Is it worth keeping the 10D?

[john clark]

<p>Hi folks.<br /><br />Last night I ordered a shiny new 5D mkII, after living with my 10D outfit for a shade under seven years. In that time it's served me well, and rarely let me down. However, I'd long lusted after a full-frame body and better high ISO performance, and the 5D mkII is that body.<br /><br />So, the thing is this: my wife is fine about the 5D purchase, but she is suggesting that we should sell on the 10D, perhaps with a 28-135IS lens that I took in part-ex against something unrelated.<br /><br />My question is this: given the relatively low asking price of 10Ds in the marketplace (in the UK, between £100 and £150 seems to be the norm), is it really worth selling? The money isn't really the issue - we can afford to keep it - rather, the fact that it might never get used and therefore ends up being a bit of a paperweight is what concerns me.<br /><br />That said, it works fine, is in pretty good condition and is no less a camera today than it was in 2003. Which makes me wonder whether I might find a use for it.<br /><br />I'm sure I'm not the first to go through this sort of thought process; I considered having it converted to infra-red, but to be honest that's throwing more money at an old camera for a relatively niche purpose, and I doubt I'd take to IR digital photography beyond the initial curiosity phase. I've asked a few friends and family but nobody seems particularly interested in it, given that those who have any photographic interest already have a dSLR or similar, and those who don't are happy with their compact digicams. I don't want to EBay it as it's more hassle than it's worth, and I'd get diddly squat part-exchanging it against something - and there's not much I need, photographically speaking (I'm happy with my brace of glass!)<br /><br />Anyone else been through this sort of dilemma recently?<br /><br />john</p>

[NK Guy]

<p>I converted mine to infrared. No point selling it - wouldn't get much money for it.</p>

[model mayhem gallery]

<p>Sell it, recently sold my Canon Digital rebel for $350. This was the very first Digital SLR Rebel and I still got $350 bucks for it. I was quite happy and used this to purchase a 580 EX II which is much more useful than old digital rebel. Now I have a 5D Mark II and a Canon 30D but plan to sell the 30D as after shooting with 5D I never use the 30D even though it is a faster camera. I plan on selling 30D ASAP.</p>

[robin_sibson1]

<p>The only thing I can think of for which you would use the 10D in preference to the 5DII is if you needed built-in flash. The 10D does not take EF-S lenses, and has a lower pixel density than the 5DII – you are always going to be better off cropping from the 5DII than using the 10D as-is. You might wish to keep the 10D as a backup if the 5DII were to fail (a rare event, mainly of concern to professionals and to those on non-repeatable assignments) of if you needed to have two cameras actively in use with different setups. Personally, I don't think that the 10D comes close enough to the 5DII to be a satisfactory backup or alternative. You have had five years of use from it, and unless you really want to do IR work, now is the time to clear some shelf space.</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>Unfortunately this is the problem with old digital bodies. Unlike film cameras they reach their end of life much more quickly. With film cameras all that changed was their metering and features on the body (AF was also added). Thus while I use them infrequently I do still use my old Canon FD bodies - many of which date to the early 1980s. Converting the body to IR is one option, the other is finding a child who might want it. Our kids use an old Rebel (EOS 300) and old lenses to take photos. Their mistakes are much cheaper than with film and if the body gets damaged there is no real loss. They have made stop action movies and taken quite a lot of shots over the years. If you do not have kids perhaps you know someone in the 10-15 age group who may want a body - of course they will also need a lens.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>My first DSLR was a 10D. Then I bought a 5Di and was asking your very question. I sold my 10D for $300 on Ebay with a cheapie Sigma lens I didn't really care about, and I bought a 40D refurbished for $600. I was insanely happy to have a much more competent (and FASTER!) APS-C to complement my full frame. Additionally, this gave me a backup camera that wasn't film. Both satisfy different needs and requirements. You could probably make that upgrade for $200 now.</p>

<p>Another possibility, if you have any interest in film, is to sell the 10D and buy a 3 body. That's probably an even exchange, but it would add versatility to your collection.</p>

[mr._b]

<p>Unless you need the $1-200 dollars you would get for it, why bother selling it? I doubt you'll make much of any use of it now but having a backup body on hand could be quite a blessing later.</p>

<p>I recently bought a 40D to replace my 30D (which replaced a 10D before that, sold the 10D). I've decided I'd rather have my working 30D on hand if my 40D breaks than the $300 bucks I could get for the body now. I'm just an amateur but I shoot a couple multi-day music festivals during the year. I'd be screwed for the rest of the weekend if my main camera broke. It would take at least a week for me to buy a replacement I could afford online.</p>

[digitmstr]

<p>If you don't need the money, why sell it...and why worry about it. It's good to have two bodies anyways and your 10D can be your P&S body, so to speak.</p>

[mike_hitchen]

<p>I am thinking of going to 7D and my current thinking is that I would keep my 30D. There have been several occasions where I can think that having a second body would have been great - as an example at a country fair where most of my shooting may be with the 7D/17-55 combo but have the 70-300 on my 30D for the occasional long shot so I did not need to swap lenses.<br>

