Help with upgrade 7D v 5Dii

[mike_hitchen]

<p>If $2,500 is your limit you could get the 7D plus Canon 70-300 IS USM which is a very decent lens. </p>

[jose_toha]

<p>Hey there,<br>

New to the board. First post.<br>

My comment is mostly anecdotal but may be useful to arrive at a decision. I just purchased a new camera with the recommendation of my closest friend Cris, who is a very successful professional photographer. He does architectural photography for boutique hotels all over the world. In the last few years he switched from Medium Format to D SLRs for his work. He currently has 2 EOS 1D Mark IV and 4 EOS 5D Mark II with a large assortment of EF L lenses including several Tilt-Shift units. When I first began to look for a Camera to replace my EOS 40D I asked for his recommendation and he recommended the 5D Mark II or even a 5D instead of the 7D mainly because of the sensor. I am an architect and will use the camera mainly to document my projects and thought I could hardly do better when it comes to advise than Cris. Still, for some reason I ignored his advice (mainly due to price) and i bought the 7D.<br>

Even though Cris was a little disappointed that I ignored his advice, he agreed to sit down with me for a few hours and go over some techniques to shoot my interior projects. He sat with his 5D Mark II (Which he favors over the 1D Mark IV) next to me with my 7D. We both used a <em>EF</em> 17-40mm f/4.0 <em>L lens</em> and did a series of tests that he would later critique in my 15" MacBook Pro. We proceeded to compare my shots with his images after some light RAW processing in Lightroom 3. Obviously his shots were much better mainly due to his great use of White Balancing, exposure experience, composition etc.<br>

Still, by the end of the test I started getting close to what he considered acceptable as I followed his direction. It got to the point that he started wondering if the shots in the 7D were too good for a smaller sensor camera. He was so intrigued that took three shots himself with both cameras and compared them on my laptop. At one point he even lowered the file size of the 5D to better match the smaller file size of my camera and could not believe the quality of the 7D shots. Granted, the screen was not calibrated and the tests are mostly subjective, but all images were seen and shot under the same conditions. He came out very impressed and said that he was not sure if the small difference was worth the price difference for me. Keep in mind we shot all images in RAW, not in JPEG which I've heard is a bit softer on the 7D.<br>

Obviously, this kind of shooting does not apply to what you will do with your new camera. However, it does represent exactly the kind of shooting where the 5D Mark II should blow the 7D out of the park. Well, it seemingly didn't, and I was more than happy to rub it on my Pro friend's face. He said he would not buy it for his work as he would much rather have the larger sensor and cost for him is a non issue as he makes a living using his cameras. However, he did say that it was a good decision to ignore him and buy it for myself. <br>

If you take that into consideration and add the fact that the areas where the 7D performs better than the 5D Mark II are precisely the ones that concern you, I think is hard to go wrong with the 7D.<br>

In any case, I hope you are happy with the decision you eventually make.</p>

<p>jo</p>

[Stock-Photos]

<p>Dave, I've been unhappy with the "pixel peeping" IQ from my 7D at ISO 400. This is in comparison to my 5D original. Noise and noise reduction artifacts in the 7D are disappointing to me.</p>

<p>Some might say pixel peeping is not a good way to judge IQ. However, shots from my 7D are more often rejected for noise by one of my stock agencies.</p>

<p>Other than noise, the 7D performs well for me with birds in flight AF and gives more reach for wildlife than a FF.</p>

[boz]

Hmm, for bird shots the extra focal length from an APS-C sensor would come in handy, so that would be the 7D. but for me it would have to be a 5D. I so want full frame!

[dcstep]

<p>I own both the 5D2 and the 7D. Without question, for birds the 7D is the better choice. The pixel-pitch is near ideal for maintaining detail when cropping down to a final shot. At ISO 800 and below it has wonderfully low noise and great detail. Here's one that I took this morning:</p>

<p><a title="Meadowlard sings on dry mullien by dcstep, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5139/5562204006_44d71d78db_b.jpg" alt="Meadowlard sings on dry mullien" width="1024" height="1024" /></a></p>

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%">

<tbody>

<tr >

<th>Camera</th>

<td><a href="http://www.flickr.com/cameras/canon/eos_7d/">Canon EOS 7D</a></td>

</tr>

<tr >

<th>Exposure</th>

<td>0.001 sec (1/2000)</td>

</tr>

<tr >

<th>Aperture</th>

<td>f/8.0</td>

</tr>

<tr >

<th>Focal Length</th>

<td>500 mm</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<th>ISO Speed</th>

<td>800</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<th>Exposure Bias</th>

<td>+2/3 EV</td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>

<p>The crop here is relatively huge, like 80%, but detail is maintained easily.</p>

<p>I'd suggest a better telephoto if you're into birds, rather than another wide angle. If you can't afford both now, I'd suggest buying the body and then saving to get a good telephoto lens as soon as you can. Good lenses hold their value and improve your photography more than the body upgrades you're considering.</p>

[james_day3]

<p>I just made a choice for a used 7D but for different reasons. After looking at what lenses I'd have to buy to give the 5D justice I decided to spend more capital on glass that could later be used for a full-frame camera down the road. i.e. I bought the canon 70-200 2.8 is, 16-35 etc rather than buying the 5D and feeling strapped for cash on lenses. <br>

One consideration with your sigma is to test it on a FF body. They tend to soften at the corners more than the other off-brands. So if you go FF right now it may uncover parts of the frame better left uncovered! If I were in your shoes and feeling a little rowdy some day, i'd sell the sigma and kit lens and buy the 7D with a Canon 100-400. That way if you ever upgraded to the 5D it would still be a useful range (without the crop factor) and you'd be shooting with better glass along the way.<br>

Cheers</p>