New Canon Body Soon

[chris_cross1]

<p>Hey Guys!<br>

I am currently a 50d owner with battery grip, and a couple of L lenses, speedlights, pocketwizards, and all that jazz. I am really getting into portraits and will also be shooting in a wedding in the next couple of months. I have been looking into getting a second body to work with (for having a two camera setup in certain occasions and having a backup in case one messed up). I'm having a hard time deciding and i thought i'd come see what you guys think. Again, this is mainly for portraits, some weddings (these things will probably grow in numbers as time progresses) some sports (but not priority and 50d does well for that with fps) and some landscape stuff on the side. I have considered the 5d mark 2 or possibly another 50d. Should i dive in on a 5d mark 2? Will the results really be worth the extra cash(I know a lot about its features and performance but haven't tested it)? Or should i snag another 50d and save the extra cash? <br>

Thanks Guys!<br>

Chris</p>

[ken schwarz]

<p>Tough call. I upgraded from the 30D and found it worthwhile, but it was expensive because I had some APS-C lenses I had to ditch. I love Live View and the lens micro-focus features, but you have those already. For me, full-frame meant getting better value from my non-APS-C lenses, and the range of capability that was always waiting outside the crop! If I were in your shoes I'd say it depends on the lenses you have and what lenses you might have to buy in addition as a consequence of moving to full-frame. I'd prefer to have two bodies in the same format, but the 5D2 and the 50D have very similar controls, so if I had to mix, those would be the two.</p>

[mark_ethridge]

<p>If you don't have (m)any EF-S lenses then I would definitely go with a 5DmkII. I currently own an XTi and I'm thinking that in the future I'll add to (not replace) it with a good FF camera. Though I do currently own a couple of nice EF-S lenses, I also have a couple of nice L lenses, too. If I had a 5DmkII, I would literally have everything I really want for now. I consider the low light performance alone to be worth the extra cash. Then when you add stuff like Live View, FF, tons of megapixels it just looks like an even better deal.</p>

[ben_goren]

<p>It sounds like the choice is between a second 50D and a 5D Mk II.</p>

 

<p>In favor of the 50D would be that your backup camera is interchangeable with the primary.</p>

 

<p>In favor of the 5D Mk II would be that you have greatly expanded options between the two

cameras; you can pick and choose between the two for whichever best suits the situation at hand.

And, if one fails, the other should still do just fine taking over the duties of the other, with the usual

caveats. (For example, if you’re depending on a shot with the 5D and your 20 mm f/2.8 and

the 5D dies, you better have packed the 10-22 as well. If you’re used to relying on the

50D’s burst rate to get the perfect moment of the winning touchdown and it dies, you better

be prepared to do it old-style by watching and anticipating.)</p>

 

<p>Only you can decide if you need the reliability of knowing that your backup is a perfect

replacement more than having a “good enough” replacement plus expanded options

for normal shooting.</p>

 

<p>Cheers,</p>

 

<p>b&</p>

[derrickdehaan]

<p>You hear a lot of folks say that the body doesn't matter...etc, etc. I have a 40D and a 5D mkII. I can easily spot which camera body took which picture. I keep the 40D for sports shooting, but the 5DII w/85L combo blows anything away out of the 40D. For portraiture, get the 5DII. Heck, I even chased a set of 2 year old twins around last yesterday during a shoot. The crop leeway the 5DII provides for such instances is fantastic. Those kids wouldn't hold still long enough to get a great composition in camera.</p>

[chris_cross1]

<p>Thanks for all your responses guys! I appreciate the input. To help any further posters or to answer some of your above mentioning of lenses. I currently own a 70-200L 2.8 IS, the 24-70L 2.8L and a 50 1.4 (and 28-135 kit lens i am not using at the moment). So no EF-S specific lenses. Ben is recommending to have good lenses to backup with. So does that mean investing in some EF-S lenses to duplicate some of the lens setups i have on FF like he mentioned 10-22 and i'm sure something like EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS would also be similar recommendation maybe? Not sure if i wanna upgrade in both places...but is that recommended if i go 5d and 50d?<br>

Thanks<br>

Chris</p>

[derrickdehaan]

<p>Seems a waste to me. You'll be shooting w/ only one lens on each camera at a time. If what you have now works for you on the 50D, no reason to "upgrade" to great EF-S lenses in my opinion. You have some great glass already.</p>

[derrickdehaan]

<p>sorry, double post.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>You have some nice L glass and I think something like the 5dII would fit you for some time to come. The 50d gives you a back up. Personally, I doubt there will be enough improvements in the cameras to come to make it worth moving up any time in the near future, unless you shoot video. At 21mp, the cameras are at about where the sensor/lens resolution is maxed out. The 5DII has great usability up to about iso 3200 and great shots can be made at iso 5000 as well, if they are not too contrasty. But, with files the size produced by the 5dII, particularly up to iso 1600, you can make wonderful large prints with no problem--40x60's even.</p>

