7D vs 5D mk2 trade off?

[LewisShermer]

So I've been offered a 5Dii used for £850 which is reasonable.

last month I sold my 60D and got a 5Diii.

Prior to that I'd been shooting weddings with a 7D & 60D and as they're essentially the same camera (crop & very similar iso performance (I am also aware that they are very different cameras)) and it was very comfortable. I'd have my 17-85mm on one and 28mm 1.8 on the other and that pretty much did me. I'd just stick the 10-24 on if I needed anything wider.

2 cameras, 2 lenses. job done.

so now I have this pair: 5Diii and 7D

I still want to shoot in very much the same style but with the increase in sensor size I'm at a loss and it messes with my head with all the focal length changes. I have a 50mm 1.4 which I love on the 5Diii and this would be my replacement for the 60D with the 28mm on.

so 60D with a 28mm is almost the same as 5Diii with a 50mm

but as the ISO performance is far superior on the 5Diii I'd want to use it with the 24-105mm especially on indoor shots where I can get away with using no flash. It's mean either still working with the 7D and a 28mm or having 1 camera (the 5Diii) and continually swapping lenses (pain in the arse)

First world problems... having to swap lenses mid job.

Is there much of a difference in quality between the 7D and the 5D mk2?

I've never shot with a 5D mk2 so I have no idea on how noisy it is at high ISO or what can be acceptable. I'd use it with the 50mm shooting around f2.2 so it wouldn't have to be that high and then use the mk3 for the 24-105mm at higher ISO. I work completely manually (apart from centre autofocus and recompose) as this is a bit of a hangover from the olden film days and I don't trust a camera to guess anything about my exposure.

is it worth selling my 7D for £850 with a grip, 17-85mm & 10-24mm tamron then buying a 5D mk2??? what would be the trade offs with regards to IQ??

[LewisShermer]

well, too bloody late now to reply. sold it. gonna get me a 5Dii

[7enderbender]

I think you won't regret that. Those are all great cameras. The advantage of the Markiii pus Markii combo is that you maintain the same sensor size. So a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens, period. In my opinion, especially for event and people photography that is a very good thing. And you have more control over DOF on both cameras vs. the crop sensor of a 7D. 7D has better AF but I personally find that the 5DII's disadvantage in that area is totally overstated.  I rarely have had any issues on mine.

I'm actually looking to add a Mark III body maybe net year if the photo side business goes as planned.

[scrappydog]

The trade off of switching a 7D for a 5DII is AF capabilities and frames per second (8 vs. 4, I think).  However, the 5DII will give you clean shots up to ISO 1600, and ISO 3200 is usable with color noise in the shadows.  I would cap shots at ISO 3200, which is 2 stops more than you will get with the 7D.  Use center point AF.

[neuroanatomist]

well, too bloody late now to reply. sold it. gonna get me a 5Dii

Well, ok then. 

From an IQ standpoint, the 5DII is far better than the 7D, and quite similar to the 5DIII. From an AF standpoint, you may be in for a rude shock, depending on your needs/habits. The 5DII's center AF point is good, outer points are not good at all (even your 60D had better overall AF performance). 

Having used both the 7D and 5DII for a couple of years, I don't think the poor performance of the 5DII's AF is overstated.  The in-focus shots are great, but the frequency of shots lost to missed AF is high.

[sagittariansrock]

well, too bloody late now to reply. sold it. gonna get me a 5Dii

Now, there's someone who doesn't dilly dally around- you sold your camera in less than an hour! 
I'd have gone for at least a 6D if I were you, though. Especially if I was getting paid for my work, as the loss of shots due to poor AF might not be worth it.

[Wildfire]

Now that you have the 5D2, you're stuck with the center AF point for weddings, as the outer points will just hunt for focus in the dark. Even the latest Rebel has better autofocus than the 5D2 -- but if you can live with that limitation, you'll find that the image quality and high-ISO noise performance of full frame is superior to any crop camera.

[CharlieB]

First off...

You could shoot the vast majority of any wedding with a 5d2 + 24-105, and never be undergunned.  If you need an available light situation, sure, a 50/1.4 is fine.... but then again, you'll need to be careful, as DOF at such wide apertures does not bode well in a lot of situations when shooting at a wedding.  Folks want reasonably sharp images.... I say reasonably because they don't pixel peep.  We do that for them.

Given your situation - and assuming you're going to take a little time to get to know the DOF characteristics of shooting FF, I'd get that 5d2 if you feel the price is right.  Shoot it with the 24-105... and unless you're shooting in a very very dark place, you'll do fine (or... if you have AF assist on flash... you'll also do fine).

Take the 50/1.4 and stick it on the 5d3 and you're set to go.

Keep the 7d as a total spare.

~~~~

Back in 02, I shot 40 rolls of 36exp c/n film, or just over 1500 exposures at Dragon-Con in Atlanta.  All in one afternoon.  Cameras were an M4-P and an M6TTL - two lenses a 35/2 and 50/2, and thats it.   Weddings, when I did them, were a pair of 500 Hasselblad, with 60 and 80.  Thats it.  Half jokingly I say... quit bein' spoiled by technology and concentrate on image and technique more than hardware.

[LewisShermer]

yeah, using the 50mm is probably going to be a whole different ball game than the 28mm which actually gives a lot of play with regards to DOF. even shots that are not pin still have a certain romantic quality about them. I haven't shot a wedding in a few months with it being winter. I think the last one was in september so it's a fresh start for a new year.

I sold the 7D quite quickly but when I called the guy about the 5Dii he'd already sold it!

so I'm now down to just the 5Diii and I've got 2 weeks to find a 5Dii body for £800

anyone want to sell me one?

I trust trust ebay about as far as I can comfortably spit a rat.