It all depends on your priorities, I guess.</p>

[StuartMoxham]

<p>For what it is worth you just as well keep if you think you may use it once in a while. Otherwise trade it for a compact to keep in you pocket. It has not reached the end of its life otherwise it would be broken there are plenty of people out there that would love to make use of it.</p>

[KenPapai]

<p>I gave away my 10D to a sweet niece of mine for super cheap price. MUCH MORE worth it to her than me, gathering dust. With a 5D2 you'll never want to use a 10D. That's how I was with a 40D and a 7D. </p>

<p>Give it to a budding tyro perhaps then?</p>

[rick_janes]

<p>An EOS 10D made the perfect luggage-stuffer for last year's motorcycle trip to Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City. It performed very very well, and I wasn't overcome with constant anxiety about its welfare inside that luggage case, rain or shine. </p>

 

[ejchem101]

<p>If anyone is wanting to make a donation of an old body (D30, D60, 10D) I'm currently starting a photography club at our local HS.... I'm sure your local High School would love a 10D for students in yearbook/photography... always a good option (clear some desk space and get a tax deduction?)</p>

[lisahorton]

<p>Is there a chance that a young person you know, or perhaps an extended family member might be interested in getting into photography? I was in a similar position, then a friend told me she was interested in photography, so I sold her my 10D for a pittance figuring it was going to a good cause.</p>

[john clark]

<p>Well, I have two sons, but even the eldest isn't quite 3.5 yet, so it's a bit early to give him a dSLR. He does, however, have a Fisher Price camera (or somesuch) which he sometimes uses. Bit of a jump up to the 10D :)<br>

As to suggestions to buy a compact or an EOS 3 - I have a compact digital and an EOS 3 already, and plenty rarely-used film bodies, so it's more likely to be a case of keep the 10D or sell it (without replacing it with anything else) although the idea of using it as a 'kick-about' spare body for those occasions when a pricy 5D mkII is more risk than I'm comfortable with is a good one...</p>

[jim_krupnik]

<p>Camera bodies tend to be given a short attention span in the marketplace. They are all worth about $40-500 in the end, and we pay the big premium to use them while they are still the hot item in the catalog. Is it worth dumping your 10D now that it has landed at it's base price?</p>

<p>Only you can decide, but is having an extra couple hundred bucks in your pocket for about 5 minutes a better value than having a fully functional, "paid for" camera body that carried you for the past 7 years sitting in a closet, ready to go again at a moments' notice? Not for me. I tend to keep cameras for 40 years or so, as they don't eat much, and require little attention in general. Cameras that I just don't care for, will never use again, or have more than one example on hand tend to be passed along to someone with a serious interest in photography, as well as a serious budget problem.</p>

<p>For me, that offers the greatest value. I can spend the $50-$300 an old 10D might fetch in a heartbeat, but it won't do a thing to change my financial situation in the long run. I'd rather keep it as a spare, or give it to the kid next door..... Look at the bright side, your 5D MkII is next in line for being on the chopping block. I didn't care for the first 5D, so I sold mine within two Months of buying it. The 5D MkII is a far better camera, but I still prefer using my 40D, 50D, and 7D cameras more often than not. I just like the APS-C sensor size, and camera feature set for many jobs, and I have great EF-S lenses to fill in the coverage gaps.</p>

<p>As a matter of fact, I spent this entire day shooting a Wedding. I don't shoot many Weddings anymore, but this one was important, and carried a great bottom line. My 5D MkII is on a job in Chicago. The entire Wedding shoot today was recorded with a combination of a Mamiya RZ67, a Canon 50D, a Canon 40D, a Canon 7D, and a Canon G9 in my pocket just in case. The various xxD cameras were fitted with different lenses, similar strobe triggers, and available as a resource pool for the two people shooting the event (I was one, the shooter of record). At download time, it so happened that the 50D was used to capture more images than the other cameras combined. By far....</p>

<p>It just happened to have the ideal lens for the venue attached. The result? Perfect! I am as pleased as I can be, and not having a FF digital camera in the entire mix was a non issue from the start. Technocrats might argue, but the purchase of a FF digital camera does not cause your favorite crop cameras to drop dead on the spot. Think about what you might miss about the crop format after the FF lust subsides before you toss your old camera body under the bus.... (keep it).</p>

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[caleb_santos]

<p>10D was my first DSLR. I thought about selling it but, like others have said, what's the point? My 1 year old loves playing with it. I also use it in risky situations like - going out on the lake in a row boat... why would I take my 5Dmk2 out on a row boat? lol Like someone else mentioned, it makes a good "point and shoot" considering you can throw it in a backpack and not worry at all about it being damaged or stolen. Take pictures of your family going down the sledding hill without a care in the world of your camera's safety. Aside from that, the 10D still takes excellent pictures! Sometimes 6mp is just right. It makes a great backup. <br>

But, I hear you on clearing up space and de-junking your shelves. Now that I just bought a 7D I don't use the 10D all that much, but I will be taking the 10D with me on my next paying photo job! More bodies = I can use more lenses quicker. :) </p>