Refurbished EOS 7D vs. Original EOS 5D (full frame)

[hersheyphoto]

I'm a little irritated with Canon right now in that - last summer in Chicago during a shoot the mirror fell out of place, which was apparently an "unofficial recall" on the original 5D. Now the shutter release button has broken (also mid shoot) and it's a $200 repair. I've been on and off the phone trying to get the price reduced, but Canon won't budge.

They have however, offered me, as a loyal customer, a discounted price of $1,087 with free shipping on a refurbished EOS 7D. I already went ahead and upgraded to the 5D markii this summer, and my company is growing enough (and after these two snafus) that I do want to have two cameras.

So do I throw down and additional $1,087 for a refurbished 7D with a 90 day warranty after my original 5D gave me so many problems - or just pay the $200 to get the 5D fixed. I guess what I'm asking is, is this really a deal?

[stephan]

The real question here is: Are you fine about having your second cam be APS-C instead of fullscreen, and do you intend to use the 7D's features? Or would you prefer Fullframe? How much shuttercount do you have left to the average shutter lifetime?

[awinphoto]

That's a pretty good price I think on a refurb 7d, however what do you shoot?  Can you deal with a crop sensor or do you want/need full frame?  The 7d is a workhorse of a camera, dont get me wrong, and the original 5d is getting pretty long in the tooth... how old is it?  4-5 years old or more?  That, in this age of cameras, is pretty old (plus, i hate to say them, but they aren't making them like they used to where they lasted forever), but i think that's stopped once the digital age came around.  The 7D IQ is quite nice, however you may or may not be disappointed coming from a 5D, depending on how much you pixel peep and your overall expectation.  Given you have a business, do you have CPS?  Can you trial loan the 7D first to test drive it sorta speak or go to a local store and fire a few test shots and see if it grows on you?  I hate to say but this is an answer only you can answer. 

[bvukich]

Or option 3:  Get a $10 broken camera off craigslist to use for the Canon Loyalty Program trade-in towards the 7D,  and get the 5D fixed.  Get the 5DIII when it comes out, and relegate the 5Dc to dedicated studio duty.

You're already considering the 7D, so you must suspect it will fit into your shooting style.  You have a growing business, so an extra body (as in third, you should always have two) will always come in handy.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Or option 3:  Get a $10 broken camera off craigslist to use for the Canon Loyalty Program trade-in towards the 7D,  and get the 5D fixed.  Get the 5DIII when it comes out, and relegate the 5Dc to dedicated studio duty.

Thats what I'd do. I have a couple of old Canon film slr's that are broken that I've been saving to do the CLP upgrade. You can sell the broken 5D for a lot more than you think on ebay if you don't want to fix it.  The shutter button is a easy fix, just time consuming, and someone will snap it up and fix it.

Cameras do wear out, and things fail, so either buy a extended Mack waranty (Adorama sells them), or set aside a few dollars a month for eventual repairs.  The 5D is a old model, but still high in demand.

[Eagle Eye]

Just fix the 5D.  The remaining $800 you'll save can be put towards a 5D III down the road.