Upgrade from 400D to 5D MKII after 5 years, thoughts?

[preppyak]

The other thing I'd say on those photos is that a flash would help to keep their faces from being in the shadows. More specifically in shot 3, because she's already in the shade, a flash would brighten up her face and make it the focal point of the image. It would also make her stand apart more from the background, giving the image a more 3-dimensional feel. Image 4 is tougher to tell if it would help, but it might.

[stevenrrmanir]

Hold on for a while. The 400D still takes photos. See what Canon releases. I would like to see a next version of the 7D.

[johle]

Hi guys!

Thanks for all the advice! Especially regarding the rule of thirds for the portraits, and using Kelvin-mode to remove the yellowish look of the indoor photos. Regarding the flash to remove shadows... I actually bought the 5D Mk II in order to NOT use a flash; to achieve a more "natural" looking light. But I probably have to master the flash sooner or later, if I'm taking photos in a club or similar. I have the Speedlite 430 EX II, but I have actually not taken a single photo firing the flash. I only use it for the AF-grid in dark environments, which works really well

Any quick tips on learning how to use the flash? For the purpose of mainly filling, like in daylight situations when parts of the face might be in the shadow? But as I say, I really want to keep the "warmth" of indoor lighting.

I understand that it's a trade secret in itself, it takes time to master; that's why great photographers can charge what they do.

[bdunbar79]

Shoot in RAW and don't worry about color temperature.  As for flash, really get to know your flash and it's corresponding metering modes with the camera.  Practice at night in the house just messing around.  That's what I did with my 600EX-RT's.  I just opened my manuals to the camera and the flash and started on page 1 and did all the stuff that was in the manual, hands-on.  Flash expsoure compensation is really handy too, just like exposure bracketing/compensation in your 5D II.