 

[steven_f1]

<p>The only EFS lens you might be interested in is the 10-20mm wide angle. It is the equivalent of the 16-35mm EF wide angle lens. If you were on assignment using a 5D with a 16-35 or 17-40mm lens your 50D would not be a good backup unless you had the 10-20 EFS lens for it. You currently have 24mm to 200mm covered with some of the best lenses Canon makes so I don't see any reason to add a EF-S 17-55 2.8 lens to your kit. If I were you there would be three types of lenses I would consider in the future. A telephoto that goes beyond 200mm (such as the 100-400), a macro, and a wide angle. </p>

 

[john_a5]

<p>To me, back up is that you have something that can still make images if your main equipment goes down. I have never carried back up glass, duplicates, but certainly cameras. The issue is whether you can continue to shoot something of use. If a 16-35 lens were added to the kit above, I wouldn't be concerned if the lens failed as I could switch to the 24-70MM. If the camera failed, the 5d, I could switch to the 50D and the 16-35 and not lose a step, just get a bit less wide or step back a bit. The reality is that it is far more likely that a body will fail than a lens and eventually you would replace the 50D with another FF camera.</p>

<p>If you upgrade to a 5DII, I certainly wouldn't upgrade any EF-S glass, it simply isn't necessary and might be a waste of money. You might be forced to shoot a little longer if the 5d fails, but unless you are shooting a still life, where there might be a lot of readjustment, most situations could be handled easily with what you have.</p>

[ben_goren]

<p>Chris,</p>

 

<p>Whether or not you need backup lenses depends entirely on what it is that you’re

shooting. It’s one thing to be shooting the tenth inning of the seventh game of the World

Series, and another to be shooting the local car dealership’s Christmas party. All I was

suggesting is that, if you know that “The Shot” will depend on not only the camera but

that particular combination of camera and lens, then you don’t have a backup if your

replacement camera can’t use that lens.</p>

 

<p>Of course, in the real world, such circumstances are quite rare. For the most part, it would mean

wanting to shoot wide on the full frame or telephoto on the crop but not being able to.</p>

 

<p>The latter isn’t (much of) a problem on the 5D as you can shoot with whatever

lens you were planning on using with the 50D and still have plenty of room to crop. Sure, you’ll lose a bit of resolution, but you’ll still have the same number of pixels as on a 20D if you crop to that format, but still

with all the latest-generation noise-free goodness of the 5D. Unless you were planning on going

above 16" x 20", not a problem (and you still may be able to get away with bigger

enlargements).</p>

 

<p>The former can certainly be a problem, as you simply can’t shoot as wide with the same

lens with the 50D as the 5D. Most of the time you can just take a few steps backward and

it’ll be “good enough,” but if there’s a multi-thousand-dollar contract

riding on you getting the wide-angle shot right there and then, you better make sure you’re

prepared to get it no matter what.</p>

 

<p>It’s no different from computer backups, really. Long before you consider what

equipment you need, you need to consider the failure scenarios you’re trying to protect

against — everything from hardware failures to “oops — didn’t mean to

click that button” to fire or other catastrophic events. Certain large institutions have plans

that will permit them to recover from the complete (<i>e.g.,</i> nuclear) destruction of an entire

city.</p>

 

<p>Since you’re wanting the camera at least partially for backup purposes, you should take

a similar approach. No, you won’t try to ensure you can still shoot a wedding in the middle of

a hurricane, but you <em>should</em> take a moment to think of everything that could possibly go

worng and figure out what the best way to deal with it is. “The best way” will likely be

at least somewhat a matter of personal preference, but it’s likely to include duplicate

equipment, similar equipment that can function the same way, knowing that there’s an

electronics store two blocks away and that you’ve got a sufficient limit on your credit card, or

simply not caring (such as with the hurricane example).</p>

 

<p>Strictly speaking, a second 50D would be your best backup to protect against the failure of a

single body. Practically speaking, the 5D is probably a more-than-ample backup that oh-by-the-way

lets you do lots of things you can’t with the 50D (and vice-versa). But only you can decide if

it’s really enough of a backup, or if you can somehow make up for it (<i>e.g.,</i> with

additional lenses) if it’s not.</p>

 

<p>Cheers,</p>

 

<p>b&</p>

[bengt_rehn]

<p>What strikes me is that you dont have anything wider than 24mm on APS size. In my world that would be a major bonus with a FF body to add a lot more wideangle without having to buy another lens. In my opinion you get a better set at events by the 5Dmk2 than onother 50D.</p>

[markonestudios]

Go on, get that 5D2... You knows you wants it ;-)