7D + 70-200mm F/2.8L II or 5D III + Extender 1.4 III + 70-200mm F/2.8 IS II

[charlestx]

Hi,

Which of these combinations would work better for taking photos of a non-professionally lit stage (middle school) from the back of the auditorium?

1) 7D + 70-200mm F/2.8L II
2) 5D III + 70-200mm F/2.8 IS II (would have to enlarge it more in post)
3) 5D III + Extender 1.4 III + 70-200mm F/2.8 IS II

I shot it last year with a 7D and the 70-200mm F2.8 IS  (not II).  The raw shots were usable, but I want to do better. 

Would I get better shots with the 5D III and the 700-200mm F2.8 IS II and just crop/enlarge the photos?

or would the 5D III and the 700-200mm F2.8 IS II + 1.4 Extender III do better?

The 7D gives me the automatic 1.6X enlargement, but the 5D III is more light sensitive.

I thought about buying the Extender 1.4X III but is worried about the one stop less of light.

Thanks!

[K-amps]

I have a 5diii 70-200 mk.ii and 1.4x and 2x TC's.....

unless I want to pixel peep... for normal people shots, I like slapping the 1.4x on it, it gives a nice bokeh/ OOF blur while still being pretty sharp. F/4 on a 5diii will have better noise  rsults than 7D with F2.8.

I have not used a 7D, but I would guess that 5diii with 70-200mk.ii and a 1.4x mk.iii might be the way to go.

[neuroanatomist]

What's the intended use?  Assuming the cropped 5DIII image will give sufficient MP, I think that without the 1.4x is the better bet.  In low light, f/2.8 will be better than f/4.

Thought about renting a 300/2.8L IS II for the event?

[charlestx]

>>What's the intended use? 

It is for a preschool / kindergarten event.  Absolute quality is not as important.  But would like to get better than what I had last year with the 7D + 70-200 2.8 IS

Thanks!

[charlestx]

Thought about renting a 300/2.8L IS II for the event?

No, but I did look it up after you mentioned it as I'm sure it would give me better results.  The cost would be about $310.  Hum...  less than buying the extender 1.4 III.  But if I buy the extender 1.4 III, I can use it again and again...

Thanks

[FTb-n]

I use my 7D with the 70-200 f2.8L II for similar grade school events in poorly light gyms and have been quite pleased with the results.  I'm often shooting at ISO 3200.

A couple years ago, I was using an XT with the 70-300 f4-5.6 at ISO 1600.  Maybe my perception of the 7D/70-200 f2.8 combo is still driven by that fact that it's IQ is so much better than my XT.  But, one thing that really made me comfortable with ISO 3200 was post processing with Noise Ninja.  I get a 1-2 stop boost in comparative noise.  If your not using Noise Ninja, it might give you the extra IQ that you're seeking.

[kev8d]

If you're going to be shooting at those extended focal lengths, I'd recommend supplementing the IS with a monopod. Yes, it's annoying, but subtle motion blur from the camera is often the real cause of mediocre images at those lengths.

[PeterJ]

I've used all those combinations and I'd go with the 5D III + Extender 1.4 III + 70-200mm F/2.8 IS II. You'll probably find for that sort of thing other than exposure the f/4 versus f/2.8 won't make much difference, you might even be better at f/4 because if you're up the back you won't get a lot of subject isolation so you might be better having more rather than less in focus.

I've always found the 70-200mm F/2.8 IS II to work better with an extender than cropping. Personally I think for family shots it makes sense to capture the best image possible even if you are only going to post to Facebook or similar at the moment. By the time they are showing their kids maybe 500DPI monitors will be commonplace and everyone will have Gbps Internet.

[christianronnel]

Here's an idea.  Why not just move closer to the stage?  I shoot a lot of events even inside performing arts theatre.  Just do it as if you're the official photographer for the event and the ushers never know the difference.  Since this is a school event, it would be better to ask for permission to shoot as some parents don't like their child's photo taken, either from the back of the auditorium or next to the stage.

If you feel comfortable with that, then bring either your 7D or 5D3 with just the 70-200 and start shooting.  You might even be able to use a flash if you have the permission to shoot.

[charlestx]

Here's an idea.  Why not just move closer to the stage?

If you feel comfortable with that, then bring either your 7D or 5D3 with just the 70-200 and start shooting.  You might even be able to use a flash if you have the permission to shoot.

I probably could just sit in the front row and shoot from there, but the problem is that I would be the low perspective.  If I sit somewhere further and higher (stadium seating), there are heads that would block me.

Permission is not a problem. 

thanks

[kirillica]

for sure 5D3 (and even 5D2) is better than 7D.  :)5D3 cropped to 7D crop-factor is still good for web and 10*15 and bigger prints. and if framing is not allowed in your case, then go for extender too.

[heptagon]

Instead of the 7D or the extender you might consider the 550D/T2i which has the same sensor. You get a slower framerate, no sealing, only center AF but essentially the same image quality. For occasional wildlife this might just be enough. And you have 2 cameras at hand. The 5D iii below 100mm and the crop camera above 112mm equivalent.

[shadowsatnight]

Of the options you've given, i'd go for the 5d3 with the 1.4* TC:
The iso performance of the 5d3 will let you get away with more with the TC on than the 7d will.
If you have the TC, you can always choose not to use it.  If you don't have it, then you don't have the choice.

While muddying the waters probably isn't that helpful (sorry!); Have you considered getting the 2* instead?  Unless they're making y'all watch the play in the dark, i'd expect that the 5d3's iso performance would be fine and it would give you the option of tighter shots, should you want them.  Plus, at the end of the day, you'd then have that greater reach available whenever you wanted it.

I assume that you have the 5d3, 7d and 70-200 already?

-Evie

[neuroanatomist]

>>What's the intended use? 

It is for a preschool / kindergarten event.  Absolute quality is not as important.  But would like to get better than what I had last year with the 7D + 70-200 2.8 IS

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant use of the images - small prints/web/email sharing, or large prints (>20x30").  If the former, you can crop quite a bit and still have plenty of resolution, if the latter you need all the MP you can get.

TC or not, I'd definitely go with the 5DIII over the 7D for low light - you'll have at least 2 stops of ISO advantage.  Shoot RAW, use a good converter. Noise Ninja is a good recommendation, or Topaz Denoise.  Personally, I use DxO Optics Pro, which I find does a better job than DPP for noise, and has better lens corrections than ACR.

A 5DIII with 70-200 II and 1.4x TC at a pre-K/K school play?  You're going to look very odd (says the dad who'll be taking a 1D X with 28-300L on a pre-K field trip this week  ).

[PeterJ]

You're going to look very odd (says the dad who'll be taking a 1D X with 28-300L on a pre-K field trip this week  ).

What, a 1DX and no 600mm f/4L, lame, you might as well take an iPhone