crop full frame image or shot with cropped sensor?

[david_willecke]

<p>I have just picked up a 5D (not the mark II) and an 80-200/F4 IS and am off to Costa Rica. I can shoot the 80-200 with the 5D or borrow my Dad's 40D, and shoot the lens as a 120-300 F4 (roughly). Which will be more effective? I have never had a full frame camera before, but it seems the higher pixel density of the 40D may be better, plus being able to actually see the size of the final file, but I have also heard great things about the image quality of the 5D--what to do?<br>

thanks<br>

Dave</p>

 

[claytontullos]

<p>It depends on what you want to shoot.</p>

<p>Regardless, I'd pick up or borrow a wider lends to bring too.</p>

[bobatkins]

<p>If you need the angle of view that a 200mm lens provides on the 40D, then the 40D will be more effective than cropping the 5D image.</p>

<p>I have a 5D and 40D. When I'm shooting wildlife with a long telephoto lens, I use the 40D. When I'm shooting landscapes with a wideangle, or general scenics with normal to short telephoto lenses, I use the 5D.</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>For loads of fun reading, try this recent (contemporary, actually) <a href="00SMQY">thread</a> .</p>

[bobatkins]

<p>Aagh, not that thread! Lots of confusion there.</p>

<p>Take a look at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_5d_or_20d.html" target="_blank">http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_5d_or_20d.html</a> which compares the 5D to the 20D. The 40D will be slightly better than the 20D.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>You perhaps have the 70-200 f/4L IS? If so, that's a very nice lens.</p>

<p>The answer to your question depends on what you're shooting. I suggest you borrow your dad's 40D and play with both cameras before your trip. Take shots similar to the ones you plan to take on the trip. For instance, if you want to take a few pics of fellow travelers posing in front of interesting things, try that too. Like Clayton, I'd advise you to add a wider zoom to your equipment list (e.g. an EF-S 17-85 for the 40D or a 24-105 f/4 IS for the 5D).</p>

<p>File size isn't much different between the two cameras. The 40D files will be a bit smaller, not because of the smaller format, but because of the fewer megapixels. Angle of view will be narrower for the 40D, owing to the crop factor. (You understand "crop factor," right? If not, do a search for it.)</p>

[david_willecke]

<p><br /> Thanks everyone--I did also get the 24-105 and I primarily shoot landscapes, and I did misspeak, the lens is the 70-200/F4 IS, as you pointed out. I would never go out without a wide angle!<br>

What I was trying to get at with my question has to do with what I imagine I will see a lof of on my trip--birds and other wildlife far up in trees where I would ideally have a lens in the 300 to 400mm range (in traditional 35mm terms). I figure my choices are to shoot with the 5D and crop the image later, or shoot with the 40D, which will make the lens behave like a 120-300 F4 because the sensor is, in effect, already cropping the image. The questions is--which one of these methods is preferable? From your comments, I gather that shooting with the 40D will likely be better, both in terms how the set-up handles and the final image quality--am I hearing this right? I know the 40D has a better auto-focus and I imagine it will easier to see the animals as the view will already be cropped in the finder (although maybe the full frame viewfinder will make up for this?). <br>

Also, as long as I am on the subject, it seems buying a cropped sensor camera is a nice solution to achieve more telephoto. The 300 F4 and the 100-400 are huge lenses, and the 80-200 F4 on the 40 or 50d gives a great zoom range in a smaller and lighter package. Is this a common solution? (I am coming from Pentax, so a lot of these issues about full frame are new to me).</p>

<p>I totally appreciate the recommendation to expirament before the trip, which would be more normal MO, but I receive my stuff on Tuesday and leave on Friday, so I am in a bit of a pinch and thought I would reach out for some advice here on photo.net--always appreciated!<br>

Finally, I did a little reserach and I gather that the charger and battery on the 2 cameras are the same--is this true? That will make the whole double-camera thing easier!<br>

Thanks again for your thoughts,<br>

David</p>

 

[sarah_fox]

<p>Yes, if you'll be cropping down your images anyway (to shoot small birds high in trees), then the 40D will be your better bet, both in usability and in resolution. The 5D would give you a small advantage in image noise, but not much -- not enough to justify using it, rather than the 40D.</p>

<p>Regarding your second question, I think you'll find a lot of photographers go with the crop cameras for telephoto work. That's because the really long telephoto glass is REALLY EXPENSIVE and HUGE and HEAVY! I personally shoot with a combo of a 5D and a 40D. All things considered, it was cheaper for me to pick up a 40D than to go to bigger glass, and I felt the advantages of an additional format, combined with a different set of features (e.g. liveview) made this a better option. I feel I made the right choice. For instance, I was photographing a baby shower a couple of days ago and was stymied by a shy little girl (first cousin of the baby) who was very pretty and had the most amazing eyes. Everytime I tried to take a pic of her, she covered her face. My solution was liveview, which I had never used before. She didn't know I was photographing her, and I got some very nice shots of her for the family. That wouldn't have been possible with my 5D.</p>

<p>Finally, yes, the charger and batteries are the same between the 5D and 40D. That's an enormous convenience.</p>

<p>BTW, the 24-105 isn't going to be very wide on a crop camera. You might consider the 17-40 f/4L (medium wide) or the 10-22 (ultrawide). Of these, the 10-22 is an EF-S lens and won't work on the 5D.</p>

[Ken Katz]

<p>I would recommend getting the 1.4x converter, which works extremely well with the 70-200 F4L. For shooting birds and monkeys in the trees, I needed every bit of reach I had with me when I went to Costa Rica (Canon D60 + 70-200 + 1.4x), and in many cases, the photos still needed significant cropping. Having both bodies and both lenses would certainly reduce the need to change lenses all the time.</p>

[John Crowe]

<p>The ideal situation would be to put the 24-105 on the full frame and the 70-200 on the crop body and take both! That would give you 24 to 320 (35mm equivalent) with virtually no gaps, and excellent quality. Gives you a back-up body too.</p>

[m._scott_clay1]

<p>I second Jim's solution. It's what I do and covers most situations unless I want to shoot architecture. For that I use a 17-40L or 24L TS, but in most cases, the 24-105L on a 5d works great. Definitely keep the 70-200L on the 40d.</p>

<p>Best regards,</p>

<p>Scott</p>