price difference is by no means $2000) and get: higher ISOs (nice to have), live view (very useful feature), HD video (exciting new possibilities), large LCD (nice), better UI (configurable user modes, My Menu) and few other things. Also, I consider my camera long term investment. My 20D lasted 4 years and now my girlfriend has it. I expect to use my 5DmkII for much longer than that.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evphotography Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>It really kind of depends a lot on type of photography you do. If you shoot handheld the most of time then I would say go with 5D. But if you shoot with tripod a lot, then that live view function you mentioned you don't really need is something you need to explore first. If you like landscape shooting with tripod I can give you a lot of reasons why the live view in my opinion is a must have. Here are just a few, first manually focusing with live view at 10x is awesome, or just checking your focusing point. You would probably be surprised how many times a camera will just miss the point of focus accurately. Checking DOF on live view at 10x is another thing that can't be done nearly as accurately as with view finder. Using ND grad filters it is so much easier to see where graduation is effecting the image on live view vs through the viewfinder even with using DOF button. When using longer lenses when say there is a good wind blowing, put on live view magnify to 10x and you will see any camera shake at all happening with the camera you wouldn't ever notice just looking at the camera. Also the 5DII has lot other nicer features that 5D doesn't, AF micro adjustment, much better menu system, improved auto focusing and few other that Bob mentioned. Also on HD video, are you a family man with kids? If so think about how nice that could be at a kids play, birthday parties, Christmas or those type of special moments. If you have a HD TV, think how cool it would be to be able to view them in HD on your TV. But if you don't have any of those needs then I say go for 5D, just really consider first what all your needs are then the decision should be easy.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_hanlon3 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>Hello Peter,</p> <p>Stop agonizing and get yourself a 5D for $1400 here:</p> <p><a href="http://www.adorama.com/ICA5DR.html?searchinfo=canon%20refurbished&item_no=46">http://www.adorama.com/ICA5DR.html?searchinfo=canon%20refurbished&item_no=46</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hassy501 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>John that's a great price on a great body !</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_wu6 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>It's a surpise to see a refurbished 5D is still priced at $1400! (I go mine new for <$1400 more than a year ago). In October, I was in Japan and saw in an Osaka department store that a new 5D was advertised at ~$1350. I thought US will have a similar price and didn't borther to bring a few back (otherwise, it would have got me a MKII for free).<br> Back to the original question. It appears both are OK for you and it all depends on how loose (or tight?) your wallet is. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moophoto Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>I upgraded from the 5D to the 5DII. Other responders have covered some of the advantages of the 5DII. But one matter that I find to be persistently ignored in these discussions is cropping. Maybe I am alone in being bad at composing my photos "on the spot": but I find that I do a lot of cropping in Photoshop as I work with my original images. The greater resolution of the 5DII gives me considerably more room to crop. So, for me, it is not a matter of printing really big. It is more a matter of being able to crop an image by 50% and still have the ability to get a good 18 x 12 print.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stock-Photos Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>$3900 for 5D MkII body only? That's WAY off the mark.</p> <p>As Mendel pointed out:</p> <p>5D: $1,999.95 NEW<br> 5DII: $2,699.95 NEW</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_edwards7 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>I also want to upgrade but only can afford either the 5D body or EPSON 3800. I currently own the R1800 and a 30D, I also own a 70-200 and 16-35 L series glass.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony_thornborough1 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>I own a 40D and 3 and want a 5DII - cash - but don't know where the prices are moving !</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tavo Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>Hope you find this helpful. I went to Best buy. I told them I wanted to buy the 5D Mk II (Body only for $2699.99) but that I was going to wait until they mail those 12% discount coupons they mail regulary. They guy went to the manager and later they approved a 10% discount. They really insisted on the care protection program but didn't go for it. They had it in stock. I tried to get discount at other camera places with no luck. I'd love to support my local camera store, but money is money.<br> Good luck</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken schwarz Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 <p>I just upgraded from the 30D. I'm finding that live view, clean ISO 1600+ and micro-adjustment of lens focus to be great new features that would be hard to give up. The extra resolution has not been important for me yet. The 24-105 is fabulous on the 5D2, but that's nothing new.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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